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Dave Robicheaux #23
A Private Cathedral
The Shondell and Balangie families are longtime enemies in the New Iberia criminal underworld and show each other no mercy. Yet their youngest heirs, Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie, rock and roll-musician teenagers with magical voices, have fallen in love and run away after Isolde was given as a sex slave to Johnny’s uncle.
As he seeks to uncover why, Detective Dave Robicheaux gets too close to both Isolde’s mother and the mistress of her father, a venomous New Orleans mafioso whose jealousy has no bounds. In retribution, he hires a mysterious assassin to go after Robicheaux and his longtime partner, Clete Purcel. This hitman is unlike any the “Bobbsey Twins from Homicide” have ever faced. He has the ability to induce horrifying hallucinations and travels on a menacing ghost ship that materializes without warning. In order to defeat him and rescue Johnny and Isolde, Robicheaux will have to overcome the demons that have tormented him throughout his adult life—alcoholism, specters from combat in Vietnam, and painful memories of women to whom he opened his heart only to see killed.
As he seeks to uncover why, Detective Dave Robicheaux gets too close to both Isolde’s mother and the mistress of her father, a venomous New Orleans mafioso whose jealousy has no bounds. In retribution, he hires a mysterious assassin to go after Robicheaux and his longtime partner, Clete Purcel. This hitman is unlike any the “Bobbsey Twins from Homicide” have ever faced. He has the ability to induce horrifying hallucinations and travels on a menacing ghost ship that materializes without warning. In order to defeat him and rescue Johnny and Isolde, Robicheaux will have to overcome the demons that have tormented him throughout his adult life—alcoholism, specters from combat in Vietnam, and painful memories of women to whom he opened his heart only to see killed.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2020
2865 people are currently reading
6752 people want to read
About the author
James Lee Burke
119 books4,155 followersJames Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for
Black Cherry Blues
in 1990 and
Cimarron Rose
in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 898 reviews
June 6, 2020
I tried, I really tried to talk myself out of giving this five stars. There is just so much violence happening in the states right now, and this being JLB, with Robicheaux and Clete, one knows there is going to be plenty. Still, I failed, had to give it five stars simply because, to borrow from a song title, No one does it better.
His stories including this one are so multifaceted, so well written and his characters drawn so richly. Clete and Robicheaux have villians of their own internally to deal with, and in this outing they rise to the surface. The line between good and evil is so finely drawn, it is sometimes hard to tell the good guys from the bad. The veils between this world and another at lifted, a galleon appears in the fog and all bets are off. There very sanity now added to some heavy duty issues, seek to derail them in their quest to save two young people from feuding families. Can it be done and what will be the cost to their very souls?
I realize that this book will not appeal to all, but for me he is my number one favorite writer.
His stories including this one are so multifaceted, so well written and his characters drawn so richly. Clete and Robicheaux have villians of their own internally to deal with, and in this outing they rise to the surface. The line between good and evil is so finely drawn, it is sometimes hard to tell the good guys from the bad. The veils between this world and another at lifted, a galleon appears in the fog and all bets are off. There very sanity now added to some heavy duty issues, seek to derail them in their quest to save two young people from feuding families. Can it be done and what will be the cost to their very souls?
I realize that this book will not appeal to all, but for me he is my number one favorite writer.
December 11, 2021
It's taken me quite a while to get round to reading the latest in the Dave Robicheaux series by the incomparable and talented literary crime writer, James Lee Burke, as he continues to prove his mastery of the genre in what is the 23rd beguiling addition to the series, set in God's own paradise that is Louisiana, an Eden riddled with truly evil serpents. Southern American society reeks with the stench of hypocrisy, arrogance and entitlement, where the grim reality is that homage is paid to those whose ancestors kept the people poor, uneducated and terrified. Such as the human cruelties of the feuding for centuries mobster families of Mark Shondell and Adonis Balangie, men who superficially behave as 'gentlemen', whose presence induces the kind of fear that means they operate with no constraints, irrespective of how reprehensible or evil their behaviour.
Young musician Johnny Shondell, and 17 year old Isolde Balangie, stepdaughter of Adonis, are Romeo and Juliet, in love and making great music together. A love threatened by the dangers of a delicate deal made by their families to 'give' Isolde to Mark Shondell, a medieval practice viewed with disbelief by Dave in his efforts to protect the couple. Mark, a bone deep racist, is not a man to be denied Isolde or to be crossed at all, he can draw on powerful supernatural forces, the likes of Gideon Richetti, a presence no-one can talk about. The Bobbsey Twins from Homicide enter a fight that is to scare them rigid, as they both dream of the horrors of a prison ship. Clete Purcell who hates evil so much that he wages war against it wherever he finds it, despite what it costs him, finds himself in a Florida junkyard and an experience that leaves him a nervous wreck. As the number of nightmare instances which cannot be talked about rise, Dave and Clete discover there is far more at stake than their lives.
Burke's prose is lyrical as he skilfully conjures up the location of Louisiana and its landscape with his rich descriptions, his writing so atmospheric that I felt I was there. He provides the reader with its history, of slavery, a devastating destruction and poisoning of Louisiana, giving us an incisive and biting social and political commentary not only of the state, but of America itself. I was captivated by the characters created and developed in the story, such as the lawyer and music promoter, Eddy, with his white supremacist beliefs, a Gideon in search of redemption, Penelope and Leslie Rosenberg. This is an outstanding addition to what is a superb series. Fans of the author will find themselves enthralled by this novel, and if you have never read James Lee Burke, I strongly urge you give him a try. Highly recommended.
Young musician Johnny Shondell, and 17 year old Isolde Balangie, stepdaughter of Adonis, are Romeo and Juliet, in love and making great music together. A love threatened by the dangers of a delicate deal made by their families to 'give' Isolde to Mark Shondell, a medieval practice viewed with disbelief by Dave in his efforts to protect the couple. Mark, a bone deep racist, is not a man to be denied Isolde or to be crossed at all, he can draw on powerful supernatural forces, the likes of Gideon Richetti, a presence no-one can talk about. The Bobbsey Twins from Homicide enter a fight that is to scare them rigid, as they both dream of the horrors of a prison ship. Clete Purcell who hates evil so much that he wages war against it wherever he finds it, despite what it costs him, finds himself in a Florida junkyard and an experience that leaves him a nervous wreck. As the number of nightmare instances which cannot be talked about rise, Dave and Clete discover there is far more at stake than their lives.
Burke's prose is lyrical as he skilfully conjures up the location of Louisiana and its landscape with his rich descriptions, his writing so atmospheric that I felt I was there. He provides the reader with its history, of slavery, a devastating destruction and poisoning of Louisiana, giving us an incisive and biting social and political commentary not only of the state, but of America itself. I was captivated by the characters created and developed in the story, such as the lawyer and music promoter, Eddy, with his white supremacist beliefs, a Gideon in search of redemption, Penelope and Leslie Rosenberg. This is an outstanding addition to what is a superb series. Fans of the author will find themselves enthralled by this novel, and if you have never read James Lee Burke, I strongly urge you give him a try. Highly recommended.
July 13, 2020
A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL by James Lee Burke is the twenty-third book in the Dave Robicheaux series. This is categorized as a crime thriller, but it also has a bit of supernatural suspense thrown into the mix. Detective Dave Robicheaux has been fired or suspended from three police forces in and around New Orleans, Louisiana. The New Iberia criminal underworld has two families that are longtime enemies; the Shondells and the Balangies so there is bound to be trouble.
Dave and his best friend Clete are flawed protagonists. Dave is an alcoholic, but has not had a drink in nearly two years. He also has a tendency to fall hard for beautiful women and he is generally a very polite person. On the other hand, Clete has both alcohol and anger management problems. He is a disgraced policeman, who works as a private investigator. The secondary characters were there, but I did not feel that they had enough depth.
The author painted vivid descriptions throughout the book that helped me easily picture the people, places and actions. However, the sheer amount of it slowed the pace of the book substantially. The battle between good and evil was clear, but actions were not always legal. There were a few things which were not neatly wrapped up enough to satisfy me that I can’t describe here without spoilers.
Several themes run through the story line including human trafficking, racism, torture, murder, alcoholism, drug use and much more. Overall, the book was complex and suspenseful, but it left me wanting a cleaner ending. I recommend it to those readers who enjoy the series.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and James Lee Burke for a complimentary ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Dave and his best friend Clete are flawed protagonists. Dave is an alcoholic, but has not had a drink in nearly two years. He also has a tendency to fall hard for beautiful women and he is generally a very polite person. On the other hand, Clete has both alcohol and anger management problems. He is a disgraced policeman, who works as a private investigator. The secondary characters were there, but I did not feel that they had enough depth.
The author painted vivid descriptions throughout the book that helped me easily picture the people, places and actions. However, the sheer amount of it slowed the pace of the book substantially. The battle between good and evil was clear, but actions were not always legal. There were a few things which were not neatly wrapped up enough to satisfy me that I can’t describe here without spoilers.
