"The New Iberia Blues" is James Lee Burke's twenty-second book featuring his detective Dave Robicheaux. Normally I read books in order, so I'm not sur"The New Iberia Blues" is James Lee Burke's twenty-second book featuring his detective Dave Robicheaux. Normally I read books in order, so I'm not sure why I picked this one up, as I haven't read the four or five books before it, but it didn't hurt my understanding or pleasure in reading it.
Robicheaux is getting old. He's still grieving the loss of his third wife, and his little girl, Alafair, is no longer a little girl. She's an adult with aspirations of being a screenwriter. As luck will have it, a Hollywood film crew has set up shop in the small Louisiana town of New Iberia where Dave works as a police detective.
Desmond Cormier hails from New Iberia. He grew up a poor, hard-scrabble life but did well for himself when he moved out west. Today, he is a Golden Globe-winning movie director with an Oscar nomination under his belt and is one of the hottest influencers in Hollywood.
Why he's back in New Iberia is beyond Dave, who, while he likes the guy, doesn't trust him or his weird entourage of Hollywood types.
It's not a coincidence to Dave when a serial killer starts leaving bodies throughout New Iberia, all of which have something to do with Tarot cards.
There's a lot of stuff going on in this novel, including an escaped convict who may have been falsely accused, Dave's new young female partner who has more than just a physical attraction to Dave, Alafair dating a Hollywood producer older than Dave, and a hit-man named Smiley who has an unhealthy infatuation with Dave's long-term friend Clete Purcel.
As always, Burke weaves a fast-paced, beautifully-orchestrated mystery with plot twists galore and some of the most gorgeous prose in the genre.
P.S. I "read" this as an audiobook. It must be said that I could listen to Will Patton narrate books all fucking day......more
New Iberia police officer Dave Robicheaux is on a routine transport of two convicts. His partner breaks the rules by stopping to let one of the criminNew Iberia police officer Dave Robicheaux is on a routine transport of two convicts. His partner breaks the rules by stopping to let one of the criminals---handcuffed and in leg-irons---use the bathroom at a gas station. Within seconds, Dave's partner is dead, along with a gas station attendant. The two convicts escape, leaving Dave for dead with a gunshot wound in his chest.
Thus begins James Lee Burke's novel "A Morning for Flamingos", the fourth book in the Dave Robicheaux series.
Jimmy Lee Boggs is a bad man, and he's now on the loose. The other convict, a young black man who may or may not be falsely accused of a crime, saved Dave's life and is also in the wind. Dave wants to find both men, one to kill and one to thank.
In the meantime, Dave reluctantly agrees to go undercover to infiltrate a drug dealer's ring. Tony C has a bad reputation, but, as Dave gets to know him, he begins to realize that the reputation may not be warranted. Sure. he sells drugs, but Tony seems to have a code of ethics and a moral center that many of his peers don't possess. He also has a special needs son that is the most important thing in his life.
Dave likes Tony C, if only because they are both Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD. Tony is more like Dave than Dave wants to admit. Now, Dave is torn. Does he continue undercover to bring Tony down? Or, with the help of his loyal albeit psychopathic friend Clete Purcel, find some way to help Tony against the even worse Houston mob?
Lots of stuff going on in this one, but Burke has a way of threading each storyline into a cohesive whole. I've said it before: Burke is an amazing writer. His prose is as beautiful as, I can only imagine, the Louisiana sunsets he is always describing. ...more
Former New Orleans police detective Dave Robicheaux has been arrested for murder, and he’s not even completely sure he’s not guilty.
In James Lee BurkeFormer New Orleans police detective Dave Robicheaux has been arrested for murder, and he’s not even completely sure he’s not guilty.
In James Lee Burke’s third Robicheaux novel, “Black Cherry Blues”, published in 1989, Burke continues his sadistic mistreatment of his tortured protagonist. The guy just lost his wife, Annie, after two Colombian drug cartel henchmen blew her away in her bed. Now, struggling to stay sober despite every fiber of his body telling him to take one sip of alcohol, Dave is raising his adopted daughter, Alafair, alone. When a Vegas mobster ends up dead in a hotel room, Dave is thrown in jail for the murder. He’s released on bail with the help of his old partner, Clete Purcel, who was supposed to be fleeing corruption charges in South America but is now working for the head of afore-mentioned mobsters. What the actual—-?
Needless to say, Dave’s life is a mess right now. Facing a trial date in a few months in which his own lawyer is telling him he doesn’t stand a chance, Dave and Alafair hop in his pick-up and drive to Montana, to help an old classmate of Dave’s, Dixie Lee, a has-been rockabilly star whose life has been ruined by drugs and bad career choices—-he does odd shit jobs for the mob. He’s also there to help himself, as he’s tracking the guy who framed Dave for the murder in Louisiana. Kill two birds with one stone. Maybe three or four. Maybe a dozen. Whatever it takes to clear his name of murder. (Wait, that doesn’t make any… Whatever…)
Burke’s series is one of the best detective series ever written. I’ve read most, if not all, of the Robicheaux novels. I’m just going back and re-reading them in chronological order. My second time reading this, and it’s still great....more
I don’t live in a place where wisteria and hibiscus waft in a sultry breeze or the sunset turns the sky a purple haze over swampland, but I don’t needI don’t live in a place where wisteria and hibiscus waft in a sultry breeze or the sunset turns the sky a purple haze over swampland, but I don’t need to because I read James Lee Burke novels.
