James Lee Burke Dave Robicheaux Series Books In Order

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Dave Robicheaux Books In Order

Dave Robicheaux is the empathetic, strong, and resilient detective in James Lee Burke’s award-winning crime fiction series. Robicheaux is a former homicide detective from New Orleans who lives and works in New Iberia, Louisiana. A recovering alcoholic and Vietnam War veteran, Robicheaux is a flawed character but much beloved by readers.

James Lee Burke’s exceptional writing stands out and has earned him many admirers and awards. With his beautiful, atmospheric prose, readers frequently describe his novels as “poetry,” although the books don’t shy away from gritty violence and are often described as hard-boiled crime stories.

Robicheaux and the supporting characters in the books evolve over time, which is why fans recommend reading the series in order to avoid spoilers and to enjoy a richer reading experience.

1. The Neon Rain

Dave Robicheaux, a New Orleans detective, discovers that someone wants him dead and becomes involved with drug dealers, Mafia chieftains, an ex-general with shady dealings in Central America, and a beautiful woman.

2. Heaven’s Prisoners

James Lee Burke’s second Robicheaux novel takes the detective out of New Orleans and into the bayou as he seeks a quieter life.

3. Black Cherry Blues

Dave Robicheaux was once a Louisiana homicide cop. Now he’s trying to start a new life, opening up a fishing business and caring for his adopted girl, Alafair.

4. A Morning for Flamingos

A cajun cop infiltrates the mob…but is he too close?

5. A Stained White Radiance

Detective Dave Robicheaux travels to the mountains of Montana to help his best friend and unearths a larger plot that threatens them both.

6. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead

The filming of a Civil War movie forces Dave Robicheaux to confront demons that stand in the way of his salvation.

7. Dixie City Jam

A sunken Nazi U-boat drags a Louisiana deputy into lethal danger in this hard-boiled mystery by a New York Times–bestselling author.

8. Burning Angel

A gangster’s journal and a property dispute spell trouble for a Louisiana deputy in this hard-boiled murder mystery

9. Cadillac Jukebox

No one was surprised when Aaron Crown was arrested for the decades-old murder of the most famous black civil rights leader in Louisiana. After all, his family were shiftless timber people who brought their ways into the Cajun wetlands

10. Sunset Limited

The townspeople of New Iberia, Louisiana, didn’t crucify Megan Flynn’s father. They just didn’t catch whoever pinned him to a barn wall with sixteen-penny nails.

11. Purple Cane Road

Dave Robicheaux has spent his life confronting the age-old adage that the sins of the father pass onto the son. But what has his mother’s legacy left him?

12. Jolie Blon’s Bounce

Dave Robicheaux is back in this powerful New York Times bestseller that takes him into the underbelly of New Iberia’s mafia to solve the brutal murder of two teenage girls.

13. Last Car to Elysian Fields

Sheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans to investigate the beating of a controversial Catholic priest and murder of three teenage girls in this intense, atmospheric entry in the New York Times bestselling series.

14. Crusader’s Cross

For Dave Robicheaux, life in Louisiana is filled with haunting memories of the past—images from Vietnam, the violent streets of New Orleans, and his own troubled youth.

15. Pegasus Descending

Dave Robicheaux is back in a dangerous mystery that involves stolen money, gritty casinos, and a beautiful girl with connections to his past.

16. The Tin Roof Blowdown

Dave Robicheaux returns in an adventure as timely as real life: the fight against crime, and the fight for life in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

17. Swan Peak

Beloved Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux returns—this time, traveling from New Iberia Parish to the wilds of Montana.

18. The Glass Rainbow

Detective Dave Robicheaux becomes entangled in a mystery that connects a series of grisly murders with an ex-convict turned bestselling author, a notorious local pimp, and the man currently dating Robicheaux’s daughter.

19. Creole Belle

Dave Robicheaux investigates the disappearance of a young Creole woman, while an oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico threatens to destroy the cherished beauty of the Louisiana bayous in this gripping thriller.

20. Light of the World

Dave Robicheaux battles the most diabolical villain he has ever faced in this atmospheric thriller. Sadist and serial killer

21. Robicheaux

Robicheaux crosses paths with powerful mob boss, Tony Nemo.

22. The New Iberia Blues

The shocking death of a young woman leads Detective Dave Robicheaux into the dark corners of Hollywood, the mafia, and the backwoods of Louisiana

23. A Private Cathedral

After finding himself caught up in one of Louisiana’s oldest and bloodiest family rivalries, Detective Dave Robicheaux must battle the most terrifying adversary he has ever encountered: a time-traveling superhuman assassin.

24. Clete

Clete and Dave attempt to stop ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug