Product Description

A bullet shot through the window of Weldon Sonnier's house propels Dave Robicheaux back into the lives of a family he's not sure he wants to be reacquainted with. Weldon Sonnier's CIA-influenced past has led to dangerous connections and commitments, including debts to local mob boss Joey 'Meatballs' Gouza. As Weldon puts himself in the line of fire Lyle Sonnier, television evangelist and faith healer, reveals to Dave a violent family history that intersects menacingly with Dave's own. But overshadowing the manoeuvres of Gouza's gang is the spectre of racial politics and it is former Klansman Bobby Earl who will prove to be Dave Robicheaux's most elusive enemy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25667 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

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

Customer Reviews

stunning writer..great character
actually i've not read this particular novel in the dave robicheaux series yet, though all the others i've read are all superb and i've often heard this one is up there with the best of them. the reason why i add my comment you may wonder, was because it was bugging me that the other 2 comments both got the order of this novel wrong. this is the FIFTH book in the series. i recommend readers to start logically at the beginning with 'the neon rain'.

A stunning use of the English language!!
A Stained White Radiance is the perfect read for all those readers out there who want a fearful glimpse into the world of 'lowlife criminals' in America. James Lee Burke has a completely sound grasp on the emotions of a recovering alcoholic and troubled husband and farther, creating a vividly real and complex novel. There are many raw moments in this novel that culminate into a whole range of different characters from the bad to the ugly to the murderer and not to mention the hero. Definitely a book that can't be missed!

Steeped in the South
"A Stained White Radiance" is the first book from the Dave Robicheaux series, in fact it is the first James Lee Burke book I've ever read. It probably wont be the last though. The sense of the South is very evocative and he writes very good characters who seem to drive the action rather than just being two dimensional cut outs to hang the plot on (which unfortunately is often the case with serial fiction). Originally I thought a couple of the people Robicheaux encounters were going to turn out to be Southern stereotypes (a tv. evangelist and faith healer, a hard-drinking New Orleans' private detective) but he always manages to confound expectations. There is a real a sense of the characters, like the South, having a slightly murky and complicated past and it isn't one of those traditional whodunnits where the evil perpetrator is satisfyingly put behind bars, the line between good and evil is a little more blurred than that. In short, well written, character driven crime fiction that should leave you wanting more.