Every Cloak Rolled in Blood

Holland Family Saga #4

by James Lee Burke

In his most autobiographical novel to date, James Lee Burke continues the epic Holland family saga with a writer grieving the death of his daughter while battling earthly and supernatural outlaws.

Novelist Aaron Holland Broussard is shattered when his daughter Fannie Mae dies suddenly. As he tries to honor her memory by saving two young men from a life of crime amid their opioid-ravaged community, he is drawn into a network of villainy that includes a violent former Klansman, a far-from-holy minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals, and a murderer who has been hiding in plain sight.

Aaron’s only ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse, a no-nonsense woman who harbors some powerful secrets in her cellar. Despite the air of mystery surrounding her, Ruby is the only one Aaron can trust. That is, until the ghost of Fannie Mae shows up, guiding her father through a tangled web of the present and past and helping him vanquish his foes from both this world and the next.

Drawn from James Lee Burke’s own life experiences, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a devastating exploration of the nature of good and evil and a deeply moving story about the power of love and family.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Westerns, Thriller, Supernatural, Noir

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 24, 2022

About the author

James 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.

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Cloak Rolled in Blood by James Lee Burke is the fourth novel in the Holland Family Saga series. Categorized as a crime novel and as a paranormal mystery, it brings to life rural Montana, and specifically, eighty-five-year-old novelist Aaron Holland Broussard. Aaron is having a tough time accepting his daughter Fannie Mae’s death. When two young men are on pace to a life of crime, he tries to set them on a different path in her memory. However, the community is full of drugs, violence, murder, and more. His only ally seems to be a young state police officer with secrets and mystery surrounding her. With both evil spirits and the ghost of Fannie Mae entering the story, Burke has crafted another riveting book.

The author combines clear physical descriptions of the characters with their shortcomings and strengths. Facing evil that is not abstract, Aaron is a compelling character that is flawed, but wants to do the right thing. His loneliness, grief, and courage stand out to me.

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 and fought on multiple levels. There was one thing that was not neatly wrapped up enough to satisfy me that I can’t describe here without spoilers.

Several themes run through the story line including social justice, racism, drugs, murder, grief, and much more. Overall, the book was complex and suspenseful. It mixes fiction with events that have occurred in the author’s life. It demanded my attention from start to finish.

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. Publication date is currently scheduled for May 24, 2022.

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

The literary crime giant that is James Lee Burke writes his most autobiographical and philosophical novel yet, a requiem, he channels the overwhelming loneliness, grief over the loss of his daughter, Pamala, into his character of 85 year old writer, Aaron Holland Broussard, who has lost his beloved animal loving 54 year old daughter, Fannie Mae. There are strong elements of the spiritual and metaphysical in the narrative which reflect on and blends the evil and dangers in a present day divided contemporary America with its historical evil, so powerful that it burns right into the present, and this is not an abstraction. Located in Montana, Broussard lives alone on his large and remote ranch, a young man, Leigh, paints a swastika on his barn door, which is how he comes to meet State Trooper, Ruby Spotted Horse, who has been scarred by her own grief and loss.

Broussard initially struggles with the surprise of the violence and misery sealed in Ruby's cellar, the monsters imprisoned under the earth, illustrated by Major Eugene Baker and his slaughter of the Blackfeet in 1870. Finding he can see what others cannot makes him vulnerable, he is aware that it could be perceived as the product of his all too real depression, suicidal thoughts, insomnia, psychoneurotic anxiety, ennui and daily misery. He sees and engages with the ghost of Fannie Mae, he desperately needs to see her, his greatest fear that she will leave him. In her memory, he tries to help two young men, Leigh and Jake, from a life of crime in an opiate addicted community, and finds himself locked in a battle with a number of unsavoury individuals, including a biker club, a problematic minister, and a notorious murdering drug dealer.

Fannie Mae guides Broussard through the nightmare of threats, murders, messy chaos and mayhem from the past and the present that look set to destroy him, instrumental in helping him face the challenges that come his way. Broussard is a father, a parent mourning the loss of his child, feeling the unbearable pain as he negotiates a intensely bleak and dark past, present and future, but as the novel draws to a close, there are shards of light and hope to be found. Burke refers to this book as his best, it is beautifully written, thoughtful as he probes the evil, the horrors and influence of American history that refuses to be erased, the tentacles of insanity which reach out and taint our present, at an individual and national level. This might not be for everyone, but I found this to be a profoundly moving read. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

[Michael Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the Fighting For

Montana author Aaron Holland Broussard can no longer see what is left for him. His world exploded into a million fiery fragments of hell the day his daughter died. He will not accept his daughter’s death, he will either find a way to bring her back or he will go to her. He says he feels like he’s in a house of mirrors and wants to break every one of them. In a wrenching scene we see him tasting the barrel of his gun…”Oh, God, don’t let me do this.” Heartbreaking business.

