Part of Dave Robicheaux, book 15
First published 2006
Trish Klein walks into Louisiana casinos flashing hundred-dollar bills, and Detective Dave Robicheaux knows trouble follows close behind. Twenty-five years earlier, Robicheaux was drowning in alcohol and failure when his Vietnam War buddy Dallas Klein was killed over gambling debts in Florida. Robicheaux was too drunk to help his friend. Now Dallas's daughter has surfaced, and her presence forces Robicheaux to unlock memories he buried long ago. As he digs into Trish's reasons for coming to Louisiana, Robicheaux discovers connections to a local woman's apparent suicide. The dead woman seemed like an innocent, but she was caught up in a web of political power, sexual manipulation, and violence. The investigation becomes Robicheaux's most personal case, stirring up decades of guilt and regret while threatening his current peace of mind.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: personal-stakes, redemption, second-chance
Setting: Florida, Louisiana
Period: 1990s, Vietnam War
368 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse, violence