• The Tin Roof Blowdown

  • A Dave Robicheaux Novel
  • By: James Lee Burke
  • Narrated by: Will Patton
  • Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (3,899 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Tin Roof Blowdown  By  cover art

The Tin Roof Blowdown

By: James Lee Burke
Narrated by: Will Patton
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.46

Buy for $22.46

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Winner of the 2008 Audie Award for Mystery

Dave Robicheaux returns in another Bayou adventure, this one more gruesome and gut-wrenching than any that have come before. Hurricane Katrina has ravaged New Orleans, leaving the streets and buildings flooded and the city awash with opportunists, looters, and vicious criminals. There is no order, no law. Police are shooting randomly at innocent people, prison guards have abandoned their posts, bodies float through the streets and hang from trees, and every drug dealer, murderer, and rapist is out taking advantage of the desperate lawlessness that holds the city captive.

In the midst of it all is Robicheaux, doing his best to help regulate the post-Katrina madness, all the while on a dogged search for a pair of dangerous fugitives, a dope-addicted, fallen priest, and a vigilante insurance salesman who takes his family's protection too far. This promises to be the most taxing and emotional case Robicheaux has had to work.

In his singular style, which defies genre, James Lee Burke has created a haunting picture of life in New Orleans after Katrina. Filled with complex characters and vivid descriptions of the destruction and death that gripped the Big Easy, The Tin Roof Blowdown is an action-packed crime thriller as well as a poignant story of what disaster and desperation can do to people.

More mayhem? Listen to more of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux thrillers.
©2007 James Lee Burke. All rights reserved (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

  • Audie Award Winner, Mystery, 2008

"Meticulously textured....dense, rich prose that draws the reader into a web of greed and violence." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Tin Roof Blowdown

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,112
  • 4 Stars
    1,123
  • 3 Stars
    421
  • 2 Stars
    146
  • 1 Stars
    97
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,560
  • 4 Stars
    313
  • 3 Stars
    67
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    18
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,204
  • 4 Stars
    525
  • 3 Stars
    155
  • 2 Stars
    41
  • 1 Stars
    30

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal

What a great book by a great author. What a spectacular reading by Mr. Patton.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gives a great sense of place

Echoes with the power of the storm, it's aftermath and the loss of a great city. Very evocative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The best

By far, the best by James Lee Burke. Hurricane Katrina left a dark, dark scar on this country. Or else it simply pulled a scab away from her

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Burke does it again!

JLB is one of the finest writers alive today. The depth of his understanding of the human condition raises the detective genre to literary excellence. Every character is finely drawn, and we love, fear, or are fascinated by them. He brings the bayou to life for all of us with only a surface knowledge of New Orleans. He introduces us to the beauty and danger of its swamps, literally and figuratively. JLB has wisely stayed with the amazing Will Patton as narrator. Patton is Dave Robicheaux. Patton's skill as a narrator matches Burke's own talent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Read it years ago

The audible version was more exciting than reading. The Lector was very engaging. Good Book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing, especially the ending

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The person (now deceased) who recommended Blowdown in her blog was a very worldly poet who taught Creative Writing and whose favorite city was New Orleans. In all fairness, I'm not a fan of modern fiction to begin with. To me, the most interesting and believable characters were the black teenagers, and corrupt New Orleans itself---in the fetid, inoperable wake of Hurricane Katrina. I like the IDEA of the book, But I found most of the characters--including the protagonist himself--to be uninteresting, and sad.

What was most disappointing about James Lee Burke’s story?

The book's ending wasn't satisfying to me, at all.. It seemed rushed into, as though the author's editor had been standing over him, yelling, "I don't care how much more you want to say, END the thing!" I didn't pick up on anything redemptive in this book. (Unless you count the loyalty of a crook to his brother and fellow crook)

What aspect of Will Patton’s performance would you have changed?

Nothing. His performance, especially his easy pronunciation of French-based names, was one of the best aspects of this audiobook, IMO.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Tin Roof Blowdown?

Not scenes but whole characters and their subplot: eg. The two mysterious villains (the eccentric stalker and his bud) seemed thrown in merely to add more "mystery" and "suspense," but they didn't work for me.

Any additional comments?

Keep in mind that I generally don't read fiction, and this book WAS recommended by someone who read a LOT of fiction. People have different tastes and sensibilities, so other reader/listeners may love this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rich and captivating

I cannot give this story and performance highi enough marksit is richly textured and the voice of Will Patten adds to its depth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting account of Hurricane Katrina.

I am from South Mississippi and was in the center of Hurricane Katrina's path. No one can ever know the devastation caused on August 29, 2005 by this CAT 5 hurricane. This book is a fictional account of the aftermath that struck close to home. I wish this book had a sequel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

James Lee Burke tell a great story

This was a tough read. The story about New Orleans takes place during and after hurricane Katrina and plunges the reader into the horror that took place. Tho fiction, much of the story is true. Burke gets to the heart of all the things we do to one another because of fear, pain and ignorance.

There were gripping story line and those far less compelling in this book. As in previous books following the primary characters, we've come to know their strengths and foibles. Even the characters new in this story, I had people who I rooted for but far more who were not likable. Burke somehow makes them interesting as they make decisions likely to do damage to themselves and those around them.

We want to be hopeful. We want things to be better. We may even want to be better people. Burke always tells a tale both cautionary and moral. He may be preaching to the choir, but I'll continue to listen to the song.

As always, we can count on Will Patton to make the written words come alive.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing insight.

Really gets into you. Can't leave it alone until you finish. The detail will fill your mind with New Orleans.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!