The Hadacol Boogie

Dave Robicheaux #25

by James Lee Burke

Dave Robicheaux, James Lee Burke’s iconic detective, returns to investigate the death of an unidentified woman, pulling him into a vortex of corruption and violence in the Louisiana bayou

When a cloaked, disfigured man leaves a dead woman in a garbage bag on Dave Robicheaux’s property, he knows his world and family are about to change.

With Valerie Benoit, a detective new to the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Department who is grappling with sexist and racist harassment from their colleagues, and the volatile but fiercely loyal Clete Purcel, Dave embarks on an investigation that brings him into the most dangerous moments of his career and threatens the lives of Valerie and his daughter Alafair.

He encounters a local handyman who leaves cryptic notes and warns of the ghosts who roam the shores of the bayou and is targeted by a vicious New Orleans button man and gangsters from the north.

Through brilliant prose and a quintessential cast of characters, James Lee Burke weaves a portrait of a gritty, violent Louisiana at the turn of the 20th century. Visceral, atmospheric, and wholly original, The Hadacol Boogie brings to life Dave Robicheaux’s fierce determination to confront evil both past and present.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Crime

400 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication February 10, 2026

About the author

James Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for Black Cherry Blues in 1990 and Cimarron Rose in 1998.

Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.

Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.

The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.

Reviews

[Andrew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Robicheaux and his close buddy Clete Purcell are my favourite literary characters. Bar none. This is JLB’s twenty-fifth book featuring the pair and whatever you think of their adventures, I believe everyone who has read these stories will concur that there’s never a dull moment. This latest episode takes us back in time to the dying embers of the 20th Century. Dave is a cop in New Iberia, Louisiana, and Clete runs a private investigation business, his office close to Dave’s ‘shotgun’ house on the banks of Bayou Teche. The pair are honoured Vietnam veterans and had at one point been partners in the New Orleans Police Department (The Bobbsey Twins from Homicide).

Late one night, a strange man is spotted dragging a bag onto Dave’s property. Everything about this act is sinister, from the appearance of the man (odd marks on his face, sticks in his hair) to the contents of the package itself: the nude body of a woman with piano wire wrapped around her neck. The unidentified man has sloped away in the darkness of the night and is nowhere to be found. Dave and his new partner, an attractive female rookie, are charged with investigating the case.

As always with this writer, the descriptions of people and places are vivid. Much of the action is to unfold in and around the Atchafalaya Basin, the biggest swamp in the USA. The impression is given that the whole of this area, in Southwest Louisiana, is populated by a collection of lawless, crank ridden renegades who live free from rules and authority. One such man is Jerry Carlucci, who runs a bar and hot pillow joint south of Morgan City. Dave has known Jerry since they were young boxers, training partners, and rivals, both hoping to win a prestigious amateur championship.

At first, the investigation progresses slowly with few clues as to the identity of the deceased girl or any real leads on why she was killed or at whose hands. Gradually, more characters are introduced: a strange wondering handyman (who might actually be a spirit), a grim killer for hire who has recently had a run-in with Clete, and an organised crime boss from New Jersey, complete with his crew. The interactions Dave and Clete have with these people are described as only JLB can. Some lines hit you like a slap, whilst at other times they induce a wry smile or sometimes even a belly laugh. These encounters are usually tense affairs, the words raw, the air filled with a menacing undercurrent.

In the background, there are constant references to the State’s history, be that the Civil War, executions of dubious probity, or misdeeds carried out by violent men, racists and bigots of every stripe. But, in tandem, there’s also Dave’s clear longing for what he believes to have been the good times when he was growing up in his beloved Louisiana. It was a place he believed offered refuge for the likes of him. Now, he continues to visit establishments that have been active in New Iberia for generations and listens to old recordings by the likes of the yodelling blues singer Jimmie Rogers and Cajun music fiddler Harry Choates. How he wishes he could turn back time.