I know that I read “Heaven’s Prisoners” many years ago, but reading it again reminded me of how awesome Burke’s writing is. I had forgotten a lot of the novel, including who the killer was, and the fact that the murder at the heart of the novel is so gut-wrenching and brutal that pages before it happened, I started to remember and almost didn’t want to read further.
Dave Robicheaux is retired from the New Orleans PD and living on the bayou with his wife, Annie. They own a bait shop and live in a big old plantation home out in the swamps. One day, in their fishing boat, a plane falls out of the sky. Dave jumps in and tries to save the passengers, but he only succeeds in saving one, a little girl. She speaks only Spanish. Dave and Annie name her Alafair.
The plane was carrying illegals—-guns, drugs, and people. The DEA and the bad guys think Robicheaux may have retrieved something from the plane. He did, of course, but not what they think. Rescuing the little girl has threatened the peace of Robicheaux’s safe little world, and that can not stand.
It all connects to a local crime boss named Bubba Roc, a former heavyweight that Dave used to box with back in the day.
One night, Robicheaux makes the mistake of taking a midnight stroll, leaving his wife and Alafair alone in the house. It’s a mistake he will live with forever.
Now, he’s on a mission of revenge, and God help the poor bastards who did him wrong.
This is the second book in the Robicheaux series, originally published in 1988. Word of warning: that one scene is still a gut-wrencher. Prepare to shed some tears.
I “read” this as an audiobook on CD, read by Mark Hammer, whose soft, slow Southern twang is absolutely integral to the enjoyment of it....more
The term “hard-boiled” often comes to mind when I read a James Lee Burke novel, especially his novels featuring his wizened (and wise) ex-New Orleans The term “hard-boiled” often comes to mind when I read a James Lee Burke novel, especially his novels featuring his wizened (and wise) ex-New Orleans cop-turned-private detective Dave Robicheaux. Other words that come to mind: beautiful, devastating, melancholy, disturbing, wonderful, thought-provoking, sexy.
I think I’ve read them all, over the course of nearly 30 years, when I first picked up “Sunset Limited” at the recommendation of Jonis Agee (herself an incredibly excellent writer) and fell in love with Burke’s prose.
I first read “The Neon Rain”, the first book to feature Robicheaux, sometime in the late-90s, shortly after reading “Sunset Limited”, which was the tenth book in the series. “The Neon Rain” was originally published in 1987. I then embarked on the emotionally-draining journey of trying to read all of the Robicheaux novels in order.
It’s been a while, which is why I decided to go back and re-read them from the beginning.
“The Neon Rain” starts with an execution, and it doesn’t really get any more hopeful after that.
Robicheaux is a good cop, when he’s not drunk or getting investigated by Internal Affairs for beating the tar out of a suspect. Often, the two went hand-in-hand. Still, he has an almost chivalric (some would say medieval) code of honor. It breaks his heart to see violence towards women and children. It fills his heart with rage and a sense of irrational vengeance when the innocent are murdered. So, when the body of a young woman is pulled from the bayou, Robicheaux wants to see justice for her. The girl—-black and a known hooker—-isn’t a priority for the police, but Robicheaux won’t let it rest.
Robicheaux’s investigation quickly earns the wrath of a local Mexican drug cartel. When the FBI and the CIA both get involved—-and not in a helpful way—-Robicheaux begins to realize that he is on to something big and he is in way over his head. The smart thing would be to back away and leave it alone.
Nobody has ever accused Robicheaux of being smart.
Gut-wrenching scenes of action and violence permeate this novel, so don’t read it if you are squeamish. Seriously. This is old-school crime/noir fiction. Still, it’s fucking awesome.
I “read” this as an audiobook, read by the amazing actor Will Patton, who apparently narrates all of Burke’s audiobooks....more
"Swan Peak" is James Lee Burke's 17th novel to feature his Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux. In this one, Robicheaux, his wife, and best friend, Cl"Swan Peak" is James Lee Burke's 17th novel to feature his Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux. In this one, Robicheaux, his wife, and best friend, Clete Purcel, are on vacation visiting a friend in Montana.
The slow, hot and sticky world of Iberia Parrish has been replaced with the cool, blue sky world of the Montana countryside, but the danger is the same.
A lot of stuff is going on in this novel, which is no different from the typical Burke novel. Burke is good at creating numerous storylines that intertwine and connect in often unexpected but plausible ways.
The suspense starts immediately, when Purcel is accosted, in the middle of the woods, by two thugs, one of whom he recognizes as a former employee of a mob kingpin who allegedly died years before. Almost simultaneously, the murder of two college-age kids at a nearby campground is making the national news. The two seemingly unrelated incidents raise a slew of questions, none of which Robicheaux and Purcel can let go unanswered.
I haven't read a Burke novel I haven't loved, and they seem to just get better and better. Even if you've never read a Robicheaux novel, you could probably still pick up and read "Swan Peak" without getting confused. Just know that when you pick up a Burke novel, you're probably going to want to rush out and read his others....more
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