This book by James Lee Burke ticks more boxes than a reviewer can keep track of. It is at heart a fantastic crime thriller but also very much more.

Burke manages to be poetic in his descriptions of both the mundane or the horrific details of the crimes. He gives us a beautiful potted history -- without ever seeming to -- of the tragedy of the Acadians. He quotes other writers with eloquence and manages to make the reader accept without question the slight forays into the supernatural as if they were everyday occurrences.

His prose brings Louisiana to life in all its glory and its problems. We feel as if we know the inhabitants of Iberia Parish and that we can feel the salt air and torrential rains as he describes them.

The story concerns a series of killings that seem to have a tarot or a Knights Templar connection -- or is it dirty mob money financing movies? He keeps us guessing to the very end, and even the changes from first to third person descriptions will not distract the reader.

All the character from the least to the "star" are deftly drawn, and we feel an empathy for each. We wonder at how they interact. We cheer for the underdog and boo the villains ... only to find their roles reversed within a few pages.

It is not often that we can find a single book that combines philosophy, travel, ethics, history, murder, romance and humour with such expertise.