The physical world revs up to push the man even further. A teenage son of a former imperial wizard spray-paints a swastika on Aaron’s barn. The kid’s father is now active in a hate group with outlaw bikers, posing as a church. Two young meth-head members show up armed at Aaron’s in the middle of the night, possibly to take him out. Subsequent murders pop up, interwoven into all of this. Finally, a cold-blooded drug dealer arrives to deliver more evil to Aaron’s doorstep.

And the supernatural world has its part to play. Aaron’s lost daughter, Fannie Mae, answers her father’s pleas and appears to him, attempting to counsel and comfort. State trooper Ruby Spotted Horse reveals to Aaron she is the guardian to an underworld portal– spirits are locked up in her cellar. These spirits may include Major Eugene Baker, the man who pushed through the Marias Massacre of 1870, where over 200 Piegan Blackfeet human beings were butchered. Baker approaches Aaron in the guise of friendship, but he recognizes Baker as a threat not only to the living but somehow also a threat to Fannie Mae.

Friends question how much supernatural involvement can be directly related to the mental distress Aaron is going through. Aaron subscribes to the belief some of James Lee Burke’s other characters do; his Dave Robicheaux has said he does not believe we all come from the same gene pool, there are monsters among us lying in wait to commit any kind of atrocity. In this respect Aaron is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in “No Country for Old Men,” a man at a loss for what society has become, what evil it is capable of. In the Preface, Burke states “...I also believe the Garden of Eden is within our grasp…That’s what this book is about. Some scars never leave us. But scars can’t break us; only we can do that. As Ernest Hemingway said, the world is a fine place and worth the fighting for.” (Quote taken from the ARC), At 85 years old, Aaron Holland Broussard is not giving in to evil, though. He may be demoralized by the loss of his daughter, but he can not turn his back and let that evil stand.

The constant throb throughout the novel is the pain of Aaron’s loss. Author James Lee Burke lost his own daughter Pamela a year prior to the book’s writing and the torment is real in these pages. In the acknowledgements he thanks her, saying she literally helped him write the last few pages.

This is a magnificent book, easily one of his best. We can all be grateful this master is still delivering at the top of his game. Thank you Simon & Schuster, NetGalley, and James Lee Burke for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nature of Evil is to destroy. The Nature of Humanity is to provide a stalwart and unwavering front that annihilates those seeds that grind their way into the hearts of the good.

Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a raw response by James Lee Burke in presenting the seeping stains and the sharp-ended aftermath of loss and profound grief. The world takes on a far different hue when your soul reflects the finality of death. Burke allows us into those private corners after the loss of his daughter, Pamala, in July of 2020. He threads his way into this novel with his mourning on the march. The storyline carries a heavy heart towards the sunrise instead of lingering forever in the dusk.

Aaron Holland Broussard has lived in many places in his eighty-five years, but the Bitteroots Valley near Lolo, Montana is where his ranch stretches for acres. Broussard made his living as a successful writer. He wants for nothing. But the void within is the loss of his daughter, Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae was a lively soul who surrounded herself with animals and whatever she desired in the moment. Sometimes he catches a glimpse of her here and there. Goodness seems to stick around.

One morning Broussard notices a Nazi swastika painted on the side of his barn. He knows who is responsible. John Culpepper and his son, Leigh, finally admitted it. Broussard calls the state police and Officer Ruby Spotted Horse shows up. And here is where the Gates of Evil will swing open and the subcultures will fly through. Broussard and Ruby work together as the bottom feeders of life reveal themselves in many forms......and not all of them are human. Fannie Mae will step forward as she warns her father of what is to come......the past, the present, and the fear of the future.

Every Cloak Rolled in Blood packs and unpacks the crimes against humanity at large and the personal impact of individual cruelty against one another. Reflection never comes to the evil doers. They seem to be on auto-drive. But Burke also lines this one with the edges of hope even though his own great personal loss would be expected to cloud it. He refers to it as "on the other side of the veil". The last few pages of this novel are written so profoundly from one who has sat surrounded in grief, but who chose to move forward even on unsteady feet. A remarkable read.

