5 comments about Burning Angel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries).

1. The Dave Robicheaux novels by James Lee Burke have always had a spiritual component --see IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD-- but in BURNING ANGEL the supernatural darn near takes center stage with the presence of a real, honest-to-gosh no-doubt-about-it ghost. I loved the series before...now I'm really hooked.



2. Once again JLB has Dave dealing with people he knew back in New Orleans and Vietnam. Again it's some one who grew up around the Mafia in NO and he dealt with when he was in NOPD. Again it's a member of the local mafia and gentry that is behind a problem that doesn't ever seem to go away (a bad upbringing and abuse of them or their mother or both).
   
   What makes this one different is the inclusion of drugs for guns in south america and the american government involvement with both. An old friend from 'Nam shows up and gives a 'diary' to Dave which is purported to have info that will tie people in souteastern Louisiana to war crimes committed in Nicaragua. At the same time, one of the local gentry who has fallen onto hardtimes because of his involvement with a 'woman of color' is looking for a way out and big score. The big score is over use of his ancestral land for environmentally damaging industry which is nothing new in the polluted swamp-lands and marshes of the area around New Iberia.
   
   There is also the touch of the 'supernatural' when after his friend Sonny is killed; he seems to turn up all over the area, and is seen by Alafair, Clete and Batiste. A nudge from Sonny, saves Dave's life and determines that one of the bad guys will take his own life.
   
   There's a nice piece about Dave and Alafair, and dealing with your baby girl becoming a teenager and all that that implies to a parent. I thought he handled it very forthrightly and with honesty. Dave's as confused as to what to do as the rest of us mortals.
   
   For me, at least, it seemed that he walzed through this one, getting ready for something big in the next.



3. This series is SOOOOOOO good! Remember to read the titles in order, however. It is definitely a progressive series. See my review of Crusader's Cross for a general view of the series.



4. I love the descriptions in this authors writing. He has a way with words, both feelings and surroundings. One of the best books.



5. A friend is currently working his way through the whole of the Burke body of work. I'm not nearly that dedicated, but I do like his books quite a bit. I believe that I've said before that the best thing about mysteries is the way that an author can use the plot to unroll a place or a time (or both!) for the reader. Burke does that very very well in the way that he makes New Iberia come to life in his novels through the eyes of his detective, Dave Robicheaux.
   
   Burning Angel is the third book that I have read by Burke, and it stands up well to the other two. It has its flaws-- notably an overly complicated plot that falls apart just a little bit towards the end. But the flaws are well made up for by the strength of the characters and the feel for place-- both elements that are amped up here.

No comments about Pegasus Descending [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD).

5 comments about Crusader's Cross: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries).

1. In 1958, Jimmy and Dave Robicheaux were swimming in Galveston Bay when sharks appeared nearby. A young woman observes this from the shore and rows out to rescue them. The woman, Ida Durbin, forever left an imprint on their lives.
   
   Jimmy, in particular, becomes infatuated with Ida and finds that she is working as a prostitute to pay off a family debt. He decides to rescue her. Jimmy and Ida are about to run away to Mexico when Ida disappears.
   
   Years later, Dave learns from a dieing friend that Ida was snatched by two policemen who were on the take. They were paid by the owner of the house of prostitution to get her away from Jimmy.
   
   Shortly after learning this, Dave is assaulted. He believes that someone didn't want him to know about Ida. He gets his old job back at the Iberia Sheriff's department. Sheriff Helen Soileau wants him to look into the murders of women who were abducted from Baton Rouge, raped and murdered. The last victim was a young woman in New Iberia who might have been a victim of opportunity. While Dave is looking for the killer, he also has time to look into the disappearance of Ida.
   
   There is a continuing dispute between Dave and Val Chalons. Val is a TV personality and when his sister, Honoria, is murdered, Dave's prints are found in her home. Val makes this public as well as the fact that Dave had recently married a Catholic Nun. This escalates the conflict to one of physical nature and from the fight, Val ends up in the hospital. Dave almost loses his job from this, however, after a period on desk duty, he's back on the trail of the killer. In this manner, he becomes the Crusader, looking for the killer and nothing can stop Dave from finding him.
   
   James Lee Burke is one of the finest writers in the mystery field. His is one of only three people who have won the Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year, two times. "Crusader's Cross" continues his excellence in writing. The plot is unique, Dave Robicheaux is one of the best known and liked characters in literature and his friend, Clete is one in a million.



