Detective Dave Robicheaux is one of James Lee Burke's most popular characters. In this 21st book in the 'Dave Robicheaux' series - set in the Cajun environs of south Louisiana - Dave is involved in investigating several killings and an alleged rape. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Background info: Dave - an investigator for the Sheriff's Department in New Iberia, Louisiana - has had a rough life.
Dave's mother deserted the family when he was a child and his father was killed in an oil rig explosion. As a young man Dave witnessed unspeakable horrors during the Vietnam War, after which he became a cop in New Orleans - a city rife with mobsters, gambling, prostitution, drugs, loan sharks, money laundering, extortion, murder, and so on.
In his job, Dave met criminals of all kinds, including: street thugs; mobsters; sociopaths; psychopaths.....and rich, entitled 'bluebloods' who would do anything for money and power. Dave rose through the police ranks to become a homicide detective and eventually left New Orleans for New Iberia - where he lives in a modest home adjacent to a bayou.
Dave's first wife Annie was murdered and his second wife Bootsie - with whom he adopted an El Salvadoran daughter named Alafair - died from lupus. These hardships exacerbated Dave's depression, nightmares, and alcoholism. Even when he's not drinking, Dave sees ghosts of Civil War soldiers who died near his home.
Dave's best friend is Clete Purcel, a fellow Vietnam vet who was Dave's partner in the New Orleans Police Department.
Clete's inability to follow rules got him kicked off the police force, and he became a private investigator/bail bondsman. Clete works for gangsters; eats to excess; drinks too much; falls for the wrong women; and uses violence (and worse) against his enemies. Clete is close to Dave's family and would give his life for them.
*****
The book has a complicated plot with numerous characters, but I'll try to provide a nutshell overview.
As the story opens Dave's third wife Molly has recently been killed in a car crash and the detective is furious at the man who collided with her, a blue-collar Cajun called T.J. Dartez. Dave doesn't know exactly what happened, but he drives up to Dartez's house and harshly accuses the Cajun of reckless driving - in front of the man's frightened wife.
Consumed by grief, Dave - a recovering alcoholic - is drawn back to the bottle, and sometimes gets blackout drunk.
While dealing with his sorrow, Dave is drawn into a contentious local situation. The detective is friendly with nearby author Levon Broussard, who writes Civil War novels.
As it happens, two powerful men want to produce a movie based on one of Broussard's books.
One Hollywood wannabee is an obese, sickly gangster named Tony Nemo - who's involved in porn, drugs, and politics.
The other is a wealthy right-wing political hopeful named Jimmy Nightingale - who spends his time on his yacht, playing polo, performing in aerial shows - and (according to an informant) using prostitutes and drugs.
When Dave is (wrongly) perceived as favoring Jimmy, the mobster becomes furious, and threatens the detective.
Soon afterward, reckless driver T.J. Dartez is found brutally beaten to death beside his truck, and Dave becomes a suspect in the murder. Unfortunately the detective was dead drunk at the time of the killing, and can't remember a thing. As far as Dave knows, he might be guilty.
Dave's boss, Sheriff Helen Soileau, gives the Dartez case to Detective Spade Labiche, a nasty misogynist who resents Dave and is probably a dirty cop.
Labiche finds Dave's fingerprints at the scene of the crime, which just might be a set up. But by who? In any case, there's not enough evidence for an arrest.....yet.
In the meantime, Helen puts Dave in charge of a different investigation. Levon Broussard's wife, Rowena - an artist from Australia - has accused Jimmy Nightingale of rape.
Rowena happened to meet Jimmy at a bar one night, and - after getting drunk- accompanied the handsome bigshot back to his boat. Afterward, Rowena cried rape while Jimmy claimed nothing happened.
Dave (inexplicably) likes Nightingale, and doesn't want the would-be senator to be guilty. However, the detective is a righteous cop, determined to make a thorough inquiry. This isn't easy because Rowena showered after the alleged incident and destroyed most of the (potential) evidence.
As if all this isn't enough, Dave has other crimes on his mind. Eight Louisiana sex workers were murdered a few years ago, and the case was never solved. Dave suspects that thuggish Kevin Penny - a lowlife who viciously beat his son Homer - might be implicated in the prostitutes' deaths, but there's no proof.
It so happens that Penny was just bailed out of jail and is slated to get his son back. This irks Clete Purcel, who's acquainted with Homer's social worker. Since Clete can never let things go he 'has a talk' with Penny (beats him up and shoves his head in the toilet) - as a warning not to abuse Homer. In fact Clete - who's never been domestic - goes out of his way to help the child. (So yay Clete!)
To add to southern Louisiana's murder toll, a very peculiar hitman called Smiley - with cherry red lips and a pronounced lisp - has flown into town for a killing spree.
Dave, Clete, and others get on Smiley's trail, but the hitman is a wily, elusive guy. As the story unfolds we learn who's pulling Smiley's strings and why.
Dave's daughter Alafair, a lawyer and novelist, also arrives in town.....to visit her troubled father.
Just for fun, Alafair decides to write a screenplay for Levon Broussard's book - which draws her into the brouhaha about the movie adaptation.
The novel has a rich palate of ancillary characters, including: Tony Nemo's hoodlum crew; cops from a neighboring parish; Jimmy Nightingale's cold-as-ice secretary (who might be his cousin or sister); a former Klansman who's had plastic surgery; a naïve, pretty bartender; a sadistic prison guard from a previous book; and more.
Eventually, after much murder and mayhem, the strings of the plot come together - though some issues are left unresolved. I wasn't happy with the epilogue, but I didn't deduct points for that.
Many elements of the story are relevant to American society today, such as: men who sexually harass women; a demagogue who enters politics to benefit himself; a xenophobic, racist political hanger-on; citizens that would vote for a rapist; and more.
As always, Burke writes beautiful prose that brings the environment - as well as the characters and their surroundings - to vivid life.
Dave is aging as the series goes on, and - in reality - Dave and Clete are probably past retirement age. I hope they go on forever, though, solving crimes and beating up bad guys.
I'd highly recommend the book to readers who enjoy mysteries, especially fans of Dave Robicheaux.
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