Very good installment. Good ol Clete Purcel. Good analysis of crime culture. Does not allow the whole thing to turn into a sort of dualism. ( )

This book is number seven in the Dave Robicheaux series. It is a well written and fast paced mystery in what is becoming one of my favorite series.
The story centers around a German U-boat sunk a short way out in the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi river. That area was a busy shipping lane and a hunting ground for the U-boats in WW II. As a teenager Robicheaux had seen the remains of a sunken merchantman. Later while scuba diving in college he came across one of the U-boats that had been sunk in that area.
Finding the U-boat again becomes important after a cop from NOPD hangs a murder case on Batist. After the charges are dismissed Robicheaux is $11,000.00 in debt. The cop, Nate Baxter, really hates Robicheaux from Robicheaux's days on the New Orleans PD. A mobster named Hippo Bimstine, his nickname comes from his girth, is willing to pay Robicheaux big bucks to locate the sunken boat. Bimstine is also an active member of the Jewish Defense League. This begins a story populated by local mobsters, NOPD officers and a white supremacist named Will Buchalter. Besides Bimstine the mobsters include Tommy Lonighan who grew up in New Orleans with Bimstine and is a competitor in the gambling business. The Calucci brothers are all purpose slime balls who are the victims of some creative acts of destruction courtesy of Clete Purcel. Brother Oswald Flat provides some local color and philosophical observations.
The murder that Batist was accused of turns out to be part of a series of unusually violent and grotesque killings involving inner city drug dealers. Those killings are another ongoing plot line in the book. While working on the case Robicheaux meets Sergeant Lucinda Bergeron a black woman detective for NOPD who is also on Nate Baxter's s**t list. Lucinda Bergeron has a 17 year old son named Zoot who is befriended by Robicheaux.
The prime bad guy is Will Buchalter who enters the story by performing a sexual assault on Bootsie. After that incident Buchalter haunts the Robicheaux family. Bootsie turns to alcohol and pills to numb her fear and Dave can only watch. Buchalter is a sadistic psychopath who wants the information Dave has on the U-boat. The violent struggle between them is the emotional center of the book. During her troubles Bootsie gets to know a nun named Marie Guilbeaux who remains in the story to the end.
Having introduced the characters and the story lines I don't really want to give away much more. The twists and turns in the story are artfully done and keep the story moving at a fast pace.
One of Burke's hallmarks and a strength of his writing is his vivid description of physical background in each scene which makes them more vivid and realistic. The flora and fauna are carefully named and described. Often there is one animal, such as a gar fish, that reappears in successive scenes. In this book it is sting rays, one gets stuck on Batist's hook and then they are seen seen in the waves and swimming in the ocean. He also gives historical descriptions of buildings that are a backdrop to the action. The weather is carefully described and I can guarantee a number of colorful lightning flashes.
The ongoing inner dialog of Dave Robicheaux brings humanity to the story. The attention to the background and Robicheaux's ongoing moral dialog give Burke's books depth that is not often present in many mysteries that are plot driven.
Burke's writing is at his best in this book. He switches back and forth amongst the different plot lines and the characters constantly grow and change. The last 50 to 75 pages accelerate the action in the rush to the end.
James Lee Burke provides a well written thoughtful story with great depth. He always holds my interest and his characters and background add to the enjoyment of the book. ( )

Dave Robicheaux takes on some Nazis in what is not his best but still is another page turner by Burke. Reading this one there were some obvious gaps in logic by some of the characters. A beautiful nun? Where was Batiste the whole time and other. But, still a good Robicheaux novel with action and well written descriptive paragraphs. ( )

I highly enjoyed this book. Between its setting in the jazz city of New Orleans and the washing up of a submarine the action is intense at times while reflective at others. It is a quirky kind of book, but I would definitely read it again. ( )