Several themes run through the story line including human trafficking, racism, torture, murder, alcoholism, drug use and much more. Overall, the book was complex and suspenseful, but it left me wanting a cleaner ending. I recommend it to those readers who enjoy the series.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and James Lee Burke for a complimentary ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
August 13, 2020
Burke's "A Private Cathedral" is a chilling story about angels, devils, personal demons, and sour madness. Set in the Louisiana countryside, the book is filled with biblical imagery and told in such a gorgeous prose that the reader will find themselves highlighting every other paragraph. Ostensibly, its a detective tale about mafiosos and human trafficking, but don't make the mistake of thinking that's what's really here.
For most of the book, Robicheaux and his Bobsey twin, Clete Purcell, are caught in a virtual tempest between two warring all-powerful crime families whose animosity and customs go back four hundred years. They've poked their noses into family customs that are hard to disturb. It's not necessarily all about the plot so much as the suffocating atmosphere of thunder and lightning and rain and all hell about to break loose. Haunting might be a good word to describe the visions Burke leaves us with. Chilling might be another word. It's a story about looking evil in the eye and surviving wounded bitter lost and lonely.
What sets this book (and perhaps this series) apart from so many others is that the writing is all-intoxicating. There is no let up. The tension never stops building and the evil grows throughout. There is a contemplativeness about the narrative, beginning with talking about those rare moments when "you hang between life and death and ache to hold on to the earth and eternity at the same time." The prose tells us, the readers, about "waves pounding on the beach, devouring the sand, as though the tide were sliding backward in mockery of itself." And, it begins with a man who "was tired of evil and all its manifestations and our attempts to explain its existence." It is, as to be expected, quite a dark and treacherous journey.
This is one book worth reading more than once. There's just so much good stuff thrown in.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
For most of the book, Robicheaux and his Bobsey twin, Clete Purcell, are caught in a virtual tempest between two warring all-powerful crime families whose animosity and customs go back four hundred years. They've poked their noses into family customs that are hard to disturb. It's not necessarily all about the plot so much as the suffocating atmosphere of thunder and lightning and rain and all hell about to break loose. Haunting might be a good word to describe the visions Burke leaves us with. Chilling might be another word. It's a story about looking evil in the eye and surviving wounded bitter lost and lonely.
What sets this book (and perhaps this series) apart from so many others is that the writing is all-intoxicating. There is no let up. The tension never stops building and the evil grows throughout. There is a contemplativeness about the narrative, beginning with talking about those rare moments when "you hang between life and death and ache to hold on to the earth and eternity at the same time." The prose tells us, the readers, about "waves pounding on the beach, devouring the sand, as though the tide were sliding backward in mockery of itself." And, it begins with a man who "was tired of evil and all its manifestations and our attempts to explain its existence." It is, as to be expected, quite a dark and treacherous journey.
This is one book worth reading more than once. There's just so much good stuff thrown in.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
January 11, 2024
3.5 stars
Detective Dave Robicheaux is one of James Lee Burke's most popular characters. In this book, Dave tries to help a teenage girl who's about to become a sex slave. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Background info: Dave - an investigator for the Sheriff's Department in New Iberia, Louisiana - has had a rough life.
Dave's mother deserted the family when he was a child and his father was killed in an oil rig explosion. As a young man Dave witnessed unspeakable horrors during the Vietnam War, after which he became a cop in New Orleans - a city rife with mobsters, gambling, prostitution, drugs, loan sharks, money laundering, extortion, murder, and so on.
In his job, Dave met criminals of all kinds, including: street thugs; mobsters; sociopaths; psychopaths.....and rich, entitled 'bluebloods' who would do anything for money and power. Dave rose through the police ranks to become a homicide detective and eventually left New Orleans for New Iberia - where he lives in a modest home adjacent to a bayou.
Dave's first wife Annie was murdered and his second wife Bootsie - with whom he adopted an El Salvadoran daughter named Alafair - died from lupus. These hardships exacerbated Dave's depression, nightmares, and alcoholism. Even when he's not drinking, Dave sees ghosts of Civil War soldiers who died near his home.
Dave's best friend is Clete Purcel, a fellow Vietnam vet who was Dave's partner in the New Orleans Police Department. The buddies, both of whom are smart and tough, call themselves the 'Bobsey Twins.'
Clete's inability to follow rules got him kicked off the police force, and he became a private investigator/bail bondsman. Clete works for gangsters; eats to excess; drinks too much; falls for the wrong women; and uses violence (and worse) against his enemies. Clete is close to Dave's family and would give his life for them.
*****
In "A Private Cathedral" Dave Robicheaux gets involved with two wealthy and influential families who are evil incarnate. The Balangie and Shondell dynasties - both of whom have vast criminal empires - have lived in southern Louisiana for hundreds of years.
The two clans have always been mortal enemies, and manage to co-exist in part by the medieval practice of exchanging young daughters for 'marriage'.....or sex.
Dave considers this archaic practice human trafficking and is incensed to learn that 17-year-old Isolde Balangie is being given to the patriarch of the Shondell family - the scuzzball Mark Shondell. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Mark Shondell's nephew Johnny Shondell - a talented young musician - has fallen in love with Isolde, who sings like an angel.
Dave can't abide Isolde being gifted to a dirtbag and the detective confronts all the major players in the deal: Isolde's stepfather and mother, Adonis and Penelope Balangie;
Mark Shondell;
And Isolde and Johnny themselves.
EVERYONE tells Dave that he doesn't understand and to mind his own business.
Nevertheless Dave inserts himself into the middle of the fray, drawing his best friend Clete Purcell into the imbroglio - and the Bobsey Twins have physical altercations with Adonis Balangie and Mark Shondell. It's bad to get on the wrong side of the Balangies or the Shondells at any time, but even worse now because Mark Shondell has literally made a deal with the devil.
Mark has a nefarious right-wing plan to ensure the triumph of the 'Nordic' race. To advance this goal Mark is in league with a cruel and vicious 'man' called Gideon Richetti.
Richetti looks like a snake, moves through time, tortures and kills people, and travels on a mystical slave ship that slips in and out of the dimension we inhabit.
To further his political scheme Mark Shondell has engineered the release of convict Marcel Laforchette from Angola prison, and hired him as a gardener.
Dave knows there MUST be an agenda here because Laforchette helped murder Mark's relative years ago, presumably at the behest of the Balangies. So why would Mark help this criminal?
Dave tries to live a good life and do right, but he's a troubled guy. Dave is plagued by memories of war; has alcoholic longings; and is profoundly lonely. In addition, Dave is rankled by environmental destruction; hates racists and misogynists; and loathes sinister people who enrich themselves at the expense of others. To top it off, Dave has to deal with demonic Richetti and his slave ship, which Dave wishes weren't real.
To find some comfort, Dave gets involved with Adonis Balangie's beautiful wife Penelope and his beautiful mistress Leslie Rosenberg.
Dave also tries to ease his soul by talking to Father Julian Hebert (pronounced a-bear).
Hebert is an eccentric priest who wears casual clothes; tells people to call him Julian; supports gay rights; and discourages people from enjoying dog-and-cockfights; drive-through daiquiri windows; cage fights; strip bars; porn theaters; and casinos. This righteousness irks the Balangies and Shondells and makes him unpopular with local bigots and peckerwoods.
Dave and Clete get into grave trouble with the Balangies and Shondells, as does Father Hebert, and all their lives are put into serious jeopardy. The book's climax, where all this comes to head, is hair-raising and compelling.
Author James Lee Burke is a master of descriptive writing and pens riveting word pictures of sun and sky; sunrises and sunsets;
Bayous and swamps;
Greaseballs and fashionistas; good deeds and bad deeds; crab burgers and fried catfish po'boys;
Whiskey drinks and sodas with crushed ice, cherries, and sliced oranges; and so on.
Burke is also a philosopher, with many thoughts about both history and current times.
I'm a big fan of Burke's 'Dave Robicheaux' series but I wish he'd take his plots in a different direction. In every book Dave faces up to at least one evil family and there's always an ill-conceived relationship with a woman, either by Dave or Clete. I'd like to see the Bobsey Twins do something different for a change.
Still, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to fans of the series.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (James Lee Burke) and the publisher (Simon and Shuster) for a copy of the book.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
September 15, 2020
“A Private Cathedral: A Dave Robicheaux Novel”, BY James Lee Burke, the 23’ed book in the series.
“A Private Cathedral” completes what Burke calls the Louisiana trilogy, after “Robicheaux” and “The New Iberia Blues”. Dave is Idling away an evening in Texas before visiting a prisoner there, Dave runs into a girl from New Iberia. Isolde Balangie is the stepdaughter of a notorious mobster named Adonis Balangie, then we meet the Shondells who are based out of Rochambeau's hometown of New Iberia, and as the story opens, they are involved in the entertainment industry. The Balangies are well-known mobsters from several generations ago who hold forth from their family mansion on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. A Romeo and Juliet moment is occurring between Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie, the youngest heirs of both families, whose romantic attraction shines through in their musical collaborations, which hark back to the days of the mid-20th century. Isolde, though, is an unwitting pawn in what is apparently an unspeakable brokered peace deal between the patriarchs of the two clans.
Dave is a detective, sometimes on police forces in New Orleans and New Iberia, sometimes between official statuses. In this installment Dave is badge-less, having been suspended from the New Iberia police. He’s twice widowed and hasn’t yet met his third wife, and his daughter has left home to go to college. He’s struggling with deep grief and loneliness on top of the psychic damage wrought by his service in Vietnam. His alcoholism is under control, but barely.
