Mark Hammer excellent narrator for audiobook

Good read. Aaron Crown is an interesting criminal character. ( )

Another well-written, though not perfect, Dave Robicheaux novel. The usual great sense of place by Burke makes his descriptions of southern Louisiana worth the read alone. The ultra-malevolent almost super-human bad guy is once again part of the story and once again I fret over the safety of Dave's family. Looking forward to the next one. ( )

James Lee Burke lives up to his high standards in this suspenseful story. This book is distinctive for the number of villains that run a broad range of psychological deviancy. I don't think I have ever encountered a prostitution boss who is shunned by his cohorts in crime because of frequent outbursts of profanity caused by Tourette's syndrome. He also has psychic powers that give him knowledge of the dead.
Buford LaRose is a former LSU football player turned professor who is running for Governor with financial help from organized crime figures, a more common adversary for Robicheaux. Buford's wife Karyn had a brief romance with Dave in the past and is suitably vicious as the woman scorned.
Aaron Crown on the surface is a former member of the KKK who was convicted of a racial murder by LaRose. He is a northern Louisiana peckerwood with an unusually offensive body odor. He escapes from Angola prison and his quest for revenge is one of the major plot lines of the book. The past of his daughter Sabelle, a prostitute, ties together some of the leading characters in a fashion that would do Shakespeare proud.
Jimmy Ray Dixon, the brother of the slain civil rights leader, wears a hook for a hand, courtesy of the Vietnam war. His activities, including his connection with Sabelle, provide a twist in the ending that must be kept secret.
The psychopathic sadists are represented by Mookie Zerranga whose past also provides another now you know them now you don't element to the ending.
As you can gather the ending is suspenseful and surprising in fine Robicheaux fashion.
Dave Robicheaux as always is trying to solve the case with too little information and berating himself for his human frailties. The sheriff provides a steady hand throughout the story adding insight when Robicheaux will listen.
I found the combination of bizarre villains and the multiple surprises at the end takes this book out of the realm of pulp fiction into the arena of well written literature. This step up is aided by Burke's almost poetic descriptions of scenery and his constant use of the past of New Iberia the present events. ( )

Racially motivated murder; mob bosses, corrupt governor. ( )