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Dave Robicheaux #4
A Morning for Flamingos
A cajun cop infiltrates the mob...but is he too close? A Morning for Flamingos is a classic Dave Robicheaux Louisiana mystery by New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke. Clutching the shards, of his shattered life, Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux has rejoined the New lberia police force. His partner is dead -- slain during a condemned prisoner's bloody flight to freedom that left Robicheaux critically wounded and reawakened the ghost of his haunted, violent past. Following the trail of the escaped convicts, Robicheaux is soon drawn back to New Orleans. But this time, the stakes are even higher. He's working for the DEA undercover in an attempt to incriminate Tony Cardo, a clinically insane drug lord. But all Robicheaux's really got is revenge on the mind. And he'll only be satisfied when the killers who upended his life have been brought to justice.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 1990
806 people are currently reading
2317 people want to read
About the author
James Lee Burke
124 books4,184 followersJames Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for
Black Cherry Blues
in 1990 and
Cimarron Rose
in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 450 reviews
July 2, 2021
3.5 stars
In this 4th book in the 'Dave Robicheaux' series, Detective Robicheaux goes undercover to take down a New Orleans drug lord. Dave's personal life evolves through the series, as he ages, marries (and remarries), raises his daughter, etc. So some readers would probably prefer to read the series in order. Still, the novels can be read as standalones because the mystery in each book is self-contained.
*****
At the beginning of the book, Detective Dave Robicheaux - who works for the Sheriff's Office in New Iberia, Louisiana - is transporting two convicted killers to death row. The jailbirds are Jimmie Lee Boggs - a sociopathic multiple murderer,
and Tee Beau Latolais - a hapless young man who claims he's innocent.
The transport goes wrong, Boggs gets hold of a gun, and the convicts get away after Dave is shot and his partner is killed.
Dave, who's recently widowed and raising his adopted daughter Alafair, recuperates for several months before going back to work. However, the shooting preys on Dave's mind, and he vows to recapture Boggs. So when the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) asks Dave to go undercover in New Orleans, to help take down a drug lord, the fact that Jimmie Lee Boggs has been spotted in 'The Big Easy' is an added inducement to take the job.
Posing as a disaffected former cop who plans to get rich by selling drugs, Dave makes the acquaintance of Tony Cardo - a New Orleans gangster who runs a drug syndicate.
Tony is a mobbed up crook, but Dave has some empathy for the man because - like Dave - Tony is a Vietnam vet with deep psychic scars from the war. Moreover, Tony is a solicitous father to his disabled little boy.
Still, it's Dave job to get Tony arrested, and he means to do just that. It so happens that Dave's best friend, ex-cop Clete Purcell, now runs a night club/bar in New Orleans.
Clete wants to help with the sting operation, so Dave convinces the DEA to put Clete on the payroll, so he can help take Tony down. Clete is a big, tough guy who eats too much, drinks too much, and gets involved with too many wrong women - but he has a heart of gold where Dave and his family are concerned.
Once Dave's ensconced in New Orleans, he gets re-acquainted with his former sweetheart Bootsie, whom he abruptly deserted several decades ago.
Since then, Dave went to war and became a fall down drunk. Dave's now a recovering alcoholic, and finds himself falling in love with Bootsie all over again. The Dave-Bootsie romance is complicated by the fact that Bootsie doesn't know Dave is working undercover. In addition, Tony Cardo's extra-marital girlfriend, Kim Dollinger - who has a lot of problems - repeatedly comes to Dave for help.....and possible hanky panky.
As Dave works with the DEA to get Tony arrested, he has to associate with rough gangbangers. This places Dave in very dangerous situations.....and threatens to make Alafair an orphan. Dave also comes up against Jimmie Lee Boggs - who's as murderous as ever.
On the upside, Dave gets to have delicious beignets and coffee at New Orleans Café Du Monde (a treat I've enjoyed myself on occasion. 😊)
The story has a rich assemblage of characters, including Dave's colleagues and acquaintances (including Tee Beau Latolais's grandmother); Tony Cardo's bodyguards and underlings; a collection of thugs and murderers; and more. As always, the author does a superb job of capturing the ambiance of southern Louisiana with its mixed population of Acadians, whites, blacks, and others; the swamps and bayous; the spicy Cajun food, the jazz music; recreational fishing, etc. The reader almost feels like a visitor.
Unlike most of James Lee Burke's 'Dave Robicheaux' stories, this is more of a thriller than a mystery. It's not my favorite book in the series, but I enjoyed it, and recommend it to mystery fans.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
October 23, 2016
With some series, you fall in love with the main characters. Watch with interest as they confront their problems, admire their decisions, root for them during lows, and celebrate the victories. Dave Robicheaux is the protagonist in James Lee Burke’s series of the same name, and I’m not particularly sure I like him (Robicheaux, that is, not Burke). I do know one thing, however–I’m in love with Burke’s ability to bring a setting to life. In fact, if Burke ever leaves the mystery gig and heads into travel writing, I’ll be there in a hot minute:
“It has stopped raining now, and the air was clear and cool, the sky dark except for a lighted band of purple clouds low on the western horizon. I drove through the parking lot to the back of the building, the flattened beer cans and wet oyster shells crunching under my tires, and through the big fan humming in the back wall I could hear the zydeco band pounding it out.”
******************************************************
further uncensored thoughts at : http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/0...
“It has stopped raining now, and the air was clear and cool, the sky dark except for a lighted band of purple clouds low on the western horizon. I drove through the parking lot to the back of the building, the flattened beer cans and wet oyster shells crunching under my tires, and through the big fan humming in the back wall I could hear the zydeco band pounding it out.”
******************************************************
further uncensored thoughts at : http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/0...
April 20, 2017
5★
“The Robicheaux novels are one of the crowning glories of mystery fiction.” John Connolly
Often a reader is engaged in trying to figure out or second-guess the bad guys but equal scrutiny must be given to Dave Robicheaux and friends. With one foot in and the other one out, he’s intensely complex with a brain split right down the middle. Carl Jung would have loved this guy. I don’t know how he keeps it together. Off the booze, down at the Café du Monde almost every morning eating beignets, po’boys for lunch, then later, red beans and dirty rice with boudin for dinner—and then there’s the company he keeps.
