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Dave Robicheaux #1
The Neon Rain
LENGTH -- 8 hrs and 22 mins
New York Times best-selling author James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels began with this first hard-hitting entry in the series.
In The Neon Rain, Detective Robicheaux fishes a prostitute's corpse from a New Orleans bayou and finds that no one, not even the law, cares about a dead hooker.
New York Times best-selling author James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels began with this first hard-hitting entry in the series.
In The Neon Rain, Detective Robicheaux fishes a prostitute's corpse from a New Orleans bayou and finds that no one, not even the law, cares about a dead hooker.
8 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
James Lee Burke
128 books4,272 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 - 29 of 1,879 reviews
September 28, 2019
The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke is a 2010 Pocket Books publication. (Originally published in 1987)
I suppose it should be downright criminal that I have yet to read one book in this long running, highly respected series, until now.
But there is no time like the present, better late than never and that jazz-
Lieutenant Dave Robicheaux discovers the body of a young black woman floating in the water while he is out fishing. His investigation into her death exposes layers upon layers of criminal activity and corruption. It also sends Dave down a dark descent where his own personal demons reside. The deeper he digs, the more trouble he finds, until finally he’s suspended from the force. This doesn’t stop him from going rogue, on a vigilante style mission all on his own…
After hearing so many people gush over this series, I felt I owed it to myself to see what all the fuss was about. But when I saw how many books were in the series, initially I balked at having to comb through twenty-two installments to get caught up. It wasn’t just the sheer volume of books, it was the daunting task of locating books that were going on thirty years of age. Sometimes that can be a little tricky and expensive. However, there are occasions where one doesn’t necessarily have to read a series in strict chronological order, so I fished around trying to see if maybe I could cheat and start with some of the more recent volumes. However, the advice I got was to start at the beginning and read the first three or four books at least, before skipping around. Fortunately, I found a copy of this first chapter in the series on Scribd.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I admit I was taken aback a bit by how gritty the story was and by how over the top the violence was. The language is also a little rough, and by that, I mean the racial epithets casually tossed about. However, the behavior is most likely spot-on for the time period and certain other circumstances.
The plot is a dated, but in the late eighties, arms dealing was a hot topic indeed. There is a side thread involving the mob, as well, but it was tidied up a bit too conveniently, in my opinion.
This series seems to have a loyal female following, and the ladies all seem to have a little crush on ole Dave. Now I think I understand why. He’s just the right amount of flawed, vulnerable, tough, honorable, and noble to make a girl what to take care of him.
However, my thoughts are a little scattered about this book. The book isn’t all that long and there is so much going on, I didn’t feel like everything came together as fluidly as it should have. Where the book excels is the character study of Dave, and in the amazing descriptions of the Louisiana scenery and backdrop. I loved the dialect, which I’m moderately familiar with, having relatives speak with that thick Cajun accent, for lack of a better term, while growing up. The cadence seems odd, and many would have a very hard time understanding it, because it’s almost like a foreign language. But I loved it, all the same.
Although this story was a bumpy ride for me, I’m glad I took the advice of the GR’s community and started with the first book so I can watch the characters and plots develop as the series progresses- and I will definitely be back to check in on Dave again sometime soon!!
3.5 rounded up
I suppose it should be downright criminal that I have yet to read one book in this long running, highly respected series, until now.
But there is no time like the present, better late than never and that jazz-
Lieutenant Dave Robicheaux discovers the body of a young black woman floating in the water while he is out fishing. His investigation into her death exposes layers upon layers of criminal activity and corruption. It also sends Dave down a dark descent where his own personal demons reside. The deeper he digs, the more trouble he finds, until finally he’s suspended from the force. This doesn’t stop him from going rogue, on a vigilante style mission all on his own…
After hearing so many people gush over this series, I felt I owed it to myself to see what all the fuss was about. But when I saw how many books were in the series, initially I balked at having to comb through twenty-two installments to get caught up. It wasn’t just the sheer volume of books, it was the daunting task of locating books that were going on thirty years of age. Sometimes that can be a little tricky and expensive. However, there are occasions where one doesn’t necessarily have to read a series in strict chronological order, so I fished around trying to see if maybe I could cheat and start with some of the more recent volumes. However, the advice I got was to start at the beginning and read the first three or four books at least, before skipping around. Fortunately, I found a copy of this first chapter in the series on Scribd.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I admit I was taken aback a bit by how gritty the story was and by how over the top the violence was. The language is also a little rough, and by that, I mean the racial epithets casually tossed about. However, the behavior is most likely spot-on for the time period and certain other circumstances.
The plot is a dated, but in the late eighties, arms dealing was a hot topic indeed. There is a side thread involving the mob, as well, but it was tidied up a bit too conveniently, in my opinion.
This series seems to have a loyal female following, and the ladies all seem to have a little crush on ole Dave. Now I think I understand why. He’s just the right amount of flawed, vulnerable, tough, honorable, and noble to make a girl what to take care of him.
However, my thoughts are a little scattered about this book. The book isn’t all that long and there is so much going on, I didn’t feel like everything came together as fluidly as it should have. Where the book excels is the character study of Dave, and in the amazing descriptions of the Louisiana scenery and backdrop. I loved the dialect, which I’m moderately familiar with, having relatives speak with that thick Cajun accent, for lack of a better term, while growing up. The cadence seems odd, and many would have a very hard time understanding it, because it’s almost like a foreign language. But I loved it, all the same.
Although this story was a bumpy ride for me, I’m glad I took the advice of the GR’s community and started with the first book so I can watch the characters and plots develop as the series progresses- and I will definitely be back to check in on Dave again sometime soon!!
3.5 rounded up
April 21, 2023
LA LUNGA NOTTE DELL’ANIMA
New Iberia in Louisiana, dove è nato e cresciuto Dave Robichaux.
Dave di cognome fa Robicheaux. È cresciuto ascoltando suo padre parlare francese. Non il vero francese, ma la derivazione cajun.
Suo padre che l’ha cresciuto dopo che la mamma se ne è andata con un altro.
E l’ha cresciuto insieme al fratellastro, figlio di un’altra donna.
Suo padre che lavorava nelle piattaforme petrolifere finché non c’è rimasto secco.
Con un nome così francese, per forza di cose Dave Robicheaux deve essere nato e cresciuto nel sud degli States che affaccia sul Golfo (del Messico): infatti, prima New Iberia, poi New Orleans, sempre in Louisiana. Dave Robicheaux è un cajun.
Dave Robichaux vive su una barca ormeggiata sul lago Pontchartrain, questo nell’immagine satellitare, che è un lago di acqua salata su cui si affaccia New Orleans.
Il problema di Dave Robicheaux è che vede il mondo come dovrebbe essere, e non come è veramente. È per questo che si ritrova sempre incagliato nelle secche.
Dal che consegue che Robicheaux non abbia molti amici, non sia particolarmente popolare nel corpo di polizia di New Orleans. Un suo collega gli dice così:
Il tuo problema è che hai fatto l’amore coi tuoi pugni per tanto tempo che adesso credi di essere l’unico qui ad avere un po’ d’integrità morale.
Ma neppure i criminali locali si possono considerare suoi fan.
Pioggia a New Orleans.
Mai fidarsi delle autorità. Robicheaux l’ha imparato nell’esercito durante il suo periodo in Vietnam, guerra ed esperienza da cui non sembra essersi ripreso, ma neppure essere uscito.
Credo che dipenda soprattutto da questo il suo consistente problema alcolico.
Il motto di Robicheaux, mai fidarsi delle autorità, ha sicuramente senso e ragione: ma come fa Robicheaux che è un poliziotto a non fidarsi delle autorità?
La risposta ritengo sia: facendo il poliziotto contro tutto e tutti.
E così, si trova spesso nei guai, in brutte o pessime situazioni. Al punto che quella raccontata in questo romanzo dove Jason Lee Burke lo fa debuttare (ne seguiranno un’altra ventina) lo spinge a pregare così:
Dio onnipotente, non mi abbandonare, anche se io Ti ho abbandonato.
Robicheaux finisce coinvolto in un traffico d’armi verso i paesi dell’America centrale, armi per i contras che combattono i sandinisti. Roba sporca, affari pericolosi. Dovrà scontrarsi con un generale in pensione, un mafioso che a seguito di un’operazione chirurgica perde settanta chili in un mese, un laido avvocato ebreo, ex militari ex agenti dei servizi passati a miglior offerente, mafia latina che non conosce limite all’efferatezza, CIA, FBI, agenti del Tesoro…
Robicheaux si muove alla sua maniera, che spesso ricorda quella di un elefante in un negozio di cristalli. Rischia la vita, rischia la pelle, rischia l’amore, rischia la carriera.
La lunga notte dell’anima è quella che deve attraversare per placare il suo profondo bisogno di trasformazione per entrare in contatto con la realtà
Alec Baldwin e Mary Sturat Masterson.
Burke usa tutti gli ingranaggi e i meccanismi del genere, lo fa con perizia, e aggiunge qualcosa di personale, la sua speciale spezia cajun: Robicheaux, un bel personaggio.
Immerge tutto in un’atmosfera fatta di pioggia al neon e nebbia elettrica, effetto dell’estate di New Orleans.
Robicheaux è arrivato sullo schermo due volte.
La prima impersonato da Alec Baldwin, giovane e aitante: il film s’intitola Heaven’s Prisoners – Omicidio a New Orleans, è del 1996, diretto da Phil Joanou.
La seconda invece lo interpreta il magnifico Tommy Lee Jones, il film è del 2009, diretto dal francese Bertrand Tavernier, s’intitola In the Electric Mist – L’occhio del ciclone, è un buon film che però in US è uscito solo nel mercato a noleggio.
Ormai Robicheaux ha lasciato New Orleans, vive nella bayou country. Questa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv_gX...
Tommy Lee Jones e Buddy Guy che ovviamente interpreta un bluesman locale.
New Iberia in Louisiana, dove è nato e cresciuto Dave Robichaux.
