James Lee Burke

On its surface, life in Houston is as you would expect: drive-in restaurants, souped-up cars, jukeboxes, teenagers discovering their sexuality. But beneath the glitz and superficial normalcy, a class war has begun, and it is nothing like the conventional portrayal of the decade. Against this backdrop Aaron Holland Broussard discovers the poignancy of first love and a world of violence he did not know existed. When Aaron spots the beautiful and gifted...

Features ten short works that follow the devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi during and after Hurricane Katrina.

In hot and sultry Texas, Hack, an attorney and Korean War POW, is being pushed by his wife, his brother, and his so-called friends in the oil business to run for political office. But Hack would prefer to drink, look after his beloved horses, and represent the occasional long-shot pro bono case at his law firm. When Hack attempts to overturn a conviction for an old army buddy, he finds himself embroiled in the seamy underbelly of the Texas patronage...

Recently paroled from prison for manslaughter, Korean War veteran Iry Paret settles in with fellow ex-convict Buddy Riordan and Riordan's family on a sprawling ranch in Montana. Iry becomes drawn into a tragic conflict involving Buddy, his wife, and their neighbors.