This one is my favorite in the series so far. The action is intelligently restrained, sharing the spotlight with superb characters, poetical landscapes, and mouth watering dialogue while plumbing the depths of human souls in varying stages of unrest. “Individuals in search of redemption” Connolly would say, some of whom are trying to do the right and honorable thing. But hold on podna. Dave is trying to be a good guy by helping bring down the bad guy. But he likes and partly admires the bad guy and the bad guy likes and admires him. JLB had me thinking of Tony C as a bon ami. See? I need Freud’s couch to lie down on and work this shite out. And Clete Purcell is back! With friends like him enemies will be closer. It was almost too much for me in one book. Local craft beer was necessary to keep my inner turmoil at sea level (Barrel House Big Sir Double IPA). I’m so grateful it is not necessary to attend Dave’s AA meetings and drink Dr. Peppers to cope. I don’t know how he does it.
Ah Jimmy, cher, you have cast the gris gris on me, you.
Of special note for fans: Via live chat a couple of days ago JLB said #21 titled Robicheaux has been delivered to his publisher and writing on #22 recently begun. Hmmm, how many smiley emoticons can fit in this review? ☺︎
If you’ve been tempted to try these out but daunted by the entire collection they will stand on their own and this one would be a great choice to pull out of the pack—all the stars plus a beer toast.
“The Robicheaux novels are one of the crowning glories of mystery fiction.” John Connolly
Often a reader is engaged in trying to figure out or second-guess the bad guys but equal scrutiny must be given to Dave Robicheaux and friends. With one foot in and the other one out, he’s intensely complex with a brain split right down the middle. Carl Jung would have loved this guy. I don’t know how he keeps it together. Off the booze, down at the Café du Monde almost every morning eating beignets, po’boys for lunch, then later, red beans and dirty rice with boudin for dinner—and then there’s the company he keeps.
This one is my favorite in the series so far. The action is intelligently restrained, sharing the spotlight with superb characters, poetical landscapes, and mouth watering dialogue while plumbing the depths of human souls in varying stages of unrest. “Individuals in search of redemption” Connolly would say, some of whom are trying to do the right and honorable thing. But hold on podna. Dave is trying to be a good guy by helping bring down the bad guy. But he likes and partly admires the bad guy and the bad guy likes and admires him. JLB had me thinking of Tony C as a bon ami. See? I need Freud’s couch to lie down on and work this shite out. And Clete Purcell is back! With friends like him enemies will be closer. It was almost too much for me in one book. Local craft beer was necessary to keep my inner turmoil at sea level (Barrel House Big Sir Double IPA). I’m so grateful it is not necessary to attend Dave’s AA meetings and drink Dr. Peppers to cope. I don’t know how he does it.
Ah Jimmy, cher, you have cast the gris gris on me, you.
Of special note for fans: Via live chat a couple of days ago JLB said #21 titled Robicheaux has been delivered to his publisher and writing on #22 recently begun. Hmmm, how many smiley emoticons can fit in this review? ☺︎
If you’ve been tempted to try these out but daunted by the entire collection they will stand on their own and this one would be a great choice to pull out of the pack—all the stars plus a beer toast.
July 8, 2018
I am amazed at James Lee Burke's writing skills. The books in the Dave Robicheaux series keep getting better. No other author that I have read has shown such skill in portraying life in New Orleans and the bayous of Louisiana. When you read one of these books you can almost smell and taste New Orleans. But the New Orleans in these stories are not ones that will appeal to tourists or families. The characters in his stories are fascinating, complex, sometimes evil. For those who are not familiar with Dave Robicheaux he is a Vietnam veteran, an alcoholic, twice married, an on and off again law enforcement officer, a small business man, a father to an adopted daughter, and one of the most complex characters in modern day fiction.
In this story Robicheaux has rejoined the New Iberia police force in order to pay off debts incurred during Heaven's Prisoners. He and his partner are transporting a pair of prisoners to Angola when things go wrong. His partner is killed, he is left for dead in a ditch, and the prisoners escape. While recuperating from the physical wounds he is dealing with emotional wounds that are not as easily healed. A friend from the DEA recruits him to go undercover believing this will help him and to stop the questioning of his abilities. The plan ... a sting operation to nail local mob boss Tony Cardo (a.k.a "Tony C"). Robicheaux agrees when he finds out that Jimmie Lee Boggs, one of the prisoners he was transporting, is working for Tony.
This is a story with many plots and subplots. Robicheaux finds himself drawn to Cardo and a girlfriend from his youth reenters his life. It was interesting to see that Robicheaux developed a bond with Cardo. The lines between good and evil are not always distinct. I think it is Robicheaux's humanness when confronted with so much evil that makes him so compelling. His apparent ability to retain this while dealing with his own demons and his compassion for others.
In this story Robicheaux has rejoined the New Iberia police force in order to pay off debts incurred during Heaven's Prisoners. He and his partner are transporting a pair of prisoners to Angola when things go wrong. His partner is killed, he is left for dead in a ditch, and the prisoners escape. While recuperating from the physical wounds he is dealing with emotional wounds that are not as easily healed. A friend from the DEA recruits him to go undercover believing this will help him and to stop the questioning of his abilities. The plan ... a sting operation to nail local mob boss Tony Cardo (a.k.a "Tony C"). Robicheaux agrees when he finds out that Jimmie Lee Boggs, one of the prisoners he was transporting, is working for Tony.
This is a story with many plots and subplots. Robicheaux finds himself drawn to Cardo and a girlfriend from his youth reenters his life. It was interesting to see that Robicheaux developed a bond with Cardo. The lines between good and evil are not always distinct. I think it is Robicheaux's humanness when confronted with so much evil that makes him so compelling. His apparent ability to retain this while dealing with his own demons and his compassion for others.
October 24, 2021
I started reading this and realized, oops, I must have missed #3 in the series, but I was too invested already in the story and I love this complex character, whose compassion makes doing his job difficult at times. Our former cop has been enticed to work for the DEA in an undercover sting operation to pay off some debts. He is ambivalent about how far he may have to jump down the rabbit hole in order to complete the operation. He still carries his own demons around and is now sucked into an underworld where not everyone is totally bad or totally good. It is this duality that JL Burke does so well in his writing, so believable, his exploration of the light & dark in all of us provides depth to the suspense novel. His apt descriptions of New Orleans and Louisiana environs makes you feel you are gliding through the swamps with Robicheaux or sipping coffee & eating beignets with him at the Cafe du Monde.
I need to go looking for #3 to fill a few gaps, although this could easily be read as a stand alone story.
I need to go looking for #3 to fill a few gaps, although this could easily be read as a stand alone story.
December 1, 2014
And I suppose that what I have learned is a lesson that the years, or self concern, had begun to hide from me, namely, that the bravest and most loyal and loving people in the world seldom have heroic physical characteristics or the aura of saints. In fact, their faces are like those of people whom you might randomly pull out of a supermarket line, their physical makeup so nondescript and unremarkable that it's hard to remember what they look like ten minutes after they walk out of a room.
