Winner of the 1998 Edgar award for Best Mystery Novel!

A powerul and wonderfuly evocative novel of the west-a brilliant departure for Americas finest crime writer.

Dedicated James Lee Burke fans will be delighted to find that Cimarron Rose is written with the same edgy style that has brought his previous Dave Robicheaux books to the forefront of American crime fiction. He delivers a masterful novel of class warfare and self-destructive youth culture in a new setting with a whole new cast of characters. As Publishers Weekly says in its starred review, "Billy Bob Holland isn't Dave Robicheaux; and the dusty Texas town of Deaf Smith where Billy Bob, a former Texas Ranger, now practices law isn't the fetid bayous of Louisiana. But Burke, who can spin a multifaceted tale like few others in the business, continues to be an expert at portraying the psychic pain of a manly hero."

Texas attorney Billy Bob Holland, a former Texas Ranger, has many skeletons in his closet. One of these involves Vernon Smother's son Lucas, now a teenage boy about whom only Vernon and Billy Bob know the truth. Lucas is Billy Bob's illegitimate son, and when Lucas gets arrested for murder, Billy Bob must confront the past and serve as his son's criminal attorney.

Lucas is a 16-year-old country musician accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend. He was discovered unconscious near the girl's dead body and has no clear recollection of what happened. However, Billy Bob knows the way things operate in Deaf Smith, Texas, how scapegoats are made out of the innocent and those without power are exploited. The children of the wealthy East Enders were with Billy Bob's son and the dead girl the evening of her murder. As the trial proceeds, Billy Bob soon realizes that he will have to bring injury upon himself and Lucas in order to save his son. As a result, Billy Bob makes enemies that are much more dangerous than the numerous criminals he faced as a Texas Ranger.