Katie F. (katiez) - , reviewed on 4/12/2010 + 17 more book reviews

This is the first James Lee Burke book I ever read, and it hit me like a ton of bricks...I absolutely could not put it down! JLB is a SUPERB writer, and not only can he tell a great story, with characters you come to know as well as your own friends and family, but he can evoke the Louisiana landscape like nobody else I've ever read. After reading this book, I was hooked...and now I've read everything James Lee Burke has ever written, (and I'm also reading books written by his real-life daughter, Alafair, who is a character in so many of his books - you can almost watch her grow up if you read his books in chronological order). He sets most of his stories in South Louisiana, and no one gets it right like JLB. The descriptions of the Louisiana landscape, with its dreamy, slow-moving bayous and dreamy, slow-moving way of life, the New Orleans he loves, the dialogue that is right on, even the history and culture of the Acadian, or 'Cajun' people (and in New Orleans, the Creoles)...he gets it all right, and you can tell he loves the place he lives and writes about. (Can you tell I'm a Louisiana lady?) :-)

Since the story is well-described, I won't attempt another description. But I will say that I believe anyone who enjoys a good mystery with in-depth characterizations and plenty of twists and turns, should truly enjoy the incomparable James Lee Burke.

This is in my Top Ten favorite books!

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