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Title: Just 'Cause It Involves Sex and New Orleans Doesn't Mean It's A Winner
Review: I confess that I have been reading a number of books on "landladies" (according to this book, and notwithstanding its title, only squares use the term "madam") and this one had all the ingredients: politics, the Big Easy, and a singular central character. Unfortunately, Wiltz's prose is at best workmanlike. Other than Norma Wallace, the title character, none of the prostitutes and none of the johns (or Wallace's husbands) are rendered in sufficiently distinct terms to tell them apart. Also, Wiltz references a phone book of political figures and corrupt cops, but doesn't provide any analysis of Wallace's connection to them, nor why Wallace flourished while others went to jail. Admittedly, there are a number of wonderful and picaresque snippets in Last Madam to put a grin on your face, but perhaps the fact that Wiltz never got to interview Wallace makes the treatment at best a mere scratching of the surface.
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