The second Lew Griffin novel
One of the very few lights from Lew Griffin's dark and violent past has flickered out. His one-time lover, La Verne Adams is dead — and her daughter, Alouette, has vanished into a seamy, dead-end world of users and abusers… leaving behind a crack-addicted infant and a mystery.
Abandoning his former career for the safe respectability of teaching, Lew Griffin now spends his time in an old house in the garden district — determined to keep his distance from the lowlife temptations of the New Orleans night. But an inescapable obligation to an old friend is drawing the tormented black ex-P.I. to danger like a moth to a flame. And there will be no turning back when his history comes calling and the dying begins again.
'Classic American crime of the highest order' — Time Out 'An unsung genius of crime writing' — Independent on Sunday
'He's right up there, one of the best of the best. His series of novels about private eye Lew Griffin is thoughtful, challenging and beautifully written' — Iain Sinclair, Guardian
'James Sallis is a superb writer' — The Times
Don't miss the other novels in the Lew Griffin series: The Long Legged Fly, Moth, Black Hornet, Eye of the Cricket, Bluebottle and Ghost of a Flea.