Once again our intrepid bayou detective is placed in a situation where his emotions are way ahead of his intellect. Dave is trying to track down a serial murderer at the same time he is helping an FBI agent (Farts, Barfs and Itches) Rosa (Rosie) Gomez keep an eye on an old friend who is now a mafia boss and back in their home town of New Iberia. Dave and "Baby Feet" Balboni were on the same baseball team in High School, though Balboni's father was the local 'don' and handled all the illegal booze, drug, gambling and prostitution in the area.

Thirty five years before, Dave (at 19) saw two white man murder a black man tied in chains. No one believed him or cared back then. Now the body has resurfaced and Dave wants to find the killers. The further he gets into looking for the serial killer the more he's convinced that the 35 year old murder is also connected.

While at a party, some one slips Dave something in his drink. Everyone thinks he's been drinking again but when he's tested there is no alcohol in his blood. Dave things some one put LSD in his drink when he begins to see visions of Confederate Soldiers and General John Bell Hood. Worse than that, he's beginning to have conversations with the General that help him with the case.

Like all of James Lee Burke's books, there are many colorful characters and beautifully described scenery and a great description of the effects of a hurricane as it happens. We all know that Dave will settle everything in the end, but he will have to go through more changes to get there. As long as he lets his life be in the hands of his 'higher power', he'll be OK.

Ok, my first mistake was listening to IMUS IN THE MORNING where I heard someone I like and respect, Jeff Greenfield at CNN praise James Lee Burke, the author of this turkey. In fact, Greenfield said that he was going to dedicate his summer to reading all of James Lee Burke's novels. Unfortunately, I chose IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH THE CONFEDERATE DEAD as my first one. On page 138 of 344, something finally happened that meant something. Descriptive prose, my god, yes. Burke reminds me of another boring writer I have read in college, James Fennimore Cooper. I remember vaguely Cooper describing the forest in the greatest detail. Burke is of the same mold, but only not as interesting! The Hero of the story talks to dead people. . . A lot. Heck, they even talk to him in his dreams which is how the case gets solved! No excellent detective work, no beating information out of a suspect (though this bum does feel he can beat on whomever he wants), nothing, just go to sleep and turn an "L" into a "P." No one in the book, other than possibly the female FBI agent has any redeeming qualities. I need to care about the main character, the victims, or even the bad guys, but that was the main problem here. We received no description of the initial murder other than she was a prositute as was the next one. No girls with a heart of gold turn bad here. It is hinted that she was killed by a bad guy in the local mob which again was no good guy. No good girl, no good guy, no good detective, NO GOOD BOOK!

This is the tenth of the Dave Robicheaux books I have read. Although James Lee Burke has set high standards with the other Robicheaux books this one is his best by far, I think. It is not only a ripping tale that involves the usual cast of sociopaths, colorful Louisiana characters, and other petty miscreants, it is also a meditation on the New South, how it differs from the Old South, and where it remains the same -- for good or ill.

Some have criticized Burke for his incorporation into the story of Dave Robicheaux's visions of Confederate General John Bell Hood but I disagree. I though this device was useful in demonstrating how the South has changed and it also allowed a fascinating examination of "The Late Unfortunateness, The War Between the States," more commonly known to most of us as the Civil War. To his credit, Burke limits Dave's "visions" to having been caused by LSD poisoning and a blow to the head -- maybe.

As is always the case in one of Burke's books the prose is luminously beautiful and evokes vivid images of South Louisiana Cajun Country. Burke also harrowingly describes the day-to-day struggle of an alcoholic to stay sober. "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead" is an uncommonly fine example of noir fiction.

In The Electric Mist with Confederate Dead is the 6th Dave Robicheaux mystery by James Lee Burke. While most of this book is first rate, I think Burke got bogged down with the plot. There was a little too much going on, including a sub-plot in a different dimension.

In Confederate Dead, New Iberia is a happening place. Julie Balboni, a local boy turned mob boss, returns to town. A major Hollywood production company is filming a Civil War epic, and Balboni is part owner. The Teamsters are also involved with the filming, which makes for very strange bedfellows. While the Chamber of Commerce is happy to have so much money being pumped into New Iberia, the sheriff's department is nervous with Balboni's presence. Soon, the bodies of two prostitutes turn up, brutally murdered. And the skeleton of a man still in chains and killed in 1957 is found by the star of the movie, Elrod Sykes. All of these cases are quite a bit for Robicheaux (a New Iberia sheriff's deputy) to juggle at one time, and he is convinced that they're all somehow related. He also ends up "babysitting" Elrod Sykes, as Elrod struggles with alcoholism (a malady that Robicheaux knows all too well).

One aspect that worked very well in Confederate Dead was the addition of a "partner" for Robicheaux, FBI agent Rosie Gomez. The sheriff calls in the FBI to assist with the murdered prostitutes. Gomez quickly earns the respect of Robicheaux. When Robicheaux is framed and his own department hang him out to dry, Gomez picks up the slack. She also learns some important lessons from Robicheaux-especially that it's sometimes necessary to operate outside the normal boundaries of law enforcement to be successful.

But I have to admit that I didn't quite grasp the sub-plot with the Confederate dead. Robicheaux starts seeing visions of Confederate soldiers who were camped in New Iberia, and he has numerous conversations with Confederate general, John Bell Hood, about the cases he's working on and about the war. While some of it worked well, I thought it got hokey at the end and a bit over the top.

Despite this criticism, Burke is one of the best mystery writers today and Confederate Dead is an enjoyable work.