The Neon Rain

If you love a dark kind of a detective story, you'll love the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke. In the Neon Rain, the first Dave Robicheaux book in the series, we were introduced to Dave Robicheaux, a detective in New Orleans. It all started with a murder of an African-American teen that lead him to deal with all sorts of nefarious types of people--the mob, a gang of snarly men, a ruthless U.S. Treasury Man, and his partner, Cletus, who turned bad and corrupted. Along the way, he tried to the truth and the connections between the events that led to it, while his life and his brother ended up in trouble. There was also a love interest for Dave, when he tied up loose ends and decided to hit the road his own way. Lots of nitty gritty intrigue and drama in this dark noir tale.

This was a good introduction to the series to showcase the darker side of New Orleans. While reading this mystery, we do get to develop real genuine feelings for Dave who carried about her brother, got in trouble with the law at work, and had a drinking problems. We also get to now his backstory as well with a failed marriage to boot. I didn't like it, when his former partner Cletus went bad, or had the US Treasury covered up a crime. This was an intense mystery and also dark as it gets as well.

Ready to go dark and deep? Give this book a try, this weekend!