Clete (Dave Robicheaux, Bk. 24)

24th installment in the long-running Dave Robicheaux detective series, shifting focus to fan-favorite sidekick Clete Purcel — offering readers a fresh vantage point within the familiar Southern-Gothic world.

In this latest installment of the series, longtime friend and partner of Dave Robicheaux, Clete Purcel — a former New Orleans police officer, war veteran, and private investigator — takes center stage. 

When Clete’s car is ransacked by thugs tied to a dangerous new drug trade, the case becomes deeply personal: his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose. As Clete delves into the underworld, he becomes entangled with a woman named Clara Bow, her scheming ex-husband, mysterious violent deaths, and a heavily tattooed man lurking in the shadows. As the danger escalates and hallucinations blur reality, Clete must confront not just criminals — but his own demons — in a high-stakes fight for justice.

“Make no mistake, this is Clete’s story told in his inimitable voice... the opportunity to see Dave through the eyes of his best friend, from a new and rather intimate angle, absolutely should not be missed.” — Booklist

“Devils and saints wrestle in the mud of bayou country.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Clete is everything you would want from a James Lee Burke novel — the noir style, the atmosphere of the area as thick as the humidity of the nearby swamps, and characters so fully fleshed out they jump off the page.” — Bookreporter.com