You are taken back with Dave and Clete with their memories and different stories. Dave is dealing with the loss of Molly his wife, along with all of the demons of alcohol, the Vietnam war and not being able to remember what happened that night of her death. He is also a suspect, his boss sheriff Helen Soiluea along with Clete is trying to prove his innocence as well as to what happened that night. A good story as with all of the other of this character's books. The story has lots of characters and twists and turns, it had been a while since I read one of his books, still as always a good book along with good characters.

Dave Robicheaux, a detective and Vietnam veteran, is battling alcoholism and is trying to get to grips with the sudden loss of his beloved wife, Molly. He makes living in a Louisiana town, dong his best to keep up with life and work and keep peace in the town he serves. As it happens, he finds himself to be a suspect in his own homicide investigation. The victim so happens to be the man that killed his wife. As he continues his own investigation on the matter, trying among others ti clear his own name and find the real killer, he comes across a number of different characters who very much describe the very dark and different part of america.

His boss, Sheriff Helen Soileau, is doing her best trying to figure out exactly what might have happened the night of the murder. At the same time, Dave and his best friend Clete Purcel, try to figure out Dave’s whereabouts on the time of murder. His anger about his wife’s loss is not small and the two men are wondering whether Dave’s melancholy could transform him to a person capable of such violence. His alcohol problem does not help, as at that night, Dave was not as sober as he would like to be.

So many different characters come up in this story and each one of them is representing one of the many different stiff characters one may find in one of those God forsaken towns at nowhere’s end. In many a cases, there are characters with a fair amount of good qualities, which tend to be outweighed by their flaws. It’s only what one would expect on the corrupt and damaged soul of Louisiana. A state full of poverty and inequality. A state that was hit by Katrina and it made thinks even worse that they once were. Katrina is also mentioned in the book, as a means to describe more of the current state of the towns mentioned in there.

Racism makes its way through the book. As well as faults of the past, from the times that the French occupants took the land from the Indians. What happened those days and how the ancestors of some of the characters were involved in all this. It’s a land with many wounds that are not easy to heal. The fact that many people are trying to recreate their history through novels or movies does not really help. It only stirs the waters that have never calmed down.

This book is part of a long series, but i was able to read it as a stand alone. It was not hard for me to become part of the story and understand the balances between the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.

Robicheaux contains all the familiar element that make this series of books by Burke, the finest series of American crime fiction extant. Gorgeous writing, sex, violence , characters that are real people not stereotypes , and a complex, though not linear plot. The regulars appear here, Dave himself, Clete, Helen, Dave
‘’s daughter, Alaifair, and a host of others. Dave is aging and finding it difficult as his,world spins out of control to stay sober. That battle informs much of the book and makes it the author’s most personal yet. Read it.

First off I’d like to thank Netgalley, the author and of course the publisher, for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you haven’t read any of James Lee Burke’s books, I would suggest you start with book one as this one is the 21st book in his series. His characters are well develop, complex, you love them, you love to hate them, and at times you’re not really sure if they are the bad guys or actually the good guys. The writing is face paced, flows nicely, almost poetic.

Dave Robicheaux, the main character is in his books is mourning the loss of his wife, Molly. Like everyone else who has lost a loved one, Robicheaux goes thru the seven stages, some of the stages brings out his nightmares from Vietnam, alcoholism, and other host of problems for him. When the person responsible for the death of his wife, is killed, Dave thinks he may have been the one to do. While every ones tries to figure out whom exactly is responsible.

#21 is a James Lee Burkes winner. All you’d expect and more. Definitely a fave among his fans of Cajun lore

4★
“Let’s rock,’he said. When he pulled open the door, his coat was heavier on one side than the other.
‘What’s in your pocket?’ I asked.
‘Lint,’ he replied.”

Of course we know what’s in his pocket, because we are familiar with the kind of revenge meted out by characters in Burke’s New Orleans. Sometimes it’s offensively gruesome. But sometimes we want to pump the air and shout YES!, wishing we could deliver jungle justice.

“I hooked him twice with my left hand and caught him again with my right, knocking his head against the bar as he went down. I should have pulled the plug. But I knew I wasn’t going to. The simian that had lived in me since I was a child was back in town.”