Dave di cognome fa Robicheaux. È cresciuto ascoltando suo padre parlare francese. Non il vero francese, ma la derivazione cajun.
Suo padre che l’ha cresciuto dopo che la mamma se ne è andata con un altro.
E l’ha cresciuto insieme al fratellastro, figlio di un’altra donna.
Suo padre che lavorava nelle piattaforme petrolifere finché non c’è rimasto secco.
Con un nome così francese, per forza di cose Dave Robicheaux deve essere nato e cresciuto nel sud degli States che affaccia sul Golfo (del Messico): infatti, prima New Iberia, poi New Orleans, sempre in Louisiana. Dave Robicheaux è un cajun.
Dave Robichaux vive su una barca ormeggiata sul lago Pontchartrain, questo nell’immagine satellitare, che è un lago di acqua salata su cui si affaccia New Orleans.
Il problema di Dave Robicheaux è che vede il mondo come dovrebbe essere, e non come è veramente. È per questo che si ritrova sempre incagliato nelle secche.
Dal che consegue che Robicheaux non abbia molti amici, non sia particolarmente popolare nel corpo di polizia di New Orleans. Un suo collega gli dice così:
Il tuo problema è che hai fatto l’amore coi tuoi pugni per tanto tempo che adesso credi di essere l’unico qui ad avere un po’ d’integrità morale.
Ma neppure i criminali locali si possono considerare suoi fan.
Pioggia a New Orleans.
Mai fidarsi delle autorità. Robicheaux l’ha imparato nell’esercito durante il suo periodo in Vietnam, guerra ed esperienza da cui non sembra essersi ripreso, ma neppure essere uscito.
Credo che dipenda soprattutto da questo il suo consistente problema alcolico.
Il motto di Robicheaux, mai fidarsi delle autorità, ha sicuramente senso e ragione: ma come fa Robicheaux che è un poliziotto a non fidarsi delle autorità?
La risposta ritengo sia: facendo il poliziotto contro tutto e tutti.
E così, si trova spesso nei guai, in brutte o pessime situazioni. Al punto che quella raccontata in questo romanzo dove Jason Lee Burke lo fa debuttare (ne seguiranno un’altra ventina) lo spinge a pregare così:
Dio onnipotente, non mi abbandonare, anche se io Ti ho abbandonato.
Robicheaux finisce coinvolto in un traffico d’armi verso i paesi dell’America centrale, armi per i contras che combattono i sandinisti. Roba sporca, affari pericolosi. Dovrà scontrarsi con un generale in pensione, un mafioso che a seguito di un’operazione chirurgica perde settanta chili in un mese, un laido avvocato ebreo, ex militari ex agenti dei servizi passati a miglior offerente, mafia latina che non conosce limite all’efferatezza, CIA, FBI, agenti del Tesoro…
Robicheaux si muove alla sua maniera, che spesso ricorda quella di un elefante in un negozio di cristalli. Rischia la vita, rischia la pelle, rischia l’amore, rischia la carriera.
La lunga notte dell’anima è quella che deve attraversare per placare il suo profondo bisogno di trasformazione per entrare in contatto con la realtà
Alec Baldwin e Mary Sturat Masterson.
Burke usa tutti gli ingranaggi e i meccanismi del genere, lo fa con perizia, e aggiunge qualcosa di personale, la sua speciale spezia cajun: Robicheaux, un bel personaggio.
Immerge tutto in un’atmosfera fatta di pioggia al neon e nebbia elettrica, effetto dell’estate di New Orleans.
Robicheaux è arrivato sullo schermo due volte.
La prima impersonato da Alec Baldwin, giovane e aitante: il film s’intitola Heaven’s Prisoners – Omicidio a New Orleans, è del 1996, diretto da Phil Joanou.
La seconda invece lo interpreta il magnifico Tommy Lee Jones, il film è del 2009, diretto dal francese Bertrand Tavernier, s’intitola In the Electric Mist – L’occhio del ciclone, è un buon film che però in US è uscito solo nel mercato a noleggio.
Ormai Robicheaux ha lasciato New Orleans, vive nella bayou country. Questa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv_gX...
Tommy Lee Jones e Buddy Guy che ovviamente interpreta un bluesman locale.
October 30, 2014
This is a revised review as of 4/14/2013 with some images to add flavor.
It's like a lot of detective novels set in the 1980s except the real standouts are the fact that it's New Orleans and the author gets that particular sub culture. Burke has an elegant prose and his main character, David Robicheaux, is engaging.
Robicheaux is a 50-something hard boiled detective who survived the Vietnam War yet is still haunted by it and thus turns to drinking (though it becomes evident later he was drinking before he went to war). He has since joined the police force as a detective and has a corrupt partner named Cletus who seems to have the best, crude lines. In this first novel Robicheaux gets caught up in the death of a black prostitute who everybody else seems to want to write off yet Robicheaux feels strangely compelled to poke his nose into things which leads to resistance not only from the mob but his own allies the police.
The tale was certainly very good to great in overall quality and most of the characters are believable to compelling. Word on the street is that the series gets better in time and that's a real good sign as this was a solid and enjoyable book. Veterans of this genre will be more critical, I suspect. This is one of those rare instances in which I checked out the series after seeing the movie.
I would present that the real strengths of this tale (other than it being a solid mystery) are its usual focuses upon the bayou, New Orleans (NOLA) and DR's alcoholism for a dark tragedy comes down upon him and he finds himself drinking that "golden fire" once more (he alludes to drinking before the series started and having an alcoholic father). Rarely have I read something that has made me understand the addictions of alcohol and how hard it is to shake off. But even all those reading pleasures are a still a notch down from the character of New Orleans/The Bayou with its balmy heat waves, summer rains, Poorboy sandwiches, evening skies that are the color of torn plums, cicadas in the purple haze, fireflies lighting up the trees, and, of course, the charm of not just New Orleans but its French Quarter. That makes it a pleasure to read and bumps up the overall quality of the novel. I look forward to reading the next one.
Here are few excerpts from the novel:
p. 1
The evening sky was streaked with purple, the color of torn plums, and a light rain had started to fall when I came to the end of the blacktop road that cut through twenty miles of thick, almost impenetrable scrub oak and pine and stopped at the front gate of Angola penitentiary.
p. 49
“Oh, my, you shouldn't have done that,” the man in the raincoat said.
Erik grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the side of the tub. I kicked at all of them blindly, but my feet struck at empty air. Then Bobby Joe locked his powerful arms around my neck and took me over the rim again, his body trembling rigidly with a cruel and murderous energy, and I knew that all my past fears of being shotgunned by a psychotic , of being shanked by an addict, of stepping on a Claymore mine in Vietnam, were just the foolish preoccupation of youth; that my real nemesis had always been a redneck lover who would hold me upside down against his chest while my soul slipped through a green, watery porcelain hole in the earth, down through the depths of the Mekong River, where floated the bodies of other fatigue-clad men and whole families of civilians, their faces still filled with disbelief and the shock of an artillery burst, and farther still to the mossy base of an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, where my father waited for me in his hardhat, coveralls, and steel-tipped drilling boots after having drowned there twenty years ago.
p. 80
“Why are you so obnoxious, Motley?” Clete said. “Is it because you're fat and ugly, or is it because you're fat and dumb? It's a mystery to us all.”
p. 121
I slept through the rest of the afternoon and woke in the cooling dusk when the cicadas were loud in the purple haze and the fireflies were lighting in the trees. I showered and felt some of the misery begin to go out of my mind and body, then I took a taxi to the Hertz agency and rented a small Ford.
Because most of the Quarter was closed to automobile traffic at night, I parked the car near the French Market, by the river, and walked back to Bourbon. The street was loud with music from the bars and strip houses, and the sidewalks were filled with tourists, drunks, and street people who were trying to hold on to their last little piece of American geography. My favorite bunch of hustlers and scam artists, the black sidewalk tap dancers, were out in force. They wore enormous iron taps that clipped onto their shoes, and when they danced to the music from the bars, their feet rang on the concrete like horseshoes. A tap dancer would stop a tourist, rivet him in the eyes, and say, “I bet you a half-dollar I can tell you where you got yo' shoes.” If the tourist accepted the wager, the dancer would then say, “You got yo' shoes on yo' feet, and yo' feet is on Bourbon Street. You ain't the kind, now, to back out on yo' bet, is you?”
STORY/PACING: B plus to A minus; DIALOGUE/CHARACTERS: B plus; SETTING: A minus; WHEN READ: December to January 2010 (revised review 4/14/2013); MY GRADE: B plus to A minus.
It's like a lot of detective novels set in the 1980s except the real standouts are the fact that it's New Orleans and the author gets that particular sub culture. Burke has an elegant prose and his main character, David Robicheaux, is engaging.
Robicheaux is a 50-something hard boiled detective who survived the Vietnam War yet is still haunted by it and thus turns to drinking (though it becomes evident later he was drinking before he went to war). He has since joined the police force as a detective and has a corrupt partner named Cletus who seems to have the best, crude lines. In this first novel Robicheaux gets caught up in the death of a black prostitute who everybody else seems to want to write off yet Robicheaux feels strangely compelled to poke his nose into things which leads to resistance not only from the mob but his own allies the police.
The tale was certainly very good to great in overall quality and most of the characters are believable to compelling. Word on the street is that the series gets better in time and that's a real good sign as this was a solid and enjoyable book. Veterans of this genre will be more critical, I suspect. This is one of those rare instances in which I checked out the series after seeing the movie.
I would present that the real strengths of this tale (other than it being a solid mystery) are its usual focuses upon the bayou, New Orleans (NOLA) and DR's alcoholism for a dark tragedy comes down upon him and he finds himself drinking that "golden fire" once more (he alludes to drinking before the series started and having an alcoholic father). Rarely have I read something that has made me understand the addictions of alcohol and how hard it is to shake off. But even all those reading pleasures are a still a notch down from the character of New Orleans/The Bayou with its balmy heat waves, summer rains, Poorboy sandwiches, evening skies that are the color of torn plums, cicadas in the purple haze, fireflies lighting up the trees, and, of course, the charm of not just New Orleans but its French Quarter. That makes it a pleasure to read and bumps up the overall quality of the novel. I look forward to reading the next one.
