Reading order · 25 books · 1987 to 2026 · Set in New Iberia, Louisiana
Dave Robicheaux Books in Order
Dave Robicheaux is a Vietnam veteran, recovering alcoholic and sheriff’s detective in New Iberia, in the bayou country of south Louisiana. With his friend Clete Purcel, a violent, loyal former New Orleans cop, he takes on corrupt politicians, gangsters and the long shadows of the South’s past. Burke’s prose is lyrical and his violence sudden.
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Series facts
- Books
- 25
- Published
- 1987 to 2026
- First book
- The Neon Rain
- Latest
- The Hadacol Boogie (2026)
- Setting
- Set in New Iberia, Louisiana
The reading order
Every Dave Robicheaux book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
25 books · Set in New Iberia, Louisiana
- 1The Neon Rain1987With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux, a New Orleans homicide detective, finds the body of a young woman in the bayou and refuses to let the case go, even when the trail leads to arms dealers, gangsters and a corrupt general.Buy on Amazon
- 2Heaven’s Prisoners1988With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux, now out of the police and running a bait shop near New Iberia, is fishing with his wife when a small plane crashes in the Gulf.Buy on Amazon
- 3Black Cherry Blues1989With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux is accused of murder and travels to Montana to clear his name, where he finds an oil company, a fading rock singer and old enemies.Buy on Amazon
- 4A Morning for Flamingos1990With Dave RobicheauxAfter two prisoners escape and leave him wounded and his partner dead, Dave Robicheaux goes undercover in the New Orleans drug trade to find them.Buy on Amazon
- 5A Stained White Radiance1992With Dave RobicheauxAn attempt on a man’s life draws Robicheaux into the troubled Sonnier family, and a world of crime, politics and old hatreds.Buy on Amazon
- 6In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead1993With Dave RobicheauxAn actor filming in the bayous near New Iberia finds the skeleton of a Black man who was murdered decades earlier, and Dave Robicheaux begins to see the ghost of a Confederate general in the mist.Buy on Amazon
- 7Dixie City Jam1994With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux is asked to find a Nazi submarine sunk off the Louisiana coast in the Second World War, and finds himself facing a dangerous neo-Nazi.Buy on Amazon
- 8Burning Angel1995With Dave RobicheauxA family of sharecroppers is being forced off their land near New Iberia, and Robicheaux wonders whether it is connected to a murder.Buy on Amazon
- 9Cadillac Jukebox1996With Dave RobicheauxAaron Crown, a poor white man in prison for killing a civil rights leader years ago, says he did not do it, and Dave Robicheaux reopens a case powerful people want closed.Buy on Amazon
- 10Sunset Limited1998With Dave RobicheauxA woman Dave Robicheaux knew as a child returns to New Iberia, and with her comes an unsolved crime from decades ago: the crucifixion of her father, a union organiser.Buy on Amazon
- 11Purple Cane Road2000With Dave RobicheauxA man tells Dave Robicheaux that his mother, who disappeared when he was a boy, was murdered by police officers, and Dave sets out to find the truth.Buy on Amazon
- 12Jolie Blon’s Bounce2002With Dave RobicheauxA teenage girl is murdered, and Dave Robicheaux comes up against an evil, grey-haired plantation overseer named Legion Guidry, who seems to be more than human.Buy on Amazon
- 13Last Car to Elysian Fields2003With Dave RobicheauxAfter a priest friend is attacked, Robicheaux investigates a car crash that killed three teenage girls in New Iberia.Buy on Amazon
- 14Crusader’s Cross2005With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux’s dying half-brother tells him about a young prostitute they knew decades earlier, and Dave sets out to find out what happened to her.Buy on Amazon
- 15Pegasus Descending2006With Dave RobicheauxThe daughter of Robicheaux’s murdered Vietnam friend arrives in Louisiana and begins passing large sums of money in the casinos.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Tin Roof Blowdown2007With Dave RobicheauxHurricane Katrina strikes New Orleans, and in the chaos two looters are shot.Buy on Amazon
- 17Swan Peak2008With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel go to Montana for a holiday and find themselves caught up in murders and a feud with a wealthy family.Buy on Amazon
- 18The Glass Rainbow2010With Dave RobicheauxSeven young women have been murdered in a neighbouring parish, and Dave Robicheaux’s investigation leads to a powerful family, while his daughter Alafair is dating its son.Buy on Amazon
- 19Creole Belle2012With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux, recovering in hospital, hears a song on his iPod by a missing young singer, Tee Jolie Melton, and sets out to find her.Buy on Amazon
- 20Light of the World2013With Dave RobicheauxOn holiday in Montana, Dave Robicheaux, Clete Purcel and their daughters are stalked by a serial killer who has survived when he should have died.Buy on Amazon
- 21Robicheaux2018With Dave RobicheauxDave Robicheaux, grieving for his wife, wakes after a blackout to find the man responsible for her death has been killed, and he cannot be sure he did not do it.Buy on Amazon
- 22The New Iberia Blues2019With Dave RobicheauxA young woman is found murdered and fixed to a cross in the water, and Dave Robicheaux finds the case linked to a Hollywood director who grew up in New Iberia.Buy on Amazon
- 23A Private Cathedral2020With Dave RobicheauxA teenage girl from one Louisiana crime family is promised to a man from another, and Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel face a strange and terrible enemy.Buy on Amazon
- 24Clete2024With Clete PurcelClete Purcel takes a case after thugs wreck his car, and he and Dave hear rumours of a dangerous new drug, while Clete begins to see things he cannot explain.Buy on Amazon
- 25The Hadacol Boogie2026With Dave RobicheauxBuy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
The books can be read alone, but Dave’s family, his sobriety and his friendship with Clete develop over decades, so publication order is best.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Dave Robicheaux | Clete Purcel | Alafair Robicheaux | Helen Soileau | Bootsie Robicheaux | Molly Robicheaux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Neon Rain | LLead | MMajor | ||||
| 2 Heaven’s Prisoners | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |||
| 3 Black Cherry Blues | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 4 A Morning for Flamingos | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 5 A Stained White Radiance | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 6 In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 7 Dixie City Jam | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 8 Burning Angel | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 9 Cadillac Jukebox | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 10 Sunset Limited | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 11 Purple Cane Road | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 12 Jolie Blon’s Bounce | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 13 Last Car to Elysian Fields | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 14 Crusader’s Cross | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
| 15 Pegasus Descending | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 16 The Tin Roof Blowdown | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 17 Swan Peak | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 18 The Glass Rainbow | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 19 Creole Belle | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 20 Light of the World | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 21 Robicheaux | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 22 The New Iberia Blues | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 23 A Private Cathedral | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 24 Clete | MMajor | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 25 The Hadacol Boogie | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
Characters in the Dave Robicheaux books
6 characters from James Lee Burke’s chart, with the number of Dave Robicheaux books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Dave RobicheauxSheriff’s detective in New Iberia, Louisiana | 25 | The Neon Rain 1987 |
| Clete PurcelFormer cop turned private investigator, Dave’s best friend | 25 | The Neon Rain 1987 |
| Alafair RobicheauxDave’s adopted daughter, later a writer | 24 | Heaven’s Prisoners 1988 |
| Helen SoileauDetective, later sheriff | 19 | Dixie City Jam 1994 |
| Bootsie RobicheauxDave’s wife | 12 | Black Cherry Blues 1989 |
| Molly RobicheauxFormer nun and Dave’s later wife | 6 | Crusader’s Cross 2005 |