Few crime writers flirt with the supernatural, as its essence basically denies some of the major rules of mystery writing, but both Burke and Connolly do so and you never feel cheated. Burke’s Louisiana investigator Dave Robicheaux talks with the dead, while Connolly’s mourning cop Charlie Parker lives with the ghosts of his past. But their solid plots and gripping adventures prove hypnotically atmospheric, and the America they unveil in their books is different from any one else’s: lush, mysterious and compelling.
Recommended:
James Lee Burke - IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD. The body of a black man in a bayou leads Robicheaux through a maze of intrigue with roots in the past and contemporary corruption. Exquisitely written to the extent that landscape and mood become as important as actual plot.
John Connolly - THE LOVERS. Charlie Parker is down on his luck, stripped of his investigator’s license and working in a bar when the past rushes back with a vengeance, and the death of an innocent young couple uncovers layers of deception.
In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead Synopsis
Hunting a sadistic killer who targets young prostitutes, Detective Dave Robicheaux has no mind to be sidetracked into persuading ex-schoolmate mobster Julie 'Baby Feet' Balboni to leave town. And it turns out that Balboni is the money behind a Civil War movie that's bringing in good business. But then the film crew stumble on a skeleton out in the bayou, and the links between a thirty-year-old lynching, a Civil War general, Balboni and the serial killer lead Dave into treacherous waters, with only a handful of unexpected allies to help him protect his own.
One of the top handful of crime writers in the world, Lee Burke only confirms that position with this reissue of his 1993 novel - almost worth buying for the title alone - featuring his serial hero, part-time cop, part-time private investigator, part-time fisherman, Dave Robicheaux. This time Robicheaux is involved with a film crew shooting an American civil-war movie down on the bayous, and when the star of the film gets himself into trouble with the police he offers to help the lawman solve a murder committed 40 years ago, which by coincidence Robicheaux himself witnessed as a young man. There is also a serial rapist killer on the loose, and when a beautiful FBI agent arrives in town, Dave finds himself torn between twin loyalties to the local populace and the law. Then Dave meets a Confederate general out in the swamp land and reality and fantasy merge in a series of dreamlike scenes as he realizes that even old friends are not to be trusted before the book rushes headlong to a gripping finale. This is a superb novel and if you haven't caught up with Dave Robicheaux yet, it's the perfect place to start. (Kirkus UK)
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.