The denouement, when it comes, is a protracted and violent affair – almost apocalyptic in its scale and intensity. Amid the cacophony it’s possible that some events are partially imagined. But you know that good will finally overcome evil. Such is the way with these stories. I was left with a feeling that I’d spent the last hour in a washing machine tumbler, my mind struggling to make sense of what I’d just read. But I was also in awe of what I’d describe as another truly outstanding episode in this series. Is it the best book yet? That’s a tough call, but I believe it really does demonstrate that octogenarian Burke continues to write at the absolute peak of his powers.

My thanks to Grove Atlantic for providing a cop of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Ryan Davison · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Cormac McCarthy wrote a murder mystery set on Louisiana landscapes painted by Salvador Dali, it might approach The Hadacol Boogie.

A man in a black coat with ‘sticks in his hair’ drags a large bag through a field in the rain. The bag contains the body of a woman with a guitar string wrapped around her neck and flower tattoos on her breasts. So begins an intensely violent, symbolic, and introspective investigation that tests the sanity of Dave Robicheaux and threatens the safety of his friends and family.

Burke tells a story through his famous protagonist's perspective, and it's a damn good one, but he also speaks to the reader. When Robicheaux says, “I’ve had many loses in my life, as I’m sure you have. And I’m also sure you faced them with courage and the ability to bear a terrible burden without transferring your pain to others," the fourth wall faintly cracks with respect for the person turning the page. This author writes with purpose and his characters carry a soulful longing with them through the story. Violence is intense and fighting is an expression of being. Burke reflects upon our place in the universe, and then with a few well placed words, remind us why a character is important to a scene.

This is intelligent, detective fiction, bordering on literary-adventure. The Hadacol Boogie is set in the early 2000’s, and looks to the new century with all the concern hindsight allows. An evil man returning to Kremlin, indifference to a melting Arctic, rising oceans, war in the Middle East, our story is on set on a small stage in Louisiana, but considers the larger arena of a rapidly changing world. And two cowboy cops that can’t keep up with it. Unique storytelling from an author in his 80's still tilling soil for new ground. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss, and Grove Atlantic | Atlantic Crime for a review copy.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Robicheaux is one of the literary world’s iconic heroes. In this new addition to his Louisiana series, James Lee Burke digs deeply into the corrupted underbelly of the Big Easy’s illegal layers, and with stunning writing does the same with his characters.

Dave is not going to let the body of a young woman dumped in his own back yard go until he learns who she is and why she was killed. This may be the premise of the story but how the author explores the demons that run through Dave Robicheaux soul is the real message here. I have never read words so descriptive or revealing as these written by Mr. Burke. Even his expressive and illuminating passages about Louisiana herself left me wanting to visit.

The ending…..well, you will have to read the book. Please add this one to your to read list for next year!

[Matt Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detective fiction meets literary fiction — or as a sceptical mate of mine once said when I browbeat him into reading some James Lee Burke:
“I thought all crime thrillers were pulp filth, but this guy is as good as Steinbeck.”
Hadacol was an alcoholic beverage marketed as medicine in Louisiana during the 1940s. It purported to increase appetite and promote growth, with handy sidelines in curing diabetes, paralysis, and rheumatism. In truth, it was mostly 12% alcohol — a legal option for those ‘jonesing’ for a drink in dry counties.
Burke uses Hadacol as a symbol of the danger inherent in reimagining flawed personal and societal pasts through nostalgia bereft of critical insight. This kind of escapism seeps through many of the less morally tethered characters in the novel, collectively expressed as a creeping societal decay that threatens to overwhelm all in its path.
As a vehicle for these authorial musings, Hadacol Boogie is every bit as intoxicating as its namesake. It is superbly written and intricately plotted. The characters are complete, complex, and nuanced; the prose is stunning; the story, profoundly relatable.
It is awesome

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the start of this novel, you can hear the slow paced, languid speech of the bayou. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the pace of the language, I struggled with the pace of everything else. This was an interesting story, with many threads, and while it felt like it read quickly, when you looked down you were only 1/4 way through. It also kept me off balance, not with the mystery, but as if I walked into the middle of a conversation and missed the key word or subject. Almost every conversation between characters left me wondering what was just said.

