Half of Paradise — James Lee Burke

Meet Avery Broussard, the last in a line of once-substantial land owners whose weakness for alcohol lands him in prison; J. P. Winfield, a dirt-poor singer who makes it to the top of hillbilly music only to be destroyed by drug addiction; and Toussaint Boudreaux, a black longshoreman who is set up for a crime he didn't commit. How the three men struggle to escape the bondage that links them makes for a tale of atmosphere and suspense that is pure vintage Burke.