Ash Tuesday

by Ariadne Blayde

In New Orleans, the dead talk and the living listen.

Giving ghost tours on the decaying streets of the French Quarter isn't exactly a high-profile career, but the guides at Spirits of Yore Haunted Tours are too strange and troubled to do anything else. They call themselves Quarter Rats, a group of outcasts and dreamers and goths who gather in hole-in-the-wall bars to bicker, spin yarns, and search for belonging in the wee hours of the night after the tourists have staggered home.

Through the ghost stories they tell, their own haunted lives come into focus. Like the city they call home, these tour guides are messy with contradiction: they suffer joyfully, live morbidly, and sin to find salvation.

Weaving together real New Orleans folklore with the lives of eleven unforgettably vibrant characters, Ash Tuesday is a love letter to America's last true bohemia and the people, both dead and living, who keep its heart beating. With her debut, Blayde has carved out a deep and uber-readable interpretation of what it means to live, love, and grieve in New Orleans.

"There's something about New Orleans. Maybe you can trace it to Latin America or the Caribbean or maybe not, maybe you can't define it at all. The divine? The diabolical? I don't know what to call it. But there's magic, here."

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published March 22, 2022

About the author

Ariadne Blayde is a playwright and fiction writer. Her play “The Other Room” won the VSA Playwright Discovery Award and has been produced hundreds of times around the world. Her plays have been shortlisted by Lark Playwright’s Week, The Tennessee Williams Festival, and more, and her fiction has been published in Parhelion Literary Magazine, the Fountain Magazine, and various anthologies. Her story “Shinichi’s Tricycle” won the 2020 Quantum Shorts Competition’s People’s Choice Award. Ariadne moonlights as a ghost tour guide in New Orleans. Her debut novel Ash Tuesday, about the ghosts of New Orleans’ French Quarter and the eccentric outcasts who tell their stories for a living, is available wherever books are sold.

Reviews

[Rachel Konchinsky-Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who for years has been mystified by the rich, murky history of New Orleans, I was eager to digest this character-driven work that deftly captures the extraordinary, otherworldly spirit of the city. Even before I had visited NOLA for the first time, I had been intrigued by the ghost stories I had heard and couldn’t help but clearly envision the settings for these tales – the dark, haunting, intoxicating beauty of the Spanish moss, the bayous and swamps, the sticky summers and the shockingly cold winters. Author Ariadne Blayde brings all these powerful, sumptuous images to life (and then some) in her new novel, ASH TUESDAY.

The novel explores the shared humanity of deeply complex personalities and the mortality we all inevitably must face. Blayde skillfully weaves these heavy themes (and other triggering events the characters encounter) to chronicle the experiences of very different, very real humans set against the backdrop of reverently raucous New Orleans festivities and traditions (including some of the supernatural variety). Blayde has created a truly unique voice for each of the featured characters and easily flits between and among various perspectives to tell this tale. The ghost tour guides and storytellers who convey the story are forced to confront their desires and fears, their career aspirations and proclivity for detachment, their neurodivergence and social dependency, and their sexual and gender-influenced identities. Some seek fame; some crave immortality. Some hide behind their vices; some face the truth head on, no matter the cost. Some see New Orleans as a place of renewal and revitalization; some view the city through the lenses of disillusionment and disappointment as they come to terms with their maturity (or lack thereof). But ultimately, NOLA – where life and death are but a “blurry smudge” – has an enigmatic pull on the characters and the reader alike, and we are all dying to see how the story will end.

Disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Courtney ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second time in a couple of months that I've stumbled upon a book author and thus, of course I have to get the book! I met Ariadne on a recent trip to New Orleans, where she was our ghost tour guide through Haunted History Tours. That tour? A complete 1000000/10, cannot recommend enough. About halfway through, Ariadne mentioned she wrote a fictional book based off of her experiences as a ghost tour guide and her love for the city. I don't know that anyone could have done that tour better–she was such a phenomenal speaker, seamlessly gliding through each story in such a gripping way, yet injecting some much needed humor for the subject matter (I am the biggest wimp when it comes to the spooky things), I had such a strong feeling the book would be amazing. After seeing the high rating on Goodreads, finishing it up this week, I can say that feeling was justified.

