Friday Reads: In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead

Happy Friday! Our cataloging & acquisitions librarian, Adam Pellman, is reading In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke. If you're intrigued by the title, read on for Adam's thoughts on the book.

Adam Pellman is reading In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead

"This is the sixth book in a detective series that I started reading a few years ago, and that I've really enjoyed for its superb character development, plotting, and sense of place.  The series is set in small-town Louisiana, where its main character, a former New Orleans police detective and recovering alcoholic named Dave Robicheaux, has made a new life for himself working for the local Iberia Parish Sheriff's Department.

"In this installment, Dave must grapple with the South's legacy of racist violence as he becomes involved in an investigation into the still-unsolved murder of a black man from 1957, as well as a series of serial rapes and murders of prostitutes.  Oh, and as the title suggests, Dave also communes with the ghost(?) of Confederate general John Bell Hood.

"The author, James Lee Burke, is immensely talented.  He writes in lush descriptive prose, has a great ear for dialogue, and creates these wonderfully complex crime narratives that rank far above the enjoyable whodunits that often make up this genre.  I'm looking forward to the many remaining books in this series."