Papa La-Bas

Papa La-Bas is the John Dickson Carr novel that takes him out of his usual locked-room procedurals and into a more atmospheric Gothic register. Set in 1858 New Orleans, the book follows a young Anglo lawyer drawn into the political and religious life of the Creole community as the city moves toward the Civil War. The murder, when it happens, has occult dimensions that the rationalist tradition Carr wrote in is not willing to fully accept.

Carr is a serious historian, and the period research is the engine. The geography of antebellum New Orleans (the Vieux Carré, the Quadroon Balls, the political layers between American and Creole society) is rendered with care. The Voodoo material is handled more respectfully than I expected from a 1968 white novelist.

The puzzle is less satisfying than Carr at his peak. The atmosphere is some of the best he ever wrote.

Four stars. A late-period John Dickson Carr that almost no one talks about. Recommended to fans of his earlier work who want to see what he was reaching for at the end.