Ash Tuesday follows the lives of 11 tour guides of Spirts of Yore Haunted Tours, and weaves together the spooky New Orleans folklore with their backstories. Some of it, definitely a bit slow for me. While Blayde's writing style was great, it took me a while to become invested in each character and what was going on in their life. I really loved hearing the ghost story she calls out in each chapter, following along the with the character's ghost tour. Some were fun to read through, as they were also stories Ariadne told in real life. I got the spooks a couple times as well, and decided this was not a nighttime read for me! By the end, I flew through the last 100 pages or so as the characters stories started mingling and some real drama and conflict builds.

Spooky. Magical. Messy (in the very best way as Blayde intended). Progressive. Many highs. Many lows. But overall, a really lovely tribute to America's last true bohemia.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Orleans has a rich and bloody history, so it’s hardly surprising that its streets and buildings should be full of ghosts. And the author of ‘Ash Tuesday’ has found a wonderful way of telling those stories, along with the stories of an eclectic cast of characters, the ghost tour guides of Spirits of Yore.
It is Mardi Gras, and the city is full of tourists. We follow each of the guides as they give their tours, and then stay with them, learning about their lives, their struggles, their hopes, loves, dreams and pasts. And watching over it all is Kat, whose story is saved for the bittersweet ending.
This is one of the most beautifully crafted books I’ve read, every page, every paragraph a pleasure to read. I didn’t know much about New Orleans, but now I feel as though I know it well, and can see it so clearly from the author’s evocative descriptions – descriptions that never interfere with the narrative but provide a clear sense of time and place, conveying the atmosphere of chilly, eerie nights and bright carnival parades with equal skill.
The characters are brought to life with love and honesty. I adored Veda, and lovely Max, and wished so much for the other guides to understand Angela a bit more. The interactions between them all felt so real.
This is a book that will appeal not just to those who enjoy a good ghost story (although there are plenty of those), or those who are interested in history or in New Orleans. Because this is a novel that is fundamentally about people, their faults and their flaws, their mistakes and their victories, their love (and sometimes their hatred) for each other, and the ways in which we can let the past, and the people in the past, break us, or we can find our own ways forward, with people who love us for who we are.
A wonderful book.

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautifully written with real fully developed characters, thoughtful pontification on life and death, a smattering of the supernatural, a true love letter to New Orleans, and above all ghost tours. What more does one require?

[Dan Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible! I bought it on a whim from Frenchmen Art and Books when visiting New Orleans and am so glad I did. The characters are brilliant and vibrant, and the author's deep love for her home city shines through the narrative in a beautiful way. Highly recommended!

[Gitte Vianen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped half way

[Julia DeLois]

Favorite read in recent memory! New Orleans isn't a city that can be reduced to "a Xth character in the book." In Ash Tuesday, New Orleans is ALL of the characters, because this city lives in everyone who makes a home here. Each of the tour guides at Spirits of Yore Haunted Tours has a piece of her in them, and Ariadne Blayde weaves them all into a dazzling narrative that kept me hooked from start to finish. Reading this book felt like a 3-day distillation of the experience of living in New Orleans: colorful, elusive, filled with longing, in turn ecstatic and agonizing. If you know New Orleans, you'll recognize her here - if you don't, you'll long to, and you'll soon be planning your next trip. If you do make it down here, you don't want to miss Blayde's French Quarter tour. She's as brilliant a storyteller/performer as she is a writer!

[Bob Schnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ash Tuesday" is the debut novel from Ariadne Blayde. It tells the stories of a group of Ghost Tour guides in New Orleans during the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras. The author worked for such a company so I have to figure that the book is somewhat autobiographical. She certainly gets the details right about New Orleans locals who work for the tourist dollar. I have met many similar people in my travels there. Along the way the reader is presented with some of the ghost stories that are part of the tours, half of them I had read before in history books of the city. The book fell apart for me towards the end but I still recommend it to anyone who has ever caught New Orleans fever and likes historical gruesome tales.

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ariadne was my tour guide when I visited New Orleans for the first time and of course had to pick up her book when I found it in a store afterwards. This is not my usual type of read, and I did struggle to get into it at first.

This is a very character-driven story and pretty slow paced. You will be introduced to each of the tour guides at Spirits of Yore, and then each chapter gives a little insight to each of their individual lives.

Each of these characters are messy and complex. Some are lovable, and others not so much. Ariadne writes each of them beautifully.

This book does have a lot of potentially triggering material including: drug and alcohol use/abuse, sexual assault, homophobia, transphobia, and suicide.

[David Swatling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich in atmospheric detail, this beautifully written debut transported me back to a city I love: New Orleans. And if you’re a fan of ghost stories, this book is chock full of them as it follows a ragtag group of misfit ghost tour guides. Their lives intertwine, as does the storied history of the haunted city, where love and loss meet during the days leading up to Mardi Gras.