I don't follow many ongoing series but Burke keeps pulling me back into this one with his writing. I also like the fact that Burke never keeps Robicheaux in the same place career wise. I'm only four books in but this series still seems fresh.
Dave is back with a law enforcement gig and has a very close brush with death that serves as the pivot for the rest of the story. Dave doesn't like the way he handled himself in the situation and ends up working undercover with the DEA as a form of self reproach. Burke uses this assignment to once again point out that very little in life is black and white. So many shades of gray.
Of course Clete shows up again but seems to have straightened himself out a bit
"Where are you?" Clete said.
"At Tony's."
"Can you talk, or do you want to call
me back from somewhere else?"
"What is it?"
"Nate Baxter's in the bar."
"I see."
"He says he's here if you want to talk to him."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know Nate. Always looking inside his
pants to make sure of his gender."
Gotta love Clete.
Even though I've never been to Louisiana, Burke seems to be able to transport me there.
The sky was black, the windows fogged with humidity,
and white veins of lightning
pulsated in the bank of thunderheads out on the Gulf.
The sun came up red and hot above the tree line
in the east, and the fog that clung to the bottom
of the coulee was as pink as blood diffused in water.
I came out of the trees and drove through
a wintergreen field that was
filled with snowy egrets and blue herons
feeding by a grassy pond. Ahead
I could see the coast, the palm fronds whipping
in the wind, and the waves
cresting and blowing out on Lake Borgne
and the Gulf. The air was cool and
flecked with sunlight and smelled like
salt and distant rain. And I realized
that in the west the sun had broken through
the gray seal of clouds, and left a rip in
the sky like a yellow and purple rose.
What can I say? I really enjoy his writing.
I don't follow many ongoing series but Burke keeps pulling me back into this one with his writing. I also like the fact that Burke never keeps Robicheaux in the same place career wise. I'm only four books in but this series still seems fresh.
Dave is back with a law enforcement gig and has a very close brush with death that serves as the pivot for the rest of the story. Dave doesn't like the way he handled himself in the situation and ends up working undercover with the DEA as a form of self reproach. Burke uses this assignment to once again point out that very little in life is black and white. So many shades of gray.
Of course Clete shows up again but seems to have straightened himself out a bit
"Where are you?" Clete said.
"At Tony's."
"Can you talk, or do you want to call
me back from somewhere else?"
"What is it?"
"Nate Baxter's in the bar."
"I see."
"He says he's here if you want to talk to him."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know Nate. Always looking inside his
pants to make sure of his gender."
Gotta love Clete.
Even though I've never been to Louisiana, Burke seems to be able to transport me there.
The sky was black, the windows fogged with humidity,
and white veins of lightning
pulsated in the bank of thunderheads out on the Gulf.
The sun came up red and hot above the tree line
in the east, and the fog that clung to the bottom
of the coulee was as pink as blood diffused in water.
I came out of the trees and drove through
a wintergreen field that was
filled with snowy egrets and blue herons
feeding by a grassy pond. Ahead
I could see the coast, the palm fronds whipping
in the wind, and the waves
cresting and blowing out on Lake Borgne
and the Gulf. The air was cool and
flecked with sunlight and smelled like
salt and distant rain. And I realized
that in the west the sun had broken through
the gray seal of clouds, and left a rip in
the sky like a yellow and purple rose.
What can I say? I really enjoy his writing.
January 31, 2023
3.5 stars. Enjoyed this one a lot more than the previous book. More action, and Robicheaux was a more active character in the plot. Think there was a little too much summary there at the end though.
August 22, 2025
New Iberia police officer Dave Robicheaux is on a routine transport of two convicts. His partner breaks the rules by stopping to let one of the criminals---handcuffed and in leg-irons---use the bathroom at a gas station. Within seconds, Dave's partner is dead, along with a gas station attendant. The two convicts escape, leaving Dave for dead with a gunshot wound in his chest.
Thus begins James Lee Burke's novel "A Morning for Flamingos", the fourth book in the Dave Robicheaux series.
Jimmy Lee Boggs is a bad man, and he's now on the loose. The other convict, a young black man who may or may not be falsely accused of a crime, saved Dave's life and is also in the wind. Dave wants to find both men, one to kill and one to thank.
In the meantime, Dave reluctantly agrees to go undercover to infiltrate a drug dealer's ring. Tony C has a bad reputation, but, as Dave gets to know him, he begins to realize that the reputation may not be warranted. Sure. he sells drugs, but Tony seems to have a code of ethics and a moral center that many of his peers don't possess. He also has a special needs son that is the most important thing in his life.
Dave likes Tony C, if only because they are both Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD. Tony is more like Dave than Dave wants to admit. Now, Dave is torn. Does he continue undercover to bring Tony down? Or, with the help of his loyal albeit psychopathic friend Clete Purcel, find some way to help Tony against the even worse Houston mob?
Lots of stuff going on in this one, but Burke has a way of threading each storyline into a cohesive whole. I've said it before: Burke is an amazing writer. His prose is as beautiful as, I can only imagine, the Louisiana sunsets he is always describing.
Thus begins James Lee Burke's novel "A Morning for Flamingos", the fourth book in the Dave Robicheaux series.
Jimmy Lee Boggs is a bad man, and he's now on the loose. The other convict, a young black man who may or may not be falsely accused of a crime, saved Dave's life and is also in the wind. Dave wants to find both men, one to kill and one to thank.
In the meantime, Dave reluctantly agrees to go undercover to infiltrate a drug dealer's ring. Tony C has a bad reputation, but, as Dave gets to know him, he begins to realize that the reputation may not be warranted. Sure. he sells drugs, but Tony seems to have a code of ethics and a moral center that many of his peers don't possess. He also has a special needs son that is the most important thing in his life.
Dave likes Tony C, if only because they are both Vietnam vets suffering from PTSD. Tony is more like Dave than Dave wants to admit. Now, Dave is torn. Does he continue undercover to bring Tony down? Or, with the help of his loyal albeit psychopathic friend Clete Purcel, find some way to help Tony against the even worse Houston mob?
Lots of stuff going on in this one, but Burke has a way of threading each storyline into a cohesive whole. I've said it before: Burke is an amazing writer. His prose is as beautiful as, I can only imagine, the Louisiana sunsets he is always describing.
August 22, 2020
This first edition hardcover is signed by James Lee Burke.