Robicheaux interjects himself into the two clan situation, but his emotional weaknesses cause him to be buffeted carnally between Isolde’s mother and her stepfather’s mistress, a dangerous place to be under any circumstance and certainly when it is an organized crime figure who is being cuckolded. The mysterious assassin sent after Robicheaux is Gideon Richetti, an individual with a bizarre appearance whose thirst for violence and death is augmented by his ability to induce nightmarish hallucinations and to travel between place and time unimpeded.
Dave Robicheaux and his best friend, Clete Purcel, is there to help but is soon dramatically caught in the crossfire as matters play out.
“A Private Cathedral” completes what Burke calls the Louisiana trilogy, after “Robicheaux” and “The New Iberia Blues”. Dave is Idling away an evening in Texas before visiting a prisoner there, Dave runs into a girl from New Iberia. Isolde Balangie is the stepdaughter of a notorious mobster named Adonis Balangie, then we meet the Shondells who are based out of Rochambeau's hometown of New Iberia, and as the story opens, they are involved in the entertainment industry. The Balangies are well-known mobsters from several generations ago who hold forth from their family mansion on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. A Romeo and Juliet moment is occurring between Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie, the youngest heirs of both families, whose romantic attraction shines through in their musical collaborations, which hark back to the days of the mid-20th century. Isolde, though, is an unwitting pawn in what is apparently an unspeakable brokered peace deal between the patriarchs of the two clans.
Dave is a detective, sometimes on police forces in New Orleans and New Iberia, sometimes between official statuses. In this installment Dave is badge-less, having been suspended from the New Iberia police. He’s twice widowed and hasn’t yet met his third wife, and his daughter has left home to go to college. He’s struggling with deep grief and loneliness on top of the psychic damage wrought by his service in Vietnam. His alcoholism is under control, but barely.
Robicheaux interjects himself into the two clan situation, but his emotional weaknesses cause him to be buffeted carnally between Isolde’s mother and her stepfather’s mistress, a dangerous place to be under any circumstance and certainly when it is an organized crime figure who is being cuckolded. The mysterious assassin sent after Robicheaux is Gideon Richetti, an individual with a bizarre appearance whose thirst for violence and death is augmented by his ability to induce nightmarish hallucinations and to travel between place and time unimpeded.
Dave Robicheaux and his best friend, Clete Purcel, is there to help but is soon dramatically caught in the crossfire as matters play out.
August 17, 2020
“I don’t mean to tire others with this account. But everyone has a private cathedral that he earns, a special place to which he returns when the world is too much late and soon, and loss and despair come with the rising of the sun.”
“The redness of the sun seemed to dance on his face, then he looked at me in the way a man does when he knows that one day he will have his revenge and that his victim in the meantime will be powerless to defend himself or to guess the moment when the blade will fall.”
This is the 23rd book in the Dave Robicheaux series, but this book works fine as a standalone. It has a little more of the supernatural than usual. The plot involves two crime families who have been feuding for 400 years. Robicheaux and his friend Clete Purcel manage to make both families want them dead and various hitmen come after them. I found the plot engaging, although it was overly complicated, and I love the Louisiana setting of the books and both Dave and Clete. However, what matters with Burke is the writing. You’ll find out right away whether you like it or not. I generally dislike too much description in books, but I love it when he writes it: “I realized the sky had turned a gaseous green, and the air had become has heavy and dense as a barrel of wet salt, the sun buried in a solitary cloud on the horizon, blood-red and flaming orange, like the inside of a torn peach.”
I also love how he faces both good and evil in the world: “It was one of those rare moments when the ephemerality of the human condition becomes inescapable and you want to smash your watch and shed your mortal fastenings and embrace the rain and the wind and rise into the storm and become one with its destructive magnificence.” In the epilogue, we are all left facing an evil that we unfortunately know too well.
I received a free copy of the ebook from the publisher, but I listened to the audiobook borrowed from the library. As usual, I think the narrator, Will Patton, can do no wrong.
“The redness of the sun seemed to dance on his face, then he looked at me in the way a man does when he knows that one day he will have his revenge and that his victim in the meantime will be powerless to defend himself or to guess the moment when the blade will fall.”
This is the 23rd book in the Dave Robicheaux series, but this book works fine as a standalone. It has a little more of the supernatural than usual. The plot involves two crime families who have been feuding for 400 years. Robicheaux and his friend Clete Purcel manage to make both families want them dead and various hitmen come after them. I found the plot engaging, although it was overly complicated, and I love the Louisiana setting of the books and both Dave and Clete. However, what matters with Burke is the writing. You’ll find out right away whether you like it or not. I generally dislike too much description in books, but I love it when he writes it: “I realized the sky had turned a gaseous green, and the air had become has heavy and dense as a barrel of wet salt, the sun buried in a solitary cloud on the horizon, blood-red and flaming orange, like the inside of a torn peach.”
I also love how he faces both good and evil in the world: “It was one of those rare moments when the ephemerality of the human condition becomes inescapable and you want to smash your watch and shed your mortal fastenings and embrace the rain and the wind and rise into the storm and become one with its destructive magnificence.” In the epilogue, we are all left facing an evil that we unfortunately know too well.
I received a free copy of the ebook from the publisher, but I listened to the audiobook borrowed from the library. As usual, I think the narrator, Will Patton, can do no wrong.
March 11, 2024
This is JLB’s twenty third book featuring Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux. Here he is once again joined by his close friend Clete Purcell, a local private investigator and once a colleague of Dave’s in the New Orleans Police Department. This episode is densely plotted (as these tales often are) and in truth I wasn’t always sure exactly what was going on. The story involves two crime families whose mutual enmity goes back a very long way. Current arrangements to achieve a kind of peaceful concord seem to include a form of sex slavery whereby a female from one of the families is ‘provided’ to a male member of the other family. There’s a killer who might have been operating for hundreds of years and Dave and Clete dream and believe they see things that defy logic and common sense. Yes, there’s a lot going on here.
But I knew not to give up on this story based on what seemed to be a complex mix of magic realism and a jamboree of wild over the top characters undertaking what felt like unconstrained and unrelated acts. No, for me these stories aren’t really about the plot. I’m brought back again and again by the lyrical writing of the author: the way he describes a place he clearly loves, the adept and comprehensive character analysis of the people he employs in his stories and above all the peerless dialogue he writes. It’s just magical.
Purcell is perhaps my favourite fictional character: a kind hearted but ruthless man who is often driven to acts of extreme violence in his desire to protect those he loves and respects. He also has a vocabulary all of his own. I laugh an I cry with Clete, and I defy you not to do the same. Once again he digs himself into a hole that seems inescapable and it looks like he’s taking Dave down with him this time. The tone of this story feels biblical (that’ll be Old Testament) and as it reaches its conclusion we know we’re in for an epic showdown between the forces of good and evil.
Burke is my favourite writer and once again there are lines here that will live long in my memory. Is the story overloaded and do the magical element grind somewhat against my love for the pure and the believable? The answer is yes… to some degree. But there’s truly much more here for me to love and to celebrate. Flawed brilliance. I have no hesitation in awarding 5 stars.
But I knew not to give up on this story based on what seemed to be a complex mix of magic realism and a jamboree of wild over the top characters undertaking what felt like unconstrained and unrelated acts. No, for me these stories aren’t really about the plot. I’m brought back again and again by the lyrical writing of the author: the way he describes a place he clearly loves, the adept and comprehensive character analysis of the people he employs in his stories and above all the peerless dialogue he writes. It’s just magical.
Purcell is perhaps my favourite fictional character: a kind hearted but ruthless man who is often driven to acts of extreme violence in his desire to protect those he loves and respects. He also has a vocabulary all of his own. I laugh an I cry with Clete, and I defy you not to do the same. Once again he digs himself into a hole that seems inescapable and it looks like he’s taking Dave down with him this time. The tone of this story feels biblical (that’ll be Old Testament) and as it reaches its conclusion we know we’re in for an epic showdown between the forces of good and evil.
Burke is my favourite writer and once again there are lines here that will live long in my memory. Is the story overloaded and do the magical element grind somewhat against my love for the pure and the believable? The answer is yes… to some degree. But there’s truly much more here for me to love and to celebrate. Flawed brilliance. I have no hesitation in awarding 5 stars.
August 28, 2020
Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie are talented rock and roll musicians. And most importantly they are in love. But - there is always a but - (1) the Shondells and the Balangies are longtime bitter rivals in the New Iberia Louisiana criminal underworld and (2) Isolde is to be sent to Johnny's Uncle as a sex slave. Johnny and Isolde have run away.
Enter Dave Robicheaux. He wants to know why. Isolde was traded to the rival family. Along the way Dave "interacts" with Isolde's mother and her father's mistress. This is not a good idea as Balangie is a very jealous and very well connected man.
He hires a hitman. Not the typical hitman - this one travels on a ghost ship and causes terrifying hallucinations.
Dave and his partner, Clete Purcel, battle crime, personal madness and horror as they attempt to thwart evil.
