The Doctor, Fitz and Anji arrive in New Orleans in 2003, a mere 4,624 miles and 2 years from Anji's home. Rather than hop a quick transatlantic flight back to London and a whole host of emotions she's not quite ready to deal with yet, she and Fitz help the Doctor solve mystery surrounding the strange night terror the Doctor suffered that drew them to New Orleans in the first place, meeting charming Southern cops, water nymphs trapped in human form, and an ethically challenged magician in the process.
Tropes present in City of the Dead include:
- Abhorrent Admirer: The Ackrees toward the Doctor
- Ambiguously Human: Mrs. Flood. Turns out she's a water nymph trapped by Vern Flood in an abusive marriage, and thus in human form.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Anji berates Fitz for smoking all the time, ostensibly because the second hand smoke bothers her; she confesses to Fitz she hates his smoking because she worries he'll get sick
- The Big Easy: This book is set in New Orleans
- Cartwright Curse: Not Fitz for once. This happens to Anji more than one might suspect...
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Dupree seems inordinately fond of this (as does Lloyd Rose)
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: The ritual Rust survived as a child.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Rust. The Doctor observes that it seems to be a common side-effect of dark magic.