I received a copy of this novel through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to the highly talented James Lee Burke for the opportunity.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this earlier this month but I've found it difficult to adequately describe how I feel about this author and this book. He is my favorite author and the very real pain he feels about the death of his daughter is transferred to this book. Aaron Broussard is now 85, living in Montana and finds himself unable to move on from the death of his daughter, Fannie May. He comes face with pure evil in many different forms from White Supremacists to so called Evangelists. Then there is the evil that lives in another world but has been unleashed, to once again reenact previous horrors.
Pretty much many of the things we are now dealing with. So much violence. Tragedies.

Can evil outlive its time? Mark the earth with it's horror? Leave an indelible stain in the places were it happened?

"Some scars never leave us. But scars can't break us, only we can do that."

""Evil can only function if it has a host."

"I'm tired of pandemics and sleazy politicians and stupid people who refuse to put on a mask.Im tired of greed and wars and people ruining the planet. I'd like to go where people have never been and stay there the rest of my life."

Mr. Burke, I wholeheartedly agree.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review first posted on MysteryandSuspense.com

On the author’s own website he’s posted a tribute to his late daughter, Pamela, who died in July 2020. It’s an extraordinarily moving piece, the absolute pain and despair experienced by a parent losing one of their children is manifest here. It’s no coincidence that in this book, his latest, the major character is a writer of the same age (85) living in the part of America Burke has now made his home and who is also grieving the recent loss of a daughter. The similarities go further: an upbringing in southern Louisiana and a long term struggle with alcohol (the dirty boogie, as he calls it) also feature in both of their lives. So when the publicity for this book states that it’s Burke’s most personal novel it’s easy to see the truth in this claim.

This is his thirteenth novel featuring a member of the Holland family. On this occasion we catch up again with Aaron Holland Broussard, who was first introduced to us in Another Kind of Eden. Aaron now lives on a large plot of land outside of Lolo, a small town in Missoula County, Montana. It appears from the start that his mind is somewhat scrambled by the loss of his daughter, Fanny Mae, and when he spots a young man spray painting a swastika on his barn door and shortly after intercepts a pair of brothers as they attempt to break into his house a chain of events is set in motion that, it seems, will ensure that things can only end badly.

There are rumours that a drug running killer known as Jimmie the Digger is operating in the area and soon one dead body turns up and then another. We meet a cast of characters, including the ex-Klansman father of the boy who painted the symbol on Broussard’s barn, each more unhelpful, unfriendly or downright threatening than the last. Even the local state trooper who calls on Aaron in relation to the barn incident appears distracted and dismissive. It seems that there’s no room for softness and empathy in this place, everyone has sharp elbows and hurtful words. Humour is a stranger here.

JLB is adept at exploring the history and origins of human cruelty and in the telling of this tale there are references to historical events that took place in Dachau, Nanking, Hiroshima, at Big Hole and on Pork Chop Hill. But the slaughter he refers to most often is that carried out on this piece of land in 1870 by a band of American soldiers. Led by Colonel Eugene Baker, the troops massacred a group of Piegan Blackfeet Indians on the Marias River. It turns out that the trooper who visited Broussard earlier, Ruby Spotted Horse, is a descendent of one of those killed that day.

As events unfolded I confess that I found it hard to interpret some scenes. Visions of new meetings with his daughter started to invade Broussard’s mind and as he, at last, seemed to have found an ally in Ruby he discovered that monsters from the past inhabit her basement. Are Aaron’s meetings with Fanny Mae a result of psychosis brought on by the medication he’s taking to fight anxiety and depression? Such events might be explained away thus, but as the supernatural became ever more integrated with what might be considered ‘real life’ it started to feel increasingly like viewing a Picasso painting: I thought I knew what I was looking at but I wasn’t quite sure.

The writing, as ever with this author, is wonderful. Words are placed with precision, creating amazingly colourful and highly textured images. The predominant feeling evoked here is that of the rawness, the utter sadness and the desperation experienced by Aaron resulting from the loss of his daughter, and of course this is an achingly personal emotion for the author. How readers feel about the way in which the story is told will, I believe, depend on their reaction to the metaphysical elements in play here. It’s a device Burke has used sparingly in the past but more extensively of late. Yet, for those who are able to embrace this style and can decipher the puzzle he presents, such is the power of this book that they might feel it is actually amongst the best he’s written.

My thanks to a Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Cathrine ☯️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ★
"I try to control my feelings. People of my generation have few confidants, because there are fewer and fewer people who understand the America we grew up in."

I had to think on this one a bit. It's not what some might be expecting. JLB is grieving the loss of his daughter and the state of our disunion.

"There's things I just don't understand, he says. The way the world is. The way nothing adds up."

