Trick Question, book three of “The Tubby Dubonnet Series,” by Tony Dunbar, is a fast-paced contemporary mystery that takes place in colorful New Orleans.

Attorney Tubby Dubonnet reluctantly takes on a case as a favor to a fellow lawyer, a case that appears to have little hope of success.

When Cletus Busters, a janitor at a research laboratory, snoops around the office of Doctor Whitney Valentine, he opens a walk-in freezer. To the janitor’s dismay and horror the frozen body of the doctor falls out and crashes to the floor, causing the head to snap off and roll across the room. It seems the two, Dr. Valentine and Cletus, have had a falling out in the past and now the janitor finds himself charged with murder.

When Tubby Dubonnet calls on his client, he finds the man unhelpful in his own defense. Although Cletus denies killing the doctor, he is obviously hiding something. The frustrated attorney fears his reputation is at stake with a case that seems doomed for failure.

I was intrigued with this mystery. I’ve spent time in New Orleans and was delighted with the author’s references to the tastes and places of this fabled city. The fast-paced story is written with droll humor. Trick Question is the only book I have read in this series, but I was captivated both by the mystery and also by the regional setting.