2. What a great book and what wonderful writing.
   Lots of new words and the Kindle dictionary came in handy.
   
   The characters are very interesting and the plot holds your interest.
   
   The book moves quickly and remids me a lot of the Harry Bosch novels by Connelly. In fact, the main characters have similarities beyound being law enforcement officers.
   
   Many books are pretty boring when the author starts spending time describing things such as surroundings or philosopical points, but I found that the writing was done so well that the descriptions really did add to the story and gave you a much better feel for the surroundings or situations. In a way, it reminded me of how the prose in "The Red Badge of Courage" was able to bring the reader inside the story to the point you could almost feel, smell, and hear what was happening.
   
   If you liked the Harry Bosch novels you will like this just as much.
   
   I am looking forward to reading the other Dave Robicheaux books.



3. Other reviews have commented on the book very well. This was my first book by James Lee Burke. I have enjoyed John D. MacDonald and Lawrence Block, and was trying to figure out what other authors might give me the same enjoyment. In February 2010 it suddenly hit me that both MacDonald and Block are Grand Master award winners from the Mystery Writers of America. So I looked up the list of all previous winners. James Lee Burke received this designation in 2009. So I checked out Crusader's Cross from the local library. Before finishing it, I had already ordered 10 more James Lee Burke novels on-line. I'm happy to say that Burke's Dave Robicheaux is just as satisfying as either Travis McGee or Matt Scudder, and that Crusader's Cross is an absolutely brilliant novel. As with the greatest books in the other two series, this is an interesting mystery set within a larger novel that is about the trials and tribulations of life itself. And I have to say: the way Burke presented the final clue to answer the whodunit was remarkably elegant and powerful, and set up a denouement that is second to none in all of mystery and suspense literature. Bravo!
   
   If you liked MacDonald and Block, check out Burke, and all the other Grand Masters. If you like Burke, check out MacDonald and Block and all the other Grand Masters. If you've read them all... let's start a fan club!



4. In trying to read EVERY possible novel by my newest, most fav author, Amazon has been a treasure chest!!! I have found books on cd through Amazon(PLUS a couple of movies made from a few of the books) that even our libraries don't have!!! Thank you!!!!



5. Yet another piece of garbage from Burke that I had could not finish but toss into the trash where it belongs. Glad I only paid a dollar for it at a lib book sale!
   
   Burke's Dave R. in this one is a useless bumbling idiot, or lower--two steps lower, anyway. Dirty nasty language throughout, f*** this and f*** that, sexual episodes and sexual descriptions, all unnecessary to any decent detective story but used over and over as filler for Burke's inability to create a cohesive and interesting plot that goes somewhere besides visiting someone's crotch. I have no idea what Burke's regular readers see in this trash, or why they buy such garbage, unless... hmmm, well, maybe....
   
   Here, a weak-kneed bumbler, laughingly called a detective, detects virtually nothing, doesn't have the sense to lock a door, pull a shade down, or get in out of the rain. This is the lowest of Burke's low-brow offerings... it seems Burke is unable to create a story so he just strings boring sexual encounters together with various boring idiot characters that add little to the tale. All the overdone descriptions of who wears what, from shoes to hats and hair is just plain silly, at best, but then there's the real need for yet more filler material.
   
   Don't buy this one, folks, or any other of Burke's stuff from his private vomitorium; save your money, buy a gallon or two of gas while it's still affordable. You'll feel better and it will get you somewhere.
   
   Oh, yes, thanks to Burke, my view of Louisiana has dropped lower than the collective IQ of ALL of Burke's idiot characters, which, collectively, I emphasize, struggles to reach 50.

5 comments about Pegasus Descending: A Dave Robicheaux Novel.

1. I am a HUGE Dave Robicheaux fan, but the last few novels (e.g., Crusader's Cross) have been . . . well . . . pretty stale and predictable. However, this book reaffirms Burke's return as a master of the genre. That said . . . I didn't give this a top rating, because he overreached a little with too many things going on. That said, it is less predicatable with more twists than the too simplistic, bland, and contrived Crusader's Cross.



2. Not enough stars for this novel. Have not read a Dave Robicheaux Book that I haven't enjoyed. Mr. Burke can't write them fast enough for me.



