Reissued alongside first paperback publication of Last Car to Elysian Fields All James Lee Burke's paperbacks are now being reissued in Phoenix with striking new covers James Lee Burke has won the CWA/Macallan Gold Dagger once and the Edgar Award twice His novels have sold over half a million copies in paperback alone and alll his most recent novels have been bestsellers 'Still the greatest, bar none ... there's nothing currently on show to match, let alone better, Burke' LITERARY REVIEW 'James Lee Burke could not write badly if he tried...brilliant' EVENING STANDARD 'James Lee Burke is an exceptional writer; no qualification needed' THE OBSERVER

Winner of CWA Gold Dagger for Fiction 1998 and Crime Writers' Association Macallan Gold Dagger Award 1998.

When it comes to literate, pungently characterised American crime writing, James Lee Burke has few peers. * Daily Express * One of the finest American writers. * Guardian * 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 * The king of Southern noir. * Daily Mirror * 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 gentle giant of US crime writers, Burke always ensures that his Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux grapples with hot topics as much as with his own inner demons. * i newspaper * Richly deserves to be described now as one of the finest crime writers America has ever produced. * Daily Mail * A gorgeous prose stylist. * Stephen King * James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed. * Michael Connelly *

James Lee Burke is the author of nineteen previous novels, including eleven featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.