<p> <b>In the latest Robicheaux novel, Clete Purcel - veteran, private investigator, and former New Orleans cop - takes centre stage for the first time. </b><br><br>****<br><br>Clete Purcel - private investigator, ex-member of the New Orleans Police Department, and war veteran with a hard shell and just a few soft spots - is Dave Robicheaux's longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past.<br><br>When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only to return to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade from Mexican cartels to Louisiana, it feels personal - his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and his fists curl when he thinks of the dealers who sold it.<br><br>Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow hires Clete as a detective to investigate her scheming, slippery ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who seems to lurk around every corner. Clete is experiencing shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questioning Clara's ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed his car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could've imagined.<br><br><b>Gripping, violent, yet interlaced with Clete's humor and consistent drive to protect those he loves, <i>Clete </i>brings a fresh perspective to a truly iconic series. </b><br><br>****<br><br><b>PRAISE FOR JAMES LEE BURKE, THE AWARD-WINNING KING OF SOUTHERN NOIR:</b><br><br> 'James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed' <b>Michael Connelly</b><br><br> 'A gorgeous prose stylist'<b> Stephen King</b><br><br> 'No argument: James Lee Burke is among the finest of all contemporary American novelists' <i><b>Daily Mail</b></i><br><br>'The greatest crime writer currently at work' <b><i>Spectator</i></b><br><br>'The reigning champ of nostalgia noir' <b><i>New York Times</i></b><br><br>'Masterly' <b><i>Sunday Telegraph</i></b></p>