5 comments about Jolie Blon's Bounce.

1. I won't add to the well written reviews and comments written so far. I mainly want to refute the reviewer who complained about the narration of Mark Hammer. It took a few minutes to get into but I think it's perfect for the bayou setting. The reader's voice seems etched with all the cares and woes of the characters who are woven through this fine novel. I hung on his every word and replayed many tracks to cement the impact of the incredible writing as transformed by the cadence and haunting voice of the reader.



2. Like many of the Dave Robicheaux books, this one is filled with violent people, many of whom the best can be said is that some day they will kill and be killed by one of their own kind. It's the in-between time that the rest of us have to be fearful. This one starts out with the murder of two woman in a similar way, both have been beaten brutally and raped prior to being murdered.
   
   
   
   But the real story is the one that follows Dave around during the whole of the investigation into the murders, and that is how do you deal with real evil without becoming part of the pattern. Dave almost goes off the wagon by taking pills after he is brutally beaten by a man who is proud to go by the name "Legion". Legion is one of the devil's disciples/minions who is mentioned in the "Book of Revelations". So there is a lot, a lot of allegory going on in this book about people and the sources of evil and what people do to aide and abet evil.
   
   
   
   In the end, the story plays out pretty much the way you expect it to if you've read any of the previous books by JLB, but this one ends with a quirky bit about a criminal that Dave calls the "Easter Bunny". EB is an albino who doesn't just break into peoples houses he does so for many reasons. In one segment Dave tells how EB broke into a Pet Store, and stole two large South American parrots. He then breaks into the house of a well-known ex-KKK leader (who is overseas), steals his computer records (which he sends to the FBI and IRS) and lets the birds loose in the guys house (they of course leave 'deposits' all over the place). I hope he brings this character back sometime in the near future.
   
   
   
   All in all, though it is a little heavy handed at times, and has more violence than I think is necessary (IMHO), it's an enjoyable story.



3. Jolie Blon's Bounce, A good story, a welcome addition to my "Dave Robicheaux" collection. I do worry that the author is about to kill "Dave" off. The other characters in the story seem to feel that was also. I do hope this is not so, as I really enjoy Dave's adventures in New Orleans.



4. I haven't been there physically, but James Lee Burke does a masterful job in placing you in the story. You can feel the heat while watching lightening flash across the night's sky. Your skin crawls with desperation of a depressed area. Your heart races with disgust as you are faced with one literature's most vile villains.
   Very good read and very smooth prose.
   
   James A. Forrest - Eye of the Storm



5. This crime novel has great descriptions of the area, wonderful langauge, great character names, and an interesting story. The character Legion is very evil and divine intervention "gets him" in the end. I love the Dave Robicheaux series .

5 comments about Morning For Flamingo.

1. This is truly one of the best books I've ever read by a contemporary author. I found the plot line to be involving and interesting and was really committed to the character development of the main character as well as those around him. The book was recomended to me by my brother-in-law who thought if I liked it, I'd go on to read the series. I've ordered them and look forward to seeing how this personality develops. I strongly recommend it to you.



2. On the recommendation of a column in my local newspaper, I bought several in these in the series, a little too much in the language department for my tastes. Nevertheless, you certainly can picture it in your minds eye. So, although I purchased several, I only read about the first third in one. I did not throw them away, I passed them along. There are others authors out there for me.



3. I have a complete library of James Lee Burke novels. I love them and I love hiw way of putting me right into the places his stories are about. Not too many writers do this well but I know New Iberia like I know my own town and have never even been there.



4. JLB is just a better writer than most authors of this genre. Dave Robicheaux is a loser you can love and relate to at some level. I think the inner workings of the mind of a less than perfect man trying to do the right thing is what makes this book so appealing. Fabulous reading if you want to understand the alcoholic's pattern of thinking.



5. This was my first reading of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series and it is easily apparent I have been missing some fine writing. I'm not a big fan of the million big-d&^% cop novels out there. I enjoy a select few, usually those spiced with some humor. If they are dark, and depressing, and full of moralistic BS, I pass. This book, A morning For Flamingos is none of those, nor does it have the overt humor I enjoy. What it has is some fine characterization of Dave Robicheaux as a fragile human being, a caring human being, and the kind of cop one hopes really exists.
   
