A morning for flamingos

Most mystery writers establish a sense of place mainly to create ambience, with street names and landmarks strewn about in the manner an interior decorator arranges furniture and chooses wallpaper. Occasionally, though, setting becomes something more--the architect replacing the decorator--and a metaphor emerges that enhances meaning rather than just prettifying plot. In these two seemingly similar novels, we see New Orleans through the eyes of, first, an expert decorator and, next, an inspired architect. Sarah Shankman's Now Let's Talk of Graves is the third in her Samantha Adams series, and this time the Atlanta investigative reporter is in New Orleans attending a high-society Mardi Gras ball with her friend, Kitty. When Kitty's brother dies in an apparent hit-and-run accident, and the family's insurance company drags its feet about paying the claim, Kitty enlists Sam to find out what really happened. As the closets open to reveal the secret doings of New Orleans' elite families, the din of rattling skeletons becomes as deafening as a rousing chorus of "When the Saints Go Marching In." This is nothing more than a straightforward formula mystery: red herrings abound, coincidences multiply, romance blossoms (between Sam and a rumpled but cute rival investigator from the insurance company), and, of course, ambience drips (oysters at Galatoires, muffulettas at the Central Grocery, voodoo rites at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1). It's all perfectly good fun and certainly deserves the endorsement of the New Orleans tourist bureau. James Lee Burke's interest in New Orleans, unlike Shankman's, extends well beyond the travelogue surface. Burke's Cajun detective, Dave Robicheaux, is once again battling personal demons--questions of fear and bravery, violence and compassion, pleasure and pain--and as he stalks an escaped killer and infiltrates the world of a Mafia drug lord, he finds reflections of his own torment wherever he looks. What it means to be Cajun is at the heart of Robicheaux's dilemma: he treasures the easy-living side of his heritage, but with the po' boy sandwiches and the pulsing beat of Zydeco music come the lure of violence and an obsession with bravery and personal honor that consistently puts himself and his loved ones at risk. Can you enjoy beignets at the Caf du Monde, or hum a chorus of "Jolie Blonde," or sip a Dixie beer without at the same time wanting to bash the head of anyone who smiles at your girl? And when you do bash a head, are you really doing it to protect the things you love or because the simple act of bashing something gives you such a kick? Robicheaux's ongoing attempt to resolve these questions brings new levels of meaning to the way we see New Orleans in particular and the pursuit of pleasure in general. Is the Big Easy really all that easy? Can any of us ever get free enough from our own demons to really experience the pleasures that New Orleans--or life--offers? Don't expect these matters to be addressed in either travel brochures or Sarah Shankman's novels, but you just might keep James Lee Burke in mind the next time you're strolling down Bourbon Street. --Bill Ott

In a muddy, weed-filled coulee, Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux begs an escaped convict for his life and is left more troubled by his lack of courage than by his gunshot wounds. Burke ( Half of Paradise ) proceeds to balance the resulting self-doubts of his tough, sympathetic hero with a complex, credible plot in his latest Cajun mystery. Robicheaux, a widower, leaves his small town for New Orleans, where he used to be a cop, to run a sting operation for the DEA. He engineers drug buys aimed at incriminating the local drug lord, an ex-Marine with nightmares and a habit from Vietnam, while trying to ferret out Jimmie Lee Boggs, the killer responsible for the coulee incident. Vivid supporting characters include Robicheaux's former NOPD partner Clete Purcel; an old true love now the widow of a Mafia figure; Gros Mama Goula, a juju woman; and Tony Cardo, the jumpy dealer whose inner struggles reflect Robicheaux's. Attentive to language and atmosphere, Burke delivers action on churning Gulf waters, in city streets, in deserted fields and within the souls of his memorable characters--and a fully satisfying resolution. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Fresh from his Edgar-winning Black Cherry Blues, Cajun policeman-avenger Dave Robicheaux goes after an escaped murderer and finds himself taking DEA money as the bagman in a cocaine sting, The murderer is Jimmie Lee Boggs, whose escape from custody left Dave's partner dead and Dave wounded, but alive, only because fellow-escapee Tee Beau Latolais just pretended to pull the trigger. Resolving to nail Boggs and get Tee Beau's murder conviction reexamined, Dave succumbs to DEA stalwart Minos Dautrieve, who uses Boggs's appearance in New Orleans as bait to bounce Dave from the New Iberia police force once more and hustle him down to the Delta. Here his part in the sting against druglord Tony Cardo will be complicated by his trademark divided loyalties and volcanic feelings--toward Boots Giacano, the sweetheart he loved and abandoned as a teen-ager; fiery Kim Dollinger, Cardo's current female, who comes on to Dave anyway; and charismatic, Vietnam-haunted Tony himself. Despite Tony's dangerous intensity--convinced that Dave's ""one all-together, copacetic motherfucker,"" Tony opens up to Dave by getting him out of bed to play Russian roulette and confessing his unending nightmares about the war (nightmares that vividly echo Dave's own)--Dave takes to him and his crippled son Paul much more deeply than to no-good guys like bullying, treacherous Vice Lt. Nate Baxter, who threatens to blow Dave's cover if he doesn't play the game his way. Multiple betrayals force Dave to choose between Boots and Kim, between bagging and protecting Tony, between playing by the rules and going all out for Boggs. Another robust study of powerfully shifting motives disguised as an action yarn--thick and strong as southern gumbo. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In a muddy, weed-filled coulee, Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux begs an escaped convict for his life and is left more troubled by his lack of courage than by his gunshot wounds. Burke ( Half of Paradise ) proceeds to balance the resulting self-doubts of his tough, sympathetic hero with a complex, credible plot in his latest Cajun mystery. Robicheaux, a widower, leaves his small town for New Orleans, where he used to be a cop, to run a sting operation for the DEA. He engineers drug buys aimed at incriminating the local drug lord, an ex-Marine with nightmares and a habit from Vietnam, while trying to ferret out Jimmie Lee Boggs, the killer responsible for the coulee incident. Vivid supporting characters include Robicheaux's former NOPD partner Clete Purcel; an old true love now the widow of a Mafia figure; Gros Mama Goula, a juju woman; and Tony Cardo, the jumpy dealer whose inner struggles reflect Robicheaux's. Attentive to language and atmosphere, Burke delivers action on churning Gulf waters, in city streets, in deserted fields and within the souls of his memorable characters--and a fully satisfying resolution. (Oct.) Copyright 1990 Cahners Business Information.