In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead
by Burke, James Lee
pub by Hyperion, NY, 1993 -       - LCCN 92-26615 - - isbn 1-56282-882-7 - - 344 p.
James Lee Burke is a prolific mystery/crime writer. This one is fairly early (but not the first) in the Dave Robicheaux series. I counted 23 books in this series written over a 33 year period.
This story involves very violent murders of young women, a movie production about the Civil War in the the Atchafalaya swamp area - New Iberia, Layafayette, and New Orleans. Also the murder of a particular black person and some goings-on at the infameous Angola prison. The relationships of various local law enforcement agencies and the individual investigators is explored. Dave Robicheaux family life is also featured, as is his professional relationship with his boss Sheriff and a female FBI agent assigned to part of the investigation. Dave Robicheaux is portrayed as a recovering alcoholic who knows a lot about Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and sponsoring someone to assist him. He also has vivid dreams of the Confederate unit and persons in that unit who interact with him.
This author and series was recomended to me by an on-line friend who knew that I had some personal knowledge of that part of Louisanna. He also knew the area from the perspective of an offshore oil field supply boat operating from the Atachafalaya area. Of course this novel goes into much more local depth than I knew about. (In the early 1970s I worked on a offshore oil exploration boat which worked out of Morgan City, LA and once ventured up the Atchafalaya during a minimal hurricane.)
This was a passingly decent crime/mystery read. Some of the violence was gut wrenching, then it was part of the story.
~ 2022-11-14 ~

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