First the Dead

Dead men tell no lies

When Hurricane Katrina takes New Orleans by storm, forensic entomologist Nick Polchak is waiting for her. He's part of DMORT (Disaster Mortuary Response Team), the FEMA team assigned to recover and identify human remains in large-scale disasters.

The trouble is, Nick isn't much of a team player. And he doesn't take well to following orders he doesn't agree with--such as the decision to divert all personnel to rescuing the living and leaving the dead for later.

Nick begs to differ. He's there to collect bodies, and he's going to do just that--especially when he starts finding bodies that were clearly dead before the hurricane struck. Nick understands that all forensic evidence will soon disintegrate in the hot, contaminated water . . . and he knows that's exactly what the killer wants to happen.

The more Nick tries to uncover answers, the stronger--and deadlier--the resistance becomes. And it doesn't help that a beautiful psychiatrist thinks he's on the verge of a mental breakdown . . . can even the Bug Man uncover the truth?