Burnt Black (Cliff St. James) by Ed Kovacs

Cliff St. James is now only a part-time PI and spends the whole book with his regular job as a homicide detective. This is not Law & Order or CSI though! Those cops don't carry knifes behind their fly! He isn't afraid to ignore the rules and can take on several dangerous gangster with just one knife.
St. James investigates a few strange ritualistic killings that force him to face his fears of the occult. He gets involved with hookers, Mexican criminals and several sorcerers.
Don't worry about the occult part. It gives a nice little atmosphere to the book but it never becomes horror / urban fantasy.
If you've read the other books in this series you will be happy to know there's a bit of a resolution to the subplot of his relationship with Honey Baybee, his fellow cop. You will also appreciate how the previous stories have landed St. James in quite a comfortable state financially, his dojo now a big hit.
I have a feeling St. James' status will be shifting again in the next book as I think there might be a bright CIA future for him in store. I will be sure to read it and find out...

Good Junk (Cliff St. James) by Ed Kovacs

Cliff St. James is back in action in post-Kathrina New Orleans and carrying a ton of guilt caused by the death of a sparring partner during a MMA fight. A good murder investigation is just the thing to pull him out of depression and his old friend Honey Baybee offers him just that. The murder victims are two gay lovers, employees of NASA’s nearby Michoud facility.
Cliff is one tough dude, all guns, knives, gadgets and martial arts. Enlisted as a special consultant to the cops Cliff is endangered several times by his new reluctance to use deadly force. Aside from that he's still struggling with his feelings for Honey.
The investigation draws in a lot of suspects and other people interested in the outcome, from spies to the FBI. In fact, this is more of a David Baldacci style thriller than your average PI novel. It is that direction that will make this book a good read for fans of Lee Child and Baldacci but might dissapoint fans of the more classic stuff.
I do think his consultant-role is a good way to make a detective be able to investigate a murder but still remain a bit of a lone wolf. Not sure how realistic it is the NOPD would contract someon like Cliff, though.

Storm Damage (Cliff St. James) by Ed Kovacs

After hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans people were left homeless, a city was wrecked and crime was at an all-time high. Post-Katrina is the world where Cliff St. James, ex-cop and martial arts expert operates in. Hired to find out who killed a Vietnamese lady's father he confronts the FBI, CIA and several criminals.
St. James is a cool character. He enjoys fancy coffee, cigarillo's and martial arts. He's scarred by his divorce but tries to love women again. Luckily there's a great woman to help him out a bit, awesome lady cop Honey Baybee (really!) who I personally fell in love with immediately.
Ed makes good use of the New Orleans setting, serves up anything fans of PI fiction OR Lee Child style thrillers could want.