   I listened to the audio version, and at first I did not care for the narrator, but the story kept me and after the first disc I found I liked that narrator more and more. And, the dang book kept getting better. Not ramped up, adrenaline-soaked action, but understated storytelling that exceeds all my requirements for an enjoying story. I recommend this without reservation, and I'm picking up a few more of Burke's works. But not here, used; at a store, where maybe by the time the leeches get their part, he'll get a quarter.

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

1. I have read most of James Lee Burke's books and this is by far and away the best plotted and written. Gone are most of those made up "folksy" sayings that no one from New Orleans to Lake Charles has ever heard uttered, except by the characters in these books. That is good.
   
   Also, a realistic look into the twisted mind of a recovering alcoholic.



2. I got this for a gift and it was delivered in plenty of time. Love the author but didn't know if the person I gave it to would.
   She did and now buys as many of James Lee Burke as she can.



3. As ususal, Burke writes an engaging tale; albeit an overused formula about good ole Dave, e.g. Robicheaux loses his control, beats the heck out of someone from a prominent politican to a low life that deserves it and always, with impunity; or he gets beat up and recovers from trauma that to most humans would be so debilitating that would cause everlasting drooling and eating meals through a straw. But still I read everything that Burke writes. He is the best at turning a phrase or succinctly describing an event or place like no one else. And each book has new phrases and descriptions; to wit: his prose on a Wal-Mart store in LA (or anywhere else) is right on. Burke is indeed brilliant and I will keep reading his writings...



4. Excellent work. All of Burke's Robicheaux novels are fantastic. Will end up reading all of them. I have 10 so far.



5. ... utterly confusing and mediocre plot.
   
   Burke has lost it as have many of the "celebrity" authors. Commercialism stifles creativity. I have moved on to newer, lesser well known authors such as Pilate by Steven Rage, Caliphate by Tom Kratzman, War against Islam, The Ezekiel Code,....
   
   Traditionalists and readers who don't care about plot will like Burke's book, but beware of same old, same old...
   
   You've been warned.

No comments about White Doves At Morning.

No comments about Burning Angel.

5 comments about White Doves at Morning.

1. However, I do have a couple of "irritations" as I proceed through the book: #1 The Civil War was simply NOT all about slavery and #2 the term "people of color" continues to crop up--this is a modern, politically correct term (and though I have no objections to it in a modern context) but it has nothing to do with the terminolgy of the period. Every time I saw this term being used, I was jarred out of the time being described and into current terms and political correctness.



2. James Lee Burke takes us back to the 1860's as he weaves the tale of two young Southerners, Robert Perry (Burke's great-grandfather) and Willie Burke (his great-great uncle) as they are drawn into the Civil War. Utilizing the journals of his great-great uncle Willie, we experience the shattering reality of a war fought on U.S. soil that pitted friend against friend and brother against brother.
   
   Two characters in the novel, Ira Jamison and Clay Hatcher, certainly must be composites of several people because it is difficult to imagine that much evil contained in just two individuals. The adversity faced by the Southern men and women during this trying time is almost impossible to comprehend and the replacement of slavery with convict laborers from Angola Plantation traded one type of brutality for another.
   
   Though the men fight the war, the true strength and courage seems to be possessed by the women of this piece, Abigal Dowling and Flower Jamison, who fought for their principles despite the potential for injury and abuse which peppered their daily lives.
   
   I appreciated Burke's epilogue in which he answers the questions that usually puzzles the readers of this type of novel......"What ultimately happened to each of the characters"? Thank you James Lee for tying it all up in a nice little bundle for us.



3. James Lee Burke Brings the beauty of the South Louisiana town of New Iberia to the reader with extreme accuracy. I live in the area and have family ties to New Iberia. Now thanks to Mr Burke I can envision what the area around Spanish Lake and where Camp Pratt was located as it was during the Civil War period each time I visit. Mr Burke also give an accurate account of the attitude of the people of the area back during that time period. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend it to all.



4. This is simply the finest book I've ever read. Get out of the "where's Dave Robiceaux" mode quickly. Read this as a stand-alone story with great description, wonderful characters and yes.....a "cop-out" ending...but then again, where was he to go without writing a new novel...ah ha...that's a solution!



