My biggest fear is that the epilogue presages the end of Dave Robicheaux stories.

In this episode, Dave, his wife Molly and his friend Clete Purvis take an extended vacation in Western Montana on the ranch of an old friend, Albert Hollister. Unfortunately for them but fortunately for the reader, they become entangled with the Wellstone family, wealthy immigrants from Texas, and are also asked to help the local sheriff with a double murder of a pair of college students.

There are also many sub-plots: Clete's dalliance with Jamie Sue Wellstone, Leslie Wellstone's wife, Jimmy Dale Greenwood, a half Indian singer's battle to maintain his pride and avenge a terrible wrong, Clete's struggle to come to grips with past events that involved him in Montana, years ago, the redemption of Candace Sweeney and Troy Nix, two lost souls meeting on the road, and the constant fight both Dave and Clete have with ghosts from their past, separately and together.

All of this is illuminated by James Lee Burke's almost lyrical writing. His ability to capture a Montana sunset as well as the inner demons of an alcoholic in words is unsurpassed. His characters are unpredictably predictable. His heroes are way too human to not make mistakes. His villains are evil, clever and even the worst of them have some redeeming qualities.

He is able to make Montana come alive as well as he does Louisiana. He is able to describe the wellsprings of anger in poor southern whites better than any author I've read. He describes the peccadillos of the very rich in ways I have never considered. He also somehow implicitly shows the impact combat has over time on the soldiers involved.

He captures the dark side of the human condition while also showing the power of love, friendship and a sense of justice. I can only hope Burke has more of Dave Robicheaux to share with us.