<p><b>In the latest installment in his famous Detective Dave Robicheaux series, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author James Lee Burke brings Dave's partner and friend Clete Purcel to the forefront for the first time as Clete and Dave attempt to stop ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug</b></p><br><p>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. 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.</p><br><p>Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow, a woman with a dark past 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.</p><br><p>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. James Lee Burke proves yet again that he is the "heavyweight champ" and "great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed" (Michael Connelly). </p>