5. I listed to this book on audio cassette. The narrator, Ed Sala is a master of many voices. His voice alone makes the book worth listening to. And of course, James Lee Burke is a master of words and a master of creating a plot and story line that is intriguing and suspenseful.
   
   A wonderful and power book to listen to that brings many aspects of the Civil War and how it effecter ordinary people.

5 comments about HEAVEN'S PRISONERS (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries Series).

1. All of the additions to the Dave Robicheaux series are winners. See my review of Crusader's Cross for a general review.



2. Though I am definitely hooked on Burke's writing, this was not his best effort. In fact, I couldn't help but feel this book was written to eliminate Annie so the series could continue unencumbered. I don't think Annie could survive in Dave's world with any real contentment as they have such polarizing personalities and sensibilities. The scene where Annie gets killed but Robicheaux survives was a bit too convenient to be convincing. Nor does it seem that the man I've come to know as a tough straight talking introspective thinker like Dave would so quickly get over the likes of Annie and take up with a woman like Robin. This was a bit of a stretch and made me dislike his character for using others as he engaged in what appeared to be self-indulgence. I didn't see any real remorse or sorrow over Annie's passing--no period of bereavement, as I would expect from a man like Dave.
   
   The scenes regarding alcoholism and the demons that plague Dave are very believable and appear to be drawn from the author's own experiences. But, even in this regard, Burke went a little too far to the dark side. While we want a believable likeable protagonist we don't want to spend most of our time feeling sorry for him and in this novel Robicheaux seems to be wallowing in his own self-pity and using his wife's brutal murder as an excuse to act out.
   
   Burke has a special way of turning words into flowing prose unmatched in his genre. This book was no exception. While it was a gritty and horrific story, the setting, mood and dialogue sparked like electricity, leaving the reader panting for more. The prose is poetic in a lot of places and written so you're compelled to go back to taste it again and again.
   
   Burke also brings in characters that we care about, such as Alifair as well as characters that are vile and/or twisted--all of them fully fleshed out and multi-faceted. Again, Burke brings us into a place where we can feel the humidity and smell the bayou. At this, he is a master. He also has the potential to reminisce about the good old days and we remember along with him as though we too had experienced his history and it becomes our history. Burke creates a storyline that is tense, layered, and filled with complex characters and even though I felt this book was a bit of a filler for what is to come, it was still a exciting action-packed read that will keep you turning the pages far into the night.



3. This is the second in the Dave Robicheaux series and continues the story after The Neon Rain...I started out with the 7th in the series (Dixie City Jam) and liked it so much I went back and started from the first to get the character's background etc. Mr. Burke does describe real violence and you have to get used to that but he is a wonderful writer. Having lived in New Orleans (before Katrina thank God) I have loved the books for the descriptions he gives on the city and area. His books are really "good reads"...



4. I think readers want to know whether or not a book is worth reading, rather than my telling the story. I think it is a really good book in this series. As a woman, I think he went from Annie, his wife that is killed, into another woman's bed a bit too quickly. I think the ending could have been made clearer. All in all it is a good, moody book. Dave has a lot of intelligent insight into his own psyche. May help us to have a peek into our own. From reviews, I can see the movie made from this novel is a loser, so I will skip it.



5. James Lee Burke is an amazing author, No one I've read puts you in the moment like he does. Being from the south I can relate to so many situations he writes about, it's like reading a memory of my youth. Love this author!

5 comments about Heartwood.

1. I am a loyal Burke fan, particularly of his Robicheaux books, but "Cimarron Rose" was a slight disappointment. With time and forgiveness under my belt, I cracked open "Heartwood" and found myself swept away. The story has an actual plot, the characters have true struggles, and the narrative flows with sympathy and violence in incongruous dance.

   Let's face it, few people can write with the descriptive and allegorical power of Burke. If anything, it can be overwhelming at times, although I prefer to think of it as intoxicating. Then, to keep things in check, Burke pens some of the most forceful dialogue that you'll ever run across this side of the Elmore Leonard and Dashiell Hammett. His characters are electric with their moral conflicts and emotional hangups.

   "Heartwood," for me, encapsulated all the things Burke does well: the dialogue, narrative, Greek tragedy themes, and eventual redemption at a price. Yes, it harkens to the Robicheaux books, but I'm warming up to Billy Bob Holland and beginning to see him as his own fictional entity. Although this series lacks the humorous sidekick of a Clete Purcell, it hits home with powerful story and truth.

