Description
Book SynopsisTHE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
A powerful novel of conflict, history and shadows from the past ... by the bestselling, acclaimed author of THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN.
''As I stood there on my front porch that hot, breathless July day, leaning against the column with the six bullet holes, now worn and smooth, I could see Hack''s whitewashed marker under the pin oaks in the Holland family cemetery ... Four generations of my family were buried there.''
Hack Holland is a product of the South, both old and new. Hard-drinking ex-POW and wealthy, progressive Democrat, he stands in the long shadow cast by his ancestors. When Holland''s candidacy for a congressional seat brings him increasingly into conflict with those around him, his almost unwitting involvement with a violent civil rights conflict forces him to reassess his future - and his past...
Praise for one of the great American crime writers, James Lee Burke:
''James Lee Burke is
Trade Review
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 *