October 28, 2014
It's hard to imagine anyone writing crime/mystery fiction that's better than James Lee Burke. The prose is lyrical, the settings so are richly described that you can almost taste and smell New Orleans, and his characters are wonderfully complex. As this one opens, Dave Robicheaux has taken a job with the sheriff's office to help pay off some heavy debts incurred in book 3. He's transporting prisoners Tee Beau and Boggs to death row when things go awry, the prisoners escape, and Dave is left for dead in a ditch. As he recovers, he's approached by a colleague who offers him a role in a DEA sting operation to nail local mob boss Tony Cardo. As he digs in, Boggs enters the scene once again, Dave becomes surprisingly close to Cardo, and his old high school girlfriend reenters his life, and Dave becomes quite conflicted as the sting operation proceeds.
The compelling thing about these novels is seeing things through the eyes of Robichaeux, and getting inside his head. As a alcoholic and Viet Nam veteran, he has some heavy baggage. He's tortured and conflicted, but despite his frequent self-doubt, he's good at what he does, and is full of compassion and typically take the moral high ground.
Fascinating, very well-written, and the reoccurring secondary characters are just as good as Robicheaux himself. Interestingly, there is a certain amount of closure at the end of this one, and Burke could have easily stopped here. But I know there there are quite a few more books to follow. I'm very curious to see where this drama goes in the next book, and I hope this series never ends. It's so good I can see myself re-reading these novels.
The compelling thing about these novels is seeing things through the eyes of Robichaeux, and getting inside his head. As a alcoholic and Viet Nam veteran, he has some heavy baggage. He's tortured and conflicted, but despite his frequent self-doubt, he's good at what he does, and is full of compassion and typically take the moral high ground.
Fascinating, very well-written, and the reoccurring secondary characters are just as good as Robicheaux himself. Interestingly, there is a certain amount of closure at the end of this one, and Burke could have easily stopped here. But I know there there are quite a few more books to follow. I'm very curious to see where this drama goes in the next book, and I hope this series never ends. It's so good I can see myself re-reading these novels.
August 15, 2018
I had missed A Morning for Flamingos, one of the earlier books in Burke's Dave Robicheaux series, which is not surprise since I am never up in the morning. Had it been An Evening, or even an afternoon, for Flamingos, I am confident that I would have read it earlier.
In any case, it was another marvelous effort from a superb author. Burke uses the English language with skill far beyond that of most writers and he does so with the color and complexity of Louisiana's culture. The cajun, acadian, Southern, French and backwater-swamp elements combine with random scraps from here and there to form something unique in the world and Burke uses his considerable talent to draw the reader in and allow him or her to feel and taste that culture in all its splendor, simplicity, purity and depravity.
In the beginning of the book, Dave is shot by one of the prisoners that he and his incompetent partner are transporting to a dark place called Angola State Prison. His recovery is long and tortuous which fills him with doubt and misgivings about his life and about life.
Then, unexpectedly, a chance to track down and bring in the evildoer who shot him appears. Robicheaux has agreed to go undercover, for the DEA, as a failed cop turned bad by circumstances. His task is to catch a major mafia boss in the course of a significant drug transaction; an simple and easy ruse where, according to the DEA boss, nothing could possibly go wrong. As you have already guessed, everything does go wrong or at least differently than was anticipated.
It was great fun to go back to an earlier point in Dave's career and get a sense for some of the events that formed the older Robicheaux. In fact, there are a couple other early books in the series that I will eventually read. Since Burke is older than dirt, and me, for that matter, who knows how many additional Robicheaux books will be forthcoming.
Not being one of those people whose reviews are long as the book being reviewed, let me wrap this up here. The book can easily be read as a stand alone novel but knowing a bit about Robicheaux helps one appreciate many of the nuances. In any case, it is a damn fine story that I unreservedly recommend to anyone who enjoys an extremely well written thriller.
In any case, it was another marvelous effort from a superb author. Burke uses the English language with skill far beyond that of most writers and he does so with the color and complexity of Louisiana's culture. The cajun, acadian, Southern, French and backwater-swamp elements combine with random scraps from here and there to form something unique in the world and Burke uses his considerable talent to draw the reader in and allow him or her to feel and taste that culture in all its splendor, simplicity, purity and depravity.
In the beginning of the book, Dave is shot by one of the prisoners that he and his incompetent partner are transporting to a dark place called Angola State Prison. His recovery is long and tortuous which fills him with doubt and misgivings about his life and about life.
Then, unexpectedly, a chance to track down and bring in the evildoer who shot him appears. Robicheaux has agreed to go undercover, for the DEA, as a failed cop turned bad by circumstances. His task is to catch a major mafia boss in the course of a significant drug transaction; an simple and easy ruse where, according to the DEA boss, nothing could possibly go wrong. As you have already guessed, everything does go wrong or at least differently than was anticipated.
It was great fun to go back to an earlier point in Dave's career and get a sense for some of the events that formed the older Robicheaux. In fact, there are a couple other early books in the series that I will eventually read. Since Burke is older than dirt, and me, for that matter, who knows how many additional Robicheaux books will be forthcoming.
Not being one of those people whose reviews are long as the book being reviewed, let me wrap this up here. The book can easily be read as a stand alone novel but knowing a bit about Robicheaux helps one appreciate many of the nuances. In any case, it is a damn fine story that I unreservedly recommend to anyone who enjoys an extremely well written thriller.
June 4, 2025
I just so love the books in this series about Detective Dave Robicheaux by James Lee Burke. I've now finished number six, the one here is number four; admittedly they are rather violent in content but that is compensated by Burke's exquisite descriptions around the bayou area in Louisiana. I can actually feel myself there as I read his books.
December 26, 2023
This one evokes a mood. I don't read crime thrillers for deep, psychological exposition, but Dave and his new frenemy, Tony Cardo, really explore the demons they brought back from Vietnam.
Back wearing a Sheriff's badge, Dave and his new dipshit partner are to escort two death row inmates to Angola. A series of bad decisions lead to the dipshit getting killed, Dave being shot and nearly killed, and both convicts going on the run. To settle the score with the man who shot him, Jimmy Lee Boggs, Dave takes a high-risk undercover assignment with the DEA that will put him back on Jimmy Lee's trail. He'll have to leave little Alafair behind and move back to New Orleans until he lands high level dealer Tony Cardo for the DEA and catches Boggs.
While infiltrating Cardo's inner circle, he starts to understand that this man saw some really bad things in Vietnam and brought back a black-tar heroin habit to cope with it. He also does his damnedest to be a good father to his young son, a special needs child. It's easy to destroy a man who is just bad, but that's not the type of person Dave gets to know at all.
Interesting, with much food for thought. The things I liked most about this one had nothing to do with chasing Boggs or drug smuggling. A Morning for Flamingos is a very strong entry in the series so far.
In a half hour I could kick open a furnace door and fling into the flames all the snakes and squeaking bats that lived inside me. Except the next morning they would writhe with new life in the ashes and come back home, stinking and hungry.
