- Paperback: 429 pages
- Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (June 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 078380332X
- ISBN-13: 978-0783803326
- Product Dimensions: 23.3 x 15.5 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 553 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Dripping with the cynicism and sweat that runs rampant through the Louisiana bayou parishes, actor Will Patton gives an extraordinary reading of James Lee Burke's latest tension-filled tale. Each character gets a distinct patois that not only distinguishes his or her voice, but conveys class, race, and in many cases, a raw, unforgiving, and unsavory nature: necessary ingredients for such a brilliant and dark work. And while Northerners may, at times, struggle with the strong colloquialisms, Patton's varied Southern tones justify a listen.
Like Burke's other work, contradictions rule. Beauty is juxtaposed against ugliness; rape, killings, and revenge are woven through an intense and elegiac prose in which the lush details of nature run profuse and poetic. The upshot is an almost dreamlike, or rather nightmarish, account of detective Dave Robicheaux's search for justice in a mounting set of murders. His journeys run from wealthy manors to cockfights and cathouses and through the injustices of a South where past and present are rarely separated. The detective's keen, indisputable insights on human nature and history set him and this story apart from all peers. (Running time: 4.5 hours, four cassettes) --Anne Lockwood --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
After stepping into stand-alone territory with Cimmaron Rose (1997), Burke choreographs a masterful return to the lush and brooding world of volatile New Iberia Sheriff's Deputy Dave Robicheaux (Cadillac Jukebox, 1996). This tale's strength lies in breathtaking, moody descriptive passages and incisive vignettes that set time, place and character. Burke's major themes, that the past is key to the present and that money buys power, pervade this mystery. The narrative, with more twists and bounces than a fish fighting a hook, rises from the violent, unsolved murder 40 years ago of union organizer Jack Flynn. The story encompasses at least eight disparate but interlocking subplots: the crooked money behind a movie directed by Flynn's son Cisco; the hold that ex-con Swede Boxleiter has on Cisco's photojournalist sister, Megan; Willie "Cool Breeze" Broussard's theft of a mob warehouse; his wife Ida's suicide 20 years ago; the shooting of two white brothers who raped a black woman; alcoholic Lisa Terrebonne's haunted childhood; her wealthy, arrogant father's ties to Harpo Scruggs, a vicious murderer; the post-Civil War killing by freed slaves of a Terrebonne servant. Hired assassins, snitches, lawmen and FBI agents weave through the novel. Dave and his partner Detective Helen Soileau find the connections, but Dave knows that in the ongoing class war, the worst criminals wield too much influence to pay for their crimes. In rich, dense prose, Burke conjures up bizarre, believable characters who inhabit vivid, spellbinding scenes in a multifaceted, engrossing plot. $300,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I HAD SEEN A DAWN like this one only twice in my life: once in Vietnam, after a Bouncing Betty had risen from the earth on a night trial and twisted its tentacles of light around my thighs, and years earlier outside of Franklin, Louisiana, when my father and I discovered the body of a labor organizers who had been crucified with sixteen-penny nails, ankle and wrist, against a barn wall. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
I HAD SEEN A DAWN like this one only twice in my life: once in Vietnam, after a Bouncing Betty had risen from the earth on a night trial and twisted its tentacles of light around my thighs, and years earlier outside of Franklin, Louisiana, when my father and I discovered the body of a labor organizers who had been crucified with sixteen-penny nails, ankle and wrist, against a barn wall. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible at best,
By Denny Gibbons (Champaign, IL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sunset Limited (Mass Market Paperback)
I read "Heaven's Prisoners" and liked it, a lot. I was expecting this one to be good as well, but alas, no. It is one of those books with a plot so contrived and meandering that if someone were to ask me to summarize the book, I'd just shrug and shake my head.I was also very disappointed with the character. I like detective stories. REAL detective stories, stories where the main character does actualy investigative work. Dave Robicheaux doesn't investigate--he stumbles around from place to place, threatening and making harsh accusations without any evidence of wrongdoing. The only time he ever really learns new information is when suspects come to him for some reason and give him info, without him really making an effort to figure out more. This novel's only saving grace is the author's beautiful and vivid description of southern Louisiana. However, even this gets old, as the reader is treated to a constant reminder of the climate and temperature every time the main character so much as steps outside to walk to his car. And I really don't like novels that waste time with mundane details like what the protagonist has for lunch every day, and a step-by-step update on how he prepares his Po' boy sandwich.
4.0 out of 5 stars
First time reading Burke,
By Theresa W (mi, usa) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sunset Limited (Mass Market Paperback)
First, I have to agree with the other reviewer in saying that this probably isn't the best book to start off reading that's a part of the Dave R. series by Burke! This was my first by him, and it did seem a bit hard to get a handle on some things.I did enjoy this book, but in trying to sum it up...I'm at a loss. This book had SO much going on!! There's a murder of a black man 40 years ago that is still unsolved and now his children are back in town to possibly resolve it...there are numerous criminals in and about town of a big stature creating a fuss...there are several local's who have issues of their own that need resolving...there's just SO much! There are so many characters, that I had a very hard time keeping them and their pasts straight. While I enjoyed some of the individual stories, it did get to be too much. I felt this book could have used some heavy editing. Over-all, I did enjoy this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat to see how it would end and what all of the big cover-ups were. One thing to note-pay close attention to everything, if you miss something, you'll miss a lot.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Burke is still up there with the best contemporary writers,
By
This review is from: Sunset Limited (Mass Market Paperback)
I am an unabashed fan of the Dave Robicheaux series. I know that some readers were disappointed with this particular book because it did not focus quite as much on Dave's homelife as some of the others, but that really didn't bother me in the least. Burke draws his characters so finely, and so seamlessly that it is a joy to read any of his books. This book is somewhat darker than some of the other ones, but the parallels Burke draws between the human condition of the past, and the presesnt are not wasted on the reader. There is also a great deal of humor in the book. The scenes of Clete Purcell (Robicheaux's ex-partner on NOPD) busting up mobsters and setting up dirtbag bikers is hysterical. I laughed until the tears rolled down my cheeks. Underneath it all, however, is the wonderfully complex character of Dave Robicheaux who struggles so valiantly with external and internal demons. There is a spirit to Robicheaux that is difficult not to like or even love. He gives everything to everything he does...not always winning....but never giving up. I loved the book...and I love the series. I hope Burke writes a hundred more.
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