The Neon Rain : A Dave Robicheaux Novel by James Lee Burke

Detective Dave Robicheaux has fought too many battles: in Vietnam, with killers and hustlers, with police brass, and with the bottle. Lost without his wife's love, Robicheaux's haunted soul mirrors the intensity and dusky mystery of New Orleans' French Quarter -- the place he calls home, and the place that nearly destroys him when he becomes involved in the case of a young prostitute whose body is found in a bayou. Thrust into the world of drug lords and arms smugglers, Robicheaux must face down a subterranean criminal world and come to terms with his own bruised heart in order to survive.

Reader Reviews
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful: More graphic than I expected, October 30, 2002 Reviewer: Glen Engel-Cox from Washington, DC USA I've been holding onto this book for awhile, having bought it on the recommendation of Doug and Tomi Lewis at the Little Bookshop of Horrors in Denver. I'd been interested in Burke's novels based on his critical reputation and evocative titles, but had hesitated to start another mystery series when I was having so much trouble getting throught the ones I had started years ago. But then Burke visited the Bookshop on a signing tour, and Doug and Tomi convinced me to give him a try. Dave Robicheaux is a New Orlean's detective who's got two problems. One, a man on death row tells him that he's marked for death, and, two, he's worried about what this floater he found in an east side bayou might mean. Along the way, he discovers that the time problems are not as separate as they might seem. The writing is good, but the plot is steamier and more graphic than I had expected. The brutality in the book matches Burke's style, but was surprising coming from what I had thought the book would be based on the critical comments that I had read. The most intriguing aspect of this book was the handling of Robicheaux's alcoholism. This is a modern detective novel, tough but not in the unrealistic hard-boiled style. Robicheaux's drinking problem is a living thing--not a static bit used to "develop" the character and only ends up being paint on the cardboard cut out. Robicheaux's problem is as much of a dynamic as himself, or, to put it better, is a reflection of his own dynamic personality. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition