police procedurals

James Lee Burke creates another dark mystery in the heat of the Louisiana swamps. In this latest Dave Robicheaux tale, the death of a teenage driver turns into a series of twists and switchbacks that lead to a series of murders and cover-ups from decades ago through to the present. The story involves a hit man for the IRA, pornographic film stars, a former lover, blues musicians, along with a military hero using his past as a facade for who he really has become. The layers of mystery are unwrapped slowly, each layer uncovered reveals new clues and new directions and new crimes to investigate for Dave and his podjo Clete.
I have two criticisms of this novel. The first is that Robicheaux is dealing with a major loss in his life and we see that only in the aftermath, which feels like either a slight to the reader or an inability to deal with it by the author in a believable manner. The second is that although I am aware of the authors political beliefs, they seem to predominate this novel like never before. Even with these two situations, Burke comes through with an amazing puzzle of a novel.

All of James Lee Burke's novels are deeply atmospheric. His words create a powerful image of the Louisiana bayou - an image that is not merely visual, but also capturing the humidity of the swamps, the grit of the cities, the smells of Cajun cooking. With Burke, you can always count on richly developed characters, moving alternatively between acts of nobility and brutality. And in all of Burke's works, there is a strong sense of societal divide, of racial tension, of Cajun culture, sensibility, sometimes and depravity. It is with a dark pallet that Burke paints his stories, and the results are consistently mesmerizing, addictive. Often, however, the plot and storyline must take a back seat, overpowered by the strength of settings and the casts of James Lee Burke's remarkable writing.

Not so with "Last Car to Elysian Fields". This is a mighty novel in all respects: a captivating and complex plot, set in the sleazy back alleys of New Orleans, a barbarous Louisiana prison work gang, the familiar backwaters of New Iberia. Think "Mystic River" with a Cajun accent. Our hero Dave Robicheaux is back, but haunted by the recent death of his wife, Bootsie. Clete Purcel, Robicheaux's one-time NOPD partner is also back, and while Purcel has always been reckless, outrageous, and irreverent, he is truly at home as the master of mayhem in this latest yarn. In a nutshell, a seemingly unrelated series of events, starting with the decades-earlier suspected murder of a black convict, to the highway death of New Iberia teenagers, a drive-up Daiquiri bar, and mob hit man, are welded together in a gripping tale of bigotry, greed, and corruption in the Deep South.

Burke is certainly at the top of the pile of modern crime writers, and "Elysian Fields" is an example of Burke at the top of his game. Dark, crude, and ruthless, but at the same time additive and impossible to forget. Don't let this one pass unread.

James Lee Burke's lead series character of Dave Robicheaux has become one of my favorites of recent years, and the latest in the Robicheaux series, LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS, certainly does not disappoint. While not necessarily long at around 340 pages, Burke still manages to easily maintain three different storylines that, while seemingly independent of each other, all come together nicely in the end. This installment also illustrates the latest changes in Dave's life as he grows older and wiser. With his daughter Alafair at college and his wife Bootsie deceased, Dave continues on in his life alone. As always, colorful character and Dave's former partner Clete Purcel is a big part of the story and it's always interesting watching the two go back and forth.

The finest recurring quality of all of Burke's books is the beautifully descriptive prose. With the setting in the Louisiana bayou, Burke's colorful descriptions lets you close your eyes and imagine the setting with relative ease.

The only drawback from the book came late in the book. On several instances in the last hundred pages, it really seemed as if the autor was trying to push his political agenda on the reader. The remarks had nothing to do with the characters, hadd nothing to do with the storyline, and really distracted me from the reading experience for a few pages as I tried to figure out why those remarks were there.

Outside of that, this is a classic Burke and evidence that neither he nor Dave Robicheaux are showing any signs of slowing down!