Now in audiobook edition, the sixth Dave Robicheaux novel by acclaimed New York Times best-selling novelist and Edgar-winner James Lee Burke.
The image of the dead girl's body lingered in detective Dave Robicheaux's mind as he drove home. After seeing the young victim's corpse, the last thing he needed to come across was a drunk driver. But when he saw the Cadillac fishtail across the road, Robicheaux knew the driver was in trouble. What Dave didn't realize, was that by pulling the car over, he was opening his murder case wider than he could ever imagine.
The driver, Elrod Sykes, in New Iberia to star in a movie, leads Dave to the skeletal remains of a black man that had washed up in the Atchafalaya swamp. So begins a mystery that takes Dave back to an unsolved murder - a murder that he witnessed in 1957. Haunted by the past as he confronts the gruesome present-day rape and murder of young prostitutes, Robicheaux must also contend with a new partner from the F.B.I., and the local criminal gentry. But for Dave, the answers he seeks lie somewhere in the bayou mist with the ghosts of soldiers long since forgotten...
A masterwork of detective fiction, In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead is James Lee Burke's most suspenseful work to date.
©1993 James Lee Burke (P)2012 Simon & Schuster Audio
Rya B
"Better than I thought"
Very - good
he is so dry I can't tell when he changes characters. his voice is so gravely & nasal i can not picture him as Dave. No disrespect to Mr. Hammer. I just don't care for his reading in these novels
I would love to have the whole series re read by Will Patton.
"It's worth it"
No, I wouldn't listen again. Not because it was a bad story/listen, but only because I don't reread/re-listen to fiction of this kind.
Big fan of Burke, his descriptions are way above the bar compared to most contemporary mystery/detective writers. Robicheaux is one to come back for.
Mark Hammer was amazing. This is the first of Burke's books I have listened to and I couldn't have picked a better voice for it.
Not the best of the Robicheaux series so far, however having only got this far, I'm not qualified to say it is the worst either, however it is, in my humble opinion, the worst of the first 6.
If you are into reading series from beginning to end as I am, this may be the one to skip, [SPOILER ALERT], (kind of), nothing that significant happens in Robicheaux's life that I could see becoming a reoccurring plot point or character identifier. The only thing I could see returning would be a couple of the antagonist, maybe...
I loved reading for years, but now I've become so attached to Audible I'm finding reading tedious. Is that a bad thing?....
"Burke is awesome again, Hammer is really good."
I found this story to be very entertaining and Hammer's reading surprisingly good. This is an early Robicheaux story, his daughter Alifair is only 11. I liked the inexperienced but reliable and honest sherrif', the ghost of General Hood is marvelous, the Hollywood scenes are as humorous as they are intriguing.
There is great chemistry in Dave's partnership with the FBI agent, as well as with his daughter. This is just another Burke novel worthy of anyone's time!
"Left Turn Ending"
Burke gives us yet another well written prose style book but there seems to be certain words he uses more than once in every book I have read so far e.g "fecund". I have to say I am not reading the series in strict order. They are so well crafted each book can stand alone. I am aware of the Hammer vs. Patton divide, but personally I think both men bring their own set of skills to the narration and both give a pleasant listen. As far as the characters of Bootsy, Alafair and Rosie seem to be almost after thoughts at times; dare I say 'Filler". That is why I thought this book took a really sharp left turn with the focus sharply on Alafair. Would I recommend it? Absolutely!