Louisiana Burn

Enigmatic Sam Larkin, a former environmental law-enforcement officer, ex-con, ex-teacher and artist is no stranger to violence. But now, after being called—under false pretenses—by Karen Chaney, a federal officer and Larkin's sometimes lover, to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, he finds himself torn from the serenity of his lowcountry home, which he has created to put the past behind him and thrust into a mission of retribution. In this explosive novel, Chaney and her Special Agent in Charge, Neil Dougherty are assigned to do a background investigation of former Louisiana Federal Judge and now United States Senator, Thornton Hunnycut. The senator, a result of his power in the senate, his ability to deliver the South and the machinations of his powerful lobbyist live-in, Marlene Cole, is in the running for the second spot on the Democratic ticket in the coming Presidential election. Chaney is more than familiar with Hunnycut, who unjustly sentenced Sam Larkin to prison in Angola for fifteen years. That a federal judge sent Larkin to a state prison was unorthodox enough, but his being released after four years for no apparent reason, the whole trial being expunged and Larkin being given a large sum of money with a warning never to come back into the state of Louisiana was a signal of the corruption Senator Hunnycut is involved in. Though extremely conflicted about resurrecting Larkin's past Chaney is cajoled by her SAC, Neil Dougherty, to bring Sam back to Louisiana under false pretenses. His return to the Pelican State begins a series of events and revelations so bizarre they are difficult to fathom. Like a phoenix rising rises from the ashes, Larkin becomes an integral force in the probe, which exposes not only the senator, but the chief administrator of the state, the prosecuting attorney at his trial and his defense counsel. The motive for their actions are a mystery to Sam and Chaney until the investigation leads them through a maze of deception and depravity spreading from Louisiana to Washington, DC. Political chicanery, murder for hire, a sociopathic killer, suicide, and bribery create a fabric of ruthless brutality and viciousness that is probably more truth than fiction. The cast of vivid supporting characters enhanced by the author's lyrical descriptions of the natural beauty of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, New Orleans and the Cajun country of Louisiana provide a startling contrast for the telling of this tragic tale of greed, power, human frailty and treachery that can only end in an explosive resolution.