   Mr. Burke, you're starting to convince me...spending time with Billy Bob and Temple Carrol has its payoffs. Do I sense a hint of romance even? I can't wait to read "Bitterroot," the next in the series.




2. I have never written a negative review about a book purchased in Amazon but I am now going to make an exception. The "Billy Bob" series is unbearably overwritten, cliched, and filled with gratitious violence, endless racist references, and chapters that seem always to end with a pompous striving for fine writing. I know Burke can write but these stories are just ridiculous. The female characters are impossibly remote, almost as if they were trapped in a Western novel, the characters speak to each other with mock formality ('sir' is used even when someone is being threatened with emasculation), and about every third chapter one finds a "food" interval: tubs of chicken are devoured, buffalo steaks with blueberry ice cream are washed down with iced tea on the front porch, and for lunch tacos with an iced mug of Lone Star are slopped up at the Mexican cafe on the square. These people must weigh 400 lbs.

   It's almost as if Burke said to himself: this is the way to make me 'sum' real money: testosterone threat chapters, followed by by inconclusive encounters with the athletic female private investigator and former corrections officer or with a former high school conquest now married to a rich and corrupt oil man, and then the food feasts followed by riding around the Texas Hill Country on a horse, all three mixed in with random encounters with escaped convicts, cretins borne with severe birth defects, and failed evangelists, all of whom seem to be 'river baptized.'Oh, I forgot the bottomless corruption by knuckle-dragging law enforcement officers. Sprinkled throughout, just for effect,are interludes where Billy Bob, a convert to Catholicism and former Texas Ranger who executed drug mules in Mexico and boasts of it, every now and then drops into church with his youthful sidekick. As most drug mules in real life are poor women with heroin stuffed up their privates, Billy Bob must have been steely hard as a Ranger. Now he is a lawyer who is a graduate from a night law school, perhaps St. Mary's in 'San Antone.' Oh by the way: Who says San Antone but in novels like this or in bad songs?

   I grew up in San Antonio and spent a lot of time in the Hill Country and I live in the southwest today; I am sure something like these people can be scrounged up here and there and indeed anywhere, but putting "nigger" or "porch monkeys" in the mouths of the bad guys so many times or clubbings with ballpeen hammers down in the basement seems calculated to draw readers in who secretly enjoy the guilty pleasure of reading this kind of stuff. This kind of fiction is to remind us that the South won the Civil War, especially the redneck, racist, and endlessly ignorant American South. And boy hidy, does it sell!

   In Heartwood, you could actually take out a good deal of this ridiculous filler: tone down the racists references because the reader gets the point, take out the food chapters, let Billy Bob actually have a regular and steady sex life like most of the adult world, cut the 'Texas Chainsaw' style violence down to a minimum, quit trying to put Southernisms into everyone's mouth every third sentence, and edit out the dud literary flights, and the upshot would be a fairly decent and interesting plot and story about a failed rodeo rider and his lawyer. But then who would buy it, I suppose Burke would say. But I would ask Burke: is making scads of money so important that you write down to people like this? You are a far, far better writer than this. How about writing a serious novel about Texas today, capturing what is happening to San Antonio and Fredericksburg and the like, given the California (or Hollywood) invasion? Even then you can throw in some clubbings, and some scenes where people are burned to death by tires filled with gasoline dropped on their heads, while their relatives watch.




3. Billy Bob Holland, attorney, is pitted against an apparently materialistic and immoral "entrepreneur," Earl,who happens to be married to the beautiful woman who deflowered Billy Bob, years prior. Earl's son by a previous liaison, Jeff, is a chip off the old block. Tagging alongside are two Chicano "gang bangers," actually more low riders than gang bangers, Ronnie Cruise (note how he anglicized his name, maybe that's a fad in San Antonio?) and a loco guy named Ramirez who gets boxed to death later in the book. In fact, of these four, only Ronnie remains standing, with Billy Bob, when the final bell rings. There are other women, including Esmeralda Ramirez, who is variously a college student, Jeff's wife, Ronnie's girlfriend, and the girlfriend of Billy Bob's son, not in that order, however. Then there's a corrupt, racist, fat sheriff (what would a Southern town be without one?), and various "white trash" figures who cross back and forth over the criminal line as forces carry them. Well, the result of all this, in my humble opinion, is a three-star book. As others on this website have pointed out, there's a lot to wade through for the action that's delivered, maybe a little too much attention to minor detail. But does this really differ much from Robert Parker describing what his private dick had for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Or from Robert Crais telling us what the sunset in Santa Clarita looked like as the police and FBI surround an upscale single family residence housing three kidnappers? Not really. So, there's something here, but you might have to wade through some of the slower parts, skim it or skip it. Billy Bob's encounter with his deceased crime partner, his ghost, that is, is actually rather interesting, because how often do you get anything even bordering on the metaphysical in this type of fiction? Diximus.



