This is the 4th in the Robicheaux series and they just get better with each one. Burke has a style of writing all of his own - he is an exceptional writer.

Back Cover Blurb:
A routine assignment transporting two death-row prisoners to their executions goes fatally wrong, leaving Dave Robicheaux brutally wounded and his partner dead.
Obsessed with revenge, Dave is persuaded by the DEA to go undercover into the torrid depths of New Orleans, a volatile world of Mafia drug-running and Cajun voodoo magic. He becomes irrevocably snarled into the nightmarish web surrounding Mafia don Tony Cardo and must pit himself against his own worst fears in order to survive. ( )

This is the fourth book in the Dave Robicheaux series. It is a straight forward detective mystery with with Burke's patented suspenseful ending. The ending also has an interesting surprise that I will not spoil for anyone.
The book begins with Robicheaux and Lester Benoit, detectives with the New Iberia Sheriff's Department, transporting two prisoners, Jimmie Lee Boggs and Tee Beau Latiolas, to Angola. There is a breakout and Robicheaux is shot and only survives through the actions of one of the prisoners. After three months in the hospital Robicheaux is recruited to work undercover for the DEA. Jimmie Lee Boggs is a hit man who becomes part of the story until the end. Tee Beau was convicted of the murder of Hipolyte Broussard. Both had been sentenced to death in the electric chair before their escape. Tee Beau becomes a major character and his story sheds some interesting insight on race relations in Louisiana.
Burke must have worked overtime coming up with the great collection of names in this book, besides Tee Beau there is his Tante Lemon, Gros Mama Goula and Robicheaux's DEA contact who is an agent named Minos Dautrieve.
Tony Cardo is the target of the undercover operation. While trying to bust him Robicheaux gets pretty close to Tony "C". They were both in Vietnam and both have addiction problems. Cardo has a lot of layers to his character which include taking excellent care of a physically challenged son and reading Harper's magazine. Working undercover Robicheaux ends up living at Cardo's house and they also spend some time in jail together.
While Robicheaux is playing dope dealer and trying to set up a score he gets a note from Bootsie, his girlfriend from 1957. She is now Bootsie Giacano the widow of a mobster in the vending machine business with New Orleans gangsters. If you have read later Robicheaux novels you know what happens.
Cletus Purcel is in the story as the owner of a bar and during the shooting Robicheaux is very glad that Cletus is around.
Doing undercover work and the aftermath of his shooting bring Robicheaux a lot of bad dreams and are the topics of his internal monologue that is familiar to readers of this series. The end of the book is fast paced action with just a little pinch of they all lived happily ever after.
The Tin Roof Blowdown is still my favorite book in the Robicheaux series. This book is well written, fast paced and entertaining but does not have as much depth in the characters as Burke's later novels in the series. An excellent writer Burke has improved with practice.

This is a very good series. Not the strongest through the middle, but the ending is essential to the series. ( )

I'm sure I missed some things when I started this one because it's book four in a series. Dave Robicheaux is a cop, badly wounded by a prisoner transport that goes badly wrong,killing his partner. An opportunity to get revenge on the man who almost killed him arives when the DEA offer him a chance to go undercover in New Orleans.

Twists and turns in this one produce an interesting read ( )

Certainly the best of the three Dave Robicheaux novels. Well, it made sense! But of course, awfully male.