Burke's of an age where he has things to say as his time here on earth is running out, and being the gifted writer he is, has an almost unworldly way with his communication, his prose as ever, so sublime. He is self-indulgent and very personal in the telling here. This is obviously his most autobiographical novel to date and one some may have issues with.
I think I'll want to revisit this on audio for the sheer pleasure of listening to Will Patton's stellar narration of some of the best writing out there.

P.S. I'm adding a link my friend Laura shared with me where Jim shares his thoughts on losing his daughter Pamala and the writing of this book. Worth reading if you plan to get to this one.

https://www.jamesleeburke.com/a-lette...

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Every Cloak Rolled In Blood' is the 4th book in James Lee Burke's 'Holland Family Saga', and is the writer's most autobiographical novel to date. Burke's daughter Pamela died of natural causes in 2020, causing Burke and his wife profound grief and sorrow. The author transfers some of that heartache to the lead character in this book, 85-year-old Aaron Holland Broussard. As the story opens, Broussard has lost his 54-year-old daughter Fannie Mae in very sad circumstances, and would do anything to see her again.

Aaron Holland Broussard lives on a ranch in Missoula, Montana, near the Flathead Reservation.



Broussard has an eclectic background. He grew up in Louisiana and Texas, fought in the Korean War, studied journalism, and eventually became a successful fiction writer. Many of Broussard's books have been adapted into films, and he's now a wealthy man. Being a 'liberal Hollywood bigwig' puts Broussard on the radar of his far-right Montana neighbors, who don't want him in their midst.

As the story opens, a red Ford-150 pulls into Broussard's yard.....



......and a gangly teenage boy jumps out, paints a swastika on Aaron's barn door, pees in Broussard's cattle guard, and hops back in the truck.



As the vehicle - which has an older man in the passenger seat - drives away, the boy shoots Broussard the bird and shouts, "You don't belong here. Go somewhere else."

Broussard calls 911 and State Trooper Ruby Spotted Horse arrives to take a report.



Thirtysomething Ruby - who seems taken with Aaron - says he looks younger than his age and resembles the actor Sam Shephard.



Ruby tells Broussard to stay away from the white supremacists, who mule meth and may have something to do with the many murdered and missing Montana Indian women.

Aaron tracks down the duo that defaced his property, who turn out to be John Fenimore Culpepper - a former imperial wizard in the Alabama Klan, and Culpepper's son Leigh.





Broussard says he won't file charges against the culprits if they repaint his barn door, but daddy Culpepper has an attitude, and Broussard struggles to contain his temper. Aaron suffers from blackouts, during which he becomes belligerent and violent, and he fights to keep a rein on his anger, to avoid killing someone.

Broussard stops by Ruby Spotted Horse's house to tell her about the Culpeppers, and hears loud bangs and thuds coming from a locked basement door.



Ruby tries to blow it off, but finally admits that evil spirits called the 'Old People' are in her cellar, and they mean to harm living people. The worst of the bunch is the ghost of Major Eugene Baker, a commander in the U.S. cavalry who led a massacre of the Blackfeet Indians - including women, children, infants, and the elderly - in 1870. Moreover, for malevolent reasons of his own, Major Baker makes it his business to personally haunt Broussard.



Meanwhile, Broussard's wish to see his daughter Fannie Mae comes to pass, as her wraith comes back to comfort her dad and to advise him about dealing with the malicious ghosts.



Broussard experiences additional 'living people' trouble when he sees two young brothers, Clayton and Jack Wetzel, sneak onto his property with guns and a hammer....probably planning to kill him.



Aaron catches and disarms the boys, then - thinking they had a terrible childhood - gives them a break and lets them go. Aaron even gives Jack a job on the ranch, fixing fences, chopping wood, etc.

Things in the region escalate as several people are brutally murdered, perhaps by humans; perhaps by spectres. In addition, Broussard starts to see visions of the past, like his brutal killing of an enemy soldier during the Korean war - which still haunts him; the Blackfeet Indians futilely trying to escape from Major Baker's murderous troops; and more.



In addition, Aaron broods about the baser instincts of humanity, as demonstrated by the historic treatment of slaves; people's refusal to wear masks during the pandemic; corrupt politicians; white supremacy; and so on.

Over the course of the story, Broussard interacts with many people, including Missoula Sheriff Jeremiah McNally, who blows off Aaron's tale about evil spirits and suggests Aaron is mentally ill;



tribal policeman Ray Bronson - Ruby Spotted Horse's jealous ex-husband, who she describes as a dirty cop and the most selfish person she's ever known;



Sister Ginny Stokes - pastor of a church that caters to drug-selling bikers;



Jimmie Kale - a murderous drug lord who's said to bury people alive; and more.



