2008-04-02 Deja Vu if you've read his other books

I have read all 20 or so (except a couple of his early novels) in the last few months and was excited to get this latest book. However on reading it I was overcome with a feeling of deja vu. Two of the stories are virtually identical to each other (lone old academic takes on thugs) and others (the one about the abusive step-mother) are almost straight lifts from other novels. The one about Johnny Ace is OK but we've been there before too. Likewise the one about throwing the nun out of the airplane; I have read it before, almost word for word in a Dave Robicheaux novel. Has the mighty James Lee gone senile? Does he have a new editor who hasn't read his other work? I'm frankly staggered at how much rehashed old work there is in this collection. Someone should be shot. Approach with caution.