4. ...Billy Bob Holland reminds me of the southern Sheriff played by Bill Paxton in "One False Move" or Chris Cooper as the Texas Ranger in "Lone Star". Or Gary Cooper in those 40's/50's westerns.

   'Course, in Lee Burke's Texas, murders and the overall evil men do take on quite a different flavor. *Quite* a different flavor. A Latin gang member is murdered by a lethal drug which has been punched in his face during a so called friendly boxing spar. A wildcatter initally accused of taking bearer bonds--Billy Bob's client--finds his mother's body exhumed and in his pick-up truck out in a dark and dreary field; this is a threat from Big Earl Dietrich to comply with some kind of land development deal with a promise of big resources...he wants IN, but Deitrich would rather just muscle his way in. The wildcatter is married to a blind Indian spiritlifter, who murders an intruder to her home so efficiently and thoroughly it seems like it was done in a mode other than self defense. The Big guy's son seems to have some scandalous problems with his sexuality and Billy Bob has somehow gotten a dose of a rare Asian jungle poison. Add to the mix some insane prison escapees, an able assistant, his son Lucas, and a lil fishing buddy and you have quite an intriging stage for mystery.

   Billy Bob Holland himself keeps hearing voices, seeing visions inspired by his dead Rangers partner, LQ Navarro. Whoooo-boy! Would this be a wild movie for a director to take on!

   My take on why Lee Burke goes to extremes on describing Deaf Smith and parts surrounding is that it makes his mystery more realistic and if he describes every iota of this countryside-- how it is hot on certain days, rainy on others, what kind of vegetation clings around, if there's a quicksandy, mildewy swamp around---maybe that can help rationalise why each character has his own strange way. An environment that varied and extreme is likely to harbor varied and extreme individuals.

   Anyway, this is a great mystery with superb setting and mood. And its so intense and real you can feel the horseflies whizzing at the back of your neck.




5. I really enjoyed this book, esp Billy Bob and Lucas. I do agree with the one reviewer who stated that the female characters were a bit wooden, however. I found myself completely unable to fathom billy bob's obsession with Peggy Jean, and how he was so oblivious for so long to Temple's feelings for him. But if you can overlook the romantic aspects, the story is complex and gritty. I read it in one sitting. James Lee Burke has quite the way with words, and I enjoyed his phrasings. Will be looking for more of his work.

5 comments about Cimarron Rose.

1. James Lee Burke temporarily put his New Orleans bayeaux hero Dave Robicheaux on hold to introduce a new series featuring Billy Bob Holland, the haunted ex-Texas Ranger, now defense attorney in the small Texas town of Deaf Smith.

   Holland is a hero in the same mold as Robicheaux, the amalgamation of the strong, silent John Wayne stereotype, with enough contemporary angst to place him firmly in the present. Holland is haunted, literally and figuratively, by L.Q. Navarro, his partner in the rangers, who he accidentally shot and killed while battling drug smugglers in Mexico. This could understandably put a strain on most friendships, but Navarro doesn't mind being dead. It's pretty restful to sit around and swap lies without having to bother with mundane facts like earning a living. His role in the book is less avenging spirit and more amiable sidekick.

   Rounding out the setup is a son Holland's never acknowledged, a fine boy named Lucas Smothers whose mother died when he was an infant. He's being raised by a harsh and hostile stepfather who's sharecropping on Holland's land.

