I really enjoyed this installment. The conversations with the confederate general were a lot of fun. Good stuff. ( )

This is number 6 in the Dave Robicheaux series and is a very good mystery thriller. The Confederacy and the supernatural are more prominent in this book than in any others I have read by James Lee Burke. General John Bell Hood, or his ghost, makes multiple appearances in the story. One point of historical accuracy. Hood started the Civil War as the leader of the Texas brigade which was infantry not cavalry as stated in the book. That aside.
The book begins with the brutal murder of a beautiful young prostitute who it is revealed later had connections with one of the primary villains Julie (Baby Feet) Balboni. In Robicheaux's youth Feet was the catcher on the high school baseball team where Robicheaux was a pitcher. The interaction between Balboni and Robicheaux is one of the main story lines of the book. Balboni has moved back to New Iberia where a movie he is backing is being made. Balboni is a prime suspect for the murder along with Michael Ducet who provides security for the movie. Ducet is also a suspect for a murder Robicheaux witnessed at 19 of a black man who was in chains.
The sheriff calls for the FBI who shows up in the person of a Rosie Gomez who becomes Robicheaux's strong ally. There is an incident from Rosie's past that becomes a prominent part of the story. Then another murder occurs matching the pattern of the first and now the search is on for a serial killer.
Burke keeps the action moving and Robicheaux provides the narration. It is Robicheaux's inner dialogue that separates this series from a straight forward who done it. The last 75 pages turn very quickly as the stakes are raised with the kidnapping of Alafair, Robicheax's adopted daughter.
I enjoyed the book but it does not show the depth of The Tin Roof Blowdown, the most recent book in the series. Except for Rosie the female characters, especially Robicheaux's wife Bootsie, are very shallow. It shows that Burke is a good author who has improved his craft as he goes along. ( )

This is one of my ultra favorite novels featuring Dave Robicheaux. The plot may seem far-fetched and out there, but Burke's writing is so descriptive and emotional that the paranormal events happening seem like normal, everyday occurrences in South Louisiana.

I did a lot of travelling to South Louisiana a few years ago. I've been to New Iberia, Houma, Lockport, Golden Meadow and Thibodeaux. I've travelled as far down as Grand Isle, Louisiana, and there is something ghostly and beautiful about the swamps, Spanish moss, and most importantly about the people who live there. I can almost believe that the Confederate dead walk out of the mists to leave ominous messages before disappearing back into the unknown. So this book was a delight to me. Coming from a place in South Mississippi that was undeveloped and untouched by war during the Civil War (although Jones County, the only county in MS that remained in the Union is a mere hour away), the Civil War takes almost mythical proportions inside my head. ( )

An entertaining enough book but to my taste rather overwritten; it could have used far fewer descriptions of the colour of the sky, for instance. Also, the ending was a bit Republican. But it did make me wish I could find some boudin or a po' boy sandwich in Sydney. ( )

Another good Robicheaux novel. The ending was rushed but the build up was a page turner. Some Stephen King-esque ghosts of Confederate solders haunt Dave Robicheaux in his dreams as he attempts to two some gruesome murders and deal with the New Orleans mob. ( )