I haven’t read any of the Dave Robicheaux series, but I can see why it has attracted a devoted fan following. This can be enjoyed as a stand-alone, (well, I enjoyed it), but I can see it would be a lot more fun if you’re already familiar with Clete and Alafair and others who are probably regulars.

There are new characters, of course, and their names are distinctive, which I imagine is a Burke trademark, but I don’t know. Spade Labiche, Jimmy Nightingale, Levon Broussard. And then there’s Tony. I think there’s only one Tony, but he’s called so many things, that even a character asked “Tony who?” when he was referred to as Tony Squid, or something.

Complicated plot about state and national politics, murders, local police politics, and enough bits of back story to fill me in on Robicheaux’s history with his adopted daughter, Alafair, whose IQ is supposedly off the charts, and with his beloved old partner, Clete, the heavy drinker with the “link” in his pocket. Robicheaux has been doing AA and the 12 steps but finding it hard sticking to Dr Pepper when surrounded by drinkers.

I actually didn’t like the storyline or plot at all. I found the collaboration between Alafair and an author and a producer/politician too odd, so I wasn’t interested in that.

But Burke’s New Orleans is memorable. I’ve lived in enough hot, humid places with jungly shadows and bugs to feel the atmosphere and know what it is to be hanging out for a change.

“It’s a phenomenon that seems unique to South Louisiana, like a sea change, as if the natural world is reversing itself and correcting an oversight. The barometer will drop unexpectedly, the bayou will swell and remain placid at the same time, and suddenly, rain rings will dimple the surface from one bank to the other.”

His characters and settings are worth the price of admission, whether you like the storyline or not. The people are unique, the locale affects everything. He can get a bit preachy, but I didn’t mind.

“the Atchafalaya Basin, the flooded woods a golden green at sunset and so swollen with silence that you wonder if this piece of primordial creation was saved by a divine hand to remind us of what the earth was like when our ancestors grew feet and crawled out of the sea. The cypress trees were in early leaf, as delicate as green lace, ruffling in the breeze, the water high and black and undisturbed, chained with lily pads, the bream and goggle-eye perch rolling under the pads like pillows of air floating to the surface. “

If it had been a bit shorter and I’d enjoyed the actual plot more, I’d have rated it higher. As it is, I’m sure it will find a place on many Favourite Books lists.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the preview copy from which I’ve taken the liberty of quoting.
11 likes

My review of *Robicheaux* is in the April 2018 issue of Gumshoe Review:
http://www.gumshoereview.com/php/Review-id.php?id=6038

There were a lot of things to like about this novel: the settings and the descriptions were wonderful, honestly, I can't remember the last time I read a thriller/mystery novel that had so many detailed descriptions. As much as I admired Lee Burke's ability to come up with so many descriptions of settings, smells, atmospheric conditions because it was narrated by Robicheaux, a policeman, I thought it was a bit over-the-top. The same thing applies to the many life observations and philosophies that Robicheaux was coming up with. I mean the guy is a philosopher. So yeah, I am a bit conflicted, as the things I appreciated the most about this novel, were also the things that were over-done. I could have done with fewer expositions or shorter ones.

As far as the police work was concerned, there were quite a few different threads going on. A simpler, less convoluted plot would have worked better for me. It would have allowed for some pruning because, at 464 pages, this was a tad too long.

Another favorite from a favorite author. Dave Robicheaux has lost his third wife, Molly, before this book begins but that loss sets a haunting tone for all that happens. He is deep in despair and having difficulty fighting his constant enemy, the bottle. He doesn't fall off the wagon; he jumps. But he also is a man who knows responsibility so he works to fight his way back to sobriety. So many twists and turns in this excellent book. Molly was killed in a car crash which Dave believes was not an accident but actually due to the other driver being impaired behind the wheel. But without proof, he has nowhere to go but the bottle to drown his sorrow. His friends are worried for him, his daughter Alafair is worried and comes home for a visit.

In addition to this, there are also predators from the past continuing to make inroads on respectability and members of the Southern gentry acting in strange ways. While trying to work out his own problems, Dave is also caught up in their issues, or are they somehow mixed?

The haunting mists that captured me in In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead are very present here in Robicheaux, with its somber starting story of loss. Dave again sees those Confederate dead passing through the mists and they are often as real for him as Alafair or his friends. Is it the drink or his own form of PTSD? Dave knows the land; he knows where all of the old battles were fought as well as the new ones of these modern times.

This is another excellent outing in the Robicheaux series which, for me, has grown even more amazing since The Tin Roof Blowdown, written after Hurricane Katrina. Burke's passion for the people and places of Louisiana and the wrongs done to them has grown more fierce since that horrible time. And it has lit up his writing to an even higher level, in my opinion.

Very highly recommended.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

James Lee Burke is a modern master and one of the best writers of our generation.. Robicheaux is atmospheric, and opens up a more personal look at his iconic character. Simple one of the best.

JLB did it again! I’ve loved the Robicheaux series for decades and this one did not disappoint. Thank you to the publisher for the advance e-copy in exchange for a fair review.

An overall gripping crime/Mystery though a bit rough and gritty for me. Still I enjoyed it and was well engrossed in it to the end. Would like #2.

Wow! What a great book. I have read 95% of James Lee Burke’s books and this one is in the top 1-3 books I have read. It had a great storyline, kept aging characters relevant after many years, hit all the right locations, and new exciting characters. Sometimes his prose gets in the way of the story, but not this time. I don’t have much more to say, this is a really, really good book.

2.5

WARNING: Outlier in the room!

POW, right in the kisser! Let me be clear: I don’t mean this in a good way. I mean it literally—there are a lot of POW right in the kissers, because this is a macho man masterpiece where beating the crap out of people is pretty much the whole shebang. So if you want macho land, go ahead and pick up this overly long book, where plenty-o tough guys roam.

I didn’t realize how much I did not want macho until I was in the thick of it. At first, I was wowed by the sarcastic, cynical East Coast hitman dialogue, and it made me a little nostalgic for Tony Soprano. But man, I was so glad when I finished this one! More than once I wanted to abandon ship, but I stuck with it, mostly because I’m a masochist. And also because I had just read an excellent book, The Wife, by his brilliant mystery-writer daughter, Alafair Burke, and I wanted to see if pops’ and daughter’s writing were at all similar. A bigtime no.

Joy Jar

Okay, okay, there is a Joy Jar, but it’s not overflowing, I’ll tell you that. There are some great quotes buried within the pages, and I almost added some winners here. But I’m so annoyed with the book it’s hard to spew out joy quotes. It’s hard enough to admit there’s any joy at all, but here goes:

-Listen to me, will ya? The dialogue is all tough-guy cool, and although I can’t be sure (because I’m only basing it on movies!), I think it’s authentic. It’s raunchy, funny, sarcastic, and cynical, with lingo from a world I can only imagine. There is a catchy rhythm to it and for a while I felt pretty cool getting to eavesdrop on conversations that I’d never ever hear in my hood.

-I have your back. The main character, Robicheaux, and his buddy, Clete, are fiercely loyal to each other, which is always touching and appealing. It’s especially cool when a friend puts himself in danger to protect his buddy. Watching loyalty in action makes my chest feel big and huffy, like I’M the loyal friend out to save my buddy from harm.

-Ain’t this scenery grand? Yep, Burke gets an A+ in describing the trees, the heat, the water, the houses, the boats. He sets up some vivid scenes.

-This wise guy has something to say. I mean wise as in wisdom. Burke has some killer paragraphs describing the human condition. I’d lap them up if he had put them in an essay instead of a novel.

-A peek at the Katrina wreckage. Occasionally (I mean really occasionally, like maybe twice), Burke talks about the devastation of Katrina. It’s heartfelt and brilliant when he does so. The guy should write an essay on Katrina. (Hey, maybe he has!)

-Careful, or I’ll put you in my novel. In this book, Robicheaux’s daughter is a cool writer named Alafair who went to Stanford Law School. Burke’s daughter happens to be a cool writer named Alafair who went to Stanford Law School. Supposedly, Alafair Robicheaux has been a character throughout the long Robicheaux series. Although this fact has nothing to do with the story or the writing, I added it to the Joy Jar because it tickled me. What a cool dad!

That’s all very nice and good, but my Complaint Board cries out for attention.