Here are few excerpts from the novel:
p. 1
The evening sky was streaked with purple, the color of torn plums, and a light rain had started to fall when I came to the end of the blacktop road that cut through twenty miles of thick, almost impenetrable scrub oak and pine and stopped at the front gate of Angola penitentiary.
p. 49
“Oh, my, you shouldn't have done that,” the man in the raincoat said.
Erik grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the side of the tub. I kicked at all of them blindly, but my feet struck at empty air. Then Bobby Joe locked his powerful arms around my neck and took me over the rim again, his body trembling rigidly with a cruel and murderous energy, and I knew that all my past fears of being shotgunned by a psychotic , of being shanked by an addict, of stepping on a Claymore mine in Vietnam, were just the foolish preoccupation of youth; that my real nemesis had always been a redneck lover who would hold me upside down against his chest while my soul slipped through a green, watery porcelain hole in the earth, down through the depths of the Mekong River, where floated the bodies of other fatigue-clad men and whole families of civilians, their faces still filled with disbelief and the shock of an artillery burst, and farther still to the mossy base of an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, where my father waited for me in his hardhat, coveralls, and steel-tipped drilling boots after having drowned there twenty years ago.
p. 80
“Why are you so obnoxious, Motley?” Clete said. “Is it because you're fat and ugly, or is it because you're fat and dumb? It's a mystery to us all.”
p. 121
I slept through the rest of the afternoon and woke in the cooling dusk when the cicadas were loud in the purple haze and the fireflies were lighting in the trees. I showered and felt some of the misery begin to go out of my mind and body, then I took a taxi to the Hertz agency and rented a small Ford.
Because most of the Quarter was closed to automobile traffic at night, I parked the car near the French Market, by the river, and walked back to Bourbon. The street was loud with music from the bars and strip houses, and the sidewalks were filled with tourists, drunks, and street people who were trying to hold on to their last little piece of American geography. My favorite bunch of hustlers and scam artists, the black sidewalk tap dancers, were out in force. They wore enormous iron taps that clipped onto their shoes, and when they danced to the music from the bars, their feet rang on the concrete like horseshoes. A tap dancer would stop a tourist, rivet him in the eyes, and say, “I bet you a half-dollar I can tell you where you got yo' shoes.” If the tourist accepted the wager, the dancer would then say, “You got yo' shoes on yo' feet, and yo' feet is on Bourbon Street. You ain't the kind, now, to back out on yo' bet, is you?”
STORY/PACING: B plus to A minus; DIALOGUE/CHARACTERS: B plus; SETTING: A minus; WHEN READ: December to January 2010 (revised review 4/14/2013); MY GRADE: B plus to A minus.
February 26, 2025
"One day you'll have a quiet heart."
The Neon Rain is the first book in the Detective Dave Robicheaux series, and it's a humdinger! Robicheaux, a hardboiled detective patrolling New Orleans' French Quarter, has to cope with a chronic drinking problem and a broken heart. To make matters worse, he has a brother who associates with mobsters.
James Lee Burke brings these characters to life with vivid detail. I could almost smell the whiskey and felt the oppressive humidity. I found myself squirming as the detective became embroiled in the death of a young prostitute, placing him squarely in the middle of a storm that threatens his life and the lives of everyone around him.
First published in 1987, I appreciated the dark atmosphere that permeated each page. A word of warning to sensitive readers: the book contains language and scenes of violence that might be triggering.
Burke's cinematic writing in this gripping thriller made it difficult to put down.
The Neon Rain is the first book in the Detective Dave Robicheaux series, and it's a humdinger! Robicheaux, a hardboiled detective patrolling New Orleans' French Quarter, has to cope with a chronic drinking problem and a broken heart. To make matters worse, he has a brother who associates with mobsters.
James Lee Burke brings these characters to life with vivid detail. I could almost smell the whiskey and felt the oppressive humidity. I found myself squirming as the detective became embroiled in the death of a young prostitute, placing him squarely in the middle of a storm that threatens his life and the lives of everyone around him.
First published in 1987, I appreciated the dark atmosphere that permeated each page. A word of warning to sensitive readers: the book contains language and scenes of violence that might be triggering.
Burke's cinematic writing in this gripping thriller made it difficult to put down.
August 22, 2020
This first hardcover edition is signed by James Lee Burke
I bought about five copies of the hard cover and passed them out to my friends. This is an amazingly good book. Got Mr. Burke to sign my copy. Now I kind of wish I would have kept a couple as the first edition sell for between $300 and $500 dollars in good shape, but at the time I enjoyed the book so much I wanted to have every one I know read it.
I bought about five copies of the hard cover and passed them out to my friends. This is an amazingly good book. Got Mr. Burke to sign my copy. Now I kind of wish I would have kept a couple as the first edition sell for between $300 and $500 dollars in good shape, but at the time I enjoyed the book so much I wanted to have every one I know read it.
July 27, 2020
Es una novela correcta, pero carece de encanto.
Lo mejor: Louisiana, New Orleans, sus ambientes y su comida.
Pero no ha conseguido una buena trama. Llega el fin del libro y no sabes muy bien de qué va todo. Lo diré sin decirlo. Sí, hay un asesinato que se nos relata en la sinopsis como el tema principal, pero sólo se habla de ello al principio y se acabó. Luego, empiezan a salir personajes que se mezclan en la historia y resulta que toda la trama es más compleja a niveles internacionales. Vale.
Y nos pasamos las horas leyendo las peripecias del teniente Robicheaux de arriba para abajo sin mucho sentido y no acabas de entender muy bien lo que está haciendo. Ni él mismo lo entiende, pero lo hace.
Pasan cosas y, al final, dices: han pasado cosas muy importantes, pero no me he enterado muy bien de qué va todo.
El autor ha pretendido montar una trama internacional y no lo ha conseguido.
En cambio, sí funciona muy bien el apartado local. Lo pequeño. Los ambientes húmedos de Nueva Orleans están bien logrados.
En general, no me ha apasionado el protagonista. Demasiado recargado. Le pasa de todo y parece un matón a sueldo más que un policía de carrera.
Mención a parte merece el lenguaje claramente racista del autor. Siempre tiene la necesidad de recalcar el color de la piel para referirse a determinadas profesiones o situaciones: "camareros negros", "gente negra en el tranvía". Totalmente innecesario. El color de la piel no me aporta nada a la lectura en estos casos. No sé si es la traducción o qué, pero me irrita.
Una buena introducción a James Lee Burke, pero no del todo satisfactoria.
It is a correct novel, but it lacks charm.
The best: Louisiana, New Orleans, its atmospheres and its food.
But it has not managed a good plot. The end of the book is coming and you don't really know what it's all about. I will say it without saying it. Yes, there is a murder that is related to us in the synopsis as the main theme, but it is only talked about at the beginning and it is over. Then, characters that mix in the story begin to emerge and it turns out that the entire plot is more complex at international levels. Ok.
And we spent hours reading Lieutenant Robicheaux's adventures from top to bottom without much sense and you didn't quite understand what he was doing. He doesn't understand it himself, but he does.
Things happen and, in the end, you say: very important things have happened, but I have not found out very well what it is all about.
The author has tried to mount an international plot and has not succeeded.
On the other hand, the local section does work very well. Small things. The humid environments of New Orleans are well managed.
In general, I was not passionate about the protagonist. Too ornate. Everything happens to him and he seems like a hired thug rather than a career policeman.
Particular mention deserves the author's clearly racist language. He always needs to emphasize the color of the skin to refer to certain professions or situations: "black waiters", "black people on the tram". Completely unnecessary. The color of the skin does not contribute anything to the reading in these cases. I don't know if it's the translation or what, but it irritates me.
A good introduction to James Lee Burke, but not entirely satisfactory.
Lo mejor: Louisiana, New Orleans, sus ambientes y su comida.
Pero no ha conseguido una buena trama. Llega el fin del libro y no sabes muy bien de qué va todo. Lo diré sin decirlo. Sí, hay un asesinato que se nos relata en la sinopsis como el tema principal, pero sólo se habla de ello al principio y se acabó. Luego, empiezan a salir personajes que se mezclan en la historia y resulta que toda la trama es más compleja a niveles internacionales. Vale.
Y nos pasamos las horas leyendo las peripecias del teniente Robicheaux de arriba para abajo sin mucho sentido y no acabas de entender muy bien lo que está haciendo. Ni él mismo lo entiende, pero lo hace.
Pasan cosas y, al final, dices: han pasado cosas muy importantes, pero no me he enterado muy bien de qué va todo.
El autor ha pretendido montar una trama internacional y no lo ha conseguido.
En cambio, sí funciona muy bien el apartado local. Lo pequeño. Los ambientes húmedos de Nueva Orleans están bien logrados.
En general, no me ha apasionado el protagonista. Demasiado recargado. Le pasa de todo y parece un matón a sueldo más que un policía de carrera.
Mención a parte merece el lenguaje claramente racista del autor. Siempre tiene la necesidad de recalcar el color de la piel para referirse a determinadas profesiones o situaciones: "camareros negros", "gente negra en el tranvía". Totalmente innecesario. El color de la piel no me aporta nada a la lectura en estos casos. No sé si es la traducción o qué, pero me irrita.
Una buena introducción a James Lee Burke, pero no del todo satisfactoria.
It is a correct novel, but it lacks charm.
The best: Louisiana, New Orleans, its atmospheres and its food.
But it has not managed a good plot. The end of the book is coming and you don't really know what it's all about. I will say it without saying it. Yes, there is a murder that is related to us in the synopsis as the main theme, but it is only talked about at the beginning and it is over. Then, characters that mix in the story begin to emerge and it turns out that the entire plot is more complex at international levels. Ok.
And we spent hours reading Lieutenant Robicheaux's adventures from top to bottom without much sense and you didn't quite understand what he was doing. He doesn't understand it himself, but he does.
Things happen and, in the end, you say: very important things have happened, but I have not found out very well what it is all about.
The author has tried to mount an international plot and has not succeeded.
On the other hand, the local section does work very well. Small things. The humid environments of New Orleans are well managed.
In general, I was not passionate about the protagonist. Too ornate. Everything happens to him and he seems like a hired thug rather than a career policeman.
Particular mention deserves the author's clearly racist language. He always needs to emphasize the color of the skin to refer to certain professions or situations: "black waiters", "black people on the tram". Completely unnecessary. The color of the skin does not contribute anything to the reading in these cases. I don't know if it's the translation or what, but it irritates me.
A good introduction to James Lee Burke, but not entirely satisfactory.
December 4, 2013
One of the movies on endless repeat with my best high school friend and I was The Big Easy with Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin. That and a couple trips to New Orleans are the sum of my Louisiana experience, and yet, when I read Neon Rain I feel as if I'm there, ghosting alongside Dave Robicheaux as he investigates. Burke's writing is extremely evocative, in the very best way for the detective-centered mystery. A strong since of place, of the cultural gumbo of New Orleans and the surrounding rural area clinging to its heritage by fingertips.
It also has an equally strong sense of a narrator in turmoil. It's a powerful book that begins with a New Orleans Police Department detective, Lt. Dave Robicheaux, visiting an former button man on death row, only to learn about a death threat against himself. Coincidentally, about two weeks ago, he discovered the body of a young black woman while he was fishing down by Lake Cataouatche. Something about the needle-tracks down her arm and her clothing bothers his instincts, and he starts hounding the rural sheriff's department to follow through with investigating her death ("Her young face looked like a flower unexpectedly cut from its stem.")
Characterization in this book is riveting. Robicheaux is the cop with his own code who slowly learns no one else shares, that he's holding to values from another time. It's interesting to watch his gradual realization; he believes he's so cynical, so dialed in in the beginning, and he's a bit right. Early on, when he meets with the parish sheriff to request an autopsy for the drowned girl, he ends up in a contest of wills that nearly becomes disastrous. Back in New Orleans, he harasses a porno theater owner, looking for the word on who wants to kill him. Both times, he's so sure of his stance and the way to manipulate the situation for results--but then is surprised when it comes back at him. Slowly, it dawns that everyone is working their own angle. He suspects that, he halfway knows it, but he can't quite conceive the absolute depth of the dishonesty.
Robicheaux also struggles with memories from the Vietnam war, and many of his coping strategies seem to stem from wartime experience. Its interesting being reminded of the psychological impact of a war that hasn't been on our cultural consciousness for twenty-five years, overshadowed by more recent ones in sand and desert. My dad was in Vietnam, and I remember that period in the 1980s when I kept bugging him to talk about his experiences, first because of Platoon and then later Born on the Fourth of July. That's the kind of book Burke has written, far-ranging and capable of recapturing a lost cultural time, and conjuring up memories of one's own.
The lush descriptions of the setting are beautiful, and Burke does more with light and smells than any other mystery writer I can think of, immersing the reader in the scene. Yet when the action comes, it's powerful and direct, even if it takes place in flashbacks. His first sentence guaranteed I would keep reading: "The evening sky was streaked with purple, the color of torn plums, and a light rain had started to fall when I came to the end of the blacktop road that cut through twenty miles of thick, almost impenetrable scrub oak and pine and stopped at the front gate of Angola penitentiary."
The ultimate connections between the unknown woman's drowning, are a bit confusing, but after some thought, I decided I rather liked it. How often is it, after all, that the right hand knows what the left does? It gives a bit more of a real-life feeling, where not all the odds and ends tie in, and sometimes people will act in ways that remain inscrutable. You can wonder, guess, and interpret but you might not ever know. There is a little more violence than my normal level of comfort, but its handled well. One section, seemed excessively showy and not particularly realistic. Still, it ended up being a powerful scene when he survived and the agent didn't.
Downsides? Plotting a little chaotic. Robicheaux is a very tortured soul, which while very well done, is not always comfortable to read. A little more movie-level violence than it really needed. Political complications with very typical then, very lost in history now and confusing, perhaps irrelevant? Still, an amazingly good read.
I highly recommend it. Solid four stars, podjo.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/0...
where I can have even more fun with links.
October 29, 2019
Great Louisiana atmosphere and a good deal of violence in this, the first of the Dave Robicheaux mysteries. Entertaining but not compelling.
April 2, 2024
Around thirty years ago, struggling to find something to read, I stumbled across a recommendation for three crime fiction writers. Since then I’ve read something like sixty books penned by James Lee Burke and Donna Leon. The other writer – whose name I don’t recall - didn’t work out for me. I’ve read all of Burke’s books, and I’ve now decided to go back, once again, to the beginning of the Robicheaux series. I’m not sure to what extent I’ll work my way back through these books, but I wanted to remind myself of what captured me so totally the first time I picked up a JLB novel.
What’s evident from the start is just how powerfully descriptive his writing is. He paints vivid pictures of places, people, and of the local cuisine – consumed by all with gusto - in a way, I think no other writer I’ve read has matched. He is able to evoke the scent of food and nature like you’re there, filling your nose and celebrating the pure pleasure of life. His heroes are badly flawed, and his villains are the very worst of life. In this book, one such character is described as having a triangular head – I think I might have seen someone who looks like that, but I’m not sure.
I listened to an audio version this time, and I think the reader, the brilliant Will Patton, really enriched the experience. This story is a confusing affair involving a dodgy cop, a government agent, and, as always, a bunch of thugs and criminals. In fact the only issue I often have is that I struggle to work out what’s going on in many his stories – his clues are riddles I seem unable to solve, and the flow of the story is something I often find difficult to comprehend. But the quality of the writing, the brilliance of his characterisations, and the sure pleasure I derive from how he places words next to each other makes this, for me, largely an irrelevance. His writing is like a drug to me, I just can’t get enough of it.
I’m not sure if this is his best book – in fact I’d struggle to pinpoint one that stands out from the rest - but it’s typical of his style and his ferocity. The dialogue is fierce, and exchanges often end abruptly with a threat or an insult. We know it’ll end badly for some and maybe all of the characters. Dave Robicheaux is the lead man, but Clete Purcell, his friend and partner in many of his adventures, always hits the best notes for me. These books won’t work for everyone, they’re literary crime fiction novels that are often explicitly violent, but I’d urge readers who haven’t tried out Burke’s novels to give him a go – you might just find something here that’ll change your reading habits for good.
What’s evident from the start is just how powerfully descriptive his writing is. He paints vivid pictures of places, people, and of the local cuisine – consumed by all with gusto - in a way, I think no other writer I’ve read has matched. He is able to evoke the scent of food and nature like you’re there, filling your nose and celebrating the pure pleasure of life. His heroes are badly flawed, and his villains are the very worst of life. In this book, one such character is described as having a triangular head – I think I might have seen someone who looks like that, but I’m not sure.
I listened to an audio version this time, and I think the reader, the brilliant Will Patton, really enriched the experience. This story is a confusing affair involving a dodgy cop, a government agent, and, as always, a bunch of thugs and criminals. In fact the only issue I often have is that I struggle to work out what’s going on in many his stories – his clues are riddles I seem unable to solve, and the flow of the story is something I often find difficult to comprehend. But the quality of the writing, the brilliance of his characterisations, and the sure pleasure I derive from how he places words next to each other makes this, for me, largely an irrelevance. His writing is like a drug to me, I just can’t get enough of it.
I’m not sure if this is his best book – in fact I’d struggle to pinpoint one that stands out from the rest - but it’s typical of his style and his ferocity. The dialogue is fierce, and exchanges often end abruptly with a threat or an insult. We know it’ll end badly for some and maybe all of the characters. Dave Robicheaux is the lead man, but Clete Purcell, his friend and partner in many of his adventures, always hits the best notes for me. These books won’t work for everyone, they’re literary crime fiction novels that are often explicitly violent, but I’d urge readers who haven’t tried out Burke’s novels to give him a go – you might just find something here that’ll change your reading habits for good.
August 26, 2016
I know an author setting a book in a city known for its food like New Orleans would really want to get the regional flavor across by having the characters chow down on the local cuisine, but do they really eat that many po’ boy sandwiches down there? Hell, I’m from Kansas City, but I don’t eat barbecue every day.
James Lee Burke kicked off this long running crime series back in the late ‘80s. Dave Robicheaux is a recovering alcoholic, a Vietnam vet (Yet again confirming my theory that all tough guy hero characters created in the ‘80s are Vietnam vets.), and a police lieutenant in New Orleans. When a death row inmate tells Dave that someone has put a contract out on his life, Dave finds it hard to believe that anything he’s working on would rate someone trying to kill a police officer.
However, it’s not one of his cases that have caused Dave problems. While fishing in a rural area, Dave had found a woman’s body in the water and called in the local sheriff’s office. When he found that the sheriff had the body cremated without an autopsy, Dave got curious. It’s that curiosity that lands Dave in all kinds of hot water with local gangsters, crooked cops and some creepy covert types who are tied in with some shennigans in Central America. Dave has to fend off attempts on his life while his career is also threatened, and the temptation of the bottle may lead him into even further trouble.
I spent a few weeks in New Orleans shortly after Katrina, so it was hard not to wince a bit while reading this because Burke wrote Dave as being a native who genuinely loves his city. The long descriptions of various locales had me constantly wondering if they were still there as I remembered the damage I saw. So this is a book that later events have added a bittersweet vibe to.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. Dave reminded me a bit of Matt Scudder with the alcoholic angle and with his being a good guy, but not someone out to change the world. The character, setting and main story were all intriguing. However, I didn’t like the romance angle added in with Dave meeting and getting a new girlfriend right as the action ramped up. Would any woman really keep going out with a guy after they both get assaulted and nearly killed on their first date? Plus, Dave makes a series of decisions late in the book that seem downright stupid.