[Liv Ryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high hopes…
My love of New Orleans was stronger than my dislike of this book, so I managed to finish it. At first I was excited by how much dialogue there was, however it is extremely cringey and not how real people talk. This whole book reeks of 2016 Twitter discourse

It’s also dripping with disdain for tourists, which is interesting coming from a tour guide

[Kaitlyn Foreman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up at Half Priced Books mostly because it looked cool and I loved the gothic cover. It was pretty average. Nothing that stood out to me too much. I did like the ending. The ending was nice but other than that, it was a book. I read it. It kept me entertained at least 🤷‍♀️

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I walked into the Faulkner House bookstore in New Orleans while I was passing through…I asked the employee for a good historical fiction book about the city. Another patron heard my question and recommended this book - she knew the author and thought it was a good New Orleans story. I agree! It wasn’t what I was looking for, but was such a good story!

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who has been to New Orleans can say with confidence that it's packed with characters, rich with stories, and yes-- in so many ways-- haunted by ghosts. ASH TUESDAY, too, is filled to the brim; an ensemble-driven narrative that is firmly tied to the stories the characters (all ghost tour guides) share with their guests. We meet our first protagonist, Kat, in the bar that serves as a home base for these tour guides, and through her eyes are quickly introduced to the rest of the crowd. At first, I found Kat to be a bit of a cipher, but I quickly understood that this was a feature of the ensemble-based nature of the storytelling and the not-really-a-surprise you get later on. I understood her the least, but I see why that might be.

Much of the book is almost unbearably sad (although maybe that's just the mood I was in while reading it?) but it is absolutely vibrant as well. Every time I felt too overcome, a new chapter would begin with a fresh perspective, or the ghost stories would weave in and wrap me up. The pacing is excellent and the characters are rich. Perhaps one of my favorite features, though, is discovering each ghost story, chapter by chapter. I'd heard almost all of them before, but through the voices of these characters, they came to life in new ways.

This is a love letter to New Orleans while also being a tale of loss—which, when it comes down to it, is part of what we love about New Orleans, right? We are able to lose ourselves in the city's stories, divorce from the parts of ourselves that no longer fit, become new selves and parade them down the street on Mardi Gras. This novel is a rich tapestry of stories; you'll fall in love again with this special, haunted city.

Disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Tove Danovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blayde's ASH TUESDAY is a book about the lives of a company of ghost tour guides in New Orleans and the ghosts they each carry with them. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a new character as you get to see them deal with their own private difficulties and struggles. I loved the way Blayde talks about what each character holds dear—cooking and art and parade throws—and their struggles or fears. I found myself worrying about them as though they were real people and Blayde’s care for even her darkest characters comes through in every chapter. Even as the characters live their separate lives, they all return to the same bar nearly every night after work which moves the overall story along and allows the reader to get glimpses of characters we’ve seen intimately from various outside perspectives.

The book itself has a hint of gothic horror and magical realism about it even though it’s set firmly in the present day. The presence of ghosts doesn’t just come through in the retellings of popular New Orleans hauntings but hangs over everything as so many of the characters are stuck in the past or inside themselves. I loved getting to watch this story and a more intimate portrait of New Orleans than outsiders usually get come to life on the page.

Disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Jessica Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, beautifully crafted novel. Insightful look into NOLA. Gorgeous character development. Highly recommend.

[Jennifer deBie]

I received an ARC of Ash Tuesday through Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review. See the full review at https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/ash...

It is the final week of Mardi Gras and the guides of Spirits of Yore ghost tours have a story for you. Walk the crumbling streets, stay on the sidewalks, don’t lean on the buildings, and listen as the history of the French Quarter unfolds through the ghosts who haunt its streets, and the guides who keep their tales alive. Each chapter of Ariadne Blayde’s Ash Tuesday follows a different guide as they struggle with their personal demons, celebrate their small triumphs, and share their favorite ghost stories with the tourists who deign to wander their city for a short spell.

This is a book for lovers of New Orleans, lovers of ghost stories, and lovers of history, but more than that it’s a story for lovers of people. The net of characters, tour guides, acquaintances, sometimes-rivals, frenemies, and lovers that Blayde brings to life are wholly unique, each with their own, rich lives that readers are privileged to see. The good, the bad, the baffling, and the in-between all come to life (or death) between the covers of Ash Tuesday, and the inescapable humanity of it all is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking.