Complaint Board

-PLEASE stop with the grand scenery. Stop it right now! Personally, I think Burke has the dreaded Description Disorder, known as DD among those readers, like me, who tire of hearing about every damn little object on the horizon—trees, of course (they’re the “go-to” for every writer with DD), but also cars and water and houses and clothes and I don’t even remember the rest because my eyes would glaze over. Writers with DD seem to have a compulsive need to make us hyper-aware of the surroundings, even though all these objects aren’t players in the story. I know, “atmosphere,” yada yada yada, but my eyes and brain have to work too hard to get the picture. Honestly, I never remember what things look like in a story. I remember the plot, and I might remember some of the dialogue. Maybe for Burke, description is the easiest thing to write. For me, it’s the hardest thing to read. Yeah, I see the trees, and yes, they’re very lovely, but I want to see what the people next to the trees are doing, and what they are talking about or thinking. At first, I forced myself to take in the sights, because, yes, Burke is so very good at this (as most writers afflicted with DD are), but eventually I found myself skipping. And skipping. And skipping.

-“I’ll stop the cruiser and stomp the shit out of you.” This line and a zillion others like it are what you have to listen to, page after page. Thug talk gets old, especially when it’s spread over 400 pages. So even though the dialogue has a lot of funny thug lines, the book is equally populated with violent thug lines. My ears hear: Me macho man, me hit you in the face. I got sick of spending my time with a bunch of Neanderthals.

-Now why are we supposed to think thugs are romantic and cool? Both the bad guys and the good guys hit. They hit a lot. I don’t mind violence, but this is basically what most of the characters do all the time—threaten, beat up, or kill. There are lots of brutal scenes. I didn’t like spending all the time with people who sound like they’ve been brain-damaged from too much time in the ring. I mentioned Tony Soprano when I started this review. We all loved Tony. He was such a sweetheart. Wait! He just killed a bunch of people! Why don’t we hate him for it? Why don’t we reject him because of his immorality? Why do we still think he’s a hero when he’s a murderer? The same goes for this book. The two good guys really are violent. Why are we supposed to excuse this behavior under any circumstances? Because they really are good guys deep down, with struggles that make you feel for them? Face it: they, too, are thugs. Why do we think they’re cool?

-Just where is this meandering plot going? There is no real suspense here, and no clear plot. I half-heartedly wondered whether Robicheaux committed a crime, but there was no big ah-ha moment at the end. The plot meandered. There were little fires to be put out here and there as various bad guys kept knocking off other bad guys, while the good guys chased the action and threw a bunch of punches themselves. None of this worked for me. And I was often confused about who was chasing who and what the point was. I like my mysteries to be page-turners with a good plot, not a show of thugs running around in circles.

-Now which person said that? Too many characters talk and act exactly the same way. Voices and behaviors weren’t distinct enough and thus it was hard to tell who was saying what. The one-liners could have been uttered by any of about five characters. Even Robicheaux and his friend Clete sounded the same and acted the same.

-Where did HE come from?? A major character appears halfway through the book. I don’t see any reason why he wasn’t introduced at the beginning. Just seemed random and it annoyed me; I resented having to meet someone new in the middle of the party.

-Nope. Don’t buy it. Robicheaux’s writer daughter Alafair (named after Burke’s daughter, as I mentioned in the Joy Jar section) would not have taken on a certain project, given the players. Staying vague to avoid spoilers.

-A call for scissors! Chop off 100 pages! This book, at more than 400 pages, is way too long. Once I got the hang of skipping through some of the description, I decided I could reach the end. I threatened to quit this one many times.

This book has fists, murder, torture. It has sleaze, pimps, relapsed alkies, dirty cops, corrupt politicians, old Cadillacs, and sweat. Images of soldiers at war both open and end the story, which further made me run away (throwing in random war scenes just doesn’t do it for me). This is one big macho fest!

This is Burke’s 21st book with Robicheaux as the down-and-out recovering-alcoholic detective. Even though the book is part of a way huge series, it works fine as a stand-alone. Burke is prolific and popular, and I know his character is dearly loved. I just found him to be stereotypical, too thuggish, and uninteresting.

I hate to be the outlier, I really do. Being part of the Gush Club is so comfy! But it was not meant to be. I just wasn’t a fan of tough guys swaggering around in the Bayou, using their fists to lead the way. The fascinating, authentic dialogue and little bits of wisdom couldn’t save this one for me. It was 100 pages too long and a total slog to read. I looked at the page numbers constantly, thinking, will this never end? I threatened to can this book more than once. Reading it was shear drudgery—I NEVER looked forward to picking it up. See? Even though I’ve completed my Complaint Board, I still can’t stop whining!

