Jesus Out To Sea [Hardcover]

'crime buffs have been waiting for James Lee Burke, the prose-burnishing kingpin of the Southern Catholic Guilt School of crime fiction, to deliver his take on the disaster that wiped out the city which formed a nackdrop to many of his previous books.' (WORD )

'this collection is a triumph - moving, compassionate and tough' (Peter Guttridge OBSERVER )

'powerful short stories, quietly and passionately told' (Matthew Lewin THE GUARDIAN )

'visceral, tender depictions of individuals surviving against hard and pitiless odds, with their powerful mix of poetry and gum-chewing colloquialism.' (METRO )

'crime buffs have been waiting for James Lee Burke, the prose-burnishing kingpin of the Southern Catholic Guilt School of crime fiction, to deliver his take on the disaster that wiped out the city which formed a nackdrop to many of his previous books.' WORD 'this collection is a triumph - moving, compassionate and tough' -- Peter Guttridge OBSERVER 'powerful short stories, quietly and passionately told' -- Matthew Lewin THE GUARDIAN 'visceral, tender depictions of individuals surviving against hard and pitiless odds, with their powerful mix of poetry and gum-chewing colloquialism.' METRO

'powerful short stories, quietly and passionately told'

'visceral, tender depictions of individuals surviving against hard and pitiless odds, with their powerful mix of poetry and gum-chewing colloquialism.'

This powerful new collection of James Lee Burke's short fiction ranges across landscapes that he has made his own, from rural Louisiana and Mississippi to war-torn Vietnam and a New Orleans ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Told with his trademark blend of lyrical prose and hard-eyed realism, they bring a host of extraordinary characters to vivid life: soldiers and prostitutes, nuns and children, musicians and gangsters, all the while movingly exploring 'the near certainty of tragedy to come and the smoldering embers of possibility in the ashes of blighted lives' (BOOKLIST). Whether bittersweet evocations of childhood and a New Orleans that was 'a song, not a city', or pain-fuelled tales of wartime atrocities and the destruction of a modern-day Atlantis, these stories go right to the heart of the American experience, confirming James Lee Burke as one of its most profound chroniclers.

James Lee Burke is the author of many previous novels, many featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He won the Edgar Award in 1997 for 'Cimarron Rose', while 'Black Cherry Blues' won the Edgar in 1989 and 'Sunset Limited' was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger in 1998. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.