There are dozens of canned phrases to throw around about how spectacular Ash Tuesday is, but at the end of the day the highest praise I can offer is this: I bought a copy of this book for someone I love.

This is a novel worth sharing, and this reviewer can only be grateful that Blayde chose to share it with the world.

[Denise R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Every chapter is a new adventure from the point of view of a different character, and they are all intimate, in-depth, and intriguing. But there's a common thread that ties all the characters together, with an element of mystery that doesn't become clear until the surprise ending. The writing includes some beautifully crafted turns of phrase, and is also unexpectedly funny at times. It explores the full range of human experience from the light-hearted to the gut-wrenching. Sometimes you will laugh out loud, and sometimes you will get teary-eyed. Ash Tuesday also offers a close-up, insider's view of New Orleans that makes you feel much more connected to the city and its culture and history; this book is an excellent study of place, far deeper than the shallow, touristy stereotypes of NOLA. Ash Tuesday seamlessly weaves together folklore, history, and compelling characters. Highly recommended. Disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A supremely engaging character-driven ensemble drama with the great city of New Orleans in a starring role. Blayde's writing sublimely textured dialogue and character development feels like a warm hug! I really like the way the book is structured, it's like walking around a party and hearing everyone tell the same story from a slightly different perspective. A little like "Rashomon," but doesn't feel worn out the way that device sometimes does. The pacing is excellent, I found myself practically racing through the chapters with ease. These characters are all so real, you feel very much like you've already met them. Easy five stars!

Disclosure: I received a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Ann Straight · Rating 5 out of 5]

The City of the Living and the City of the Dead. It sits at the mouth of the Mississippi. People try to heal in New Orleans and people try to escape their pains. Not all locals are alcoholics and drug users, yet it is common in a city of hard living. This book is extremely dark, full of ghost lore but also friendships.
So many triggers, please be warned.
This book touches on so many horrifying topics, like rape, murder, suicide, child abuse... It also embraces friendship, self acceptance, love and the darkest moments in some people's souls.

Like for any city, the story of a few, don't tell the story of most. New Orleans metro is home to healthy, loving families and adults walking on solid ground... yet it is easy to find characters like those within these pages. Those in the quick sand perhaps. Don't draw conclusions please.

This whole book is truthful but only a small portion of the truth of what it means to live in New Orleans.

[Holly Rantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite literally the best, most refreshing book I have read in awhile! The characters were so real, and the POV of each chapter fully immersed me into the story. I really can’t praise this book enough. As someone who was born and raised in NOLA and even suffered through Katrina as a child, it was so good to see a book that didn’t use the frustrating, tourist-y stereotypes. Of course the book addressed them, but in a funny, real way. I hope Ms. Blayne continues to write! She is so talented!

[Beth Reniff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much I breezed right through it! I really showed the quirkiness and humanity of New Orleans residents. I felt like I know or have known each of the characters at some point while living in New Orleans. It also perfectly encapsulates how New Orleans, while full of fun and light, also has a dark side. Loved it.

[Jacob Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this excellent novel through a tour guide in the French Quarter of New Orleans--it was the author herself! Ms. Blayde moonlights as a tour guide through Quarter, and during the one I was on she informed the group that she (like me) was a published writer. When I got home I ordered the book, curious to read about the fictional story she'd told, one centered around a group of tour guides in the French Quarter.

I could tell she knew her subject material well. As she should, she does it for a living. I particularly enjoyed the setting, and learning more of the backstory to some of the ghost stories she told during my tour. This being her first published novel, I was impressed at the quality of the writing itself. I tend to not judge too harshly someone's first published long work--writers almost always improve over time. That said, the minor issues I had with the book really aren't worth mentioning, as none of them took away from the reading experience. I got a deep sense of the characters, and especially liked James, one of the cheekier folk in the story. Other aspects I enjoyed were the dialogue, although some of it tended to go on a bit longer than I felt was necessary. Don't let that deter you from picking this book up, though, as the story of this group of tour guides, all who seem to live on the edge of society, is thoroughly engaging.

The author clearly paid homage to the LGBTQ community, as they play a heavy presence throughout the book. A good thing. I liken it to authors of prior eras who dared to include other minority groups in their stories in significant ways. No throwaway, cardboard queer characters here just to check that off the list. I did find that some of the love scenes could have been drawn out a bit and not made to be so disposable, but again this was a minor issue and not one that detracted from my overall opinion of the story itself.

If you like New Orleans, the spooky history behind it, and a good, solidly-written story, definitely give this book a read. It's far better than a half dozen so-so novels I've read recently, ones that due to their publisher heavily marketing them somehow received thousands of reviews. It's the business, I suppose.

If you like twists, the one at the end of this book did me for a loop--I truly didn't see it coming, and impressed me greatly with how the author pulled it off. Bravo. And if visiting the French Quarter, look up Ms. Blayde on her website for tour information. Turns out, besides being a great writer, she gives a killer tour.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re remotely interested in New Orleans and its haunted lore, I highly recommend this superbly-written novel, Ash Tuesday by Ariadne Blayde, which is all about a close-knit group of ghost tour guides in New Orleans's French Quarter who hang out at their own lugubrious version of Central Perk, called the Quarter Rathskeller (the "Quarter Rat" for short, which they've also incorporated as their nickname).

About a year ago, my partner and I took a New Orleans ghost tour that Ariadne led (which was SPECTACULAR), and she mentioned at the end of the tour that she’d written a novel that was just recently published. Now, when someone you don’t know tells you they’ve published a novel, I think it’s fair to question whether it will be any good, but given the high quality of the tour I thought it was worth the risk to give it a try.

Well, let me tell you — this novel wasn’t just good, it’s the kind of book I immediately want to tell all my friends about, especially the ones who are from (or are frequent visitors to) New Orleans. If folks I know are traveling there, I will tell them to read this book (and Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice) for a taste of the city.

What Ariadne does so well is to describe the central group of tour guides who are the beating heart of this novel, crawling chameleonlike into each one's skin — and managing to build the connections amongst this band of colleagues with skill and subtlety. For a novel with this many prominent characters it’s no small feat that after the first chapter I already had a firm grasp of who each was and how they related to one another — relationships which did, of course, deepen and change over the course of the book.

Though at first the novel seems like it may be a series of individual stories (sort of a novel version of the first season of Orange is the New Black, structurally), as the novel goes on the story slowly builds and reveals itself as more complex and interwoven, with some surprises along the way. There were moments as I was reading when I was in awe of Ariadne's writing, especially when one of the tour guides, Ruby, goes to a nightclub and experiences the sights and sounds there.

Really, I can’t recommend enough that you pick up a copy of this book. It’s a shame that Blayde’s novel hasn’t gotten more exposure, because I truly believe if this book got out there widely as a quintessential New Orleans novel, it could be considered at the very least a local modern classic.

[András · Rating 5 out of 5]

I visited New Orleans this summer - in the hottest season, when not just the bayou but the streets of the French Quarter felt like a swamp. It had been a long dream of mine to cross the ocean and get to know this fascinating corner of the US.
I was of course, a tourist. A tourist having read stories, wandering the streets full of other visitors, music, light, alcohol, and tour guides - some dressed up, some passionately telling stories.
It was on Frenchmen Street (which I'd been told was more authentic than Bourbon Street) where I bumped into a book shop that was opened at night, and where I found Ariadne Blayde's book. "Local Author", the sticker said, and as I value authenticity above all else, I picked it up.
And what a book it was.
Having finished it, I see this was an extremely personal story. Both to the author who lives and breathes with the city and her storytellers, but also to anyone from any corner of the world who is on their road to heal.
It is very hard to describe what the book is about: it doesn't have a linear plot. There are no protagonists or antagonists, no conflicts to resolve. But there is an immense, beating heart.
The characters of Ash Tuesday are broken people. Damaged, but not beyond repair. They connect to the city by the stories they tell to tourists who move on the next day while they stay. They connect to each other by their wounds. Do they like each other in the traditional sense of the word? I doubt. But are they bound together? Very much.
Blayde has a very deep understanding of the human soul. In such a short book she managed to flesh out her characters in the sense that I was sad to let them go at the end. Not even well-published authors manage to achieve this. She also has a tight connection to New Orleans - which is a place to hide, to survive, to heal and strive, as demonstrated in her book. The whole story oozes authenticity.
Ariadne Blayde has a very strong voice, but she is not preachy. Yes, there is a "twist" in the story which she had been building up to, but which was obvious in the first few pages. But, I think this was intentional. The line between the living and dead is blurred anyways, isn't it?

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it veered into "hokey" territory occasionally, the author has real talent. I say this because I rarely enjoy recent fiction. It reminded me a little of a mashup of the vampire novels of Ann Rice and City of Night [and maybe Easy Rider because of the mention of Kyrie Eleison... though not the Electric Prunes version]. Anyway, the author really captured the indefinable thing that makes New Orleans special.