Still, this was a gritty crime story with Cajun flavor. I need to read more Dave’s stories.
James Lee Burke kicked off this long running crime series back in the late ‘80s. Dave Robicheaux is a recovering alcoholic, a Vietnam vet (Yet again confirming my theory that all tough guy hero characters created in the ‘80s are Vietnam vets.), and a police lieutenant in New Orleans. When a death row inmate tells Dave that someone has put a contract out on his life, Dave finds it hard to believe that anything he’s working on would rate someone trying to kill a police officer.
However, it’s not one of his cases that have caused Dave problems. While fishing in a rural area, Dave had found a woman’s body in the water and called in the local sheriff’s office. When he found that the sheriff had the body cremated without an autopsy, Dave got curious. It’s that curiosity that lands Dave in all kinds of hot water with local gangsters, crooked cops and some creepy covert types who are tied in with some shennigans in Central America. Dave has to fend off attempts on his life while his career is also threatened, and the temptation of the bottle may lead him into even further trouble.
I spent a few weeks in New Orleans shortly after Katrina, so it was hard not to wince a bit while reading this because Burke wrote Dave as being a native who genuinely loves his city. The long descriptions of various locales had me constantly wondering if they were still there as I remembered the damage I saw. So this is a book that later events have added a bittersweet vibe to.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. Dave reminded me a bit of Matt Scudder with the alcoholic angle and with his being a good guy, but not someone out to change the world. The character, setting and main story were all intriguing. However, I didn’t like the romance angle added in with Dave meeting and getting a new girlfriend right as the action ramped up. Would any woman really keep going out with a guy after they both get assaulted and nearly killed on their first date? Plus, Dave makes a series of decisions late in the book that seem downright stupid.
Still, this was a gritty crime story with Cajun flavor. I need to read more Dave’s stories.
October 18, 2016
3.5
After reading six Holland Family novels I just had to start this series.
I began with a bit of trepidation because I knew those books would be a hard act to follow. Here's what happened.
It took me right back to New Orleans which I visited about the time the novel was written.
It opened a hardcore window into a man’s soul as he daily struggles to say no to the siren call of alcoholism.
It brought back all the reasons I participated in anti-Vietnam War marches, though I really had no honest clue at the time.
It was sick with violence, oh so dark, made me wince; so why read it? The unpalatable can be endured because the man can write. His deeply flawed protagonists burrow in deep as you struggle right alongside with them.
I was clipping my dogs nails the other day after giving her a sedative. As my husband was holding her and whispering sweet things in her ear she just surrendered and enjoyed the whole process.
JLB does that to you with his prose, even when telling you about a guy getting tortured and killed.
He can keep the reader in a state of animated reading enjoyment even when the story gets chaotic with all the myriad characters and heat going down as it did with this one.
It did not have the same impact on me as the ones that came before and my rating reflects that, but I’m certain the series will keep getting better—after all it’s been going strong for a quarter of a century. I intend to find out for myself if Dave and I will get a thing goin' and let ya’ll know.
After reading six Holland Family novels I just had to start this series.
I began with a bit of trepidation because I knew those books would be a hard act to follow. Here's what happened.
It took me right back to New Orleans which I visited about the time the novel was written.
It opened a hardcore window into a man’s soul as he daily struggles to say no to the siren call of alcoholism.
It brought back all the reasons I participated in anti-Vietnam War marches, though I really had no honest clue at the time.
It was sick with violence, oh so dark, made me wince; so why read it? The unpalatable can be endured because the man can write. His deeply flawed protagonists burrow in deep as you struggle right alongside with them.
I was clipping my dogs nails the other day after giving her a sedative. As my husband was holding her and whispering sweet things in her ear she just surrendered and enjoyed the whole process.
JLB does that to you with his prose, even when telling you about a guy getting tortured and killed.
He can keep the reader in a state of animated reading enjoyment even when the story gets chaotic with all the myriad characters and heat going down as it did with this one.
It did not have the same impact on me as the ones that came before and my rating reflects that, but I’m certain the series will keep getting better—after all it’s been going strong for a quarter of a century. I intend to find out for myself if Dave and I will get a thing goin' and let ya’ll know.
April 24, 2016
This first installment of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series was my introduction to this author, and I was quite pleased with the experience! Undoubtedly gritty and often quite violent, The Neon Rain still managed to surprise me with a generous amount of almost poetic prose that was completely unexpected. The sense of atmosphere is almost dripping off the pages at times and really drew me into the New Orleans setting. "The streetlamps lighted the misty trees along the esplanade on St. Charles; the burnished streetcar tracks and the old green streetcar glistened dully in the wet light, and the smoky neon signs, the bright, rain-streaked windows of the restaurants and the drugstore on the corner were like part of a nocturnal painting out of the 1940's. This part of New Orleans never seemed to change, and somehow its confirmation of yesterday on a rainy summer night always dissipated my own fears about time and mortality."
Detective Dave Robicheaux is a fantastically flawed individual and the characterization here is top notch. A Vietnam vet with a history of alcoholism, Dave grew up in a broken home with his brother and his rough-around-the-edges but loving father. With a mother that abandoned him and a wife that dumped him, Dave is not a stranger to loneliness. I loved reading his philosophical reflections on life in the midst of a somewhat chaotic plot. Mobsters, drug lords, dirty cops, federal agents and creepy bad guys of all sorts pop up all over the place and I admit to becoming a bit confused from time to time. But that didn't really take much away from my appreciation for this novel. I enjoyed seeing the tender side of this guy as he attempted to kindle some romance in his life with a young woman named Annie. Annie had to endure more than her due share of drama as a result of her entanglement with Dave! It was also interesting to learn more about the demons that haunt an ex-alcoholic and what it is like for a woman involved with a man with such a history. "… the truth was that I wanted to drink. And I don't mean I wanted to ease back into it, either, with casual Manhattans sipped at a mahogany and brass-rail bar with red leather booths and rows of gleaming glasses stacked in front of a long wall mirror. I wanted busthead boilermakers of Jack Daniel's and draft beer, vodka on the rocks, Beam straight up with water on the side, raw tequila that left you breathless and boiling in your own juices."
If you want to know what really happens in this book, you can read the brief blurb and it won't spoil anything for you. What I can recommend is that you read this for Burke's superb narrative and character development. This is violent and gruesome at times, so if that is not your thing, then I would say either read it and cringe from time to time as I did, or perhaps steer clear altogether! I know I won't hesitate to read the next in this series or any other James Lee Burke novel for that matter.
4 stars
Detective Dave Robicheaux is a fantastically flawed individual and the characterization here is top notch. A Vietnam vet with a history of alcoholism, Dave grew up in a broken home with his brother and his rough-around-the-edges but loving father. With a mother that abandoned him and a wife that dumped him, Dave is not a stranger to loneliness. I loved reading his philosophical reflections on life in the midst of a somewhat chaotic plot. Mobsters, drug lords, dirty cops, federal agents and creepy bad guys of all sorts pop up all over the place and I admit to becoming a bit confused from time to time. But that didn't really take much away from my appreciation for this novel. I enjoyed seeing the tender side of this guy as he attempted to kindle some romance in his life with a young woman named Annie. Annie had to endure more than her due share of drama as a result of her entanglement with Dave! It was also interesting to learn more about the demons that haunt an ex-alcoholic and what it is like for a woman involved with a man with such a history. "… the truth was that I wanted to drink. And I don't mean I wanted to ease back into it, either, with casual Manhattans sipped at a mahogany and brass-rail bar with red leather booths and rows of gleaming glasses stacked in front of a long wall mirror. I wanted busthead boilermakers of Jack Daniel's and draft beer, vodka on the rocks, Beam straight up with water on the side, raw tequila that left you breathless and boiling in your own juices."
If you want to know what really happens in this book, you can read the brief blurb and it won't spoil anything for you. What I can recommend is that you read this for Burke's superb narrative and character development. This is violent and gruesome at times, so if that is not your thing, then I would say either read it and cringe from time to time as I did, or perhaps steer clear altogether! I know I won't hesitate to read the next in this series or any other James Lee Burke novel for that matter.
4 stars
August 14, 2025
3.5 stars
Original title: The Neon Rain
short review for busy readers:
The long-running series opener about an honest, but headstrong, cop in New Orleans. The Cajun atmosphere is wonderfully done, from the descriptions of the swamps and Lake Pontchartrain to the antebellum Garden District to culinary specialities.
However, the plot is on the basic side and highly reminiscent of the cop series/movies of the 1980s, like Miami Vice or Lethal Weapon. Which isn't a surprise as it was originally published in 1987. Today, however, the cop banter is highly cliched, as is the romantic subplot. The action scenes and shoot outs were very well done.
I read the German edition which only left the names of food items in the original. The Cajun vernacular mentioned in so many other reviews was not present, or rendered in normal German. I missed out there.
A decent series start, but not one that grabbed me overly much. 3.5 solid stars.
Original title: The Neon Rain
short review for busy readers:
The long-running series opener about an honest, but headstrong, cop in New Orleans. The Cajun atmosphere is wonderfully done, from the descriptions of the swamps and Lake Pontchartrain to the antebellum Garden District to culinary specialities.
However, the plot is on the basic side and highly reminiscent of the cop series/movies of the 1980s, like Miami Vice or Lethal Weapon. Which isn't a surprise as it was originally published in 1987. Today, however, the cop banter is highly cliched, as is the romantic subplot. The action scenes and shoot outs were very well done.
I read the German edition which only left the names of food items in the original. The Cajun vernacular mentioned in so many other reviews was not present, or rendered in normal German. I missed out there.
A decent series start, but not one that grabbed me overly much. 3.5 solid stars.