James Lee Burke has this haunting tale of good versus evil in his usual extraordinary prose. This is an intriguing read.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #APrivateCathedral
Enter Dave Robicheaux. He wants to know why. Isolde was traded to the rival family. Along the way Dave "interacts" with Isolde's mother and her father's mistress. This is not a good idea as Balangie is a very jealous and very well connected man.
He hires a hitman. Not the typical hitman - this one travels on a ghost ship and causes terrifying hallucinations.
Dave and his partner, Clete Purcel, battle crime, personal madness and horror as they attempt to thwart evil.
James Lee Burke has this haunting tale of good versus evil in his usual extraordinary prose. This is an intriguing read.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #APrivateCathedral
April 16, 2020
In the absence of light, there is darkness. And in that darkness grows the seeds of Evil harvested by those who are lured with empty promises. Deadly promises.
A Private Cathedral has bite. A rippin', tearin' bite. The cover alone begs for your attention. Dia de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead. But where will Death visit this time?
James Lee Burke has poured this one to the brim with characters sauteed in the very, very bad things that people do. We'll venture into times past to view historical significance. We'll set out feet down in the dirt of family feuds, gangster wars, dishonorable honorable men, sex trafficking, and the all-out cruelty visited from one upon another. Buckle up. James Lee Burke is gonna take us on a ride to Never Never Land.
Detective Dave Robicheaux has his soul hovering between sobriety and its ugly step-brother booze. He's working with his best friend, Clete Purcell, as private investigators in New Iberia. Both were cops in New Orleans in the once upon a time. Dave is hoping to be re-instated in the NOPD, but his current ex-boss, Carroll Le Blanc, has no love for him. In the meantime, Dave is working out of his house along Bayou Teche. It's Indian Summer. Unusual weather with unusual happenings.
But Robicheaux has hit the road heading for Huntsville Prison in Texas. He's about to come eye-to-eye with the soon to be released Marcel La Forchette. La Forchette grew up along Bayou Teche and had worked for the Balangie family. Dave has info that the notoriously criminal Balangie and Shondell families have been dabbling in sex trafficking that hovers around the seventeen year old, Isolde Balangie. Ironically, she and young Johnny Shondell sing together in a popular duo. La Forchette claims to know nothing. Dave knows otherwise.
No one sets up a scene like Burke. The storyline is intense in itself, but with Burke behind the wheel we will experience the depth and breadth of human nature like no other writer. But we're dealing with something well beyond VooDoo and spiritual potions here. Burke brings in a touch of the unexplainable and settles upon a depth charger of the supernatural. Only in the hands of the superb James Lee Burke will we lean in completely to an almost impossible adversary for Dave and Clete. It's Boo-yah time in the Bayou. Bravo to the eerie touch of James Lee Burke.
I received a copy of A Private Cathedral through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to the talented James Lee Burke for the opportunity.
A Private Cathedral has bite. A rippin', tearin' bite. The cover alone begs for your attention. Dia de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead. But where will Death visit this time?
James Lee Burke has poured this one to the brim with characters sauteed in the very, very bad things that people do. We'll venture into times past to view historical significance. We'll set out feet down in the dirt of family feuds, gangster wars, dishonorable honorable men, sex trafficking, and the all-out cruelty visited from one upon another. Buckle up. James Lee Burke is gonna take us on a ride to Never Never Land.
Detective Dave Robicheaux has his soul hovering between sobriety and its ugly step-brother booze. He's working with his best friend, Clete Purcell, as private investigators in New Iberia. Both were cops in New Orleans in the once upon a time. Dave is hoping to be re-instated in the NOPD, but his current ex-boss, Carroll Le Blanc, has no love for him. In the meantime, Dave is working out of his house along Bayou Teche. It's Indian Summer. Unusual weather with unusual happenings.
But Robicheaux has hit the road heading for Huntsville Prison in Texas. He's about to come eye-to-eye with the soon to be released Marcel La Forchette. La Forchette grew up along Bayou Teche and had worked for the Balangie family. Dave has info that the notoriously criminal Balangie and Shondell families have been dabbling in sex trafficking that hovers around the seventeen year old, Isolde Balangie. Ironically, she and young Johnny Shondell sing together in a popular duo. La Forchette claims to know nothing. Dave knows otherwise.
No one sets up a scene like Burke. The storyline is intense in itself, but with Burke behind the wheel we will experience the depth and breadth of human nature like no other writer. But we're dealing with something well beyond VooDoo and spiritual potions here. Burke brings in a touch of the unexplainable and settles upon a depth charger of the supernatural. Only in the hands of the superb James Lee Burke will we lean in completely to an almost impossible adversary for Dave and Clete. It's Boo-yah time in the Bayou. Bravo to the eerie touch of James Lee Burke.
I received a copy of A Private Cathedral through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to the talented James Lee Burke for the opportunity.
January 5, 2021
Omigosh. This audio! 🎧‼️
After some web search, I realized I've listened to Will Patton's work before (Stephen King books), but his voice never stands out until this series. Patton's performance is soo amazing as Robicheaux! I can listen to this forever! Damn!! I've seen Armageddon a dozen of times but didn't know this actor's name until I started this book.❤️
I have a habit of checking out a series with its newest one. In this case it's book #23. Most of the time this method works for me, not this one. A Private Cathedral has interesting lead characters that makes me want to check out book one to fully appreciate Dave Robicheaux. The south is charming. I have little clue of what's going on in this book though, pretty confusing.
After some web search, I realized I've listened to Will Patton's work before (Stephen King books), but his voice never stands out until this series. Patton's performance is soo amazing as Robicheaux! I can listen to this forever! Damn!! I've seen Armageddon a dozen of times but didn't know this actor's name until I started this book.❤️
I have a habit of checking out a series with its newest one. In this case it's book #23. Most of the time this method works for me, not this one. A Private Cathedral has interesting lead characters that makes me want to check out book one to fully appreciate Dave Robicheaux. The south is charming. I have little clue of what's going on in this book though, pretty confusing.
August 12, 2020
A Private Cathedral is the twenty-third in the immensely popular Dave Robicheaux series, which began in the early 1980s. James Lee Burke has been called “America’s Best Novelist” by the Denver Post, and his books have been made into movies. Lucky me, I read this one free and early; thanks go to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for the invitation and review copy. This book is for sale now.
Fans of this series—and there are many—will recognize all of Burke’s signature elements. Set in New Iberia, Louisiana, a small working class enclave about an hour from New Orleans, we find the usual wealthy, sleazy bad guys, in this case the Shondell family and the Balangie family; their victims, ordinary people with no money that scrape by the best they can; a pair of grizzly murders; and in this instance, a case of human trafficking. There’s always a woman or two ready to fling herself into Dave’s arms, even though he and Clete are supposedly getting old, and as usual, one of the women stands on the tops of his feet before she seduces him, or vice versa. (This has got to be some sort of private joke or reference on the author’s part, because you know that a writer with this level of skill cannot be inadvertently ascribing the identical quirky behavior to all of his protagonist’s romantic interests across over three decades of a series.)
And of course, best of all perhaps, we have Dave’s fiercely loyal best friend, Clete Purcell, a man that looks “like an albino ape” and whose impulse control is even worse than Dave’s, at least most of the time. He shows up in his pink Cadillac wearing his signature porkpie hat, and I smile. I can’t help it. Clete does this to me every single time, and I’ll bet a whole lot of other readers feel just the same way.
“He was the trickster of folklore, a modern Sancho Panza, a quasi-psychotic jarhead who did two tours in Vietnam and came home with the Navy Cross and two Purple Hearts and memories he shared with no one. Few people knew the real Clete Purcel or the little boy who lived inside him, the lonely child of an alcoholic milkman who made his son kneel all night on rice grains and whipped him regularly with a razor strop…Nor did they know the NOPD patrolman who wept when he couldn’t save the child he wrapped in a blanket, ran through flames, and crashed through a second story window with, landing on top of a Dumpster...He hated evil and waged war against it everywhere he found it. I sometimes wondered if he was an archangel in disguise, one with strings of dirty smoke rising from his wings, a full-fledged participant in fighting the good fight of Saint Paul. “
My sole complaint, a key one I probably wouldn’t give any other writer a pass on, is the way the author deals with his female characters. All the women and girls are mothers, whores, lovers, or children, and in some cases more than one of the above. No woman comes into the stories on the merit of her occupation, her character, or her abilities, aside from Helen, a long-running character that is exempted by virtue or being a lesbian and androgynous in appearance. (God forbid she be gorgeous and gay, or gorgeous and straight and completely sexually uninterested in Dave.) But the fact is, Burke has been writing and publishing great novels since 1965, and now he’s an 83 year old author and it seems unfair to expect him to change direction with regard to his female characters, or to suddenly regard them as equals in all respects rather than to nurture the whole pedestal package.
Moving on.
The story commences with Dave suspended from the sheriff’s department, and he’s behaving badly, embarking on a series of “dry drunks,” a term used liberally throughout this series and that I’ve never seen or heard of anywhere else. He’s so far out of line that Clete has to reel him back, when more often it’s the reverse. A teenager named Isolde is being sold by her parents, and Dave is attempting to rescue her. But it’s a useless endeavor because there is so much money and power buffering the offenders. Meanwhile, Clete is kidnapped and hung upside down and tortured by a being that seems otherworldly to him—mostly because it is. And this is a departure for Burke, a good one, as it turns out.
Those familiar with the series and the author know that redemption is at the core of every story he writes, and given the amount of mystic imagery that appears in his prose, it isn’t a long stretch to go from imagined spiritual beings to actual ones, which is what he does here. And I can only bow in awe at a writer—even one with residual sexist attitudes—that can take a long-running, iconic series like this one, a series that has run for more than 30 years, and decide to expand it across genres now. This would be remarkable for anyone, but for an octogenarian, it’s jaw-dropping.
I also enjoy the way he develops the side character, Father Julian, who is heroic and who pursues pedophiles and brings them to justice. Way to fight stereotypes.
I love the ending.
Highly recommended to Burke’s many fans, and to new readers as well.
A tribute to him by a bunch of other famous writers, lead off by Stephen King:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cwNH...
Fans of this series—and there are many—will recognize all of Burke’s signature elements. Set in New Iberia, Louisiana, a small working class enclave about an hour from New Orleans, we find the usual wealthy, sleazy bad guys, in this case the Shondell family and the Balangie family; their victims, ordinary people with no money that scrape by the best they can; a pair of grizzly murders; and in this instance, a case of human trafficking. There’s always a woman or two ready to fling herself into Dave’s arms, even though he and Clete are supposedly getting old, and as usual, one of the women stands on the tops of his feet before she seduces him, or vice versa. (This has got to be some sort of private joke or reference on the author’s part, because you know that a writer with this level of skill cannot be inadvertently ascribing the identical quirky behavior to all of his protagonist’s romantic interests across over three decades of a series.)
And of course, best of all perhaps, we have Dave’s fiercely loyal best friend, Clete Purcell, a man that looks “like an albino ape” and whose impulse control is even worse than Dave’s, at least most of the time. He shows up in his pink Cadillac wearing his signature porkpie hat, and I smile. I can’t help it. Clete does this to me every single time, and I’ll bet a whole lot of other readers feel just the same way.
“He was the trickster of folklore, a modern Sancho Panza, a quasi-psychotic jarhead who did two tours in Vietnam and came home with the Navy Cross and two Purple Hearts and memories he shared with no one. Few people knew the real Clete Purcel or the little boy who lived inside him, the lonely child of an alcoholic milkman who made his son kneel all night on rice grains and whipped him regularly with a razor strop…Nor did they know the NOPD patrolman who wept when he couldn’t save the child he wrapped in a blanket, ran through flames, and crashed through a second story window with, landing on top of a Dumpster...He hated evil and waged war against it everywhere he found it. I sometimes wondered if he was an archangel in disguise, one with strings of dirty smoke rising from his wings, a full-fledged participant in fighting the good fight of Saint Paul. “
My sole complaint, a key one I probably wouldn’t give any other writer a pass on, is the way the author deals with his female characters. All the women and girls are mothers, whores, lovers, or children, and in some cases more than one of the above. No woman comes into the stories on the merit of her occupation, her character, or her abilities, aside from Helen, a long-running character that is exempted by virtue or being a lesbian and androgynous in appearance. (God forbid she be gorgeous and gay, or gorgeous and straight and completely sexually uninterested in Dave.) But the fact is, Burke has been writing and publishing great novels since 1965, and now he’s an 83 year old author and it seems unfair to expect him to change direction with regard to his female characters, or to suddenly regard them as equals in all respects rather than to nurture the whole pedestal package.
Moving on.
The story commences with Dave suspended from the sheriff’s department, and he’s behaving badly, embarking on a series of “dry drunks,” a term used liberally throughout this series and that I’ve never seen or heard of anywhere else. He’s so far out of line that Clete has to reel him back, when more often it’s the reverse. A teenager named Isolde is being sold by her parents, and Dave is attempting to rescue her. But it’s a useless endeavor because there is so much money and power buffering the offenders. Meanwhile, Clete is kidnapped and hung upside down and tortured by a being that seems otherworldly to him—mostly because it is. And this is a departure for Burke, a good one, as it turns out.
Those familiar with the series and the author know that redemption is at the core of every story he writes, and given the amount of mystic imagery that appears in his prose, it isn’t a long stretch to go from imagined spiritual beings to actual ones, which is what he does here. And I can only bow in awe at a writer—even one with residual sexist attitudes—that can take a long-running, iconic series like this one, a series that has run for more than 30 years, and decide to expand it across genres now. This would be remarkable for anyone, but for an octogenarian, it’s jaw-dropping.
I also enjoy the way he develops the side character, Father Julian, who is heroic and who pursues pedophiles and brings them to justice. Way to fight stereotypes.
I love the ending.
Highly recommended to Burke’s many fans, and to new readers as well.
A tribute to him by a bunch of other famous writers, lead off by Stephen King:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cwNH...
October 29, 2020
This is, I believe, the 21st book by James Lee Burke that I have read...and my first disappointment. For the first two-thirds of the book, it was a pretty typical Dave Robicheaux story full of New Iberia, Louisiana history (real and contrived), Burke's philosophical rambling, some mysticism, terrible villains, wonderful friends, those who were both terrible and wonderful sometimes simultaneously and fabulous word pictures of South Louisiana and its residents.
As has generally been the case in these books, Dave and his pal Clete Purcel were trying to right wrongs, including the occasional one that had not yet been committed. But then the mysticism became a central theme Burke's philosophical ramblings got completely out of control. In fact, it seemed like Burke was trying to show the readers how profound he could be when he put his pen to it.
This overload made the book extremely ponderous for the last third and, in fact, I began to skim large portions in the last ten percent and that is about the gravest insult that I can pay an author. And I was doing it to one of my all-time favorites. Crap!
Not surprisingly, I won't recommend the book and, if I read another James Lee Burke book, it will almost certainly be one of the few early books that I have missed.
Over and Out
As has generally been the case in these books, Dave and his pal Clete Purcel were trying to right wrongs, including the occasional one that had not yet been committed. But then the mysticism became a central theme Burke's philosophical ramblings got completely out of control. In fact, it seemed like Burke was trying to show the readers how profound he could be when he put his pen to it.
This overload made the book extremely ponderous for the last third and, in fact, I began to skim large portions in the last ten percent and that is about the gravest insult that I can pay an author. And I was doing it to one of my all-time favorites. Crap!
Not surprisingly, I won't recommend the book and, if I read another James Lee Burke book, it will almost certainly be one of the few early books that I have missed.
Over and Out
October 29, 2020
Very well done!
Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell are exemplars of flawed good. And in this painful outing they become embroiled with some of the more, if not most evil families of Louisiana. The evil is both human in the chiefs of these families and their hired arms, and spiritual, seeming to have existed for centuries. In A Private Cathedral, Burke once again returns to the paranormal/supernatural element he has used before, often to call forth the ghosts of Confederate soldiers who fought in this area. Now he brings forth an apparent avenging “angel”.
As always when Dave and Clete are joined in a cause, there is violence. Dave is also challenged by his personal devil, alcohol, constantly. His wives are both deceased and daughter is on the West coast so his supports are slim. But he and Clete continue to try to champion “right” even when that concept becomes difficult to identify. I will leave other major plot points to the book’s description.
As always with a James Lee Burke novel, the prose is wonderful. While parts can be brutal, they are reflecting the evil that exists. I continue to recommend this series with the caveat that some do not want violence in their reading, which I understand.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell are exemplars of flawed good. And in this painful outing they become embroiled with some of the more, if not most evil families of Louisiana. The evil is both human in the chiefs of these families and their hired arms, and spiritual, seeming to have existed for centuries. In A Private Cathedral, Burke once again returns to the paranormal/supernatural element he has used before, often to call forth the ghosts of Confederate soldiers who fought in this area. Now he brings forth an apparent avenging “angel”.
As always when Dave and Clete are joined in a cause, there is violence. Dave is also challenged by his personal devil, alcohol, constantly. His wives are both deceased and daughter is on the West coast so his supports are slim. But he and Clete continue to try to champion “right” even when that concept becomes difficult to identify. I will leave other major plot points to the book’s description.
As always with a James Lee Burke novel, the prose is wonderful. While parts can be brutal, they are reflecting the evil that exists. I continue to recommend this series with the caveat that some do not want violence in their reading, which I understand.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
May 12, 2022
i rarely give 5 star. but this is an amazing and powerful thriller, full of force. almost a myth on its own. it is the fight between good and evil similar to greek tragedies with amazing background of Lousiana. Burke is one of the only few writers who uses names from history, literature and music with easy flaw and touch. he use supernatural side without making it ridiculous. sometimes he over flaws mainly with the background of Vietnam. but - A MUST.
August 15, 2020
3.5. The basics are there: the darkness, the violence, the usual cast of characters and great writing. The mysticism and supernatural are a little excessive to the point of distracción. The setting is right before hurricane Kathrine and prior to his marriage to Molly. It is still a great series.
