This is the 16th novel in the Dave Robicheaux series and although familiarity with the characters may make this a slightly more enjoyable read it is still an excellent stand alone story. Burke loves Louisiana and in this novel we see his devastation at the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the breakdown of law and order that ensued his disdain with how the government handled the whole situation. A great crime novel with a strong political undertow.
Hurricane Katrina has transformed New Orleans into a violent wasteland. Criminals capitalise on the devastation as survivors wait for help that never comes.
David Robicheaux - his city in ruins -- is tasked with investigating the murder of a pair of looters: is it a simple case of 'stand-your-ground', or something altogether darker? The dead men's accomplice holds the key but he has disappeared to escape the people hunting him.
As Robicheaux uncovers a brutal catalogue of greed, torture and murder, his own family is threatened, and the ravaged city provides the perfect stage for a final confrontation between good and evil.
'The Tin Roof Blowdown is more than a crime novel; more than a literary novel even. It is a work of profound historical value and importance ... To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement ... there were moments when I wanted to put the book down, it was so painful to continue. But I couldn't. Now, I dare say, will anyone else.' Mark Timlin, INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
'The Tin Roof Blowdown is the novel James Lee Burke was born to write. His imagination has always tended to the apocalyptical - but Hurricane Katrina outdid his worst inventions ... The passages describing the actual flooding are tremendously powerful but Burke also weaves a fully satisfying story into this extreme event.' David Sexton, EVENING STANDARD
'This New Orleans looks like Bosch and reads like Ballard ... it's worth emphasising that no 'literary' novelist has performed this task of imaginative witness to disaster yet. And none will do it half so well as Burke. ... he proves more forcefully than ever that he can dive down these mean - or drowned - streets and strike both a tragic, and epic, note.'Boyd Tonkin, THE INDEPENDENT
Author
About James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke is the author of many previous novels, many featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He won the Edgar Award in 1998 for Cimarron Rose, while Black Cherry Blues won the Edgar in 1990 and Sunset Limited was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger in 1998. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.