This is a very talented writer, but this book was too esoteric for me. That said, I wanted to know who did it and where the characters landed, so I couldn’t put it down; I continued to plug along, my head spinning and off kilter until the end.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series is a world apart from other crime fiction in its intensity, its impact, and its spiritual prose. Set in rural Louisiana in a land that has history baked into if for better than worse, the series is about a police detective fighting evil yet beset by his own demons and his own tattered history. “Evil is evil, and giving it another life, other than to prove it’s real, serves no purpose,” Robicheaux narrates for the reader.

Robicheaux is spiritually partnered with his buddy, Clete Purcell, a detective no longer on the force, but working privately and through bounty hunters, a heavyweight force that knows no bounds. Clete was in many ways unpredictable an that made him a threat to mobsters, slumlords, pimps, and the like. Clete was a walking tragedy and often Robicheaux felt he was just along for the ride.

Robicheaux also has a new partner on he force with her own demons, Valerie Benoit, hated by others in the department because of the possibility that she got promoted due to some kind of affirmative action. She was harrassed and threatened and felt Robicheaux, for better or worse, was the only one who would stand up for her.

And his adopted daughter Alafair plays a major role in this story during her brief visit. Alafair, unfortunately, becomes linked with the murdered woman found in the black garbage bag and, though she represents a kind of innocence outside of Robicheaux’s twisted world, is a victim of this backwoods world.

Another man, handyman, Boone Hendrix, keeps showing up and seems to have one foot in the spiritual world and the other in the present physical world.

The story in earnest begins with Robicheaux chastising a bunch of young kids setting off fireworks, kids who meant no harm. But the kids tell him that somebody was up to no good on his lawn. The ugly guy was a tall man in a black raincoat and had sticks in his hair and knots in his skin. He was dragging a big plastic garbage bag which Robicheaux then found and opened it only to in a young, thin, nude, dead woman with roses tattooed on her breasts inside the bag. He felt as though someone had dropped a steel storm sewer lid on his chest and felt like a voyuer.

As the story opens, Robicheaux reminisces about Louisiana, remarking that his family was a part of the South that did not descend from Gone With the Wind. Louisiana has always been the home of pirates, brothels, gambling halls, corrupt politicians, and slavery, he muses. He visits a “hundred-dollar hit man, Johnny Massina,” on death row, about to be electrocuted. He muses how people like Johnny and his mother were but pawns of the same system.

Throughout the story, Robicheaux harkens back to the past of Louisiana and to his past in Vietnam and elsewhere, haunted continuously and without let up. Meanwhile, there are forces gathering consisting of mobsters wanting to turn the area into a gambling mecca and bar owners who dealt in poison to the children. Robicheaux and Clete tangled with them all and never felt clean.

Reading through this novel (as well as the others in the series), you cannot help but get the sense that it is a bigger story than the one the small characters face off in and that ultimately it is a story of how difficult it is to fight against evil in this world and come out unscathed.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Lee Burke’s The Hadacol Boogie marks the twenty-fifth installment of the Dave Robicheaux series, and the quality of this novel proves that Burke has not lost a step.

The novel opens with a moving recounting of the lives and deaths of Dave Robicheaux’s parents and the impact their story has had on him—and will continue to have. This brief but powerful introduction beautifully interweaves with the narrative, adding a warm, resonant texture that lingers throughout the entire tale.

The Hadacol Boogie takes place around the turn of the century in Robicheaux’s Iberia Parish. After a group of boys sets off fireworks near his home, Robicheaux confronts them. To avoid trouble, the boys quickly tell him they saw a demon-like figure leaving something in his yard. Initially dismissive of their claims, Robicheaux investigates and discovers a garbage bag containing the body of a young woman.

