'Death Over A Diamond Stud' author at library

“Death Over a Diamond Stud: The Assassination of the Orleans Parish District Attorney” author Chris Pena will be at the Allain Branch Library in Franklin May 16 at 6 p.m.
The book was released in November, 2018 and is the second of a trilogy of famous, yet little known, murders that occurred in New Orleans during the late 19th and early 20th century. Pena’s first book, “The Strange Case of Dr. Etienne Deschamps,” was released in February, 2017.
According to the publisher, “The gripping true story of the first judicial murder of the 20th century is delivered in stunning detail, from the crooks and crevices of the city streets and courthouses, to the very fibers of the hangman’s noose.”
The story revolves around the murder of District Attorney J. Ward Gurley shortly after his election, a brutal and brazen killing that shocked New Orleans. Accused was Lewis Lyons, a working man who became a cold-blooded killer “that begins with a tragic miscarriage of justice concerning a stolen diamond stud.”