3. Fun read, good mystery, rich characters, great philosophy. A great read. PS - you get a good story of riding out a hurricane.



4. If you've never had the pleasure of reading James Lee Burke, you don't know what you're missing. He keeps getting better and better. His use of the English Language is wonderful. I keep my electronic dictionary handy! Every character is well drawn. Burke's protagonist, Dave Robicheaux, is a New Orleans (actually New Iberia) policeman I'd love to meet. With each of Burke's Robicheaux stories, you watch and listen as Dave grows, matures, and philosophizes. This particular novel is set during Hurricane Katrina and is beautifully layered with sub-plots (as are all of the Robicheaux novels). Start at the beginning with Neon Rain and have a blast working your way through, in order, to Swan Peak.



5. I have read a few books in this series and am always pleased. For me, they are interesting, paced well, and exciting. It is hard to put them down. While the plot might be a little predictable, I particularly enjoy the writing and the language. The author combines street slang with some really intelligent dialogue in a seamless flow. Dave, the main character, is especially eloquent in his very Southern choice of words as he waxes philosophical. The rough action is well balanced by laments of the treatment of people and the ills of society. Some passages are almost poetical as the book appeals to the intellect as well as more earthy passions.

5 comments about Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel.

1. You don't need to get further than the first paragraph's "uncontrolled decent into a basement where the gargoyles turned somersaults like circus midgets" to be reminded that James Lee Burke can twist a phrase as well the best contemporary writers of American fiction. And "Swan Peak" displays JLB at his lyrical best, taking the increasingly sullen Dave Robicheaux and wife Molly from Louisiana bayous and hurricanes to vacation among the mountains and rivers of Montana. Not that the perpetually uptight and introspective Robicheaux can really be expected to "vacation." And sure enough, almost before their first trout fly has hit the water, Dave and pal/human mayhem machine Clete Purcel find themselves up to their hip waders in the grisly murder of a pair of local college students.
   
   Burke is at his best when recounting violent tales of revenge and frontier justice, with or without redemption, especially when Clete plays more than a cameo role. So by that standard, there is lots to like here - a long and multi-threaded but not tedious story with an equally long cast of damaged characters. From an escaped con with a big heart and his sadistic jailer to a once up-and-coming country music starlet to the aristocratic oil baron clan that has embraced her, Burke weaves another sordid tale of greed, depravity, and murder. Meanwhile, a deliciously oily evangelical preacher "Reverend Click" provides the perfect target for Robicheaux's indignant rage, while an unleashed Clete Purcel make Tiger Wood's sexual exploits look like a double bogie.
   
   If there is weakness here, it is the author's seemingly endless harangue on the evils of capitalism, leading to some familiar and stereotyped fat cats who callously rape the earth for their profit while grinding the noble working class under the heels of their five-thousand dollar eel skin boots. One wonders if Burke has lost any sense of irony, lecturing about those who control other's lives just as Dave Robicheaux is shoving another guy's head into a flaming oven. But I quibble. If it feels like JLB is preaching more than the Reverend Click he so despises, it can be forgiven considering the power of Burke's prose combined with a good-old-fashioned thriller with not much mystery but ample action and suspense. While "Swan Peak" may not live up to the lofty standards of "Last Car to Elysian Fields" or "Jolie Blon's Bounce", this is a fast paced and entertaining installment of American crime fiction that will not disappoint.



2. Reading a J.L. Burke novel is like visiting old friends. The main characters are always solid and the author easily includes references to other books without becoming confusing. I am a true fan of Burke's writing even though the plots are similar - if not predictable. He incorporates poetry, philosophy, theology, and prison slang in a masterful way. These are books that I usually don't want to put down but also don't want to be over. After all the development, as is often the case in this genre, the climax and resolution occurs in a couple of paragraphs. Maybe life is like that. The epilogue was especially appreciated in weaving the loose ends.



3. In this newest book the Louisiana crime fighters have moved to s new state.Clete Purcel and Dave Robicheaux now
   call Montana home. They have plans to fish and relax in their new homw state. The state of Montana is shattered when two college students are found murdered. Clete and Dave become the target of a cunning and vicious oil tycoon. Ridley Wellstone and his goons keep coming into the picture and providing problems. They are always one step ahead of the law. Clete has always been a suspect in the plane crash that killed Sally Dio a hoodlum from Galveston. Mix into this story line Jimmy Dale Greenwood a former singer who has escaped from prison by cutting up Troyce Nix a part owner of the prison. Jimmy Dale's former singing partner is also in play. She was Jimmy Dale's love interest, Her name is Jamie Sue Wellstone who has married into the Welstone family. One question that sticks out is whether or not Sally Dio is dead or alive. All of this comes to a smashing conclusion. Be sure to read this book.



