In The Moon of Red Ponies (Billy Bob Holland) - Hardcover

James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed. (Michael Connelly)

A gorgeous prose stylist. (Stephen King)

Richly deserves to be described now as one of the finest crime writers America has ever produced. (Daily Mail)

There are not many crime writers about whom one might invoke the name of Zola for comparison, but Burke is very much in that territory. His stamping ground is the Gulf coast, and one of the great strengths of his work has always been the atmospheric background of New Orleans and the bayous. His big, baggy novels are always about much more than the mechanics of the detective plot; his real subject, like the French master, is the human condition, seen in every situation of society. (Independent)

The king of Southern noir. (Daily Mirror)

His lyrical prose, his deep understanding of what makes people behave as they do, and his control of plot and pace are masterly. (Sunday Telegraph)

One of the finest American writers. (Guardian)

When it comes to literate, pungently characterised American crime writing, James Lee Burke has few peers. (Daily Express)

'Of all American crime fiction writers James Lee Burke could be described as the most literary, with his grand themes of redemption and atonement. In this .... Burke addresses the big question of the human potential to do good or evil.' (DAILY MAIL)

'Rich, lyrical narrative, peopled by ghosts and visions ... What he's really writing about, I suspect, is redemption and he does so with passion, skill and a generous heart. Read it and be refreshed.' (Philip Oakes LITERARY REVIEW)