On the lighter side, Ruby Spotted Horse and Aaron have a romantic attraction, despite the difference in their ages.

The story builds to a compelling climax that wraps things up in a satisfactory fashion.

In addition to being a deft hand at characterization, Burke's talent for depicting landscape and atmosphere is unrivalled. For instance, describing Pablo, Montana, Aaron notes, "The vastness of the country, the enormity of the Mission Mountains, is literally breathtaking. The ranches, particularly the old ones with giant slat barns, seem miniaturized and clinging to the earth."



And talking about an outing with Ruby Spotted Horse, Broussard notes, "We...pop out on a vista that makes you dizzy. Down below is a lake that resembles a blue teardrop among evergreen forests that roll over hills as far as the eye can see."



James Lee Burke says this is the best book he's ever written. I'm not sure about that since I'm a big fan of Burke's Detective Dave Robicheaux series. Nevertheless, this is a good story, well worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley, James Lee Burke, and Simon and Shuster for a copy of the book.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com

[Dave Marsland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crikey. This was my first James Lee Burke novel and it won't be the last. In a world obsessed with stupidity and celebrities who do their dirty washing in public, this is humbling. Symbolic, biblical, it's a history lesson that few want to know about. I took no umbrage. It's no secret that the author's daughter passed away recently and this novel is in some part autobiographical. It's said that before you die your life flashes past you. This is an 85yr old man who is doing that slowly. The worst possible thing has happened to him and he's at the place when he realises that "freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose". Written against the magnificent backdrop of Montana, it's powerful and dignified.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I close my eyes and see through the hole into a blue sky that offers no respite and is filled with the cacophony and the fury of carrion birds, like a dirty infection of the firmament itself.”

Aaron Holland Broussard is an 85 year old novelist whose daughter Fannie Mae has recently died. Aaron is overwhelmed with grief and struggling to cope. When a swastika is painted on his door, State Trooper Ruby Spotted Horse responds to his call. Although Ruby is about 30 years younger than Aaron the two share an attraction (an eye-roll-inducing bit of male vanity). In her cellar, Ruby has secrets that are linked to two subsequent murders and Aaron becomes entangled in them. The book also deals with meth dealers, white supremacists and war crimes. Approaching the end of his life, Aaron sees the possibility for salvation in some people who really seem unredeemable

As usual, the author’s writing is beautiful and his meditations on good and evil in the world are particularly heartfelt in this book. I had both the audio book and the ebook. Unfortunately, the audio book does not have the letter to readers at the beginning of the book. That is a shame, because in it the author explains why he writes generally and why he wrote this book specifically. His daughter died in 2020 and he eloquently describes what that loss meant to his family and to the world. He believes that this is his best book. I don’t agree with that assessment.

The book is good, but it was way over the top with the supernatural [the author does not agree that they are supernatural] details that appear to a much lesser extent in some of the author’s other books. There is a whole army of ghostly soldiers and Fannie Mae appears frequently to advise her father. I didn’t like the ghosts in the author’s other books, and I don’t like them any better here. “Wayfaring Stranger” remains my favorite book about the Holland family.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

In what James Lee Burke has called his most personal novel, art imitates life. Aaron Holland Broussard is a wealthy author who has relocated from Louisiana to a small place outside Lolo, Montana, itself a small town outside Missoula. As we find Aaron, he is deep in mourning for his daughter, Fannie Mae who died suddenly not long before, whose passing he can’t accept. Everything I have written here can equally apply to Mr. Burke who also has migrated across country and north to Montana, who also has lost a daughter within the past two years. No parent ever thinks to mourn their child.

With this as background, the story takes on many issues of today, and the past, and likely of the future, hard problems this country has been trying to deal with for a long time and Burke’s novels have never shied away from. But here in the conservative northwest Aaron is facing tormentors who bait him because of his success, because he hasn’t joined them. And he has conflict with race baiters, some who appear as evangelical, and then there are the others…those from beyond.

Burke has been incorporating the supernatural/spiritual realm and religious elements increasingly in recent books and now it is a major element. For the spiritual world crosses into Aaron’s world repeatedly throughout this novel in ways that I found exhilarating and exciting, while also somber and sometimes frightening. The distant past tries to return at times and Aaron Broussard wonders what he can do. And yes, the ghost of Fannie Mae does appear and talk with him. He doubts his sanity at times. But he keeps trying to do the right thing, help the good people.

His struggle is hard, but I don’t want to give too many details. As always, the prose is wonderful with lush descriptions of the country, the weather, sun rising and setting, and of Aaron’s innermost experiences.

