The Neon Rain
James Lee Burke, Author Henry Holt & Company $0 (248p) ISBN 978-0-8050-0053-5
Burke's sixth novel pits New Orleans homicide detective Dave Robichaux against the mob, the contras, the Feds and just about all the other cops. The trouble starts when Robichaux insists on investigating the murder of a young prostitute and discovers that it isn't only the crooks who don't want the truth to come out: the police don't want it revealed, either. The underworld and the authorities combine to cobble up a frame against Robichaux, and suddenly he's on the run. Burke's maverick detective and his gritty, realistic dialogue and convoluted plotting are reminiscent of Elmore Leonardwhose latest novel, Bandits, has a contra angle, too. The matter of subterranean government policy running amok suits the world of suspense fiction well, serving it in the 1980s the way Cold War themes fed the genre in earlier decades. With its fine local color and driving action, this novel is both chilling and first-rate entertainment. (March 27)
Details
Reviewed on: 01/01/1987
Release date: 01/01/1987
Hardcover - 248 pages - 9780805000535
Paperback - 288 pages - 9780743449205
Hardcover - 275 pages - 9780848833091
Paperback - 314 pages - 9780753820339
Mass Market Paperbound - 288 pages - 9780671756444
Mass Market Paperbound - 288 pages - 9780671652173
Hardcover - 320 pages - 9781850894131
Other - 272 pages - 9781451618457