The mystery-book gods call this Burke a king, but it’s his daughter Alafair Burke who’s the royal writer in my book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

This is the 21st book in the Dave Robicheaux series. This is a gritty atmospheric mystery set in Louisiana. Dave Robicheaux is a recovering alcoholic and he is trying to stay sober and he is struggling. He goes to A.A. meetings. He is having nightmares of Vietnam. He is haunted by ghosts of his past.

His wife Molly died in an accident and he is struggling to get over it. He is a detective and he is investigating the death of the man who caused the death of his wife. He then becomes a suspect of killing him, and he even thinks that he might even of killed him. He was actually drunk the night this man got killed and he doesn't remember anything about that night, because he was in a black out.

He then leans on his friend Clete, and they both try to clear his name, and find out who the true killer is.

I really loved this book. This was the second book I read in the series and it can
be read as a standalone but if you are into the devopment of the characters, you will want to start with book 1.

Burke is a great storyteller. He painted pictures in my mind and I could just vision
his descriptions so perfectly. They were brilliantly done.

There are lots and lots of characters in this book and it was a challenge for me to keep each character straight. They were done so well. There are lots of evil characters too. There are corrupt law enforcement officers, gangsters, thugs and mafia bosses.

I was hooked straight from the beginning and I had problems of letting go until the very end. The plot thickens and I had to find out what happened next.

I am so happy that this is a series, because now I have 20 more books to read and I am going to start with book one.

Why did I give this book five stars? I gave this book five stars because I thought this was a magnificent work of art. The author was able to paint a picture in my mind and I was using all of my senses reading this. This novel stood out from other authors, because it isn't everyday that you come across an author like this. Burke is a fantastic storyteller.

I want to thank Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and James Lee Burke for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read all of Mr. Burke’s books. The latest book “Robicheaux “, is no exception. Robicheaux is his main character of most of his books. Set in New Orleans, Mr. Burke conquers the pure essence of New Orleans. His characters are people from which he describes in detail, inside and out. The mystery is subtle, and you really think about “who done it”. I suggest you buy this book immediately, you want to read excellent writing, profound interpretation, and love of intrigue. Mr. Burke is truly a modern day Steinbeck.

Terrific outing as always by Burke; powerful, lyric prose in the service of timeless but timely and deeply felt issues--another excellent novel.

There’s a brutal poetry and strange majesty to two-time Edgar winner James Lee Burke’s novels, a beguiling mix of beautiful passages and vile deeds, God-kissed landscapes and grotesque characters. Burke’s latest book sees the return of grizzled Louisiana investigator Dave Robicheaux for a twenty-first turn on the dancefloor – and Robicheaux has plenty of eclectic partners to zydeco with.

Sparked by the tragic death of his wife in a motor vehicle accident, Robicheaux is teetering and about to topple. Assailed by his decades-long battle with alcoholism and penchant for morose thoughts, he tumbles off the wagon. Hard. He wakens from a blackout the lead suspect in the killing of the man blamed for his wife’s death. And that’s not the only problem in Robicheaux’s life, as he and old pal Clete Purcel crisscross paths with a corpulent gangster who wants to be a Hollywood producer, dirty cops, venal criminals, race-baiting power players, and a slimy local politician and a local bestselling author whose monied lifestyles badly spackle over the sins of their pasts they continue to struggle with. Oh, and a bizarre killer who gives ice-cream to kids and abhors impoliteness, before blowing people’s heads off.

Robicheaux is another masterpiece from Burke. The past elbows hard into the present, Robicheaux is haunted by dreams of Vietnam and ghostly sightings of Confederate soldiers, and the best and worst of humanity is often jarringly contained within the same characters. Robicheaux may be a ‘noble mon’, as Clete is wont to say, but there are plenty of times he hurts and kills without hesitation. A heady gumbo of a literary thriller where everything is multi-layered, blending, contrasting, and stacked with flavor.

Robicheaux, by James Lee Burke, is yet another terrific entry in this series. It's everything you've come to expect from the author: lyrical, melancholy, and thrilling. Robicheaux is a damaged, wounded hero who never disappoints. Highly recommended.