I do recommend this book highly. Some who have had difficulty with Burke’s incorporation of the spiritual, almost mystical, in his stories, might be slowed but I encourage giving it a try. After all, 85 year old Aaron took on a whole lot more.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Jeremy Peers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how to describe what I just read . When I read the description for James Lee Burke's newest Aaron Holland Broussard book, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood, I was hesitant to even start it. Ghosts/supernatural topics would be near the bottom of genres I'd want to read but I enjoyed the previous book, Another Kind of Eden so much I decided to give it a go.

Set 60ish years after Another Kind of Eden, 85 year old Broussard is reeling from the death of his daughter, Fannie Mae. Broussard is an accomplished author but has had run-ins with Neo-Nazis, meth dealers/users, a Klansman, a biker gang and the evil spirits of soldiers from 200 years ago. His only ally is a state cop named Ruby Spotted Horse, who has her own secrets and dealings with the supernatural. Broussard is so overcome with grief he sees and talks to the ghost of his daughter throughout the book, always worried she will disappear and his link to her will be severed. A final supernatural showdown between good and evil will have Broussard fighting for his life.

Burke, grieving the recent loss of his daughter, has written a beautiful story that radiates love and heartbreak from each page. Each word is carefully placed, creating a style that is poetic and elegant that makes the reader feel like they are standing next to the characters. Do not let the supernatural element deter you from reading Every Cloak Rolled in Blood. It is that good.

My sincere thanks to James Lee Burke, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of Every Cloak Rolled in Blood.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best known for his Dave Robicheaux series, Burke has also published thirteen novels in his Holland family saga, tracing American history through the lens of one family. We first met Aaron Holland Broussard in Another Kind of Eden, set in 1962. In Every Cloak Rolled in Blood, Burke, who lost his daughter, offers us an Aaron Broussard, sixty years after the events in Another Kind of Eden, now a cantankerous old man grieving the loss of his daughter. Living in Montana, after success as a novelist, Broussard is out of his mind with grief, seeing his daughter Fannie wherever he looks, whatever he does, talking to her constantly. He also talks to a troop of soldiers who marched through these lands over a hundred years earlier, committing massacres on the Native Americans they followed.

Filled with poetic paragraphs and stinging philosophical meanderings, this novel doesn’t follow the regular expository pattern of storytelling, but instead gallops this way and that in fits and starts. Broussard connects the disconnected people he meets and they all seem off in the wilderness from the deputy sheriff who believes she is the guardian at the gate of hell to the ex-Klansman to the drug dealer to the other broken people running headlong into each other. You can feel the depth of emotion leap from the page and Broussard’s never-ending pain, but again it’s not your classic expository story.

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest James Lee Burke novel was obviously written as a form of catharsis, following the death of his daughter Pamala, to whom this book is dedicated.
This is the fourth novel featuring novelist Aaron Holland Broussard, who is now 85 and living alone at a ranch in Montana, following the sudden death of his daughter Fanny Mae. As with the author’s previous novels, it features a cast list of villains unique to the U.S.A: a former Klansman trying to atone for his past, a sexually voracious female minister, a biker club posing as evangelicals and a drug overlord who seems to be able to move around freely at will. Aaron’s only ally appears to be state trooper Ruby Spotted Horse, but even she has some powerful secrets.
Whilst, in many ways, a typical James Lee Burke novel with the familiar themes of brutal American history and written in his trademark elegant, almost classical prose style, this novel has far more supernatural elements than any of his previous. Although earlier novels such as “In The Electric Mist” and “Cimarron Rose” had supernatural elements, they didn’t dominate the entire novel as is the case here. It’s also considerably shorter than its predecessors, although it’s quality that matters, not quantity, and there’s certainly plenty of that.
There’s a definite valedictory tone to the final chapters and it looks as if it’s the end of the line for Aaron Holland Broussard, although, hopefully, not for James Lee Burke.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially I had thought that this story was a mystery / suspense story but having read it I don't think this is the case. Rather I think it belongs under literaure / fiction. At a stretch there is some suspense. I found it more about love, family and grief.

The story takes place in Montana where author Aaron Holland Broussard is struggling with the sudden death of his daughter Fannie Mae. Struggling is the key word. Her spirit appears to him throughout the story as he attempts to save two young men from a life of crime. Along the journey he encounters a former Klasman, members of a biker club and their not so holy minister, and another spirit associated with atrocities that were committed against Native Americans under the guise of military duty. Actually there are many spirits that appear to Aaron in his grief. His closest ally is state police officer Ruby Spotted Horse who has secrets in her cellar.