The story is set during a few unseasonably cold days leading up to Mardi Gras. The author herself had a job leading ghost tours in the quarter so I imagine she knows what she is talking about. All the tour guides at the agency meet nightly to compare notes and drink. They are a motley assortment of people -- mostly youngish Millennials -- each with a backstory

Each character has their own chapter explaining what brought them to the city (if they were not born there) as well as a recitation of their favorite ghost stories, which are all based on historical facts. Most of this was new to me, although I was reminded of the Axe Man serial killer and the fact that the first Spanish Governor of Louisiana was named "O'Reilly" (which got my attention at the NOLA History museum).

It sure made me want to go back and I was just there.

[Jill R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book in New Orleans in late March. On our last night in the city, after watching tour groups stop at a building literally just a couple of blocks down from our hotel, we decided we needed to experience our first haunted history/ghost tour. Ariadne was our guide for the evening. We really enjoyed the tour and Ariadne's storytelling. When she shared that she had written a novel about a group of New Orleans tour guides, I knew I needed to read it. I picked up a signed copy at Crescent City books before we headed back home.

I really enjoyed this book. If you like a book that is well-written, character-driven, has some supernatural and historical fiction elements, and you feel the tug of New Orleans, Ash Tuesday is for you.

The story opens with an introduction to the cast of characters, the tour guides who meet after work in the courtyard of a bar nicknamed The Quarter Rat. Each succeeding chapter goes into depth into the character's story. Each chapter depicts them leading a tour, so readers get to experience a variety of uniquely told New Orleans haunted history tales.

At first it was challenging for me to see where the story was going, but as I kept reading I understood how Ariadne plotted and structured the novel, and I was impressed with how she did this. The characters were portrayed in such depth, and I cared deeply for several of them. There's a twist or two that I may or may not have anticipated, and it kept me reading. I don't typically write spoilers, so I won't here, either. Suffice it to say that I was really satisfied with how it all tied together at the end, for each of the characters.

This was not an easy book to get through at times. Some scenes are raw and brutal. It's probably not for everyone. For me, I'm glad that I got to spend some time with the Guides of the Spirits of Yore (most of them, anyway), and I felt a little sad when I closed the book.

[Spike Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a random Sunday night in July, my teenage son and I decided to take a ghost tour while in New Orleans. I guess it was a slow night, for it was just the two of us, and our tour guide, Ariadne. The tour was excellent, and she dazzled us with tales of New Orleans history, and her many dead. In passing, she mentioned that she was a writer. And so I bought this book, even though I barely ever delve into this genre. It was excellent. Very deep character development, a wide range of subjects, all of whom are tour guides for the French quarter tour company. Each one has issues, and both angels and demons to wrestle with. She adds just a hint of the supernatural to the narrative, which balances the reader on the precipice between history and fantasy, the living and the departed. Her writing is very good. These days, if a book does not keep my attention, I put it down forever (without regret). This book was entertaining, I probably learned something about a city that continues to fascinate me, and I would recommend it to you.

[Roxy Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel that reads like a series of memoirs, each taking place from the perspective of a different person, Ash Tuesday scratches my itch for character depth in a way that nothing else I’ve ever read has. It’s dark but bright, morose but sentimental, loveable but despicable. And it’s nothing if not powerful, informative, and revealing to the core.

In order to write such a work of ‘fiction’, Ariadne Blayde clearly has an understanding of human nature that puts her in a rare league. She gets all sides, and tells the story from every single direction.

Heavy plot fans may not be interested in this ‘slice of life’ style viewing window into the world of ten-or-so characters who are all too real. But for those of us who want to understand, sample, and dwell on the nature of the human experience, this astounding debut should not be missed.

According to my usual scale of 1 to 5, this deserves a 10. I give it the very highest rating I can give.

[Jerry MeCaskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel. I’ve reread it, and reread sections of it several times. I’ve highlighted well-written passages, as well as those telling tales that make up the history of NOLA.

Set in New Orleans, Ash Tuesday draws upon the lives of living tour guides—and more ethereal residents of The Crescent City.

This novel does not shy away from life’s difficulties, and yet remains hopeful. LGBTQIA+folks are present, and those characters are fully rendered. This novel is peopled with characters who are valued for who they are as unique individuals, and not for their conformity to suburban, rural notions that lack reality.

If you want to learn about haunted and suspenseful history set in New Orleans, this book is for you. I found it a pleasure to read, and the author ends her tale in a way I found to be satisfying.

My only complaint is my missing these characters I was led to love. Five stars!