''Evil, bigotry and doing the right thing. All are done as expertly as ever by a master writer'' DAILY TELEGRAPH
Lucas Smothers, nineteen and from the wrong end of town, has been arrested for the rape and murder of a local girl. His lawyer Billy Bob Holland is convinced of Lucas''s innocence but proving it means unearthing the truth from a seething mass of deceit and corruption. A corruption endemic in the way it can be only in a gossipy small town where everybody knows everybody else''s business.
Billy Bob''s relationship with Lucas''s family is not an easy one - years back he was a close friend of Mrs Smothers, too close according to her husband Vernon. And when Lucas overhears gruesome tales of serial murder from a neighbouring cell in the local lock-up, the waters are muddied even further and Lucas himself looks like a candidate for an untimely death.
Praise for one of the great American crime writers, James Lee Burke:
''James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed.'' Michael Connelly
''A gorgeous prose stylist.'' Stephen King
''Richly deserves to be described now as one of the finest crime writers America has ever produced.'' Daily Mail
Fans of Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly and Don Winslow will love James Lee Burke:
Billy Bob Holland Series
1. Cimarron Rose
2. Heartwood
3. Bitterroot
4. In The Moon of Red Ponies
Dave Robicheaux Series
1. The Neon Rain
2. Heaven''s Prisoners
3. Black Cherry Blues
4. A Morning for Flamingos
5. A Stained White Radiance
6. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead
7. Dixie City Jam
8. Burning Angel
9. Cadillac Jukebox
10. Sunset Limited
11. Purple Cane Road
12. Jolie Blon''s Bounce
13. Last Car to Elysian Fields
14. Crusader''s Cross
15. Pegasus Descending
16. The Tin Roof Blowdown
17. Swan Peak
18. The Glass Rainbow
19. Creole Belle
20. Light of the World
21. Robicheaux
Hackberry Holland Series
1. Lay Down My Sword and Shield
2. Rain Gods
3. Feast Day of Fools
4. House of the Rising Sun
* Each James Lee Burke novel can be read as a standalone or in series order *
Industry Reviews
When it comes to literate, pungently characterised American crime writing, James Lee Burke has few peers. * Daily Express * One of the finest American writers. * Guardian * His lyrical prose, his deep understanding of what makes people behave as they do, and his control of plot and pace are masterly. * Sunday Telegraph * The king of Southern noir. * Daily Mirror * There are not many crime writers about whom one might invoke the name of Zola for comparison, but Burke is very much in that territory. His stamping ground is the Gulf coast, and one of the great strengths of his work has always been the atmospheric background of New Orleans and the bayous. His big, baggy novels are always about much more than the mechanics of the detective plot; his real subject, like the French master, is the human condition, seen in every situation of society. * Independent * Richly deserves to be described now as one of the finest crime writers America has ever produced. * Daily Mail * A gorgeous prose stylist. * Stephen King * James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed. * Michael Connelly *