It would seem that there are others, spirits or flesh and blood, who want to draw Aaron into their world of evil. Fannie Mae has not moved on yet to wherever people go after death. Instead she has been given an extension and appears so that she can guide him and save him from his foes. Optimistically I would say this is the story about the power of love and family.

[Carmel Hanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

I was warned this might not be a book I'd enjoy, but my GR friends' reviews and the blurb hooked me, so I gave it a listen on audible. I found it pretty gripping.

There's a lot that goes on in this Montana town engaging you on a surface level...violence, drugs, white supremacy, perverted religiosity, supernatural appearances by the dead, all of which would be quite enough to keep the average reader interested. And if it was only that, it might not have been of as much interest to me. But...

Beyond those basics were themes that always keep me intellectually stimulated; the eternal battle between good and evil, the question of where evil comes from (does it lie on a continuum in us all or is it a special diabolical incarnation of DNA?), how is a life measured in the end, where do we go when we die and do we all go to the same place or are there layers in other dimensions we can become trapped in, what kind of legacy do we leave behind, can what one dimension holds spill through to another?

This was my first Burke, so I had nothing to compare it to, leaving me free from any preconceived ideas. This novel offered an interesting plot, diverse and believable characters, and was packed with emotional content. There are some who might say Burke offered too much "preaching" in this story. IMHO a man who has reportedly written 60 plus books and reached the age of 85 and suffered the loss of a daughter has earned the right to say anything he wants, any way he wants to. But, maybe it's because I found myself resonating strongly with his philosophical points.

[Larry Fontenot · Rating 2 out of 5]

A blurb calls this book “James Lee Burke’s most autobiographical novel.” I can understand that he has based the character Fannie Mae Broussard on his own daughter, Pamala, who died in 2020. But I hate to think that one of the best writers in America has descended into an obsession with the past, whether the War Between the States or Pork Chop Hill. And that his main character is content with violence and discussions with the dead. I recently swore off the Robicheaux books because I’ve finally tired of Dave and Clete alternatively being violent men and then finding excuses for their violence. The last Aaron Broussard book ended with Aaron’s weapon turning into a snake. Something is seriously amiss with this turn in JLB’s perception of what is normal. I wish he would stop it. Sometimes I think Burke is just pulling our legs, as when he writes, “At four-twenty every morning I wake and have no idea where or who I am.” Everyone knows that the number 420 is associated with smoking dope. Other times he appears to be deadly serious. The man is unquestionably one of the finest prose writers, engineering elegant paragraphs of beauty and observation, creating characters that break your heart. But Burke seems beyond all that now, working to find a seam of belated redemption, finding helpmates in the dead. The dialogue seems more like Dave/Clete, and that’s not good. Too many passages dribble off into nonsense, and JLB seems to feel this is indicative of the meaningless of life, rather than applying his keen sense of life to examine his obvious loss of grip on true fate, where people make do and get it done, rather than wallow in sanctimonious drivel. Yep, JLB is getting older, but his skills are still powerful. But his intentions seem to have turn to spiritualism, drumming up cardboard figures to fit his outrage, talking to the dead to find companionship. Yes, his homage to his daughter is wonderful and sympathetic, and no one can doubt the importance presence she had in his life and the lives of many other people. But the whole book seems to be an extended death wish.

[Lou Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD by James Lee Burke
Publication: 5/24/2022 by Simon & Schuster


A marvelously written gem in the Holland family saga. Eighty-five-year-old author Aaron Holland Broussard is living a solitary existence on his Montana ranch, as he is poorly coping with the all too early death of his beloved daughter, Fannie Mae. His grief is continually fractured and complicated by being immersed in the evils of both earthly and supernatural villains. As customary with Burke’s writing, he will explore many weighty problems effecting our society: social injustice (both present and past), racism, drugs and the most personal … loss of a child. He easily accomplishes his goals with lyrical and poetic prose, and character development that rivals any living novelist.
The initial insult is a Swastika painted on his barn by a boy under the guidance of his father (a former Klan member). His 911 call brings the ethereal beautiful young state trooper, Ruby Spotted Horse to his front door. She appears to be the only person Aaron can trust, and yet, she appears to be the Guardian of a score of malevolent spirits, entrenched and locked in her basement. Earthly and supernatural sinners pile up on his doorstep …. two young brothers, involved in the drug trade … a Klan member guilty of indiscriminate killing … false preachers … and a drug trafficker and killer. Interspersed accompanying his travails are apparitions{?} of Fannie Mae, offering advice or warnings, while Aaron “sees” historical reenactments of the evils and massacre of the indigenous people. Along the way, Burke manages to lament regarding the pandemic, masks, social-distancing, BLM, and white supremacists. But, by far the most moving element is the visceral feeling of trying to cope with the loss of a child. There is no amount of superlatives that does justice to this heart rendering tale and tribute to the loss of his own beloved daughter.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. As always…. I can hardly wait for Burke’s next novel.