   Unfortunately for Lucas, he was found passed out near the body of his raped and murdered girlfriend, and Holland works to dig out the truth. Arranged against Holland and Lucas are an array of corrupt, evil and just plain psychopathic characters: the son of the town's most powerful family who may or may not be involved in the murder, the corrupt sheriff and his deputies and Garland T. Moon, a wandering psychopath dying of cancer, who came back to Deaf Smith on a mission of his own.

   Weaved among the contemporary story is the tale of Holland's great-grandfather, a drunken gunfighter who has since taken the pledge, and his true love, known mostly as the Rose of Cimarron. Everyone once in awhile, Holland takes down the family journal and reads about his ancestor's battle to win his true love's heart and remain a peaceable man despite his conflict with the Dalton-Doolin gang, who have taken root in the caves near his farm and are sending property skidding down by robbing trains, shooting innocent women, letting their hogs run free and shooting wild horses for meat.

   It's to Burke's credit that keeps these plates spinning; one is never confused over who's talking to whom and what's happening next. The problem with "Cimarron Rose" lies in the ponderous, carved-in-stone writing, and the utter incomprehensibility of most of the characters' actions.

   Burke has a fine talent for creating memorable images, but he lets his pen wander farther than he intends, leading to some very ludicrous sentences. While Holland recalls his father, a welder who died when the natural-gas pipeline he was in exploded, he reflects, "my mother said his vision had become so bad that clarity of sight came to him only when he struck the stringer-bead rod against the pipe's metal and saw again the flame that was a pure to him as the cathedral's bells were to the deaf bellringer Quasimodo."

   That's mom, all right, always quoting Victor Hugo.

   This is a manly man's book, full of testosterone... and vinegar, where it seems like everyone is savaging everyone else. If Holland is not getting beaten up, his horse is getting slashed, his house ransacked, the new sheriff's deputy who may or may not be fed is getting ambushed, his son's getting drugged, stripped and dumped at the country club, or any one of a dozen acts of mayhem. Put it to music and you've got a country song.

   This over-the-top violence will either convince you that you're reading Deep Literature, or make you break out laughing. You can guess which side I landed on. By the time Garland Moon bursts into a house and torments the owner by twisting his nose, I'm thinking Three Stooges. And the epilogue which ties up the book into a pretty bow and everything is hunky-dory has the feel of a family sitcom.




2. If you want a good mystery with Texas flavor and a touch of darkness - this is a great read.



3. Fans of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux/cajun cop series now have a new series with Texas lawyer Billy Bob Holland. If this had been the first Burke book for me, I would have rated it higher.

   The main plot involves Billy Bob defending his illegitimate son against a murder charge in a fishy-smelling situation involving a rich kid deviant with fetal alcohol syndrome and speed on the brain, a former football hero, DEA officers, and a sociopath named Garland T. Moon.

   The inner plot involves Billy Bob wrestling with ghosts and demons from his past, namely private conversations he has with his old partner from their Texas Ranger days. There is also some mystery surrounding the death of Billy Bob's father in 1965.

   Burke does an excellent job weaving all of the plot threads together, and the characters are believable. His descriptions are spare and elegant, and he has the ability provide sensory detail in a few short sentences.

   One word of warning is that the cast is a rogue's gallery, like other Burke novels, and features a very flawed protaganist, but one we can root for just the same. Still, we're in some dark territory here, and Burke's writing is edgy, graphic and not for everyone.

   While the book was well-written, I didn't get enough distance between Dave Robicheaux and Billy Bob Holland, who are essentially the same character. Both are men in their forties who stay in good shape, have father issues, and share similar demons in their past. The same self-righteous attitude was evident in both men. I hope that Billy Bob's voice takes a different shape in future novels of this series.

   The other problem is that Burke is starting to recycle some of his details. The wealthy southerners always hold glasses wrapped with paper napkins secured with a rubber band. He's used this one a lot. There's also one where the night smells of fish spawning that's been used multiple times.

   Still, this was a gripping read filled with tension on every page that made me want to know what was going to happen next.




4. Defense attorney Billy Bob Holland is an ex-Texas Ranger who has taken a murder case where the chief suspect is his illegitimate son. But this isn't a simple plot; it involves his father and his great grandfather's diary as well. The past also haunts him literally-in the form of L.Q. Navarro. As a Ranger, Billy Bob accidentally killed his partner and friend. Periodically L.Q. appears to Billy Bob and offers him advice. The intricate plot and fluid writing definitely draw you into the Billy Bob's world in Deaf Smith. For instance, there isn't just one villain; the novel is full of unsavory characters. I fell in love with the lyric images floating from the pages and atmosphere, but I have to admit the ending was a bit confusing.