From there, Robicheaux is drawn into an investigation that introduces a host of memorable characters—each one seemingly more dangerous than the last, and several not at all what they appear to be. Robicheaux once again finds himself facing organized crime figures, local thugs (some of whom wear badges), and a murderous fellow Vietnam veteran who may be periodically psychotic. Then there is Boone Hendrix, a mysterious wayfaring handyman who, like many of Burke’s enigmatic characters, seems to know more than he lets on, speaking in riddles and provoking Robicheaux’s curiosity. As the novel progresses, the evolving relationship between Hendrix and Robicheaux becomes one of the book’s most fascinating threads—full of confusion, anger, sympathy, and even violence.

As always, Burke’s writing is masterfully lyrical and richly descriptive, allowing readers to vividly construct the world he creates. While some of the major plot elements across the Robicheaux series may echo each other, the true beauty of Burke’s work lies in his language and the deepening complexity of his characters with each new installment.

Another of Burke’s hallmarks is his ability to let characters communicate in subtle, often non-verbal ways, leaving moments open to interpretation. These quiet exchanges challenge the reader to decide what was meant and what was merely implied, trusting in an audience capable of grappling with nuance, ambiguity, and even the surreal.

As someone who has been reading James Lee Burke for more than thirty years, I can confidently say that The Hadacol Boogie maintains the high standard of storytelling that has defined the series from the very beginning.

The Hadacol Boogie is highly recommended and is set for publication in February 2026.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.Com.

[David Mc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I have been a longtime fan of James Lee Burke (JLB), I had a difficult time getting into this novel and staying with this story. Unfortunately, I felt that the book continually veered off from the central plot to address the many evils of the past and present. Thus, as Dave Robicheaux, JLB’s longtime central character, attempted to solve the murder of a young woman, the story would suddenly shift its focus to the horrors of the slave trade in America, the injustices of Vietnam, cruelties in El Salvador’s history, and inherent racism in Louisiana’s history. While these may be important topics, the storyline of the novel continually got lost in the fog of JLB’s meandering social commentary.

Aside from the digressions, the central plot of the story involved Dave’s investigation into the murder of a young woman, whose body was left behind his house. As with other novels in this series, Hadacol had a very well-rounded and spooky assortment of villains; which resulted in Dave crossing paths with a racist detective, violent pimp, dangerous button men, and an assortment of nasty antagonists tied into the mafia. On the other side of the spectrum, the novel also included the indomitable Clete Purcell and other assorted regulars from the series. In addition, the book introduced a young female homicide detective/partner for Dave, as well as a mysterious handyman, who continually showed up at unexpected times.

All in all, despite JLB’s truly gifted talents as a writer, the novel’s lack of focus on the central plot was frustrating. Sadly, whenever the novel moved back to the storyline, the writing seemed to follow a formulaic path from previous books in the series; which included a strong dose of the supernatural and mysticism, endless fistfights and shootouts, continual references to alcoholism, and, as always, one romantic encounter for Dave. Although JLB’s prose is still amazing….this ill-plotted novel was a disappointment.

My thanks to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book, and the opportunity to write an honest review

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is James Lee Burke's 25th Dave Robicheaux novel and it was as engaging and as beautifully written as the first 24. I always look forward to any novel that Mr. Burke creates and so this was such a treat.

A cloaked and disfigured man is seen dropping a trash bag on Detective Robicheaux's property. This was witnessed by some kids and when Dave checks it out, he finds a dead young woman in the bag. This begins a search for the guilty party.

Clete Purcell, his closest friend is brought into the mix as well as a new partner for Dave, Detective Valerie Benoit. Valerie has her own host of issues to deal with along with the investigation. Alafair has also come home and Dave has his usual worries and fears about something happening to her.

This is the very short synopsis of this story and it is bare bones. Every word of course is poetry and made to bring up images of things past and things to come. The cast of characters grow and all are mixed together with several different motives going on between truly evil men and some who can't be fit into any single category. . Both Dave and Clete try to keep themselves under control with their anger and issues and of course, that doesn't always work. Trying, not always succeeding. This was such a good read. I am sorry it is over.

