A Stained White Radiance, James Lee Burke, 1992

A Dave Robicheaux novel featuring a detective with the New Iberia Sheriff’s Office fighting crime in Southern Louisiana.  A whole cast of scruffy good guys and real bad guys surface in this tale about how a family’s early pathology leads to life long problems with the Sonniers.  Dave has a lovely wife, an adopted child whom he saved from a sinking ship in the Gulf, a Black bait shop employee, and a former partner from the NOPD who is a lovable renegade.  The story is not worth recounting but the writing is excellent especially the descriptions of the sky, the bayous, and the food in Cajun country.  Great recommendation from Barry Dym.