4. I give this 3 stars because it is still a cut-and-paste like his last book I read, but this one is a *little* better. If you have not read JLB books before, do NOT get this one. The series has been going on a long time, it makes not a lot of sense if not read in order, and the earlier ones are so so much better.
   Why not 5 stars?
   - The characters are old now and timeline make no sense. They were kids in the 1940s and evidently STILL have not recovered from serving in 'Nam. This book is set in 2007. Can you imagine a 70 year old +/- psychotic Nam vet and semi-rogue cop going into a biker bar, kicking as5, and walking out with the girl?
   - In an earlier review, I wondered why Clete always ends up in bed with a bad-guy wife or girlfriend and the evil rich guy's wife is always ill or crippled. This book hardly gets going when Clete is in bed with the bad guy's wife, bur this time the evil guy is the crippled one ROFLMAO!
   - Speaking of evil rich guys, you cannot be rich and not be evil in JLB's world.
   - All the vastly overdone descriptions of the landscape are as overdone as ever.
   - Characters STILL smell like testoserone like every other book.
   - Troyce Nix, Iraq veteran and torturer at Abu Ghraib, somehow becomes a "founding officer" of a contract prison and proceeds to rape and brutalize inmates. This guy ends up being a good guy??? Say what?!?
   - The dialogue can get really really bad when he tries to deal with people NOT born in the late 1930s. Double Puke-O ..........????



5. I love and I've read all of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux mysteries...WHEN THEY ARE SET IN NEW IBERIA, LA. His descriptions of his surroundings are part of what I love about his books (even though, sometimes it IS hard to imagine these old guys fighting like young Steven Seagals). I just don't get it...Swan Peak was just like all the others except he's changed the scenery, but I just couldn't imagine Dave and Clete doing the things that they usually do, in Montana. If this book HAD been set in New Iberia, I suspect I would have given the book more of a chance, but I just can't get with this renegade Louisiana detective in Montana. I just want James Lee to bring Dave and Clete back HOME.

5 comments about The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel.

1. Not the type of novel I usually enjoy. The time element (Katrina's destruction) made it worth reading.



2. The author paints beautiful images with his words. Whether or not you have been in war, in New Orleans or in pain, you understand the descriptions that are cast over your brain like a wide net. Just don't get too drawn in to the story and have a wreck!



3. I am a keen reader, generally preferring Crime/Mystery. Often I have a preference to English or Nordic writers, although I am a fan of Lee Child and Harlan Coben. Earlier this year a bookshop suggested I look at three American writers: James Lee Burke, Elmore Leonard and another, whose name just escapes me.
   
   I read two of James Lee Burke's and whilst enjoying them, I found some of the language, nuances and Southern customs difficult to identify with. I have a 40 minute drive in and out from work each day and have started to listen to audio books. Most recently I have listened to THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN.
   
   I write to congratulate you as the publishers and James Lee Burke as the author, for two reasons; both largely due to the narrator of this particular novel - Will Patton. For me, Will Patton has markedly improved my understanding and appreciation of the American South and James Lee Burke's descriptions. Will Patton read this novel with marvellous vitality and interpretation. Each time he read a different character I knew at once something of the nature of that person. I found his changes of voice both fascinating and stimulating. Will Patton has brought James Lee Burke alive for me. In my earlier reading of James Lee Burke and probably due to the haste in which I undertook to read these novels, I don't think I appreciated the wonderful descriptions of events, nature and surroundings that seem to so much characterise these stories. I was entranced by some of the language which came alive to me. I look forward now to reading more of Dave Robicheaux and `Cletus'.
   
   Again, I congratulate you and thank you for Will Patton. Will Patton has liberated me so that now I can read and understand James Lee Burke with a significantly illuminated appreciation.



