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The New Iberia Blues

by James Lee Burke
S. & S. (Dave Robicheaux, Bk. 22).Jan. 2019. 464p. ISBN 9781501176876. $27.99; ebk. ISBN 9781501176883. M
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OrangeReviewStarDet. Dave Robicheaux is haunted by ghosts, both his own and the one behind the brutal tarot-card murders. Native son Desmond Cormier is back from Hollywood, shooting part of his movie in the local swamplands of Iberia Parish, where locals are suddenly being killed in unusual ways—victims wear charms to ward off bayou evil, and signs of black magic and religious crusades mark the crime scenes. From Cormier, the religious zealot Hugo Tillinger, and Robicheaux's deadly hit-man nemesis "Smiley" Wimple, the murderer could be anyone. Robicheaux finds the blues at a crossroads—the clash between light and dark and the struggle to quell his inner demons. Will he be forced to repay the debt he owes the dead?
VERDICT No one paints a picture of life in the sultry Louisiana bayou better than Burke. Readers drawn to the Cajun grit and Robicheaux's charm will love wading with him through the mists and Spanish moss of the swampland, peering into his psyche while hunting a psychopathic killer. [See Prepub Alert, 7/2/18.]
Reviewed by K.L. Romo, Duncanville, TX , Dec 01, 2018
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