Why read The Neon Rain?

Book cover of The Neon Rain

Book description

The outstanding first book in the ever-popular Dave Robicheaux series.

Introducing the New Orleans detective Dave Robicheaux.

Johnny Massina, a convicted murderer bound for the electric chair, has warned Dave Robicheaux that he's on somebody's hit list, and now the homicide detective is trying to discover just who that is…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Neon Rain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Diane Fanning

Author

I fell in love with the protagonist, Detective Dave Robicheaux.

Damaged by the Vietnam War, vexed by police brass, and haunted by the loss of his wife’s love, Robicheaux roams the streets of the French Quarter seeking justice. I was gobsmacked by the poetry in James Lee Burke’s prose.

The first book in a long-lasting series that made me seriously addicted.

From Diane's list on outstanding protagonists solving murder.

Kate Watterson

Author

The first in the series of Dave Robicheaux novels, this is handled quite well. The main character is very human, flawed by his own admission by a battle with an addiction to alcohol, but nonetheless is a tough and competent cop who definitely sees—and knows well—the seedier side. Set in the deep south, Burke takes you there with description that is so evocative that you can feel it with every sense, and the danger as the story unravels into a tale of corruption and bloody violence. I really wanted the main character to win this battle and it was one…

From Kate's list on steep cliff page-turners.