August 15, 2020
James Lee Burke has gradually aged Dave Robicheaux and his best friend, Clete Purcel, to the point where both men are much closer to their sunset than their sunrise, possessed of the somewhat diminished physical abilities that age brings to all of us. However, Burke still has some stories to tell; to that end, he sets A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL, the 23rd installment in the series (and his 40th book overall), in the past. He uses the voice of Robicheaux to tell a haunting, disturbing and mesmerizing tale set just after the turn of this century that ripples even further back in time.
During the course of the book, Robicheaux is dealing with his status as a two-time widower, as well as his constant struggle against the inner demons that threaten his hard-won sobriety. It is this turmoil that has led to his status in limbo --- eventually resolved --- at the beginning of A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL with respect to his law enforcement officer. Still, this does not prevent Robicheaux from getting in the middle of a feud, which has lasted for hundreds of years, between the Shondells and the Balangies, two south Louisiana crime families.
The Shondells are based out of Robicheaux’s hometown of New Iberia, and as the story opens, they are involved in the entertainment industry. The Balangies are well-known mobsters from several generations ago who hold forth from their family mansion on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. A Romeo and Juliet moment is occurring between Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie, the youngest heirs of both families, whose romantic attraction shines through in their musical collaborations, which hark back to the days of the mid-20th century. Isolde, though, is an unwitting pawn in what is apparently an unspeakable brokered peace deal between the patriarchs of the two clans.
Robicheaux interjects himself into the situation, but his emotional weaknesses cause him to be buffeted carnally between Isolde’s mother and her stepfather’s mistress, a dangerous place to be under any circumstance and certainly when it is an organized crime figure who is being cuckolded. The mysterious assassin sent after Robicheaux is Gideon Richetti, an individual with a bizarre appearance whose thirst for violence and death is augmented by his ability to induce nightmarish hallucinations and to travel between place and time unimpeded.
Purcel is there to help but is soon dramatically caught in the crossfire as matters play out across south Louisiana, from the streets of New Orleans to the fishing camps and stilt houses on the Gulf of Mexico. Shifting alliances and attempts at redemption make Robicheaux’s efforts to save an innocent --- and his own self-worth --- all but futile.
Longtime readers are aware that the Robicheaux novels have intermittently explored the fragile divide between the living and the dead to great effect. Some of the images, particularly those encountered within IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD or the recurring visions that Robicheaux experiences of ghost steamboats traversing the Bayou Teche near his home in New Iberia, are impossible to forget.
In A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL, Burke takes things a step or two further, exploring the concept of time from a metaphysical standpoint but within the framework of a thriller firmly grounded in this world and mercifully short on explanations above Robicheaux’s pay grade. The result is a very literary one that contains some of Burke’s best writing to date, with strong characterization, memorable dialogue and his always magnificent descriptive prose.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
During the course of the book, Robicheaux is dealing with his status as a two-time widower, as well as his constant struggle against the inner demons that threaten his hard-won sobriety. It is this turmoil that has led to his status in limbo --- eventually resolved --- at the beginning of A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL with respect to his law enforcement officer. Still, this does not prevent Robicheaux from getting in the middle of a feud, which has lasted for hundreds of years, between the Shondells and the Balangies, two south Louisiana crime families.
The Shondells are based out of Robicheaux’s hometown of New Iberia, and as the story opens, they are involved in the entertainment industry. The Balangies are well-known mobsters from several generations ago who hold forth from their family mansion on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. A Romeo and Juliet moment is occurring between Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie, the youngest heirs of both families, whose romantic attraction shines through in their musical collaborations, which hark back to the days of the mid-20th century. Isolde, though, is an unwitting pawn in what is apparently an unspeakable brokered peace deal between the patriarchs of the two clans.
Robicheaux interjects himself into the situation, but his emotional weaknesses cause him to be buffeted carnally between Isolde’s mother and her stepfather’s mistress, a dangerous place to be under any circumstance and certainly when it is an organized crime figure who is being cuckolded. The mysterious assassin sent after Robicheaux is Gideon Richetti, an individual with a bizarre appearance whose thirst for violence and death is augmented by his ability to induce nightmarish hallucinations and to travel between place and time unimpeded.
Purcel is there to help but is soon dramatically caught in the crossfire as matters play out across south Louisiana, from the streets of New Orleans to the fishing camps and stilt houses on the Gulf of Mexico. Shifting alliances and attempts at redemption make Robicheaux’s efforts to save an innocent --- and his own self-worth --- all but futile.
Longtime readers are aware that the Robicheaux novels have intermittently explored the fragile divide between the living and the dead to great effect. Some of the images, particularly those encountered within IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD or the recurring visions that Robicheaux experiences of ghost steamboats traversing the Bayou Teche near his home in New Iberia, are impossible to forget.
In A PRIVATE CATHEDRAL, Burke takes things a step or two further, exploring the concept of time from a metaphysical standpoint but within the framework of a thriller firmly grounded in this world and mercifully short on explanations above Robicheaux’s pay grade. The result is a very literary one that contains some of Burke’s best writing to date, with strong characterization, memorable dialogue and his always magnificent descriptive prose.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
December 30, 2020
James Lee Burke’s Louisiana is described as an Eden, albeit an Eden with not just one but many serpents, mostly taking human form. The latest adventure featuring Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel has a distinct Romeo and Juliet twist. Where Verona had the Montagues and Capulets, New Iberia has the Shondells and Balangies; mob families of Italian descent who’ve been feuding for hundreds of years. The star-crossed lovers here are Isolde Balangie and Johnny (not Tristan!) Shondell. But are they following their own hearts or has something been arranged between the respective capi of the two families: Mark Shondell and Adonis Balangie.
Only a brave or foolish man would dare to come between the Shondells and Balangies. Sadly, when it comes to brave and foolish, Dave and Clete score full marks all around. Then there is the mysterious and serpentine Gideon Richetti. Seemingly a man from another time with magical powers, but whose side is he on and what is his real mission?
As always, the prose style is sublime. No-one else could describe scenes of cruelty and depravity with such poetic grace since, probably, Shakespeare.
Another classic offering from an author who really is in a league of his own.
Only a brave or foolish man would dare to come between the Shondells and Balangies. Sadly, when it comes to brave and foolish, Dave and Clete score full marks all around. Then there is the mysterious and serpentine Gideon Richetti. Seemingly a man from another time with magical powers, but whose side is he on and what is his real mission?
As always, the prose style is sublime. No-one else could describe scenes of cruelty and depravity with such poetic grace since, probably, Shakespeare.
Another classic offering from an author who really is in a league of his own.
Want to read
July 8, 2020After starting to read this one I found out it is book #19 in the Dave Robichaux series by James Lee Burke and the first I have ever read. Oh my what a ride! This book gripped you from the very beginning and I had a hard time putting it down. A gritty hard core detective he is in the bayous of Louisiana with all the mysticism and voodoo gris gris La. is known for surrounding the storyline. The only problem I had was some of the names he used and the political stance he gave. Having lived in the area a long time I can't agree with his views on racism in the area..He probably has lived in Montana too long and forgot how it is here. Now, that part was miniscule on the scale of the storyline so I still give it a 3.5 rounded up to a 4.
June 14, 2022
There is not a better writer in America than James Lee Burke, but this novel is just too mystical to be one of his great ones. Dave & Clete attempt to rescue a teenage girl from sex slavery. Burke knows his oldies, however, I don't think the Chordettes are the greatest of their era. Recommended to Burke fans.
December 28, 2020
A Private Cathedral is James Lee Burke’s fortieth book, and I am pretty sure my husband had read them all up til now. I had read one or two, and I can’t remember which ones, which tells you something. I had another chance thanks to Simon & Schuster providing me with a copy of A Private Cathedral in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure right up front: I can’t say I read all of this one. I TRIED. I really did. And I’m going to play the virus card, because everyone’s lives have been totally tossed around by the current pandemic…and don’t even get me started on the incompetent handling of this in the U.S. But that should really provide adequate time to read, even things we might not love, right?
Like I said, I tried. This book features Dave Robicheaux and his longtime partner Clete Purcell, and includes New Iberia, sex trafficking, rock and roll, and PTSD. Sounds like something for everyone…and, like I said, I TRIED. And felt like I failed at a test or something, until my husband also couldn’t get through it (and, as noted above, he LOVES James Lee Burke)!
The publisher’s blurb describes this book as “mixing crime, romance, mythology, horror, and science fiction.” That explains it, neither of us is a fan of either horror or sci-fi and a little mythology goes a long way. I can take or leave (good) romance and we both love crime stories…but one out of five isn’t enough! I considered using that formula for my rating, giving it one star…but I’m giving it two because it could be at least partly due to the state of the world that I couldn’t handle this one. (Looks like many fans of Burke loved it)
Full disclosure right up front: I can’t say I read all of this one. I TRIED. I really did. And I’m going to play the virus card, because everyone’s lives have been totally tossed around by the current pandemic…and don’t even get me started on the incompetent handling of this in the U.S. But that should really provide adequate time to read, even things we might not love, right?
Like I said, I tried. This book features Dave Robicheaux and his longtime partner Clete Purcell, and includes New Iberia, sex trafficking, rock and roll, and PTSD. Sounds like something for everyone…and, like I said, I TRIED. And felt like I failed at a test or something, until my husband also couldn’t get through it (and, as noted above, he LOVES James Lee Burke)!
