James Lee Burke’s book Another Kind of Eden (reviewed in 2021) had just a bit too much of the supernatural in it for my taste…same for my husband who is the real Burke fan in this household. So I was a bit hesitant to dive into Every Cloak Rolled in Blood, described as “ his most autobiographical novel to date, “ In it, Burke continues the Holland family saga with a story about a writer grieving the death of his daughter while at the same time battling earthly and supernatural  (uh-oh) outlaws.

The protagonist, novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is trying to honor the memory of his daughter by saving two young men from a life of crime. They live in a classic  opioid-ravaged community, and Broussard finds himself dealing with a violent former Klansman, a fnot very godly minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and (as if this weren’t enough!) a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight.Broussard allies himself with state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, who turns out to be the only one he can trust. But then the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father as he works to fight the demons of both the present and the past. Oh, and the next. Yikes. This exploration of good vs. evil is wrapped in love and family, blah blah blah, but it was a bit too out there for me, Three stars, and we still love Burke but hope for more reality in future books. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this title.