Following an unforgettable cast of characters and a jaded female P.I. enmeshed in a criminal conspiracy in 1980s Mississippi, The Queen City Detective Agency is a riveting, razor-sharp Southern noir that unravels the greed, corruption, and racism at the heart of the American Dream.Meridian, Mississippi--once known as the Queen City for its status in the state--has lost much of its royal bearing by 1985. Overshadowed by more prosperous cities such as New Orleans and Atlanta, Meridian attracts less-than-legitimate businesses, including those enforced by the near-mythical Dixie Mafia. The city's powerbrokers, wealthy white Southerners clinging to their privilege, resent any attempt at change to the old order.Real-estate developer Randall Hubbard took advantage of Meridian's economic decline by opening strip malls that catered to low-income families in Black neighborhoods--until he wound up at the business end of a .38 Special. Then a Dixie Mafia affiliate named Lewis "Turnip" Coogan, who