Clete

I just finished reading Clete, James Lee Burke's latest Dave Robicheaux novel. This is a long-running series that features Robicheaux, an Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office detective and former New Orleans homicide detective, along with his friend Clete Purcel, a private detective who was Robicheaux's partner at the New Orleans Police Department. The last two books by Burke that I have read feature supernatural elements, and Clete is no exception. The story is told from his perspective and centers on Dave and Clete's pursuit of ruthless drug smugglers, who are importers of a very dangerous new drug. As the bodies begin to pile up as they try to find both the stash of drugs and the head of the operation, Clete begins to have hallucinations about, or perhaps is actually being visited by, the spirit of Joan of Arc. I must say, this is an unusual crime novel, to say the least, but I did like it. To me, Burke's underlying theme is about the struggle between good and evil, and the origins of evil itself. And in Clete, he does it while telling a very absorbing story.