Having avidly read quite a few of the James Lee Burke `Robicheaux' novels I don't think this is one of his best. However, it is definitely worth reading. It does help to know what a complex character Dave Robicheaux is. He does have a lot of past history (he's not an ex-cop, he's a sheriff in New Iberia, a recovering alcoholic and a Vietnam vet but he is an honest man). The description of New Orleans after Katrina is eye opening and Burke reinforces, but does not labour, the point that the American government was largely to blame for the city's inability to withstand the onslaught. The looting and violence that took hold afterwards just add to the horror. Burke is great at descriptive passages and you can almost see the landscape he paints so vividly and obviously loves. The story meanders from trying to find a missing priest with a dubious reputation, to investigating the murder of two looters who find more than they bargained for. Along the way reputations are ruined, Robicheaux's family get in harms way and his best buddy, Clete Purcell, alternates between being a help and a hindrance to the investigation. The violence is quite brutal; the `baddies' are horribly evil and though most get their just desserts the novel does not really have a happy rose-hued conclusion. In fact, his ending ruminating about the sad demise of a once beautiful old city is quite touching. I would recommend that, if you enjoy gritty crime dramas, then Burke is a novelist you must try and though he has written better than this it is still very readable and hopefully you'll go back and try others.