The novel presents Alafair but she plays a vanishingly minor role in the narrative. Yet on page 212 Dave Robicheaux muses that Alafair, like other innocent victims of inhumanity, is loved by God in a special way and is one of heaven's prisoners. As the novel is entitled Heaven's Prisoners, this passage clearly is intended to have significant meaning within the narrative. Discuss Alafair's indirect role as causative agent in Dave's pursuit of the bad guys.

The novel is one of several novels dealing with Dave Robicheaux as protagonist and narrator. Discuss how this influences your reading of the novel, and how it impacts the way that Dave is presented as a character.

The narrative spends a great deal of space and attention on the natural environment of New Iberia and its surroundings. Dave always looks out of windows toward the natural world, and often...