Back wearing a Sheriff's badge, Dave and his new dipshit partner are to escort two death row inmates to Angola. A series of bad decisions lead to the dipshit getting killed, Dave being shot and nearly killed, and both convicts going on the run. To settle the score with the man who shot him, Jimmy Lee Boggs, Dave takes a high-risk undercover assignment with the DEA that will put him back on Jimmy Lee's trail. He'll have to leave little Alafair behind and move back to New Orleans until he lands high level dealer Tony Cardo for the DEA and catches Boggs.
While infiltrating Cardo's inner circle, he starts to understand that this man saw some really bad things in Vietnam and brought back a black-tar heroin habit to cope with it. He also does his damnedest to be a good father to his young son, a special needs child. It's easy to destroy a man who is just bad, but that's not the type of person Dave gets to know at all.
Interesting, with much food for thought. The things I liked most about this one had nothing to do with chasing Boggs or drug smuggling. A Morning for Flamingos is a very strong entry in the series so far.
November 27, 2017
Solider Südstaaten-Krimi. Detective Dave Robicheaux zeigt sich ganz als die genre-typische Ermittlerfigur. Ein in die Jahre gekommener, trockener Alkoholiker und Vietnam-Veteran, der von den Geistern seiner Vergangenheit verfolgt wird. Der Plot ist nicht besonders originell, eine Undercover-Aktion im Drogenmilieu von New Orleans, sowie die Suche nach einem flüchtigen Häftling. Zwar keine großen Überraschungen, aber die Szenerie Louisianas gibt der Story einen interessanten Hintergrund.
March 22, 2023
4 Stars. A solid DR book. Burke put Dave through hell in this one. The mystery was a little too obvious though. Change was front and center for Dave et all as well. He/they had a chance to follow several paths, in the end, I think, choosing the right ones. It’s going to be interesting to see where Burke takes them next.
March 29, 2018
James Lee Burke's 'A Morning for Flamingos' continues the winning streak for novels in the Robicheaux series. It's the 4th, each is better than the last, and there's a couple dozen more to go.
'Flamingos' begins with Dave Robicheaux back on the local police force. Along with an incompetent partner, he's transporting a couple prisoners to a different facility when they manage to escape. One's a stone-cold killer, the other a young kid who decides to give Robicheaux a break by not killing him when he had the chance. In the subsequent effort to track down the escapees, Dave is talked into embedding himself as a disgraced cop-on-the-make in the local Mafia organization by the Feds. As with all the Robicheaux novels to date, violence, romance, tough talk, backstabbing, etc. ensue. Good guys win in the end, but not without some important topics being approached, particularly those related to soldiers who fought in Vietnam. It's a sort of time capsule of a period when Vietnam was still in mind, when crack cocaine was just ramping up, and when cops' jobs and approaches were considerably different.
Robicheaux is a fascinating character. His key trait seems to be adherence to his principles, which fortunately are in alignment with our laws. He's a real badass who's happened to get shot and beaten up in every book so far, but he always manages to recover. He has a 'softer' side, if you want to call it that, with a young girl he adopted at home, and is on his 3rd wife by the end of Flamingos. He makes questionable decisions at times, which typically are principle-driven. In that respect he reminds me a bit of the Reacher character in Lee Child's series. In thinking about it, I guess his 2nd true trait is that he's action-oriented. There's not a lot of introspection involved in what he undertakes, although his past (he's a recovering alcoholic and Vietnam vet) does tend to haunt him. All in all, a great character in my favorite genre.
I continue to marvel at Burke's writing. It's relatively easy in this genre, at least judging by what's out there now, to let the story drive the writing and most of the prose tends to be very straightforward and simple. Burke seems incapable of that style. His descriptive technique, particularly when talking about the Louisiana physical environment and the local language, adds a layer to his books that is extremely rare.
'Flamingos' begins with Dave Robicheaux back on the local police force. Along with an incompetent partner, he's transporting a couple prisoners to a different facility when they manage to escape. One's a stone-cold killer, the other a young kid who decides to give Robicheaux a break by not killing him when he had the chance. In the subsequent effort to track down the escapees, Dave is talked into embedding himself as a disgraced cop-on-the-make in the local Mafia organization by the Feds. As with all the Robicheaux novels to date, violence, romance, tough talk, backstabbing, etc. ensue. Good guys win in the end, but not without some important topics being approached, particularly those related to soldiers who fought in Vietnam. It's a sort of time capsule of a period when Vietnam was still in mind, when crack cocaine was just ramping up, and when cops' jobs and approaches were considerably different.
Robicheaux is a fascinating character. His key trait seems to be adherence to his principles, which fortunately are in alignment with our laws. He's a real badass who's happened to get shot and beaten up in every book so far, but he always manages to recover. He has a 'softer' side, if you want to call it that, with a young girl he adopted at home, and is on his 3rd wife by the end of Flamingos. He makes questionable decisions at times, which typically are principle-driven. In that respect he reminds me a bit of the Reacher character in Lee Child's series. In thinking about it, I guess his 2nd true trait is that he's action-oriented. There's not a lot of introspection involved in what he undertakes, although his past (he's a recovering alcoholic and Vietnam vet) does tend to haunt him. All in all, a great character in my favorite genre.
I continue to marvel at Burke's writing. It's relatively easy in this genre, at least judging by what's out there now, to let the story drive the writing and most of the prose tends to be very straightforward and simple. Burke seems incapable of that style. His descriptive technique, particularly when talking about the Louisiana physical environment and the local language, adds a layer to his books that is extremely rare.
September 4, 2011
Wow! I'm just in awe of Burke's writing skills. I know of no other author who can match his ability to describe a scene, a landscape, and most importantly a character. I've read most of his Robicheaux novels out of order and it doesn't detract a bit from their enjoyment. Highly recommended.
July 9, 2017
A Morning for Flamingos
James Lee Burke is a genuinely fantastic writer, no one writes better mysteries. I have been devouring his Dave Robicheaux series. I can't read fast enough.
James Lee Burke is a genuinely fantastic writer, no one writes better mysteries. I have been devouring his Dave Robicheaux series. I can't read fast enough.
July 17, 2025
Als Dave Robicheaux mit einem Kollegen zwei Mörder in den Todestrakt eines Staatsgefängnisses von Louisiana überführen soll, gelingt diesen die Flucht. Sein Partner wird erschossen, Dave wird schwer verwundet und überlebt nur, weil einer der Täter nur ein Mitläufer ist und ihn verschont. Dave will den einen Täter unbedingt fassen und sich selbst rehabilitieren und so lässt er sich auf einen gefährlichen Undercover-Auftrag der DEA ein. Er soll im Dunstkreis eines Drogenbosses, für den der Mörder mal gearbeitet hat, auftauchen, als Zwischenhändler agieren und so dessen Organisation infiltrieren. Ein gefährliches Spiel mitten im Zentrum des organisierten Verbrechens in New Orleans.
Ich bin großer Fan dieser Krimireihe. James Lee Burke hat hier an einem sehr eindrucksvollen Schauplatz eine Krimireihe mit sehr komplexen Figuren geschaffen. Zwischen Gut und Böse gibt es halt noch ganz viele Schattierungen. Flamingo ist der vierte Band der Reihe und ein echtes Highlight. Kraftvolle Sprache, tiefgründige Figuren, tolles Setting.
Ich bin großer Fan dieser Krimireihe. James Lee Burke hat hier an einem sehr eindrucksvollen Schauplatz eine Krimireihe mit sehr komplexen Figuren geschaffen. Zwischen Gut und Böse gibt es halt noch ganz viele Schattierungen. Flamingo ist der vierte Band der Reihe und ein echtes Highlight. Kraftvolle Sprache, tiefgründige Figuren, tolles Setting.
September 4, 2018
Steadily, belatedly working my way through the Dave Robicheaux series (and kind of kicking myself that I read one of later ones out of order - bottom line: I much prefer Burke's more recent/newer books, even if they're longer), having completed the (much shorter) Hackberrry Holland series.
This one wasn't my favorite, and, after a strong start, I thought the setup lagged (and seemed a bit far fetched), but it all worked out OK, and many of my frustrations were overcome by a lengthy and gratifying (and I can imagine for some, too quaint/convenient) epilogue. But I read it quickly, disinclined to put it down, which tells me that I enjoyed it (maybe more than I thought at the time).
For dark, violent, even (Western or Southeastern) noir, I really enjoy Burke. As serial crime fiction goes, I find it far more literary - and significantly more cerebral - than, say, Jack Reacher, which is far better for travel (and jet lagged diminished concentration), or even Gabriel Allon, which offers more of the European travel and international intrigue angles.... Part of me wants to analogize Burke to the (much) younger, Irish, (and at this point, less prolific) Tana French, but that's not quite right... My sense is that Nesbo's Harry Hole, which I really enjoy, is more momentum-based, and... well ... anyway, I shouldn't generalize about serial fiction since the two longest series I previously consumed were Terry Pratchett's unique/in a category by itself/sui generis Discworld and Patrick O'Brian's splendid historical British Navy wooden ship epic Aubrey-Maturin run. But, the more I think about it, I read a lot of serial sci-fi and fantasy - it is what it is - so I'll end this digression where I started - Burke writes beautifully, and his languid pacing (filled with introspection and observation and memory and longing) is a nice platform for a reader-pleasing vocabulary and voice.
At the pace I'm going, it'll take me ages to march through Dave Robicheaux's story arc, but I don't see myself giving up any time soon (although I am tempted to sample Billy Bob Holland's saga, so we'll have to see).
This one wasn't my favorite, and, after a strong start, I thought the setup lagged (and seemed a bit far fetched), but it all worked out OK, and many of my frustrations were overcome by a lengthy and gratifying (and I can imagine for some, too quaint/convenient) epilogue. But I read it quickly, disinclined to put it down, which tells me that I enjoyed it (maybe more than I thought at the time).
For dark, violent, even (Western or Southeastern) noir, I really enjoy Burke. As serial crime fiction goes, I find it far more literary - and significantly more cerebral - than, say, Jack Reacher, which is far better for travel (and jet lagged diminished concentration), or even Gabriel Allon, which offers more of the European travel and international intrigue angles.... Part of me wants to analogize Burke to the (much) younger, Irish, (and at this point, less prolific) Tana French, but that's not quite right... My sense is that Nesbo's Harry Hole, which I really enjoy, is more momentum-based, and... well ... anyway, I shouldn't generalize about serial fiction since the two longest series I previously consumed were Terry Pratchett's unique/in a category by itself/sui generis Discworld and Patrick O'Brian's splendid historical British Navy wooden ship epic Aubrey-Maturin run. But, the more I think about it, I read a lot of serial sci-fi and fantasy - it is what it is - so I'll end this digression where I started - Burke writes beautifully, and his languid pacing (filled with introspection and observation and memory and longing) is a nice platform for a reader-pleasing vocabulary and voice.
At the pace I'm going, it'll take me ages to march through Dave Robicheaux's story arc, but I don't see myself giving up any time soon (although I am tempted to sample Billy Bob Holland's saga, so we'll have to see).
April 6, 2017
When you think of Southern writers, the names William Faulkner, Thomas Wolfe, Robert Penn Warren, Tennessee Williams, Margaret Mitchell, James Dickey, and Harper Lee may come to mind. I’ve read many books by these and other illustrious authors from the American South, but none has called to mind a more evocative picture of the region than the superb detective novels in James Lee Burke‘s Dave Robicheaux series. However, chances are slim that you’ll find Burke on any list of eminent Southern writers, since genre fiction apparently doesn’t qualify as Literature. Too bad, because the man writes like an angel.
The Cajun detective, Dave Robicheaux, a twice-wounded Vietnam vet and former New Orleans cop, has returned to law enforcement in this fourth of the twenty novels that comprise the series to date. He’s back with the sheriff’s department in southern Louisiana’s New Iberia parish to earn enough money to get himself out of hock.
While transporting two convicted killers from the local jail to the state pen, where they’re destined for the electric chair, Robicheaux’s fellow deputy sheriff does something stupid. The killers escape, grievously wounding Robicheaux and killing his partner. Months later, even as he teams up with the DEA to go undercover with the New Orleans Mob, he is fixated on hunting down the man who nearly killed him, a psychopath named Jimmie Lee Boggs. The tale that unfolds is deliciously complex and compulsively suspenseful, and it celebrates the rich tapestry of sights, sounds, and smells that is southern Louisiana. This is not a tourist’s-eye view of the South but a deeply textured portrait by a native.
Twice winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar award for best novel of the year and named a Grand Master of the field, James Lee Burke is is 78 years old as of this writing. His daughter, Alafair Burke, is a crime writer in her own right, author of eleven novels and a long list of articles in law journals. (She is a Professor of Law at Hofstra Law School.)
The Cajun detective, Dave Robicheaux, a twice-wounded Vietnam vet and former New Orleans cop, has returned to law enforcement in this fourth of the twenty novels that comprise the series to date. He’s back with the sheriff’s department in southern Louisiana’s New Iberia parish to earn enough money to get himself out of hock.
While transporting two convicted killers from the local jail to the state pen, where they’re destined for the electric chair, Robicheaux’s fellow deputy sheriff does something stupid. The killers escape, grievously wounding Robicheaux and killing his partner. Months later, even as he teams up with the DEA to go undercover with the New Orleans Mob, he is fixated on hunting down the man who nearly killed him, a psychopath named Jimmie Lee Boggs. The tale that unfolds is deliciously complex and compulsively suspenseful, and it celebrates the rich tapestry of sights, sounds, and smells that is southern Louisiana. This is not a tourist’s-eye view of the South but a deeply textured portrait by a native.
Twice winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar award for best novel of the year and named a Grand Master of the field, James Lee Burke is is 78 years old as of this writing. His daughter, Alafair Burke, is a crime writer in her own right, author of eleven novels and a long list of articles in law journals. (She is a Professor of Law at Hofstra Law School.)
August 1, 2016
The Dave Robicheaux is improving with each book and I am now looking forward to the next. In this one a routine transfer of prisoners goes wrong, his partner is killed and Dave is badly injured. This leads to an undercover narcotics sting and life threatening action for Dave and his old partner Cletus Purcell. The action does not go as planned but the action is fast and furious, with fine descriptions that might have you sipping a cocktail on the veranda or fishing in the gulf. I still struggle with some of the slang terms. Perhaps there is an opening for a glossary of terms?
December 20, 2019
The fourth book in this series didn’t work as well for me as the first three. The author’s ability to bring the New Iberia/New Orleans culture, food and landscape alive is still very much present, but I thought that some of the secondary characters in this one were stereotypical and that the plot was a stretch. A good book just not my favorite in the series so far.
April 1, 2011
He's my favorite author. Read a Burke book and your in a dark theater by yourself surrounded and engulfed by his images. I've read them all but can only do so once every 3-4 months because in the end they are their message about the human condition is not hopeful.
May 22, 2020
James Lee Burke is fantastic. His use of adjectives puts you in the Bayou. The plot is complex and the character development is multi faceted and complex. If I had one book to read it would be by James Lee Burke.
July 3, 2020
“A Morning for Flamingoes” by James Lee Burke, published by Little, Brown and Company.
Category – Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – 1990.
I must reiterate that James Lee Burke has now become my favorite author and that I am now trying to catch up on all of his books.
Dave Robicheaux is trying to get his life in order. He is trying to get his personal life in order and finds that he must return to the New Iberia Police Department. He is assigned to transporting two death row inmates to the Angola prison. The inmates escape, Dave’s partner is killed and he is wounded. Dave puts his affairs in order and goes underground in New Orleans.
Dave finds himself steeped in the Mafia, prostitution, and drugs in the underworld. Dave also finds himself falling for a past flame who has connections to the local Mafia.
He must work his way through these problems to get his life together. This becomes a major problem when he finds himself getting close to Tony Cardo, the local Mafia Don.
One of his best novels as the action and complexity of the novel moves from page to page.
Category – Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – 1990.
I must reiterate that James Lee Burke has now become my favorite author and that I am now trying to catch up on all of his books.
Dave Robicheaux is trying to get his life in order. He is trying to get his personal life in order and finds that he must return to the New Iberia Police Department. He is assigned to transporting two death row inmates to the Angola prison. The inmates escape, Dave’s partner is killed and he is wounded. Dave puts his affairs in order and goes underground in New Orleans.
Dave finds himself steeped in the Mafia, prostitution, and drugs in the underworld. Dave also finds himself falling for a past flame who has connections to the local Mafia.
He must work his way through these problems to get his life together. This becomes a major problem when he finds himself getting close to Tony Cardo, the local Mafia Don.
One of his best novels as the action and complexity of the novel moves from page to page.
February 5, 2024
4*
При Лий Бърк се проявява тенденцията да ми харесват повече "ненаграждаваните" с Едгари или Дагъри негови книги.
И пак смея да твърдя, че най-ценното у Бърк са собствените му разсъждения по ред философски теми, които успява оригинално да прокара през диалозите и мислите на своите герои.
При Лий Бърк се проявява тенденцията да ми харесват повече "ненаграждаваните" с Едгари или Дагъри негови книги.
И пак смея да твърдя, че най-ценното у Бърк са собствените му разсъждения по ред философски теми, които успява оригинално да прокара през диалозите и мислите на своите герои.
March 22, 2013
This is an amazing read. I feel as if I could fill my whole "favorites" page with James Lee Burke, were it not for a few other luminaries who I think should be recognized. Some of his books won prizes and some didn't, but they are all worthy.
A trajectory his works hold in common is a clear, even harsh condemnation of the death penalty, in which I fully concur, and so I enjoy his work all the more for it. His perspective on class and race is also one I share. It is impossible to enjoy the writing of someone whose moral underpinnings differ significantly from our own.
Ultimately, this one is, as always, filled with lush description, pulse-pounding action (maybe too much for the traditional cozy mystery set), and suspense immense enough to prevent me from reading it too close to lights-out time, lest I be awake all night long. It is so absorbing that my spouse, who reads only nonfiction as a general rule, has become hooked on the series too, and stole this one when I turned to look at something else. I let him. I like to promote good authors, especially within my family. I read it when he was done.
The flamingos in this book are the ones that a poor man was paid to chase at the race track, so that at a pivotal moment, the folks who bought their tickets for something else could see a whole flock of flamingos rising in the multicolored sky, a fabulous sight created in one of the worst possible ways. It's a metaphor for nearly the entire plot line.
I've watched one of the YouTube interviews posted on Lee's site, and in it he says that all of the stories he writes are about redemption. So without telling you things that will spoil your enjoyment of Lee's fourth Dave Robicheaux mystery (and do go back and read them in order; Goodreads.com will help you sort them out better than any bookseller), the ultimate point is this:
"...the bravest and most loyal and loving people in the world seldom have heroic physical characteristics or the aura of saints. In fact, their faces are like those of people whom you might randomly pull out of a supermarket line, their physical makeup so nondescript and unremarkable that it's hard to remember what they looked like ten minutes after they walk out of a room."
He's right, of course. The people on the front pages of magazines are generally eclipsed in kindness and selflessness by folks who will never raise a headline, yet their words and deeds will become their legacy, even if it is never lit up in bright lights.
This book is among the best I've ever read. I stand in awe.
A trajectory his works hold in common is a clear, even harsh condemnation of the death penalty, in which I fully concur, and so I enjoy his work all the more for it. His perspective on class and race is also one I share. It is impossible to enjoy the writing of someone whose moral underpinnings differ significantly from our own.