I would like to thank Atlantic Crime publishers and NetGalley for this ARC. This book was a gift and it made my week.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the next book in the Dave Robicheaux series, THE HADACOL BOOGIE by James Lee Burke, Detective Robicheaux is the New Orleans' protagonist. He encounters three kids who have seen a man with a large garbage bag. Detective Robicheaux retrieves the bag from the water and finds a dead woman inside. Who is the woman? Why is she dead? Who is the man with the garbage bag, and is he responsible for the woman's death? I need answers.

This is the 25th book in the Detective Robicheaux series, but it can still be read as a standalone because of the writing. It is easy to enter Robicheaux’s world. The writing has a literary quality about it that is maintained throughout the novel. The characters are believable, and I enjoy the plot as well as the backstory. I like the reminders that Robicheaux has been to war in Vietnam. I feel like I want more New Orleans, but I have 24 other books to explore. Thank you, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of THE HADACOL BOOGIE.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadacol Boogie
By James Lee Burke
First, Hadacol Boogie was a lively song written and recorded by Bill Nettles (and His Dixie Blues Boys). You can hear it on YouTube, and a more energetic version by Jerry Lee Lewis.
The song was named after a tonic invented by four-term Louisiana State Senator Dudley LeBlanc. It was a blend of vitamins and 12% alcohol, which made it very popular during Prohibition. Hadacol came from the name of his company, Happy Day Company.
Hadacol Boogie is the 25th novel in the Dave Robicheaux series. And that is a continuity problem. Dave claims to have memories of tankers being torpedoed off the Mississippi River in World War II and served in Vietnam. Today, he would have to be in his middle to late 80’s, much like the author. So, this book is set in the turn of the 21st century. Which would still make Dave and Clete Purcel in their late 60’s.
Hadacol Boogie has the same core cast of characters: Dave Robicheaux, Alafair Robicheaux, Clete Purcel and Sheriff Helen Soileau. Then there are the new characters: Clemmy Benoit, a young black woman with rose tattoos, whose nude body was dumped in a garbage bag on the edge of Dave’s property. Valerie Bennoit, a new, young (28 yrs old), black homicide detective in the Sheriff’s department, which does cause her some difficulties. Boone Hendrix, a mysterious character who knows more than he is willing to talk about. Jerry Carlucci, who has a history with Dave. He owns a dive bar, some slum dwellings and runs some prostitutes. But he has ambition to build and own a casino. Plus, some racist sheriff deputies and some eastern mobsters.
The investigation of Clemmy’s murder goes slowly while other subplots swirl around. And Burke does what he does better than anyone. His prose can paint a verbal picture that pulls you into the narrative. He never has a character deliver a soliloquy explaining what has happened or what the evidence means. Everything is in the dialogue and Dave’s inner narrative of the action. Motives are well hidden to the very end. And there is a solution; a closure that is final but doesn’t necessarily make you feel good.

[Abibliofob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Robicheaux and his partner Clete Purcel has been a favorite duo for me many years now. I got hooked on James Lee Burke more than twenty years ago and has since read all hiw work. In my opinion is he the greatest storyteller alive. He is a master of dark stories and his characters are seldom very high up in social standing. I am amazed at the language he uses and the way he describes details like no one else. Please don't be intimidated, the books are great fun and ther's action, humor and lots of thrills. If you like mysteries then you should try the Robicheaux series but if you like westerns style there is the Holland family stories. The Hadacol Boogie is the latest set in New Iberia Parish and it's not always easy knowing whom to trust there. This book is available in the beginning of February 2026 and I thank Grove / Atlantic , Netgalley and Edelweiss for letting me read this advance copy.

[Mitzi Sherwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC of The Hadacol Boogie. This is Burke's latest mystery featuring the iconic detective, Dave Robicheaux. In this story, Robicheaux investigates the death of an unidentified women, left in a garbage bag on his property.
Dave's investigation is once again aided by Clete Purcel, and a new detective, Valerie Benoit. The gangsters and hoods that Dave pursues also threaten the life of Alafair, his daughter.
Once again, Burke spins an engaging tale that will keep the reader in suspense throughout the story. I found myself running through the gamut of emotions and marking particularly relatable and poignant passages. One has to appreciate a story teller who can keep you thinking about their work long after closing the book on the final chapter.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so happy to win the giveaway for this book as James Lee Burke is one of my favorite authors. He doesn't disappoint with this one. Mr Burke uses words as an artist so well that even places become characters in his books. You're entertained & educated.