The publisher’s blurb describes this book as “mixing crime, romance, mythology, horror, and science fiction.” That explains it, neither of us is a fan of either horror or sci-fi and a little mythology goes a long way. I can take or leave (good) romance and we both love crime stories…but one out of five isn’t enough! I considered using that formula for my rating, giving it one star…but I’m giving it two because it could be at least partly due to the state of the world that I couldn’t handle this one. (Looks like many fans of Burke loved it)
September 13, 2020
I have been a fan of James Lee Burke for many years but I think this might be the last time I sit down with a new Dave Robicheaux novel. The storyline for A Private Cathedral is thin at best and frustratingly obtuse at worst. I'm still trying to determine the main plot and its key driver. Was it the 'Romeo and Juliette' romance of Isolde and Johnny that goes nowhere? Was it Dave, sleeping with two female characters, one of whom may or may not be married to yet another wealthy, nefarious Louisiana "greaseball"; the other a stripper/hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold? How about the absurd time-traveling 'revelator' who lurks in the background but never fully comes to fruition as a character? Perhaps it's Father Julian who was, in my opinion, the most interesting character in the whole novel. God forbid it should be the relationship between Clete Purcel and 'big mon' Dave because that just traipsed along the same old beaten track with absolutely zero development.
I'm also very confused as to when this novel is set because if it's present times, then Dave, and Clete for that matter, perform impressive feats of physical strength, endurance and violence for a pair of 80-something year olds!
I'm also very confused as to when this novel is set because if it's present times, then Dave, and Clete for that matter, perform impressive feats of physical strength, endurance and violence for a pair of 80-something year olds!
April 15, 2020
James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series has always included a certain level of mysticism, whether Louisiana Voodoo or medieval arcane, and though he constantly questions the source of his faith, Robicheaux's deeply religious beliefs. A flawed man, Robicheaux is a recovering alcoholic with a paradoxical anger problem, he is still a southern gentleman who will tip his hat, address all women by "miss", and beat the crap out of anyone showing disrespect to a female. He's an intuitive detective with a vast knowledge of history, religion, the arts, and his beloved south, specifically Louisiana. He's a renaissance man with a badge. Burke's lush and evocative writing makes the stories, though always dark and intense, that much more complex.
But...
I don't know long it took me to figure out this book takes place in the past, sometime after Bootsie's death but before his marriage to Molly, with Alafair still in college, and Tripod (bless his heart) is still alive. I was confused by the references to his two dead wives (weren't there 3?) and the use of cell phones. And it took me even longer to recognize that as the book was building in intensity so was the weather, which finally gave me a timeframe: right before Hurricane Katrina. That was a minor quibble on my part.
However...
I was never sure what this book was about. It had the usual ultra-rich, old money families, the usual out of control violence, the usual alcoholic longings and dry drunk episodes, the usual Clete trying to destroy himself and take the world with him, and the usual (almost overdone) colloquialisms-both southern and tough guy detective-type. In A Private Cathedral, it seems like Dave is trying to save a teenaged girl who has been sold from her wealthy family to a rich racist pedophile, and no one cares but Dave. There's a time-traveling reptilian assassin with superhuman powers (no joke). Dave is disappointingly dimwitted and absurdly foolish when it comes to the women he chooses to sleep with this time (I actually yelled, "You moron!"). Somehow, despite his all-encompassing alcoholic pastime, Clete can still afford two offices, one in the French Quarter. Dave revisits a lot of his childhood and past relationships and possible relatives and remains ageless (I think he's in his 60's in this one). But I'm still not sure what the book was about.
Yeah, I appreciate Burke's beautiful writing and deep philosophical ponderings, and I absolutely love Dave, I can never get enough of Clete, but I found myself drifting a few times. Yeah, I caught the time traveling assassin/travel back in Dave's life thing. And, yeah, I definitely know who that "rich-boy gutter rat with ties to the Russian mafia" is. But no amount of Dr. Pepper with shaved ice and cherries, or Po' Boy shrimp sandwiches, or Four O'clocks, Wisteria or Live Oaks dripping with Spanish moss could keep me focused. I felt let down by his last novel, New Iberia Blues, and was sure it was Burke's swan song, but this was just a head scratcher for me.
Will I read the next book? I have an affinity towards flawed recovering alcoholics who try to flush a guy's head down the toilet while wooing the man's wife, so yes, of course I will.
(A big thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of A Private Cathedral in exchange for a fair review.)
But...
I don't know long it took me to figure out this book takes place in the past, sometime after Bootsie's death but before his marriage to Molly, with Alafair still in college, and Tripod (bless his heart) is still alive. I was confused by the references to his two dead wives (weren't there 3?) and the use of cell phones. And it took me even longer to recognize that as the book was building in intensity so was the weather, which finally gave me a timeframe: right before Hurricane Katrina. That was a minor quibble on my part.
However...
I was never sure what this book was about. It had the usual ultra-rich, old money families, the usual out of control violence, the usual alcoholic longings and dry drunk episodes, the usual Clete trying to destroy himself and take the world with him, and the usual (almost overdone) colloquialisms-both southern and tough guy detective-type. In A Private Cathedral, it seems like Dave is trying to save a teenaged girl who has been sold from her wealthy family to a rich racist pedophile, and no one cares but Dave. There's a time-traveling reptilian assassin with superhuman powers (no joke). Dave is disappointingly dimwitted and absurdly foolish when it comes to the women he chooses to sleep with this time (I actually yelled, "You moron!"). Somehow, despite his all-encompassing alcoholic pastime, Clete can still afford two offices, one in the French Quarter. Dave revisits a lot of his childhood and past relationships and possible relatives and remains ageless (I think he's in his 60's in this one). But I'm still not sure what the book was about.
Yeah, I appreciate Burke's beautiful writing and deep philosophical ponderings, and I absolutely love Dave, I can never get enough of Clete, but I found myself drifting a few times. Yeah, I caught the time traveling assassin/travel back in Dave's life thing. And, yeah, I definitely know who that "rich-boy gutter rat with ties to the Russian mafia" is. But no amount of Dr. Pepper with shaved ice and cherries, or Po' Boy shrimp sandwiches, or Four O'clocks, Wisteria or Live Oaks dripping with Spanish moss could keep me focused. I felt let down by his last novel, New Iberia Blues, and was sure it was Burke's swan song, but this was just a head scratcher for me.
Will I read the next book? I have an affinity towards flawed recovering alcoholics who try to flush a guy's head down the toilet while wooing the man's wife, so yes, of course I will.
(A big thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of A Private Cathedral in exchange for a fair review.)
October 17, 2020
I love these series and have been a fan from the start. I am waiting for the next one. Once you start reading this book you can't seem to stop and when you are finished you want more. I love the plots.
Something new here was the supernatural which was much more apparent than in the past novels. I loved the twist and turns in the plot. I don't want to give away the story so get a copy. A must read. V
Something new here was the supernatural which was much more apparent than in the past novels. I loved the twist and turns in the plot. I don't want to give away the story so get a copy. A must read. V
October 27, 2020
I always enjoy books by James Lee Burke especially if they are about Dave Robicheaux. This was a very interesting book. Set in LA where most of these books are set this story had a lot of mysterious things going on that were very beyond reason and sensibility but you had to go along with the story because you enjoy Dave and his stories so much. This is #23 on the list of these books and as always I definitely recommend.
July 1, 2022
Review to follow, hopefully, because I have been thinking about this for a long time. Very complex ideas in this book — not easy to describe.
August 8, 2020
I have not read a James Lee Burke novel in awhile and have forgotten just how graphic his books are. They are graphic in every sense-language, violence, sex, subject matter that they are not for the faint of heart. For some reason I picture them more of a male novel but I could be off on that.
The other thing to remember is Burke is an achingly beautiful writer. He wraps you up and takes you to Southern Louisiana with descriptions of food, geography and people so on target that I am transported there.
Dave Robicheaux is an off and on cop. He is always getting fired or suspended as he only listens to his own moral voice. And he will do anything, and I mean anything, to accomplish his goal. His best friend is Clete, a former cop and now a P.I. with voracious appetites. They both came back from Vietnam with a load of medals and enough PTSS to last a lifetime.
This book deals with two criminal families who trade a young girl in one family to the other family. This sex trafficking enrages Dave and starts a war like no other. There is lots of mysticism and a bad guy who travels through time to accomplish his horrible goals. He rides a big ship with black masts and only certain people can see him.
This deals a lot with death and good and evil and making choices in life. "There are epiphanies most of us do not share with others. Among them is the hour when you make your peace with death," Dave says at one point. It's a book that really makes you think. I was so shaken that I couldn't sleep last night. As I said, it's not for the faint of heart.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
The other thing to remember is Burke is an achingly beautiful writer. He wraps you up and takes you to Southern Louisiana with descriptions of food, geography and people so on target that I am transported there.
Dave Robicheaux is an off and on cop. He is always getting fired or suspended as he only listens to his own moral voice. And he will do anything, and I mean anything, to accomplish his goal. His best friend is Clete, a former cop and now a P.I. with voracious appetites. They both came back from Vietnam with a load of medals and enough PTSS to last a lifetime.