4. I absolutely love Will Patton as the narrator of this book. The language Burke uses in his novel is also excellent, especially his language concerning his land, his love of the area, and his philosophy. Set during Hurricane Katrina, followed by Hurricane Rita, this is a crime novel about heinous crimes committed during that time. The sheer number of villains and their actions is where the book needs editing. There are tons of characters and the author is obviously intent on making a crime book which is hard for us to figure out "who done it." I thought the crime in chief committed by the teen black young man of raping a woman prior to Katrina and then attempting to loot her house during Katrina was fascinating enough. This teen is a very complex villain. He has a lot of grey edges to him. Yet there are also these militaristic types who gradually emerge as villains too. I could have done without this aspect to the story and would have preferred more great writing about the hurricane and the city and the characterization of the teen who was raped and her family and the teen who was the raper and looter. The detective and his family are also fascinating too. Most crime authors need to use tons of red herrings to prolong the "who done it" aspect of their books. This is because most of them can't do much else. They do not have beautiful language at their disposal nor are they able to devise complex characters. This author has neither of these problems.



5. "The Tin Roof Blowdown" is a wonderful work by the Master of this genre, the novel is insightful, providing me much information as to the human suffering that occured as the result of Hurricane Katrina, actually more than the media "dared" demonstrate. As with all of Master Burke's novels "The Tin Roof Blowdown" is so very evocative, where is my: "jambalaya, red beans and rice!" I would be remiss if I didn't mention that great friend of "Dave Robiceaux", "Clete Purcell", who is a most interesting and compeling individual.I take great pride in saying that I've read all of James Lee Burke's novels and he always satisfies and entertains!!

No comments about The Glass Rainbow: A Dave Robicheaux Novel.

4 comments about A Dave Robicheaux Audio Collection.

1. I enjoy the tales, and Will Patton's voices...+)... I do have to back up the cd now and then, when traffic, or daydreaming make me lose track of the plotline, but a well read story is a good use of car time!



2. I think this was an unbelievable deal. Most books on CD are around $20+ for one, this included 5 great stories.



3. GREAT selection of early Burke/Robicheaux(character) books!! The price, considering there are 5 in the collection cannot be beat!!!!



4. I was a bit annoyed that this collection was abridged, however I bought it because of Will Patton and I was NOT disappointed!

5 comments about Rain Gods: A Novel.

1. totally enjoyed. the storyline is very interesting and readable. burke's picture on the back of the jacket is as fascinating as an oil painting, obvioulsly touched up with photoshop cs4? nice.



2. Characters have dimension. Not too much of the sentimentality that bugs me in some of JL Burke's books. by sentimentality, I mean where the characters are caught up in their pasts in a maudlin (imho) way. I was caught up in the story.



3. James Lee Burke rocks. Of the many authors who write a book a year, he is easily one of the best. And truthfully, he is one of the best authors I've ever read. (Plus he's a really nice man, since I met him at a reading once, but I digress.)
   
   Rain Gods introduced a new main character in Burke's books, Texas Sheriff Hackberry Holland, cousin of one of Burke's regular protagonists, Billy Bob Holland. Hack has the unfortunate "luck" to unearth a shallow grave in which nine young Asian women, illegal aliens all, were buried after being brutally murdered. And this discovery sends him on a hunt for the killer, during which he comes into contact with no shortage of lunatic contract killers, strip club owners and people looking to bring others down for money. But that's just the start.
   
   Few authors can describe a setting like Burke can. His words are amazingly picturesque and his action scenes are just fantastic. This book takes a little longer than I would have liked to get to the end, but other than that, this was another fantastic read from one of my favorite authors.



4. If Rembrandt could write, he would paint word pictures like James Lee. He forces one to slow down, take in every word, that makes the perfect scene in one's mind. You become a player in the novel walking side-by-side with the characters. Mr. Burke is unique and rare. I have read all of Mr. Burke's works, and I have never been disappointed. If you haven't read Buke before, you are truly missing out on a great novelits work. he doesn't write like Patterson, who probably has his 5th novel on sale already this year, or like Sandford who is petering out. he is a cut above...read....he will capture you and not let you go.



