From the Podna
James Lee Burke's Robicheaux stories have everything: drama, action, humor, violence, evil, justice, the beauty of Louisiana painted with such eloquence-- but the most potent treasures they possess are the characters of Dave Robicheaux and his "podna" Clete Purcel. Clete is now a private investigator, having previously been run off the New Orleans PD. Dave had served with him and is currently a sheriff's detective in New Iberia. Through two dozen books we see these two face down the worst in humanity without compromise, all the time struggling with their own personal demons.
This is the first in the series told in Clete's words. Although Dave has had his episodes of explosive violence (often during blackouts he does not fully remember), Clete has always been portrayed as the enforcer, much quicker to get physical no matter what the consequences.
As the story opens, Clete discovers three thugs tearing his Cadillac Eldorado apart. The car had just spent a few days at a friend's car wash and the suspicion is something, maybe fentanyl, had been stashed. Clete confronts these guys, takes a beating, and launches his own investigation into why he is being targeted. Whatever was hidden away has not been found and people around Clete are suffering the consequences. One recurring trait of his is the tendency to dive blindly into saving the damsel in distress... and it is a big part of what happens here.
Both Dave and Clete live with PTSD from their time in the Vietnam War. In addition to flashbacks, Dave has seen and heard manifestations of the ghosts of the Civil War action in the area. Now Clete is visited by an apparition, a historical figure now here to guide him. Is she a figment of his imagination? Is she a result of blunt force trauma? And if she is not real, how did she appear to shoot his attacker with a sniper rifle?
As the plot revs up to include more at stake than just a failed drug transaction, we are treated to the brilliance of James Lee Burke's prose. Louisiana becomes a very real character in all this series, and we dissolve into its landscape.
"The rumbling in the clouds and the waterspouts on the horizon make you tremble. The sun does not go down; it dies, and its fire takes its red smoke with it."
The plot is always a judgment of good versus evil, seeing how it plays out in society. Clete is called a protector, "like (an) angel with big wings." He carries around an old photo of a mother walking her children at a concentration camp, a reminder of an unavenged atrocity. These guys cannot stand by and let the powerful prey on the weak, to let hate groups go unchecked.
"In my lifetime I had seen numerous groups come and go. Their names change, but their membership remains the sameâ people who feel they have been left out. They blame immigrants and women and gay people and Jews and Blacks and anyone else they can pick on. Needless to say, most of them are not bright and get chewed up and spat out by the rich people who exploit them."
The novels of James Lee Burke have been cherished gifts for me, and this is no exception.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
James Lee Burke's Robicheaux stories have everything: drama, action, humor, violence, evil, justice, the beauty of Louisiana painted with such eloquence-- but the most potent treasures they possess are the characters of Dave Robicheaux and his "podna" Clete Purcel. Clete is now a private investigator, having previously been run off the New Orleans PD. Dave had served with him and is currently a sheriff's detective in New Iberia. Through two dozen books we see these two face down the worst in humanity without compromise, all the time struggling with their own personal demons.
This is the first in the series told in Clete's words. Although Dave has had his episodes of explosive violence (often during blackouts he does not fully remember), Clete has always been portrayed as the enforcer, much quicker to get physical no matter what the consequences.
As the story opens, Clete discovers three thugs tearing his Cadillac Eldorado apart. The car had just spent a few days at a friend's car wash and the suspicion is something, maybe fentanyl, had been stashed. Clete confronts these guys, takes a beating, and launches his own investigation into why he is being targeted. Whatever was hidden away has not been found and people around Clete are suffering the consequences. One recurring trait of his is the tendency to dive blindly into saving the damsel in distress... and it is a big part of what happens here.
Both Dave and Clete live with PTSD from their time in the Vietnam War. In addition to flashbacks, Dave has seen and heard manifestations of the ghosts of the Civil War action in the area. Now Clete is visited by an apparition, a historical figure now here to guide him. Is she a figment of his imagination? Is she a result of blunt force trauma? And if she is not real, how did she appear to shoot his attacker with a sniper rifle?
As the plot revs up to include more at stake than just a failed drug transaction, we are treated to the brilliance of James Lee Burke's prose. Louisiana becomes a very real character in all this series, and we dissolve into its landscape.
"The rumbling in the clouds and the waterspouts on the horizon make you tremble. The sun does not go down; it dies, and its fire takes its red smoke with it."
The plot is always a judgment of good versus evil, seeing how it plays out in society. Clete is called a protector, "like (an) angel with big wings." He carries around an old photo of a mother walking her children at a concentration camp, a reminder of an unavenged atrocity. These guys cannot stand by and let the powerful prey on the weak, to let hate groups go unchecked.
"In my lifetime I had seen numerous groups come and go. Their names change, but their membership remains the sameâ people who feel they have been left out. They blame immigrants and women and gay people and Jews and Blacks and anyone else they can pick on. Needless to say, most of them are not bright and get chewed up and spat out by the rich people who exploit them."
The novels of James Lee Burke have been cherished gifts for me, and this is no exception.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