This book deals with two criminal families who trade a young girl in one family to the other family. This sex trafficking enrages Dave and starts a war like no other. There is lots of mysticism and a bad guy who travels through time to accomplish his horrible goals. He rides a big ship with black masts and only certain people can see him.
This deals a lot with death and good and evil and making choices in life. "There are epiphanies most of us do not share with others. Among them is the hour when you make your peace with death," Dave says at one point. It's a book that really makes you think. I was so shaken that I couldn't sleep last night. As I said, it's not for the faint of heart.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
November 13, 2023
Alas, this one just didn't really resonate with me. Sure, plenty of the lyricism is there, but ... overall, nah...
To the extent I initially assumed that this was the last novel in the Robicheaux series, it felt like an otherwise glorious run was going out with a whimper rather than the bang I'd expect (e.g., a proverbial blaze of glory). but (I guess, at this point, for better or worse) there's one more coming (with some version of Clete as the working title).
Initially (and, ultimately, throughout) I struggled with the temporal dissonance. With only a couple of exceptions, I've read the Robicheaux run in order, but it wasn't clear to me (at any point) why this one went back in time, how far it went back, or where it fit in the sequence (other than random clues ranging from Tripod's presence, Alafair still in college, Helen becoming Sheriff, mobile phones, etc.) At times, I felt that this was a storyline that JLB started and sidelined and then pulled out of a drawer (or file) because he owed a book to his publisher by a looming deadline.
But I probably could have overcome that had I been more engaged with the storyline. At least for me, this one ... while following (or expanding upon) the protagonist's increasing cognizance and obsession with other realms ... the leap from mysticism and visions (let's generalize and call them hallucinations, including voices in his head, on the phone, and even on tape) to the personification of deities and a plot line in which an immortal not only has a voice, but walks the earth and influences (nay, drives) events ... 'twas just a bridge too far for me. (And, yes, that's coming from someone who consumes a steady, indeed healthy, diet of sci-fi, fantasy, and/or speculative fiction. In that context, I guess I'd distill it down to the conclusion that the "world-building" wasn't sufficiently compelling to engage the necessary willful suspension of disbelief.)
By no means does this sour me on my adoration for and and enjoyment of JLB's larger body of work, which has provided much entertainment (and, thus, great value), but, in a vacuum, I'd have been fine having skipped this one.
To the extent I initially assumed that this was the last novel in the Robicheaux series, it felt like an otherwise glorious run was going out with a whimper rather than the bang I'd expect (e.g., a proverbial blaze of glory). but (I guess, at this point, for better or worse) there's one more coming (with some version of Clete as the working title).
Initially (and, ultimately, throughout) I struggled with the temporal dissonance. With only a couple of exceptions, I've read the Robicheaux run in order, but it wasn't clear to me (at any point) why this one went back in time, how far it went back, or where it fit in the sequence (other than random clues ranging from Tripod's presence, Alafair still in college, Helen becoming Sheriff, mobile phones, etc.) At times, I felt that this was a storyline that JLB started and sidelined and then pulled out of a drawer (or file) because he owed a book to his publisher by a looming deadline.
But I probably could have overcome that had I been more engaged with the storyline. At least for me, this one ... while following (or expanding upon) the protagonist's increasing cognizance and obsession with other realms ... the leap from mysticism and visions (let's generalize and call them hallucinations, including voices in his head, on the phone, and even on tape) to the personification of deities and a plot line in which an immortal not only has a voice, but walks the earth and influences (nay, drives) events ... 'twas just a bridge too far for me. (And, yes, that's coming from someone who consumes a steady, indeed healthy, diet of sci-fi, fantasy, and/or speculative fiction. In that context, I guess I'd distill it down to the conclusion that the "world-building" wasn't sufficiently compelling to engage the necessary willful suspension of disbelief.)
By no means does this sour me on my adoration for and and enjoyment of JLB's larger body of work, which has provided much entertainment (and, thus, great value), but, in a vacuum, I'd have been fine having skipped this one.
September 24, 2020
Johnny Shondell is a rock and roll singer. Robicheaux is watching him play at a club when Isolde Balangie tells him that Johnny is delivering her to his uncle. When Clete hears about this, it doesn't sit well so he enters himself in the situation, one that becomes violent fast.
I recall from previous books how Burke has a way with words. I like his writing - so full and rich. In this book, the literary writing is there and the action is great. This is not my favorite story line due to all of the supernatural. However, Robicheaux and Clete make the book worthwhile. I still rate it a 4 even though it was a little far out there for me.
Btw, the name reminded me of Tommy James and the Shondells music from the 60s. Just showing my age...
I recall from previous books how Burke has a way with words. I like his writing - so full and rich. In this book, the literary writing is there and the action is great. This is not my favorite story line due to all of the supernatural. However, Robicheaux and Clete make the book worthwhile. I still rate it a 4 even though it was a little far out there for me.
Btw, the name reminded me of Tommy James and the Shondells music from the 60s. Just showing my age...
March 22, 2020
A Private Cathedral by James Lee Burke is the twenty-third novel in Burke's Dave Robicheaux series.
As I have written in previous reviews of books in the Dave Robicheaux series, I am biased when it comes to the writing of James Lee Burke, but not so biased as to purposely write a positive review when the novel does not deserve one. On the contrary, Burke's writing in A Private Cathedral is fully lush in its descriptive nature, just as with his other novels. Reading a Burke novel is like looking at a painting mixed so well and so rich in vibrant color, describing the painting is almost impossible to adequately do. Especially to a person that is not viewing the painting. With that, writing the review of A Private Cathedral is probably one of the most difficult reviews I have yet written.
For one thing, writing a concise and adequate description of what is between the covers is difficult to do and to reveal too much may cause newer readers to move away from A Private Cathedral (I would recommend readers read the Dave Robicheaux novels in order, but especially read a handful of the novels from the series before the taking on the last three Robicheaux novels).
In the simplest of description, A Private Cathedral is a story where Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel return and because of trying to help a young couple, they end up caught in between two wealthy and influential families with centuries of violent and deprave discord between them (one reviewer described the relationship between the two families as a "rivalry," but that is too genteel of a word to describe their bizarre relationship).
As the story unfolds, after Purcel and Robicheaux gain the attention of the two families, they run afoul of mafia gangsters, killers, and a mysterious assassin named Gideon Richetti. Richetti has a background and abilities almost too terrifying to contemplate and when spoken of by Purcel and Robicheaux, both are looked upon as if they are on the verge of mental breakdowns and insanity. The novel is mystical and spiritual while refusing to bend to the physical world of science, land, earth and all things we think are true just because our senses tell us so.
A Private Cathedral continues on with Robicheaux ruminating on true fairness and justice in the world and what it means to one edging closer to end of life mortality, especially when those apparently exempt from justice keep escaping what they deserve in a humane world.
One last comment about the writing of James Lee Burke and what he does so well is it is so refreshing when an author refuses to always explain every aspect of characters in a novel, both in speech and deed and not be afraid to leave it to the readers' interpretation or imagination.
A Private Cathedral is highly recommended.
Netgalley provided an ARC of this novel for a fair review.
As I have written in previous reviews of books in the Dave Robicheaux series, I am biased when it comes to the writing of James Lee Burke, but not so biased as to purposely write a positive review when the novel does not deserve one. On the contrary, Burke's writing in A Private Cathedral is fully lush in its descriptive nature, just as with his other novels. Reading a Burke novel is like looking at a painting mixed so well and so rich in vibrant color, describing the painting is almost impossible to adequately do. Especially to a person that is not viewing the painting. With that, writing the review of A Private Cathedral is probably one of the most difficult reviews I have yet written.
For one thing, writing a concise and adequate description of what is between the covers is difficult to do and to reveal too much may cause newer readers to move away from A Private Cathedral (I would recommend readers read the Dave Robicheaux novels in order, but especially read a handful of the novels from the series before the taking on the last three Robicheaux novels).
In the simplest of description, A Private Cathedral is a story where Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel return and because of trying to help a young couple, they end up caught in between two wealthy and influential families with centuries of violent and deprave discord between them (one reviewer described the relationship between the two families as a "rivalry," but that is too genteel of a word to describe their bizarre relationship).
As the story unfolds, after Purcel and Robicheaux gain the attention of the two families, they run afoul of mafia gangsters, killers, and a mysterious assassin named Gideon Richetti. Richetti has a background and abilities almost too terrifying to contemplate and when spoken of by Purcel and Robicheaux, both are looked upon as if they are on the verge of mental breakdowns and insanity. The novel is mystical and spiritual while refusing to bend to the physical world of science, land, earth and all things we think are true just because our senses tell us so.
A Private Cathedral continues on with Robicheaux ruminating on true fairness and justice in the world and what it means to one edging closer to end of life mortality, especially when those apparently exempt from justice keep escaping what they deserve in a humane world.
One last comment about the writing of James Lee Burke and what he does so well is it is so refreshing when an author refuses to always explain every aspect of characters in a novel, both in speech and deed and not be afraid to leave it to the readers' interpretation or imagination.
A Private Cathedral is highly recommended.
Netgalley provided an ARC of this novel for a fair review.
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