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Description edit
Vietnam vet Dave Robicheaux has turned in his detective's badge, is winning his battle against booze, and has left New Orleans with his wife for the tranquil beauty of Louisiana's bayous. But a plane crash on the Gulf brings a young girl into his life -- and with her comes a netherworld of... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters edit
- Dave Robicheaux: Recurring homicide detective. He once worked for the New Orleans Police Department, but is currently a deputy sheriff in New Iberia, Louisiana. He is a Vietnam War veteran, and suffers from war demons and alcoholism. His first wife was murdered. His current wife, Bootsie, suffers from lupus.
- Alafair Robicheaux: Dave's mother's name; He almost casually gives the name to a little girl he rescues and keeps.
Setting & Locations edit
First Sentence edit
I WAS JUST OFF Southwest Pass, between Pecan and Marsh islands, with the green, whitecapping water of the Gulf Stream to the south and the long, flat expanse of the Louisiana coastline behind me-which is really not a coastline at all but instead a huge wetlands area of sawgrass, dead cypress strung with wisps of moss, and a maze of canals and bayous that are choked with Japanese water lilies whose purple flowers audibly pop in the morning and whose root systems can wind around your propeller shaft like cable wire.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 2 of 19 in Robicheaux. (standard series)
Preceded by The Neon Rain, and followed by Black Cherry Blues.
Authors & Contributors edit
- James Lee Burke (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
Country: USA
Publication Date: April 1988
ISBN: 0805006656
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co
Country: USA
Publication Date: April 1988
ISBN: 0805006656
Page Count: 292
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PS3552.U723 H4 1988
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
Links to Supplemental Material edit
- Wikipedia Article on Dave Robicheaux: Once an officer for the New Orleans police department, Robicheaux constantly breaches the ethical code over the course of just about every case he works on - seemingly without consequence - and currently pursues cases in New Iberia, Louisiana as sheriff's deputy. He is a recovering alcoholic whose demons stem from his service in the Vietnam War and his impoverished difficult childhood in rural Louisiana; his mother abandoned the family (and was later murdered) and his father died in an oil rig explosion.
Books with Additional Background Information edit
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