A review by vkemp
Robicheaux by James Lee Burke

5.0

James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux books are such a satisfying read. His ability to create the bayous of Louisiana knows no bounds. His evocation of the South and The Lost Cause is masterful. In this tale, Dave is still working for the sheriff's office; his beloved wife, Molly, has been killed in a car accident, and we see Dave slip from his sobriety back into the hellscape of alcoholism. When the man suspected of killing Molly turns up dead, it turns out Dave was in a blackout and remembers nothing. The new detective in the office is suspected of being a little too much in the pockets of the local mob guys. And, Dave's friends, Jimmy Nightingale and Levon Broussard, are having a lot of difficulties as well. Clete Purcel has his own problems to deal with; he is fostering a little boy whose father he may or may not have killed and dating the social worker who in in charge of Homer. Alafair Burke comes home to see her father and ends up writing a screenplay for a movie based on a novel written by Levon Broussard. A lot of threads to tie together, but as always, Burke manages to keep the story moving with his elegant writing. Always recommended.