It starts with a young woman's body being left on Dave's property. This sends him & Clete on the search for why & who did it. Both flawed due to their experience in the Viet Nam war, but good men, just men. Others from that time chose the dark side. The investigation gets bigger & scarier as they go along. Directing them to people they know & putting people they care about in danger. Especially Alafair, Daves's adopted daughter. The tension builds, like a great action movie. Making me feel shook, on the edge of my seat & not able to turn the pages fast enough. I almost thought this was it for them. At times, foes would seem to get a sudden shot of morality & I'd think, maybe redeem themselves. Not to be.

Thank you Goodreads & Mr Burke for over 400 pages of being in Dave & Clete's company again. Enjoyed very minute.

[Mike Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book. As a longtime fan of James Lee Burke and his Dave Robicheaux series, The Hadacol Boogie was another satisfying read. Burke’s signature lyricism and moral depth shine through every story, painting vivid portraits of flawed characters and haunted landscapes. You don't just read a James Lee Burke book, you feel it. Southern Louisianna is as big a character in the book as the people. All the familiar characters are there and go through another Burke signature morality play where you don't know what is real and what isn't.

[Scott Nickels · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Lee Burke is a heck of a writer: just thinking about how he can mesmerize the reader as the pages just flow by. In recent years he has been frustrating to read with his supernatural visions he places into his protagonist’s minds. He also overplays his political beliefs by commentating (as our friends at ESPN would opine) on his progressive leanings before returning to his plot lines. But I just can’t quit him and his heroes Dave Robicheaux, loyal Clete Purcel, his “boss” Helen, and his beloved daughter Alafair.
Enjoy the ride all you fellow JamesLee Burke fans! May this group down in the Louisiana bayou live on forever.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burke's prose is superb as he tells the story of Dave Robicheaux investigating the death of a young woman whose body was left in a bag on his land. Robicheaux is drawn into the worst of the world of Louisiana --prostitution, violence, death, and gambling. All those things that contributed to the reputation of the area. Supporting characters include his daughter, a new officer named Valerie, and a friend from childhood who has taken the wrong road. The author's lays open Robicheaux's heart and mind in this novel.

[Hannah Irving · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review and advanced copy of this book.

In typical James Lee Burke style we have a lot of descriptive writing, giving us an in-depth look at Louisiana, so that we are there with them. With it being so descriptive I did find it took a while to get into the main depth of the story so, for me, took me a little while to get into the swing of it, but this is the downfall of being a mood reader.

If you want a nitty gritty detective tale this is for you.

[Doug Yonce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great to have another Burke book! Whether he’s writing about the Southwest, his beloved Louisiana, or even a grocery list, you get a word master who creates characters, plots, and settings that are much more. The whole of his stories continue to be much greater than the sum of the parts, and this one continues that streak. I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and voluntarily provided an honest review.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This latest Dave Robichaux; novel by James Lee Burke is filled with beautiful writing and familiar themes. Burke’s fans will not be disappointed, and he provides enough back story so that new readers can fall in love with his writing. Wonderful and recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Viola Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love James Lee Burke and the Arcadian mysteries! The guilt Dave and Clete carry from Nam resonates. Burke intertwines the mystical and the gritty urban crime in a seamless fashion. So many questions are unanswered. . . All of this is part of Burke's charm. You root for these main characters, not because they are perfect but because they are flawed. No character is purely black and white.

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fever nightmare of a crime novel in which it's often hard to tell if the good guys or the bad guys are crazier. The producers of HBO's True Detective should be looking at this installment in the Dave Robicheaux series. Read an advance copy, forthcoming Feb '26.

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gift that keeps on giving. Another story with Dave and Clete. I'm always a little afraid for Clete!