Great Title, Good Book
In Confederate Dead, bayou detective Dave Robicheaux takes on a mob-financed movie production and a string of butchered prostitutes. Steeped in swampy mystery, Confederate Dead is a very competent detective story-- even if it doesn?t quite live up to its title.
Instead of the inspired lunacy suggested by the title, we have a fairly typical police procedural that includes a short-sighted, politically motivated boss, a charming criminal lots of colorful low-lifes and, of course, the damaged but valiant tough guy detective. The twist, in this case, is that the detective occasionally talks to a dead confederate general. Frankly, as the story progressed, I wanted to know more about the ghost and less about the case.
Still if you?re a fan of hard-boiled detective stories (and not just buying it for the title), I?d give this my full recommendation.
