The Neon Rain

Description

Introducing the New Orleans detective Dave Robicheaux. Johnny Massina, a convicted murderer bound for the electric chair, has warned Dave Robicheaux that he's on somebody's hit list, and now the homicide detective is trying to discover just who that is before he ends up dead. Meanwhile he has taken on the murder investigation of a young black girl found dead in the Bayou swamp - a case no one seems keen for him to investigate. But Robicheaux persists and uncovers a web of corruption that some would kill to protect, leading him to a terrifying confrontation with the one horror he fears most of all.

James Lee Burke is the author of twenty-two previous novels, including twelve featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.

The Neon Rain is a dream come true, a detective novel that bridges the gap to serious fiction with marvellous characters, an intricate plot, and lyrical prose ... this is a novel I really admire. * James Crumley, author of The Last Good Kiss * The gentle giant of US crime writers, Burke always ensures that his Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux grapples with hot topics as much as with his own inner demons. * i newspaper * 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 * 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 * The king of Southern noir. * Daily Mirror * 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 * One of the finest American writers. * Guardian * When it comes to literate, pungently characterised American crime writing, James Lee Burke has few peers. * Daily Express *