Ultimately, this one is, as always, filled with lush description, pulse-pounding action (maybe too much for the traditional cozy mystery set), and suspense immense enough to prevent me from reading it too close to lights-out time, lest I be awake all night long. It is so absorbing that my spouse, who reads only nonfiction as a general rule, has become hooked on the series too, and stole this one when I turned to look at something else. I let him. I like to promote good authors, especially within my family. I read it when he was done.
The flamingos in this book are the ones that a poor man was paid to chase at the race track, so that at a pivotal moment, the folks who bought their tickets for something else could see a whole flock of flamingos rising in the multicolored sky, a fabulous sight created in one of the worst possible ways. It's a metaphor for nearly the entire plot line.
I've watched one of the YouTube interviews posted on Lee's site, and in it he says that all of the stories he writes are about redemption. So without telling you things that will spoil your enjoyment of Lee's fourth Dave Robicheaux mystery (and do go back and read them in order; Goodreads.com will help you sort them out better than any bookseller), the ultimate point is this:
"...the bravest and most loyal and loving people in the world seldom have heroic physical characteristics or the aura of saints. In fact, their faces are like those of people whom you might randomly pull out of a supermarket line, their physical makeup so nondescript and unremarkable that it's hard to remember what they looked like ten minutes after they walk out of a room."
He's right, of course. The people on the front pages of magazines are generally eclipsed in kindness and selflessness by folks who will never raise a headline, yet their words and deeds will become their legacy, even if it is never lit up in bright lights.
This book is among the best I've ever read. I stand in awe.
July 30, 2024
The first series to get three consecutive 5 stars from me, A Morning for Flamingoes keeps Burke's purple patch going. Compelling characters, indelible dialogues, lyrical descriptions and a unique writing style that pulls off the finest of tightrope acts - where the violence remains vicious plumelling the narrative at every stage but never upsetting its realism.
The plot where Robicheaux has to infiltrate a drug lord's circle of confidants and gain incriminating evidence against him is nothing but the tapestry on which Burke weaves his magic. It is nice but the characters turn it into something memorable.
The alcoholic ex-cop Dave Robicheaux when removed from the vortex of constant self vilification and an urge or need for self destruction is essentially a righteous man. Yet what makes him different (and Burke so good) is that so far in the series he had never gone up against the antagonists for the inherent nobility in it. In Heaven's Prisoners his vengeance drives him, In Black Cherry Blues his misplaced sense of loyalty gets him in trouble and in this one his need to restore his broken pride makes him succumb yet again to a world where vice is a virtue and even the virtuous are vicious.
The secondary characters are equally strong. The love interest is not just a token throwaway or a tepid afterthought, she has a poignant story to tell in her own right. The femme fatale is always hard but never cold. Tony Cardo, the eccentric drug dealer is flippant and frequently glosses over what he does for living. Whether he displays a complete lack of morality or he hides a nightmare that he will recognize what he is truly is and not like it is left open to interpretation. All of them start life looking like a compilation of discarded drafts from crime fiction 101 and end up being the cornerstones of the story.
All the characters want some degree of absolution but will settle for some answers. However they are of the kind that no confused priest or condescending shrink can provide. There is a small but brilliant scene when Robicheaux goes for a confession and comes back empty-handed. The central theme of search for redemption means the book ends on a more optimistic note than its predecessors and provides a fitting closure from both the character and narrative standpoint.
With this book Burke in my estimation joins Chandler and Ellroy as the best crime writers of all time. Chandler is more entertaining, Ellroy more labyrinthine but Burke scores over both of them when it comes to characterization. Rating - 5/5.
The plot where Robicheaux has to infiltrate a drug lord's circle of confidants and gain incriminating evidence against him is nothing but the tapestry on which Burke weaves his magic. It is nice but the characters turn it into something memorable.
The alcoholic ex-cop Dave Robicheaux when removed from the vortex of constant self vilification and an urge or need for self destruction is essentially a righteous man. Yet what makes him different (and Burke so good) is that so far in the series he had never gone up against the antagonists for the inherent nobility in it. In Heaven's Prisoners his vengeance drives him, In Black Cherry Blues his misplaced sense of loyalty gets him in trouble and in this one his need to restore his broken pride makes him succumb yet again to a world where vice is a virtue and even the virtuous are vicious.
The secondary characters are equally strong. The love interest is not just a token throwaway or a tepid afterthought, she has a poignant story to tell in her own right. The femme fatale is always hard but never cold. Tony Cardo, the eccentric drug dealer is flippant and frequently glosses over what he does for living. Whether he displays a complete lack of morality or he hides a nightmare that he will recognize what he is truly is and not like it is left open to interpretation. All of them start life looking like a compilation of discarded drafts from crime fiction 101 and end up being the cornerstones of the story.
All the characters want some degree of absolution but will settle for some answers. However they are of the kind that no confused priest or condescending shrink can provide. There is a small but brilliant scene when Robicheaux goes for a confession and comes back empty-handed. The central theme of search for redemption means the book ends on a more optimistic note than its predecessors and provides a fitting closure from both the character and narrative standpoint.
With this book Burke in my estimation joins Chandler and Ellroy as the best crime writers of all time. Chandler is more entertaining, Ellroy more labyrinthine but Burke scores over both of them when it comes to characterization. Rating - 5/5.
February 21, 2020
Dave Robicheaux and his partner have to transport two convicted murderers up to Angola for a seat in "the chair." One is a real piece of shit psychopathic killer while the other is young kid who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. One thing leads to another and Dave's partner gets his face shotgunned off, Robicheaux catches one in the shoulder, and both prisoners facing the death penalty are now lost in the wind. After recovering from his wound, the DEA reaches out to Robicheaux with the hope that he will participate in an undercover operation in New Orleans, his old homicide beat, to bring down a drug kingpin. To sweeten the deal he may be able to find the prisoners who escaped his custody and who are rumored to be on the loose in the Big Easy.
This is a good crime story with satisfying action. Burke could have turned down the cliches a bit though. We have the main character suffering another traumatizing experience right off the bat which made me think "why is this guy still in this line of work?" Some of the action is over the top (i.e. bullets meet propane tanks) and the investigator developing a soft spot for a criminal idea is something I might have read one too many times.
On the whole A Morning for Flamingos is good and was an enjoyable read, but the saturation of cliches may render this one forgettable in the long run.
This is a good crime story with satisfying action. Burke could have turned down the cliches a bit though. We have the main character suffering another traumatizing experience right off the bat which made me think "why is this guy still in this line of work?" Some of the action is over the top (i.e. bullets meet propane tanks) and the investigator developing a soft spot for a criminal idea is something I might have read one too many times.
On the whole A Morning for Flamingos is good and was an enjoyable read, but the saturation of cliches may render this one forgettable in the long run.
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