In this 22nd book in the 'Dave Robicheaux' series, the detective is after a brutal serial killer. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus.
*****
When people report hearing screams on the bayou near Cypremort Point in New Iberia, Louisiana, Sheriff's Detective Dave Robicheaux and Deputy Sean McClain drive over to investigate. One of the homes in the area belongs to award-winning Hollywood director Desmond Cormier - who's in town to film a movie - and the detectives go there first.....to see if he heard anything.
Dave knew Desmond a quarter century ago, when the director was a poor New Orleans schoolboy with big dreams - and the filmmaker invites the detectives into his home. On Desmond's patio they meet Antoine Butterworth, an arrogant Hollywood tagalong who's exercising in the near nude.
Dave takes an instant dislike to Antoine, who he considers a sociopath and pervert, and Dave's opinion of Desmond drops a few notches as well. These feelings get even stronger when Dave spots a body in the bayou, and Desmond and Antoine claim to see nothing.
The corpse, secured to a large wooden cross, turns out to be Lucinda Arceneaux - a preacher's daughter who helps get wrongly convicted men out of prison. Lucinda's death is followed by a series of vicious murders, each one connected to an abstruse symbol from the tarot.
The main suspect for the crimes is Hugo Tillinger, a convicted killer who broke out of a Texas prison. Hugo had been in contact with Lucinda.....and was recently seen in New Iberia by Dave's friend Clete Purcel. Hugo thinks the 'movie people' will prove his innocence and make a documentary film about him.
Hugo isn't the only suspect however. Other possible killers considered by Dave and his boss Sheriff Helen Soileau are: a weird little assassin named Chester ("Smiley") Wimple - who looks like a huge maggot with red lips; the financiers of Desmond's movie - New Jersey mafiosos, Miami drug dealers, and Middle-Eastern oil sheiks; and people on the film crew.
While Dave is investigating the killings he has a personal crisis brought on by the ugliness of the crimes; his life as a lonely widower; horrible memories of the Viet Nam War; and the despoliation of southern Louisiana - which has been ruined by greedy developers and corrupt politicians.
Dave is also at odds with his daughter Alafair, a law school graduate who writes novels and screenplays. Alafair is working on Desmond's movie and hanging out with Lou Wexler - a handsome, well-built producer much older than herself. Dave thinks all Hollywood people are bottom feeders and has an especially bad feeling about Wexler, who drives a red Lamborghini and flies in private planes. Moreover, Dave disapproves of the age difference between Alafair and the producer.
All this turmoil ALMOST drives Dave - a recovering alcoholic - back to the bottle. Dave has a few terrible weeks during which he obsesses constantly; hangs out at a blues bar frequented by hookers; experiences dry drunks, and does things he shouldn't.
Dave's attitude about Alafair and Wexler is ironic since Dave himself is infatuated with his new partner Bailey Ribbons - a pretty woman at least 30 years his junior. Dave tries to play it cool, but Bailey insists 'age isn't important' and practically throws herself at him. This is what I call 'male fantasy writing' and I wish James Lee Burke had left it out. 😒
Dave and his fellow cops continue to pursue the perp, sometimes with the help of Clete Purcel - who's quick with his fists and his guns. Of course the killer is eventually identified and the motive revealed, but it doesn't ring true to me, and the connection with the tarot is especially obscure.
The book has a variety of memorable characters, including: a poor black prostitute whose pimp is a dirty cop; a black blues singer with a small child; corrupt deputies in the Sheriff's Department (Why oh why does Helen keep hiring these people? 🤕); a Miami hitman; Dave's pets Mon Tee Coon (a raccoon) and Snuggs (a cat); and more.
As always in this series, the author's atmospheric depiction of southern Louisiana - the flora, fauna, swamps, tides, sunrises, sunsets, clouds, rain, food, and so on - is superb.....and I felt like I could see and smell the region. (I actually went to school there; shout out to Cajun restaurants. 😊💕)
The plot of the book is engaging, but is almost overshadowed by Dave's continuous introspection and poor behavior. I hope Dave gets over himself in future books. Still, James Lee Burke is one of America's best mystery writers (IMO) and his novels are always worth reading.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (James Lee Burke) and the publisher (Simon and Schuster) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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