The Tin Roof Blowdown

A Dave Robicheaux Novel

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

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

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

Excellent in every way.

Interesting story line, realistic characters, riveting and fascinating. another Robicheaux and Purcell classic. 5 stars for sure.

Hurricane Katrina can't stop crime

James Lee Burke's The Tin Roof Blowdown meshes the horrible destruction and death wrought by Hurricane Katrina, and later Rita with the usual sorts of criminals as well as the opportunists and looters. Several men from the hard hit Lower 9 steal a boat and head to an area of wealthy homes and begin looting, getting way more than they expected.

One of the homes they loot is owned by a mob boss and contains items beyond their wildest dreams, another house on the block holds a family of three, the daughter a rape victim who identifies those looters as the rapists who had attacked when she was still in high school. A third home has a racist man out to "protect" his neighborhood with his friends.

When two looters are shot, Dave Robicheaux gets involved in the investigation. With a cast of characters only Burke can imagine, the investigation grows as well as the danger to all involved - including Dave's family.

Burke never holds back in his description of the devastation caused by nature, the poor safety net offered the people, or the struggles involved in finding food and shelter.

Some of the characters made my skin crawl, and Dave's friend Clete irritates me in his drinking and violence, the book is a good read

Most Exciting Mystery Ever

The author has woven a wonderfully exciting story into the excitement of hurricane Katrina.
A heart-stopper.
Don't miss it!!