Product Description

'As I stood there on my front porch that hot, breathless July day, leaning against the column with the six bullet holes, now worn and smooth, I could see Hack's whitewashed marker under the pin oaks in the Holland family cemetery... Four generations of my family were buried there.'

Hack Holland is a product of the South, both old and new. Hard-drinking ex-POW and wealthy, progressive Democrat, he stands in the long shadow cast by his ancestors. When Holland's candidacy for a congressional seat brings him increasingly into conflict with those around him, his almost unwitting involvement with a violent civil rights conflict forces him to reassess his future - and his past...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #544482 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Library Journal
These titles, published throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, represent Burke's early work before the creation of his now famous Cajun detective, Dave Robicheaux. Each features protagonists forced to make tough decisions that will forever change the paths of their lives (LJ 3/1/65, LJ 7/70, LJ 1/15/72).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Burke writes popular fiction that is so well crafted, so well written, and so intelligent that it soars above other fiction of its type into the realm of high art".

-- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

About the Author
James Lee Burke is the author of nineteen previous novels, including eleven featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

To this day, my favorite of all the Burke books
This will be a departure in some way for people that have read the series about Dave, but for those of us that simply love his written word, this is a stunning piece of work by Burke. I have read this book twice, something I don't do too often because there are just too many things stacked up in my "to read" pile. Hack is a good man plagued by demons of his own making, something that is NOT a departure in a Burke novel and is what makes this book one that is not easily forgotten. I think that the struggle we all make in our lives to do what is "right" is just rife with areas of grey. This is what makes reading this (and any) Burke novel an experience rather than several hours to kill time with a story. Just my opinion, I've been wrong before, as someone much wiser than me once said.

No Dave Robicheaux, but not bad
I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Hank Holland. The JLB style remains the same with the tough, rough main character, plagued by his own demons,but ultimately righteous in the end. It was enjoyable (and available in Mexico in Paperback, so not thoroughly out of print...) I'd read another book about the same character and I've read all but the most recent one of the Dave Robicheaux collection.

Disappointing
I was very disappointed in this book. Having read all of his previous books, I assumed this one would be good too. The main character Hack Holland is believeable but there is not enough substance to carry the plot. I bought this book to read for my summer vacation up north and ended up with no book to read and no place to buy another one.... can anything be more depressing!..sorry James Lee