5. My husband very much enjoys James Lee Burke novels, and suggested I read one. I can readily see why he likes this author, yet those same reasons could explain why I didn't enjoy "Rain Gods" much. Mr. Burke is wonderfully eloquent with words, but after awhile they just plain got in the way--repetitious flowery land descriptions and such that seemed like unnecessary filler. I found myself skipping pages to get back to the meat of the story. Mr. Burke skillfully lays out character studies too, but it soon turned into boring psychobabble--everyone in the novel (and there are LOTS of characters) gets tediously analyzed. These obstacles weighed down an otherwise enjoyable story; 434 pages could easily have been condensed. Maybe I just picked the wrong Burke novel to read first, or maybe I just like books that get to the point more succinctly.

5 comments about Lay Down My Sword and Shield.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Hank Holland. The JLB style remains the same with the tough, rough main character, plagued by his own demons,but ultimately righteous in the end. It was enjoyable (and available in Mexico in Paperback, so not thoroughly out of print...) I'd read another book about the same character and I've read all but the most recent one of the Dave Robicheaux collection.



2. This will be a departure in some way for people that have read the series about Dave, but for those of us that simply love his written word, this is a stunning piece of work by Burke. I have read this book twice, something I don't do too often because there are just too many things stacked up in my "to read" pile. Hack is a good man plagued by demons of his own making, something that is NOT a departure in a Burke novel and is what makes this book one that is not easily forgotten. I think that the struggle we all make in our lives to do what is "right" is just rife with areas of grey. This is what makes reading this (and any) Burke novel an experience rather than several hours to kill time with a story. Just my opinion, I've been wrong before, as someone much wiser than me once said.



3. I give this 5 stars because in my view anything from JLB rates 5 stars and deserves to be read. But I didn't like it. I'm not sure why, but I didn't like Hack until the epilogue (best part of the book, imho). Too much about the Korean POW experience...wouldn't have taken that much to color in that part of his life. Does anybody suck on a bottle of Jack Daniels and drive 100 mph and eventually reach a happy ending?...not even in Texas, I don't think. Anyway, I've read most of the Robicheaux and Billy Bob novels twice, but this one won't get picked up again.



4. Hackberry Holland came on the literary landscape in 1971, talking about the bullet holes in his porch left by John Wesley Hardin when the outlaw confronted Hack's grandfather before relating how an up-and-coming politician ended up far from the corridors of power.
   
   In 2009, Hack was seen again in Burke's brilliant RAIN GODS. Now, Hack's introduction, LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD, has been reprinted.
   
   Son of a congressman, Hack is on the verge of becoming one himself. All he has to do is live through endless cocktail parties, meetings with donors and pretending to be happily married to his ice queen wife. Anyone who survived being a Korean prisoner of war should be able to put up with a few wealthy Texas housewives and a senator, right? Instead, Hack is drinking himself into oblivion.
   
   When an Army buddy calls from jail after being arrested walking a picket line with Mexican workers near the border, Hack hightails it to help. It's the end of his old life and the beginning of his new one.
   
   This isn't just Hack's story. Burke uses his questing, honest hero not only to show Hack's personal journey to make his life meaningful. He also shows what it meant when the song would soon be "The Times They Are A'Changin' ". Whether it's non-white people trying to make the American dream come true, whites who brutally try to stop time's progress or an opportunistic politician and someone who scares even him, Hack crosses their paths.
   
   Their combined stories provide a fascinating and important glimpse into what life was like for some people during the 60s. LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD is a stirring remembrance of a time when people's actions made profound impacts. That Burke brought Hack back in RAIN GODS only makes the original story more powerful.
   
   Those who have read RAIN GODS will want to see where Hack came from, while those who are introduced to him through this first novel will want to pick up the later book right away. Even though they are set decades apart, they are connected by a character who remained true to himself throughout the years. That's the kind of power James Lee Burke brings to his stories.



5. Not until today did I learn that this is a reprint. Thank goodness I read other Burke books before this one. It is dull,rambling, too filled with artsy prose, and has a main character who drinks enough booze most days to kill a normal man.
   The "plot" seems to be about a miscarriage of justice that resulted in the death of a friend. However, along the way we become involved in a labor movement (drunk), go out with friends (drunk), drive around Texas (drunk or drinking, or both). THEN we interrupt the story to go to Korea, get shot, and captured. The prison camp experiences take the stage for a good 10% of the story. After that? Who knows? I am shelving it for a few days to decide whether to finish it or give it to the Goodwill Bookstore.
   I have really enjoyed Mr. Burke's books, several enough to read twice and buy the Audiobooks as well. Unfortunately, I began to wonder: Did James Lee really write this?