Product Description

When a Nazi submarine is discovered lying in sixty feet of water off the Louisiana coast some troubled ghosts are ready to be released. A local businessman is offering Detective Dave Robicheaux big money to bring the wreck to the surface, but he is not the only one after the submarine and its mysterious cargo. Neo-Nazis are on the march in New Orleans, a new spirit of hatred is abroad, and its terrifying embodiment, an icy psychopath called Will Buchalter, is stalking Robicheaux's wife. Robicheaux is about to find out how deep the new current of evil runs - and just how far the crazed Buchalter will go to get his hands on the Nazis' legacy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78698 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

About the Author
James Lee Burke is the author of many previous novels, including twelve featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

Can't Believe What I've Been Missing!
This was my first James Lee Burke book but it certainly won't be my last! This is a writer who has been personally recommended to me by the equally great John Connolly and Greg on the book stall on Eastleigh market (the man knows his stuff!). I wish I'd acted on their advice a lot sooner now! This book was fantastic! It has everything that makes a book great. The characters are all louder than life and yet beautifully conflicted. The settings are so well described you can almost feel the humidity. Most importantly, the story is completely involving and keeps you turning the pages at a furious rate.
Dave Robicheaux is an immensely likable hero; a man who's faced down his many demons and come out of it stronger and with a pretty clear sense of what's acceptable in the battle against evil. Plus he's as tough as nails and not adverse to smacking a bad guy around the head with a shovel!
The novel also features that other staple of a great thriller, a formidable and ultra creepy villain in the shape of new wave Nazi Will Bulchalter. A man so insidiously evil you'll need to read on in the hope that he's going to get his come uppance!
I won't detail the plot because a synopsis can be read above, but, safe to say, there's not an ounce of flab on it (and if there was it'd be a beautifully written ounce of flab!).
In short, this is a fantastic book and should be read by any self respecting crime fan!
Other authors I enjoy are Michael Connolly, Jeffrey Deaver, Nelson Demille, Robert Crais and, in my opinion the only real competition to Burke's wonderfully lyrical prose, John Connolly.
If you like those guys, then you're going to love this!

Robicheaux and the Nazis
Another outing for Burke's ex NOPD homicide detective Dave Robicheaux and partner Clete Purcell. This time, the pair are battling Neo Nazis who are obsessed by a WWII submarine which sank of the coast of Louisiana. As usual, there is plenty of tough talk and brutal behaviour from Dave and Clete (The Bobsey Twins), as they serve justice in their own uncompromising way. This wasn't my favourite of the series (try "In the Electric Mist..." first), but it is entertaining, and Burke's descriptions of Louisiana are as evocative as ever.