Helpful Score: 1
Detective Dave Robicheaux returns to center sstage in an incendiary new novel by James Lee Burke - a gripping talle of racial violence, class warfare & the sometimes cruel legacy of Southern history. As always in JLB's fiction, the past impinges on the present. Robicheaux & his partner Hel Soileau move into the midst of a deadly conspiracy. New Orlenas mobsters & hit men converge on New Iberia, LA. Brilliant prose, crackling suspense & an exquisite sense of character U place, this is a wrenching tale of historic violence & soiled redemption that reveals one of America's finest novelists at his masterfl best. JLB sets this novel in his home of New Iberia, LA.
A page burner.
A page burner.
I, too, have come late to the novels of James Lee Burke. First and foremost, I have to say his talent IS all it's cracked up to be. He's an extraordinary writer. His settings are as well-drawn as any I've ever read. His characters are as obvious as the people next door to you and I would expect a LOT more colorful. The plot will keep you turning the page. I read many thrillers and mysteries and I really couldn't figure out how this story would conclude.
That said, I'm only giving it four stars instead of five as a warning to the feint of heart. This novel takes a strong stomach to read. I realize that I picked up a book that said right on the cover it was about the literal crucifixion ("they pinned him to the barn wall with sixteen-penny nails") of a labor leader. But I had no idea this is just where the stunning cruelty and historic brutality were beginning. I used to be a newspaper reporter, so I'm not in any way in denial that these events are completely plausible, nevertheless, I almost put this book down twice. It's a testament to Mr. Burke's incredible writing skill that I just had to see where he was going with this story. I forgive him because, unlike many novels today, this violence was not gratuitous. It was crucial to the lesson of this very difficult story.
That said, I'm only giving it four stars instead of five as a warning to the feint of heart. This novel takes a strong stomach to read. I realize that I picked up a book that said right on the cover it was about the literal crucifixion ("they pinned him to the barn wall with sixteen-penny nails") of a labor leader. But I had no idea this is just where the stunning cruelty and historic brutality were beginning. I used to be a newspaper reporter, so I'm not in any way in denial that these events are completely plausible, nevertheless, I almost put this book down twice. It's a testament to Mr. Burke's incredible writing skill that I just had to see where he was going with this story. I forgive him because, unlike many novels today, this violence was not gratuitous. It was crucial to the lesson of this very difficult story.
ANDRE' E. J. (Expeditious) -
I came late into reading Mr Burke's books - but as I get/request more of them - I am enjoying them more and more. Great scene descriptions and full characters. Edge of your seat mysteries.
Enjoy this atmospheric journey to New Orleans and local environs.
