Lay Down My Sword and Shield

THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

A powerful novel of conflict, history and shadows from the past … by the bestselling, acclaimed author of THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN.

‘As I stood there on my front porch that hot, breathless July day, leaning against the column with the six bullet holes, now worn and smooth, I could see Hack’s whitewashed marker under the pin oaks in the Holland family cemetery … Four generations of my family were buried there.’

Hack Holland is a product of the South, both old and new. Hard-drinking ex-POW and wealthy, progressive Democrat, he stands in the long shadow cast by his ancestors. When Holland’s candidacy for a congressional seat brings him increasingly into conflict with those around him, his almost unwitting involvement with a violent civil rights conflict forces him to reassess his future - and his past…

Praise for one of the great American crime writers, James Lee Burke:

‘James Lee Burke is the heavyweight champ, a great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed.’ Michael Connelly

‘A gorgeous prose stylist.’ Stephen King

‘Richly deserves to be described now as one of the finest crime writers America has ever produced.’ Daily Mail

Fans of Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly and Don Winslow will love James Lee Burke:

Hackberry Holland Series

1. Lay Down My Sword and Shield

2. Rain Gods

3. Feast Day of Fools

4. House of the Rising Sun

Dave Robicheaux Series

1. The Neon Rain

2. Heaven’s Prisoners

3. Black Cherry Blues

4. A Morning for Flamingos

5. A Stained White Radiance

6. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead

7. Dixie City Jam

8. Burning Angel

9. Cadillac Jukebox

10. Sunset Limited

11. Purple Cane Road

12. Jolie Blon’s Bounce

13. Last Car to Elysian Fields

14. Crusader’s Cross

15. Pegasus Descending

16. The Tin Roof Blowdown

17. Swan Peak

18. The Glass Rainbow

19. Creole Belle

20. Light of the World

21. Robicheaux

Billy Bob Holland Series

1. Cimarron Rose

2. Heartwood

3. Bitterroot

4. In The Moon of Red Ponies

* Each James Lee Burke novel can be read as a standalone or in series order *