September 12, 2014
Two months ago I’d never even heard of James Lee Burke never mind the renowned Dave Robicheaux, a New Orleans’s detective who is the main character in a twenty book series and there’s also a couple of films about the guy. I would have remained in this completely unaware state had it not been for my praise of Will Patton’s narration of Doctor Sleep, a fellow blogger recommended his narration of the Robicheaux series, so I looked into it and lo and behold, I find three of my favourite authors hold him in very high regard and two of them recommended his books to me. So got to be worth a try, right.
The Neon Rain is fast approaching thirty years old but that didn’t matter in the slightest, as I was completely blown away by a story I just couldn’t stop listening to. Dave Robicheaux’s tale is filled with twists and turns, a bared back torture scene that he is lucky to escape from, the mafia, drugs, weapons smuggling and a personnel life that gets you deeply inside the character.
I was that invested in the story, I found myself intensely disappointed in him when he jumped off the wagon and hit the bottle with a vengeance.
His life is absolutely fascinating, intricate and complex with a gritty darkness that is never far away. He has a dynamic, sometimes forceful persistence to his personality and the forthright dialogue was intriguing in a way that, well I guess everyone wishes they could say exactly what needed to be said, every time instead of forever hiding. Robicheaux has the quick answers and intelligence to match, he tells it like it is, in a way that you and I would only think of after the conversation was long finished.
I loved everything about this book, the main character, the setting, the dialogue all blended seamlessly with a compelling prose, that Will Patton turned into something special. I’ve already got quite a few books lined up by James Lee Burke, only wish I’d discovered him years ago.
http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
The Neon Rain is fast approaching thirty years old but that didn’t matter in the slightest, as I was completely blown away by a story I just couldn’t stop listening to. Dave Robicheaux’s tale is filled with twists and turns, a bared back torture scene that he is lucky to escape from, the mafia, drugs, weapons smuggling and a personnel life that gets you deeply inside the character.
I was that invested in the story, I found myself intensely disappointed in him when he jumped off the wagon and hit the bottle with a vengeance.
His life is absolutely fascinating, intricate and complex with a gritty darkness that is never far away. He has a dynamic, sometimes forceful persistence to his personality and the forthright dialogue was intriguing in a way that, well I guess everyone wishes they could say exactly what needed to be said, every time instead of forever hiding. Robicheaux has the quick answers and intelligence to match, he tells it like it is, in a way that you and I would only think of after the conversation was long finished.
I loved everything about this book, the main character, the setting, the dialogue all blended seamlessly with a compelling prose, that Will Patton turned into something special. I’ve already got quite a few books lined up by James Lee Burke, only wish I’d discovered him years ago.
http://paulnelson.booklikes.com/post/...
December 7, 2010
I know of an acquiring editor who ran a board for new authors who not only counted Burke a favorite, but recommended him as an example of a beautiful prose style. From the almost 60 pages I got through, I can understand that.
I didn't abandon this novel because I thought the writing anything less than top notch. The dialogue seems authentic and distinctive, there are descriptions of Louisiana that are evocative and lyrical coming through the first person narrative. This isn't rated two stars because I think it's mediocre--it's simply I couldn't stomach it. Too dark, too gritty, too violent.
I've got through some dark books--but this one didn't have glints of humor nor did the narrator/protagonist, Dave Robicheaux, provide any moral center. Around page 50 or so, Dave is being tortured--water boarded essentially--by what he recognizes as "spook" types. Problem was, by then, I couldn't see any moral distinction between their abuse of power and what he and his partner had done as cops in roughing up and threatening a potential witness and a bodyguard.
I just felt assaulted by the book--the obscenities, the gritty, corrupt world, the violence. From what I read this might possibly be a good, even powerful book--but if, like me, your tolerance for the low-down dark side isn't high, you might want to skip this one.
I didn't abandon this novel because I thought the writing anything less than top notch. The dialogue seems authentic and distinctive, there are descriptions of Louisiana that are evocative and lyrical coming through the first person narrative. This isn't rated two stars because I think it's mediocre--it's simply I couldn't stomach it. Too dark, too gritty, too violent.
I've got through some dark books--but this one didn't have glints of humor nor did the narrator/protagonist, Dave Robicheaux, provide any moral center. Around page 50 or so, Dave is being tortured--water boarded essentially--by what he recognizes as "spook" types. Problem was, by then, I couldn't see any moral distinction between their abuse of power and what he and his partner had done as cops in roughing up and threatening a potential witness and a bodyguard.
I just felt assaulted by the book--the obscenities, the gritty, corrupt world, the violence. From what I read this might possibly be a good, even powerful book--but if, like me, your tolerance for the low-down dark side isn't high, you might want to skip this one.
February 2, 2026
The term “hard-boiled” often comes to mind when I read a James Lee Burke novel, especially his novels featuring his wizened (and wise) ex-New Orleans cop-turned-private detective Dave Robicheaux. Other words that come to mind: beautiful, devastating, melancholy, disturbing, wonderful, thought-provoking, sexy.
Mass market paperback edition 1988. The coolest cover art, imo.
I think I’ve read them all, over the course of nearly 30 years, when I first picked up “Sunset Limited” at the recommendation of Jonis Agee (herself an incredibly excellent writer) and fell in love with Burke’s prose.
I first read “The Neon Rain”, the first book to feature Robicheaux, sometime in the late-90s, shortly after reading “Sunset Limited”, which was the tenth book in the series. “The Neon Rain” was originally published in 1987. I then embarked on the emotionally-draining journey of trying to read all of the Robicheaux novels in order.
The 1992 paperback edition
It’s been a while, which is why I decided to go back and re-read them from the beginning.
“The Neon Rain” starts with an execution, and it doesn’t really get any more hopeful after that.
Robicheaux is a good cop, when he’s not drunk or getting investigated by Internal Affairs for beating the tar out of a suspect. Often, the two went hand-in-hand. Still, he has an almost chivalric (some would say medieval) code of honor. It breaks his heart to see violence towards women and children. It fills his heart with rage and a sense of irrational vengeance when the innocent are murdered. So, when the body of a young woman is pulled from the bayou, Robicheaux wants to see justice for her. The girl—-black and a known hooker—-isn’t a priority for the police, but Robicheaux won’t let it rest.
My least favorite of the many iterations of book covers
Robicheaux’s investigation quickly earns the wrath of a local Mexican drug cartel. When the FBI and the CIA both get involved—-and not in a helpful way—-Robicheaux begins to realize that he is on to something big and he is in way over his head. The smart thing would be to back away and leave it alone.
Nobody has ever accused Robicheaux of being smart.
Gut-wrenching scenes of action and violence permeate this novel, so don’t read it if you are squeamish. Seriously. This is old-school crime/noir fiction. Still, it’s fucking awesome.
I “read” this as an audiobook, read by the amazing actor Will Patton, who apparently narrates all of Burke’s audiobooks.
Mass market paperback edition 1988. The coolest cover art, imo.
I think I’ve read them all, over the course of nearly 30 years, when I first picked up “Sunset Limited” at the recommendation of Jonis Agee (herself an incredibly excellent writer) and fell in love with Burke’s prose.
I first read “The Neon Rain”, the first book to feature Robicheaux, sometime in the late-90s, shortly after reading “Sunset Limited”, which was the tenth book in the series. “The Neon Rain” was originally published in 1987. I then embarked on the emotionally-draining journey of trying to read all of the Robicheaux novels in order.
The 1992 paperback edition
It’s been a while, which is why I decided to go back and re-read them from the beginning.
“The Neon Rain” starts with an execution, and it doesn’t really get any more hopeful after that.
Robicheaux is a good cop, when he’s not drunk or getting investigated by Internal Affairs for beating the tar out of a suspect. Often, the two went hand-in-hand. Still, he has an almost chivalric (some would say medieval) code of honor. It breaks his heart to see violence towards women and children. It fills his heart with rage and a sense of irrational vengeance when the innocent are murdered. So, when the body of a young woman is pulled from the bayou, Robicheaux wants to see justice for her. The girl—-black and a known hooker—-isn’t a priority for the police, but Robicheaux won’t let it rest.
My least favorite of the many iterations of book covers
Robicheaux’s investigation quickly earns the wrath of a local Mexican drug cartel. When the FBI and the CIA both get involved—-and not in a helpful way—-Robicheaux begins to realize that he is on to something big and he is in way over his head. The smart thing would be to back away and leave it alone.
Nobody has ever accused Robicheaux of being smart.
Gut-wrenching scenes of action and violence permeate this novel, so don’t read it if you are squeamish. Seriously. This is old-school crime/noir fiction. Still, it’s fucking awesome.
I “read” this as an audiobook, read by the amazing actor Will Patton, who apparently narrates all of Burke’s audiobooks.
March 27, 2021
An detective story set in New Orleans written in late 80s. This wasn't quite my type of story but might continue the series. Feels like a lot of other detective novels with a lot of action but not a lot of character deept or emotions. Didn't feel like I got to know the detective in this book, felt like the basic cut out of one without much to show his humanity. I don't want only action and murder in novels like this.
December 20, 2018
“Enjoy detective fiction?”, they asked.
“Read a Dave Robicheaux book.”, they said.
So I did.
And now I have a problem. I feel both soiled and exhilarated in equal measure.
This is some good detective fiction, but damn is it gritty.
I regret nothing.
“Read a Dave Robicheaux book.”, they said.
So I did.
And now I have a problem. I feel both soiled and exhilarated in equal measure.
This is some good detective fiction, but damn is it gritty.
I regret nothing.
December 18, 2015
Dave Robicheaux is your quintessential hard-boiled detective, struggling with anger issues, inner demons and alcohol. When he's not out bashing bad guys, he is waxing poetically about the meaning of life and who makes the best beignets (PS: The answer is Cafe du Monde). The only thing that makes him different from other great tough guy detectives is that he speaks with a Cajun accent. Who doesn't love that?
August 22, 2012
Your prosecuted, tried and convicted. The court sentences you to be exiled for five years on a deserted island. No TV. No YouTube. No Britney Spear's poster (a hardship for many of you).
