The Tin Roof Blowdown

Starred review from May 21, 2007
In Burke's meticulously textured 16th Dave Robicheaux novel (after 2006's Pegasus Descending
), Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath provide the backdrop for an account of sin and redemption in New Orleans. When Detective Robicheaux's department is assigned to investigate the shooting of two looters in a wealthy neighborhood, he learns that they had ransacked the home of New Orleans's most powerful mobster. Now he must locate the surviving looter before others do, and in the process he learns the fate of a priest who disappeared in the ill-fated Ninth Ward trying to rescue his trapped parishioners. Burke creates dense, rich prose that draws the reader into a web of greed and violence. Each of his characters feels the hands of both grace and of perdition, and the final outcome of their struggle is never quite certain. Burke showcases all that was both right and wrong in our response to this national disaster, proving along the way that nobody captures the spirit of Gulf Coast Louisiana better.

Starred review from August 27, 2007
The pain, dismay and anger brought on by the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina explodes from the pages of this new Dave Robicheaux novel. For nearly a quarter of a century, Burke has used this series, despite their dark subject matter, to show his obvious love of the land, the people and the cultures of the South and specifically New Orleans. There is a mystery for Robicheaux to solve, but it's the destruction of Burke's beloved New Orleans that resonates like thunder throughout the book. Will Patton, who has come to embody the heart and soul of Burke's weary, Southern knight, matches the author's prose in all its intensity and pain. Adept as he is at portraying the eccentric, the evil and the endearing characters found in Burke's books, it is the actor's reading of Burke's descriptive passages, whether it be a storm forming off the Louisiana coast or the shock of blood escaping from a gunshot wound, that creates a fully realized world for the listener. Patton's insightful interpretation of Burke's darkly expressive imagery makes for a rich literary experience rarely achieved in crime fiction today. Simultaneous release with the S&S hardcover (Reviews, May 21).

Starred review from July 1, 2007
Dave Robicheaux makes another appearance, in what may be Burke's most personal novel. Set during the national nightmare that was Hurricane Katrina, it tells the story of a group of small-time criminals who seem to luck into the theft of a lifetime. Unfortunately for them, their newfound goods have been taken from one of the Big Easy's scariest criminals. Dave is faced with the unenviable task of hunting down the thieves, more to save them from those they've wronged than for criminal prosecution. While the story is the usual well-paced, naturally unfolding drama we expect from Burke, it's quite obvious that Robicheaux takes a back-seat this time around to the problems caused by Katrina. Burke has always excelled at making Louisiana more a character than a setting in his Robicheaux novels, a skill he uses here to convey the true horrors of Katrina. Also, without becoming preachy, he makes no secret about his feelings regarding where the blame should be placed. The best Robicheaux novel of the past several years, this is recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 3/15/07; also published this month is Burke's short story collection, "Jesus Out to Sea: Stories".Ed.]Craig Shufelt, Fort McMurray P.L., Alta.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.