Christi Keating Sumich holds a PhD in history from Tulane University and a MA in English. Her research field is seventeenth-century disease and healing.

Christi’s writing combines her fascination with history with her love of the mystery genre. Her debut novel, Lafitte Lives (2026), is a historical mystery centered on her ancestor, the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte. She is also the author of the Old New Orleans Bookshop Series, mysteries featuring characters from Lafitte Lives. The Swamp Ghost is the first book in the series (2026).

Christi lives just outside New Orleans with her husband and too many pets, as she has a soft spot for “unconventionally attractive” animals who need homes. She is the mother of three grown children (plus a daughter-in-law). Her claim to fame is being the winningest contestant on Hollywood Squares.

Christi is part of a writing team with her mother, Sharon Keating. They are the co-authors of Hauntingly Good Spirits: New Orleans Cocktails to Die For (2024) and The Brandy Milk Punch (2025), part of the Iconic New Orleans Cocktail Series. Together, they write Madame Peychaud’s Peculiar Pieces, a culinary paranormal cozy mystery series set in New Orleans.

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