You are allowed a Kindle and a hand cranked device to keep it charged. Then you are told, "Pick one author!"
Vince Flynn. T. Jefferson Parker. Lee Child. Stephen Cannell. Robert Crais. Michael Connelly. John Sanford. All these authors pass through my head in an instant. What the hell. How can I only be allowed one author? This isn't justice. Its immoral. Then the answer hits me.
I smirk thinking, "Screw you judge!" I respond with, "I will take all of James Lee Burke!"
With Burke I can do one hundred years standing on my head. Easy. And I only have to do the five.
You are allowed a Kindle and a hand cranked device to keep it charged. Then you are told, "Pick one author!"
Vince Flynn. T. Jefferson Parker. Lee Child. Stephen Cannell. Robert Crais. Michael Connelly. John Sanford. All these authors pass through my head in an instant. What the hell. How can I only be allowed one author? This isn't justice. Its immoral. Then the answer hits me.
I smirk thinking, "Screw you judge!" I respond with, "I will take all of James Lee Burke!"
With Burke I can do one hundred years standing on my head. Easy. And I only have to do the five.
March 3, 2019
Not quite sure how to rate this. This book was out of my comfort zone and I'm not sure if I care for a next book in the series, but at the same time I think it's written well. I had some difficulty with the American English as I'm so used to British English.
February 8, 2020
A Twitter pal talked me into starting these books and I'm glad she did.
My husband and I went on a trip to New Orleans in 1995, (so pre-Katrina), and I loved it. To this day it was the best vacation we ever had and the very best food I ever ate. We went shortly after Mardi Gras and it was warm and beautiful. We visited the zoo and botanical gardens, had lunch on the banks of the Mississippi, rode a street car through the garden district and had dinner in the French Quarter.
This book took me back there completely. Not to the touristy areas though-not at all.
The writing here is top notch, and the characters are complicated-nothing is black and white. I developed a real feeling for Dave Robicheaux and I am looking forward to reading more of the series.
I bought this audio with my hard earned cash through Audible, (but I won't be buying the second one from them! See below)
**A note to Audible-What is up with the severely abridged version of the audio for book 2? It's only 3 hours long and many reviews are complaining about that. Looks like I'll be doing some actual reading on the second book. **
My husband and I went on a trip to New Orleans in 1995, (so pre-Katrina), and I loved it. To this day it was the best vacation we ever had and the very best food I ever ate. We went shortly after Mardi Gras and it was warm and beautiful. We visited the zoo and botanical gardens, had lunch on the banks of the Mississippi, rode a street car through the garden district and had dinner in the French Quarter.
This book took me back there completely. Not to the touristy areas though-not at all.
The writing here is top notch, and the characters are complicated-nothing is black and white. I developed a real feeling for Dave Robicheaux and I am looking forward to reading more of the series.
I bought this audio with my hard earned cash through Audible, (but I won't be buying the second one from them! See below)
**A note to Audible-What is up with the severely abridged version of the audio for book 2? It's only 3 hours long and many reviews are complaining about that. Looks like I'll be doing some actual reading on the second book. **
August 16, 2025
Hardboiled Poetry
A review of the Pocket Books Kindle edition (July 9, 2010) of the Simon & Schuster hardcover original (1987)
[4.5 rounded up]
When I saw GR friend Berengaria was reading the German translation Neonregen of The Neon Rain I couldn't resist my own re-read of Burke's first Dave Robicheaux novel. A Kindle deal for $1.99 made for quick access and a chance to highlight some favourite quotes and passages which you can read here.
I read this back in the day in its first paperback edition and I was immediately hooked on Burke's writing for a few dozen books or so. Eventually they did become predictable and I phased out of them, but this re-read brought back my initial thrill of the discovery of Burke's hardboiled poetic writing, the crazed expressions of violence, the old-time Cajun axioms and such.
The front cover of my original 1987 Pocket Books paperback, an edition not listed on Goodreads. Image sourced from Library Thing.
As Berengaria's review and updates mention, this is from a certain era with parts that will read with some cringe in the present day. The stereotypical ex-alcoholic cop ready to fall off the wagon, the reckless detective & the even more reckless partner, the fantasy fulfillment of the saintly beautiful woman falling for the down-on-his-luck male hero, the villains straight out of central casting almost dripping venom from their jaws, etc. But the poetry of it still grabbed me and the similes and metaphors are worthy of being dubbed the Cajun equivalent of Raymond Chandler. Admittedly this will not be for everyone.
Soundtrack
In a quirky misstep, Burke describes Robicheaux at one point listening to Cajun music icon Iry LeJeune's "original" version of La Jolie Blonde on repeat. No such recording exists. There is however a recording as Jolie Blon by Iry's son Eddie LeJeune which you can hear on YouTube here or on Spotify here.
For a more contemporary rock'n'roll version as Jolé Blon you can listen to the Gary U.S. Bonds/Bruce Springsteen collaboration on YouTube here or on Spotify here.
The complete original recordings of Iry LeJeune are available on a compilation Viens Me Chercher which you can listen to on YouTube here or on Spotify here.
Trivia and Links
At 88 years-of-age, author James Lee Burke (1936-) is still going strong, with Clete (#24 - 2024) the latest published in the Dave Robicheaux / Cletus Purcell series. Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie, the latest in the Holland family series was published June 3, 2025. The Hadacol Boogie: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (#25) is expected to be published on February 10, 2026.
A review of the Pocket Books Kindle edition (July 9, 2010) of the Simon & Schuster hardcover original (1987)
My stomach was empty and it licked through me like canned heat, settled heavily into my testicles and phallus, roared darkly into my brain, filled my heart with the rancid, primordial juices of a Viking reveling in his own mortal wound. ... I had heard the klitch under my foot in the dark on the jungle trail; then, as though I were a spectator rather than a participant, I saw myself covered with cobalt light, my body crawl with electricity, my soul light the trees like an enormous candle.
[4.5 rounded up]
When I saw GR friend Berengaria was reading the German translation Neonregen of The Neon Rain I couldn't resist my own re-read of Burke's first Dave Robicheaux novel. A Kindle deal for $1.99 made for quick access and a chance to highlight some favourite quotes and passages which you can read here.
I read this back in the day in its first paperback edition and I was immediately hooked on Burke's writing for a few dozen books or so. Eventually they did become predictable and I phased out of them, but this re-read brought back my initial thrill of the discovery of Burke's hardboiled poetic writing, the crazed expressions of violence, the old-time Cajun axioms and such.
The front cover of my original 1987 Pocket Books paperback, an edition not listed on Goodreads. Image sourced from Library Thing.
As Berengaria's review and updates mention, this is from a certain era with parts that will read with some cringe in the present day. The stereotypical ex-alcoholic cop ready to fall off the wagon, the reckless detective & the even more reckless partner, the fantasy fulfillment of the saintly beautiful woman falling for the down-on-his-luck male hero, the villains straight out of central casting almost dripping venom from their jaws, etc. But the poetry of it still grabbed me and the similes and metaphors are worthy of being dubbed the Cajun equivalent of Raymond Chandler. Admittedly this will not be for everyone.
It was the Louisiana I had grown up in, a place that never seemed to change, where it was never a treason to go with the cycle of things and let the season have its way. The fall sky was such a hard blue you could have struck a match against it, the yellow light so soft it might have been aged inside oak.
Soundtrack
In a quirky misstep, Burke describes Robicheaux at one point listening to Cajun music icon Iry LeJeune's "original" version of La Jolie Blonde on repeat. No such recording exists. There is however a recording as Jolie Blon by Iry's son Eddie LeJeune which you can hear on YouTube here or on Spotify here.
For a more contemporary rock'n'roll version as Jolé Blon you can listen to the Gary U.S. Bonds/Bruce Springsteen collaboration on YouTube here or on Spotify here.
The complete original recordings of Iry LeJeune are available on a compilation Viens Me Chercher which you can listen to on YouTube here or on Spotify here.
Trivia and Links
At 88 years-of-age, author James Lee Burke (1936-) is still going strong, with Clete (#24 - 2024) the latest published in the Dave Robicheaux / Cletus Purcell series. Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie, the latest in the Holland family series was published June 3, 2025. The Hadacol Boogie: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (#25) is expected to be published on February 10, 2026.
April 18, 2012
What a wonderfully evocative title, sadly I think the title was my favourite part of the book.
This felt like the middle ground between something I love and something that leaves me cold, a mixture of Dashiell Hammett or one of those great classic writers of the hardboiled, black as night, noir school of crime and James Patterson or one of the many, many, many generic crime thriller writers out there lining up to shift some units no matter how average to mediocre their novels are.
I liked Dave Robicheaux as a protagonist and to a certain extent I enjoyed James Lee Burkes prose but the style of storytelling is what let it down for me, this constant stream of violent events designed to keep you turning the page has no place in my world. My eyes glazed over the fourth time our hero was beaten up and I found myself paying less attention to the prose style and more to the endless stream of events, in the hope that soon the book would end.
I have six more novels from Burke on the shelf but they're all going back to the secondhand bookdealer without being read, life is too short to read this stuff when there are dozens of great authors with dozens of novels in their back catalogue to savour. Bring on more David Goodis and Megan Abbott please.
This felt like the middle ground between something I love and something that leaves me cold, a mixture of Dashiell Hammett or one of those great classic writers of the hardboiled, black as night, noir school of crime and James Patterson or one of the many, many, many generic crime thriller writers out there lining up to shift some units no matter how average to mediocre their novels are.
I liked Dave Robicheaux as a protagonist and to a certain extent I enjoyed James Lee Burkes prose but the style of storytelling is what let it down for me, this constant stream of violent events designed to keep you turning the page has no place in my world. My eyes glazed over the fourth time our hero was beaten up and I found myself paying less attention to the prose style and more to the endless stream of events, in the hope that soon the book would end.