5. I have read quite a few of Burkes books and am getting a bit bored with his reference to vietnam and LQ in all his Billy Bob books. Like the characters though and will continue to read James Lee just ready for another plot line will try Whit Dove next

5 comments about Sunset Limited (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries).

1. Many comment on James Lee Burkes character, Dave Robicheaux's detailed discriptions of Louisiana's beauty and that they think he goes too far.....NOT ME! This is what I look for in a book. I want to see and feel what this writer sees and feels about this beautiful southern state. Don't stop! It took me a long time to find you and now, I can't get enough.



2. This is not a typical Dave Robicheaux book. It doesn't have standard char- acters doing standard things leading to a denouement at the end of the book. The story which is really multiple episodes surrounded by almost a dozen players (and all involving Dave in some way) who all have something to do with a movie being made in New Iberia about the plight of Blacks in 1940s Louisiana.
   
   Once again, many of the characters have been known to Dave for years, even though except for Clete, most he hasn't seen for years. Those that are new to Dave are involved with a murder that happened 40years ago and was never solved. The many who was killed was a union organizer whose son and daughter Dave knew as kids. Their father was beaten with chains and the nailed to a barn door (while still alive) in a mock crucifiction.
   
   No one has ever been accused of the crime and not evidence has ever been found. Even though in the course of the book, Dave is able to figure out the three men who committed the crime, none is brought to justice in the end (though one is killed, one commits suicide, and the daughter of another is murdered). What makes this such a great book is JLB's description of how things 'were done' back in the old days of Huey Long and how little some things change. It's a great history lesson.
   
   The only fly in the ointment, for me at least, is Dave's (read JLB) ongoing distrust and discussion of the incompetence and pettiness of the FBI and it's agents. This seems to be a theme in a lot of mystery books, especially the modern noir style. Maybe the Feebs (or Feebies) need to do some work on their public image.
   
   I enjoyed that JLB is a strong enough writer (an has to power to dictate how his books read) to pull of a story without a true ending.



3. James Lee Burke is a joy to read. He knows a great deal about a lot of things and builds them into his stories. The Robicheaux series is really based in large measure on mythology, although this is not readily obvious, and, when it becomes so, sends you scurrying to your mythology books! Burke is also very thoughtful about humanity and the world he lives in, and this becomes quite apparent as you read this series. You can read a general review in my review of Crusader's Cross. I do recommend that you read the series in sequence and take in the UNabridged audiobooks when you can for a really in-depth enjoyment of this series.



4. I read quite a bit and my tastes vary. You can confirm that by clicking the little link to see all my reviews.
   
   I must say, however, that I'm having a difficult time with Mr. Burke because he is actually *too* descriptive as an author. His use of the language is uncommonly good for someone writing in the crime/mystery genre. Trouble is, I'm finding that the richness of detail gets in the way of the story. I know the minutiae of the smells and sights and sounds in the Bayou, and the thread count in the clothes the characters are wearing, and the chemical composition of their perfumes and the thickness of their hair follicles.
   
   But there's one small problem: I can't quite figure out what is going on with the story. It is difficult to separate the significant from the insignificant.
   
   Too many characters are being introduced and the scenes jump around such that I have to reread passages numerous times.
   
   Admittedly, I haven't finished this book yet. I'm only on page 70, but I'm not sure I'll be able to perservere to the end.
   
   As I said, Burke's use of language is rich and highly descriptive, reminding me somewhat of Faulkner's description of the deep south in "Light in August." But whereas I had no trouble staying with Faulkner nor with his writing style keeping my interest level high, I just cannot say the same about Mr. Burke. Now that I think about it, I actually started another novel by Burke once, and couldn't finish it. So, this doesn't appear to be an anomaly, but rather a distinct part of Burke's style that simply doesn't work well for my tastes.
   
   I'm not criticizing it as much as simply stating that perhaps it just isn't my style.
   
   I would be curious to know if any other readers here have similar impressions.



5. I was anxious to listen to this story and it was delivered in no time at all. I love James Lee Burke and this is one of my favorites.