One of the slower Burke novels. I never completely got into it and felt it dragged on far too long. Still it is a Burke novel which means it is better than most things out there. ( )

Classic South Louisiana police procedural with all the grime expected. ( )

I am reading the older novels of Mr. Burke. I am fascinated with his writing and his characters. Max Coll and Junior Crudup are two I'll not forget soon. As always I am impressed with the scenic descriptions and the obvious love/hate relationship Dave has with Louisiana; love for what once was and hate for what is now. ( )

James Lee Burke tells a good story. His protagonists are flawed and the bad guys are really bad. It may not be great literature but it holds my interest. I have never been to Louisiana where most of his mysteries are set in Cajun Bayou Country but his descriptions of the people, the culture, the land and the food really make me want to go there. This story had one particularly bad character, a former Irish Republican Army member who reinvented himself as a paid hitman. As always in Burke mysteries the protagonist, Dave Robicheaux, New Iberia LA Sheriffs Detective gets shot at and beaten up a few times before he solves the crime. And as always he offends nearly everyone before he is done.
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Burke is wonderful writer ... but I find myself often wishing his heroes - Clete and Dave in this series - get killed by the bad guys. Honestly his violence and language are always over the top. Too many characters, plots too complicated, and too long. ( )