I have six more novels from Burke on the shelf but they're all going back to the secondhand bookdealer without being read, life is too short to read this stuff when there are dozens of great authors with dozens of novels in their back catalogue to savour. Bring on more David Goodis and Megan Abbott please.
September 4, 2017
4.5
This is hardcore crime at its best. Detective Dave Robicheaux is one of the good guys at heart, an officer that still believes in justice and the welfare of others, but he is also one bad, bad dude, and if he has to bend the laws a little to bring about justice you better not get in his way.
The only chink in the armor of this novel is that Daves toughness at times crossed the line into what I can only call stupidity... but hey, he's only human, and I would damn sure never say it to his face.
I will certainly be checking out more of this series.
Did Not Finish
October 13, 2022DNF’d at 85 pages. Not rating it, because this is undoubtedly me rather than the book. Absolutely the wrong book for me at this moment in time. I went in knowing what it was…a hardball detective novel, so no surprise at the content, but the idea of drug runners injecting babies to kill them and then filling them with drugs to smuggle them over the border in the arms of mothers, as if they were sleeping. Just too much today. Not the right time for the seedy side of life.
April 2, 2014
It's like a lot of detective novels set in the 1980s except the real standouts are the fact that it's New Orleans and the author gets that particular sub culture. Burke has an elegant prose and his main character, David Robicheaux, is engaging.
Robicheaux is a 50-something hard boiled detective who survived the Vietnam War yet is still haunted by it and thus turns to drinking (though it becomes evident later he was drinking before he went to war). He has since joined the police force as a detective and has a corrupt partner named Cletus who seems to have the best, crude lines. In this first novel Robicheaux gets caught up in the death of a black prostitute who everybody else seems to want to write off yet Robicheaux feels strangely compelled to poke his nose into things which leads to resistance not only from the mob but his own allies the police.
The tale was certainly very good to great in overall quality and most of the characters are believable to compelling. Word on the street is that the series gets better in time and that's a real good sign as this was a solid and enjoyable book. Veterans of this genre will be more critical, I suspect. This is one of those rare instances in which I checked out the series after seeing the movie.
Here are few excerpts from the novel:
STORY/PACING: B plus to A minus; DIALOGUE/CHARACTERS: B plus; SETTING: A minus; WHEN READ: December to January 2010 (revised review end of July 2012); MY GRADE: B plus to A minus.
Robicheaux is a 50-something hard boiled detective who survived the Vietnam War yet is still haunted by it and thus turns to drinking (though it becomes evident later he was drinking before he went to war). He has since joined the police force as a detective and has a corrupt partner named Cletus who seems to have the best, crude lines. In this first novel Robicheaux gets caught up in the death of a black prostitute who everybody else seems to want to write off yet Robicheaux feels strangely compelled to poke his nose into things which leads to resistance not only from the mob but his own allies the police.
The tale was certainly very good to great in overall quality and most of the characters are believable to compelling. Word on the street is that the series gets better in time and that's a real good sign as this was a solid and enjoyable book. Veterans of this genre will be more critical, I suspect. This is one of those rare instances in which I checked out the series after seeing the movie.
Here are few excerpts from the novel:
p. 1
The evening sky was streaked with purple,
the color of torn plums, and a light rain had
started to fall when I came to the end of the
blacktop road that cut through twenty miles of
thick, almost impenetrable scrub oak and pine
and stopped at the front gate of Angola
penitentiary.
p. 49
“Oh, my, you shouldn't have done that,”
the man in the raincoat said.
Erik grabbed my hair and slammed my
head against the side of the tub. I kicked
at all of them blindly, but my feet struck
at empty air. Then Bobby Joe locked his
powerful arms around my neck and took me
over the rim again, his body trembling
rigidly with a cruel and murderous energy,
and I knew that all my past fears of being
shotgunned by a psychotic , of being
shanked by an addict, of stepping on a
Claymore mine in Vietnam, were just the
foolish preoccupation of youth; that my
real nemesis had always been a redneck
lover who would hold me upside down against
his chest while my soul slipped through a
green, watery porcelain hole in the earth,
down through the depths of the Mekong River,
where floated the bodies of other fatigue-clad
men and whole families of civilians, their
faces still filled with disbelief and the
shock of an artillery burst, and farther
still to the mossy base of an offshore oil
rig in the Gulf of Mexico, where my father
waited for me in his hardhat, coveralls,
and steel-tipped drilling boots after having
drowned there twenty years ago.
p. 80
“Why are you so obnoxious, Motley?”
Clete said. “Is it because you're fat and
ugly, or is it because you're fat and dumb?
It's a mystery to us all.”
p. 121
I slept through the rest of the
afternoon and woke in the cooling dusk
when the cicadas were loud in the purple
haze and the fireflies were lighting in
the trees. I showered and felt some of
the misery begin to go out of my mind
and body, then I took a taxi to the Hertz
agency and rented a small Ford.
Because most of the Quarter was
closed to automobile traffic at night,
I parked the car near the French Market,
by the river, and walked back to Bourbon.
The street was loud with music from the bars
and strip houses, and the sidewalks were filled
with tourists, drunks, and street people who
were trying to hold on to their last little piece
of American geography. My favorite bunch of
hustlers and scam artists, the black sidewalk
tap dancers, were out in force. They wore
enormous iron taps that clipped onto their
shoes, and when they danced to the music
from the bars, their feet rang on the concrete
like horseshoes. A tap dancer would stop a
tourist, rivet him in the eyes, and say, “I
bet you a half-dollar I can tell you where you
got yo' shoes.” If the tourist accepted the
wager, the dancer would then say, “You got
yo' shoes on yo' feet, and yo' feet is on
Bourbon Street. You ain't the kind, now,
to back out on yo' bet, is you?”
STORY/PACING: B plus to A minus; DIALOGUE/CHARACTERS: B plus; SETTING: A minus; WHEN READ: December to January 2010 (revised review end of July 2012); MY GRADE: B plus to A minus.
August 5, 2014
This is the novel I read after "Donna Tartt's Goldfinch" and it was meant as some light relief reading after reading such a massive and complex book. Well that was me looking all stupid. If anything Mr Burke does know how to write a complex story as well, and he brings the Bayous and New Orleans to life on paper. It is my biggest failure of of not visiting the Big Easy before Kathrina and somehow the writer does bring that lost world back to life.
Dave Robicheaux, a brilliant name, visits a man on dead row and finds out he might have some dead sentence of his own hanging over his head. Which he finds out has a lot to do with him pressing the case of some dead girl fished out of the bayou and him disagreeing about the cause of dead. The story contains some references to a war in Middle America which might be unfamiliar to readers of a younger age, just look it up if you want to learn more about stupid US foreign interventions. It is a pretty tough story with some serious violence but also some brilliant insight in the addiction to alcohol. Among all of this DR remains a beacon of hope even if all of this mess started with him having principles.
As a detective / mystery something very dark and powerful, mostly due to some very good writing. And this is just the first novel.
well recommended.
Dave Robicheaux, a brilliant name, visits a man on dead row and finds out he might have some dead sentence of his own hanging over his head. Which he finds out has a lot to do with him pressing the case of some dead girl fished out of the bayou and him disagreeing about the cause of dead. The story contains some references to a war in Middle America which might be unfamiliar to readers of a younger age, just look it up if you want to learn more about stupid US foreign interventions. It is a pretty tough story with some serious violence but also some brilliant insight in the addiction to alcohol. Among all of this DR remains a beacon of hope even if all of this mess started with him having principles.
As a detective / mystery something very dark and powerful, mostly due to some very good writing. And this is just the first novel.
well recommended.
May 23, 2013
This is a hard one to call. It was the first James lee Burke offering I had read, and I certainly have mixed feelings about it. There's no doubt that Burke can write very well; he develops interesting characters and creates some brilliant dialogue for them. It could have been a really good book but had some flaws that spoiled it for me, just a little. I say flaws for want of a better word; perhaps shortcomings would be a better term. I am perfectly aware that other people might not be bothered by them at all.
To begin with, the book was published back in the '80s and that, essentially, was a whole generation back. This doesn't have to be an obstacle, so long as you bear that in mind when reading it. The book has aged not too badly. The biggest problem I had with this mystery was the unrealistic plot. Robicheaux has a tendency to be captured (and re-captured) by his antagonists and is continually escaping death by the slimmest of margins. It just got to be too much.
Another buzz-kill is the fact that I am so sick and flipping tired of the tendency common in the mass entertainment media to condone the use of torture and murder by police officers during the execution of their duties. These acts of violence have become common fare on television and in movies and, of course, in the pages of the books we read. I know some of this happens in the real world, but I can't help but believe that life imitates art to a certain extent. Robicheaux and colleagues murder and torture and this fact put me off the book a bit.
I would have five-starred this for writing and two-starred it for plot. It ends up with what I feel may be an over-generous four stars.
I'll probably go on to read another book in this series, just to be sure. The character has potential and let's face it, people bought enough of these books to turn it into a regular franchise.
To begin with, the book was published back in the '80s and that, essentially, was a whole generation back. This doesn't have to be an obstacle, so long as you bear that in mind when reading it. The book has aged not too badly. The biggest problem I had with this mystery was the unrealistic plot. Robicheaux has a tendency to be captured (and re-captured) by his antagonists and is continually escaping death by the slimmest of margins. It just got to be too much.
Another buzz-kill is the fact that I am so sick and flipping tired of the tendency common in the mass entertainment media to condone the use of torture and murder by police officers during the execution of their duties. These acts of violence have become common fare on television and in movies and, of course, in the pages of the books we read. I know some of this happens in the real world, but I can't help but believe that life imitates art to a certain extent. Robicheaux and colleagues murder and torture and this fact put me off the book a bit.
I would have five-starred this for writing and two-starred it for plot. It ends up with what I feel may be an over-generous four stars.
I'll probably go on to read another book in this series, just to be sure. The character has potential and let's face it, people bought enough of these books to turn it into a regular franchise.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 1,879 reviews