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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
sad
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Dave Robicheaux is one of my favourite crime detectives and each story draws me deeper into his world amidst the swamps , wildlife, history and food of the Louisiana setting.
Here both Hollywood and a old schoolfriend/adversary have arrived in Dave's hometown and with a combination of murdered prostitutes and discovery of a historic skeleton in the swamp Dave starts treading on toes which puts him and his family in jeopardy whilst he is also haunted by visions of civil war soldiers.
Great writing and as usual a fast moving plot although some elements of the supernatural just stayed the right side of believable in the context of what seems to be Dave's increasing pressure .
Here both Hollywood and a old schoolfriend/adversary have arrived in Dave's hometown and with a combination of murdered prostitutes and discovery of a historic skeleton in the swamp Dave starts treading on toes which puts him and his family in jeopardy whilst he is also haunted by visions of civil war soldiers.
Great writing and as usual a fast moving plot although some elements of the supernatural just stayed the right side of believable in the context of what seems to be Dave's increasing pressure .
I loved the supernatural all l ligament and the "relationship" between Dave and the major. another strong addition to the series.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Decent writing, interesting plot, yet nothing happens. I didn’t end up finishing this one, just because it took me so long, which I found strange as I somewhat enjoyed the writing style, but there was just nothing keeping me hooked.
If you've never traveled by book down to Louisiana where Cajun detective
Dave "Robicheaux lives and works, you might want to start with an earlier
book in the series. This one's kind of trippy, and those of us who have
been reading Burke for a while won't be put off or surprised by that; but a
new person might be. That said, there's no wrong way to read a Dave
Robicheaux novel, so if plunging in here makes sense to you, do it by all
means.
In this book, Dave must solve the murder of a small cavalcade of young
prostitutes who are brutally dealt with at the time of their murder. His
job is exponentially complicated by the visit to town of a troupe of actors
filming a low-budget civil war picture. Additionally, as the book opens,
Dave is informed of the discovery by one of those actors, a sodden drunk,
that a skeleton has been found near where the filming is happening-and it's
a body Dave remembers. You see, he saw the murder of the black man in 1957
whose skeleton has been unearthed over time and discovered by the actor.
There is plenty of suspense here to keep you reading, and if you like a bit
of the supernatural and mystic in your mystery, Burke serves it up expertly
here. Robicheaux ultimately enters into a dialogue with former Confederate
General John Bell Hood-a dialogue that helps solve the murders and stave
off one that would have been far closer to home and more personal.
I don't know quite how to explain these Burke books to someone who has never
read them. There's something syncopated about them-their rhythm is
captivating but irregular somehow in a wonderful readable way. I wish I
could explain it better. Every trip you take to Louisiana with Burke is a
memorable trip because of the off-beat yet highly likable nature of Dave
Robicheaux. Dave is an old soul-a keen observer of men and things-a guy
you'd want on your side and as your friend. He's comfortable with his
private thoughts, and he doesn't always rub up easily against society. As I
said at the start of this review, this one is a bit trippier than some of
the others. I get the squirmies when I start thinking that my main
character hears and sees old Confederate soldiers who aren't really there-or
are they? Strange stuff, but very much worth the read.
The F-bomb gets dropped here pretty liberally, and there's a good bit of
profanity in general. So if that's a problem for you, be careful with this
one.
Dave "Robicheaux lives and works, you might want to start with an earlier
book in the series. This one's kind of trippy, and those of us who have
been reading Burke for a while won't be put off or surprised by that; but a
new person might be. That said, there's no wrong way to read a Dave
Robicheaux novel, so if plunging in here makes sense to you, do it by all
means.
In this book, Dave must solve the murder of a small cavalcade of young
prostitutes who are brutally dealt with at the time of their murder. His
job is exponentially complicated by the visit to town of a troupe of actors
filming a low-budget civil war picture. Additionally, as the book opens,
Dave is informed of the discovery by one of those actors, a sodden drunk,
that a skeleton has been found near where the filming is happening-and it's
a body Dave remembers. You see, he saw the murder of the black man in 1957
whose skeleton has been unearthed over time and discovered by the actor.
There is plenty of suspense here to keep you reading, and if you like a bit
of the supernatural and mystic in your mystery, Burke serves it up expertly
here. Robicheaux ultimately enters into a dialogue with former Confederate
General John Bell Hood-a dialogue that helps solve the murders and stave
off one that would have been far closer to home and more personal.
I don't know quite how to explain these Burke books to someone who has never
read them. There's something syncopated about them-their rhythm is
captivating but irregular somehow in a wonderful readable way. I wish I
could explain it better. Every trip you take to Louisiana with Burke is a
memorable trip because of the off-beat yet highly likable nature of Dave
Robicheaux. Dave is an old soul-a keen observer of men and things-a guy
you'd want on your side and as your friend. He's comfortable with his
private thoughts, and he doesn't always rub up easily against society. As I
said at the start of this review, this one is a bit trippier than some of
the others. I get the squirmies when I start thinking that my main
character hears and sees old Confederate soldiers who aren't really there-or
are they? Strange stuff, but very much worth the read.
The F-bomb gets dropped here pretty liberally, and there's a good bit of
profanity in general. So if that's a problem for you, be careful with this
one.
Burke presents Confederate soldiers in a sympathetic light without a word about how they were fighting to preserve the horrors of slavery. Perhaps Burke should cure his intentional ignorance about slavery by reading some history - or he could start with Toni Morrison's Beloved.
The mystery isn't very good. The plot wanders. It should have been tightened up by 100 pages shorter. I doubt I'll read another book by him.
The mystery isn't very good. The plot wanders. It should have been tightened up by 100 pages shorter. I doubt I'll read another book by him.
Not too bad. Story is told well but the various plot points come together a little too nicely. Still, the author does do a great job of portraying the location and it makes the background believable even if the story is somewhat of a stretch. I'll definitely check out some more Burke in the future though.