[D.B. Woodling · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 Stars

When Author Aaron Broussard loses his beloved daughter, Fannie Mae, he struggles with protracted, overwhelming grief amid the animosity of a murdering drug dealer, a minister more aligned with hell than heaven, and a ghoulish nineteenth-century apparition with a history of atrocities committed against Native Americans under the guise of military duty.

Utterly alone in a world turned brutally cruel, Broussard seeks the assistance of Ruby Spotted Horse, a state police officer, when vandals graffiti his barn and he suspects their malicious intent will only escalate. Embracing Fannie Mae’s simultaneous and sporadic visitations, he’s convinced of her immortality and determined she never move on without him.

Ripe with primal emotion and a delicious supernatural undercurrent, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a tantalizing suspense-paranormal hybrid that managed to hold my interest (once I rose above the derisive and unwelcome political sprinklings). I had to know: What resided in Ruby’s basement, and what would happen if someone released those entities on the world? Was Fannie Mae’s impromptu presence merely the result of a medication-induced psychosis, perpetuated by Aaron’s paralyzing grief? The author answers those questions satisfactorily without destroying the magic that defines a fulfilling supernatural work. Written with a talented veteran’s skill, Burke gives readers an unforgettable novel, and I highly recommend this most recent offering.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I immediately followed with this book after reading Another Kind of Eden where the protagonist is the young Aaron Broussard. We now are presented with the 85 year old Aaron. From the first page, I see JLB clearly as Aaron. A little background, JLB lost a daughter before writing this book. The plot is intense but the honesty and emotional torment the reader is allowed to experience is unique. One minute it's dark and the next minute you are choked up with emotion. The descriptions of Montana, the South, social injustice, evil vs good, faith, nature, politics, drugs are all there but not once did I think JLB was crossing a line, preaching or standing on a soap box. Kicking off 2023 with a book like this is a gift. Definitely going on my favorite shelf and I think this may be my favorite JLB book to date.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD
by James Lee Burke
Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: May 24

Dare I admit that this is my first James Lee Burke book? How can I have missed him?

Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is drawn in part from his life, as MC Aaron Holland, a novelist, grieves the death of his daughter, Fannie Mae.

He tries to prevent two young men from ruining their lives through crime in an opioid-addicted town, and in so doing, encounters earthly and supernatural forces.

Amid the violence there are gorgeous passages, deftly penned characters, dialogue that rings true, and a narrative that won't let you go. A gripping story I'm sure glad I didn't miss and I recommend you don't either.

Thanks to the author, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#EveryCloakRolledInBlood
#JamesLeeBurke #SimonSchuster #NetGalley #fictionbyamasterwriter #novelbasedonauthorslife #griefinfiction
#goodandevilinfiction #supernaturalforces
#myfirstjamesleeburkebutnotmylast
#bookstagramcommunity

[Lauri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another one of my favorite authors went woke. I don't care what their political beliefs are, but I don't want to read a novel about them.

[Sherril · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 enlightened ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ for
the audiobook version of Every Cloak Rolled in Blood by James Lee Burke, narrated by Will Patton, who for me is the alter-ego of the author himself. In the author’s own words, “Every Cloak Rolled In Blood” is by far my best, even though I feel that another hand wrote it for me.” That’s saying a lot, considering he’s written forty novels and two short story collections. The book is number 4 of the Holland family saga and takes place in Montana, where the author lives.

Every review you come across, be it here on Goodreads or out there in the literary world, will include some variation of “Every Cloak Rolled in Blood, is, perhaps, his most personal.” Personal indeed due to the fact that he wrote it after the death of his beloved daughter, Pamala Burke McDavid. Such a death is by far the very worst thing that can happen to any parent and the depth of Burke’s grief and despair is revealed on every page of the book, which is narrated by the main character, Aaron Hollland Broussard who has recently suffered the loss of his daughter, Fanny-May.

As with all of Burke’s books (I have read almost all of them, including his short story collection, Jesus Out to Sea, which he personally recommended to me in a correspondence we had many moons ago), Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is steeped in the themes of evil, salvation, injustice and the battle for truth, peace and virtue. In this book specifically, Burke connects the personal trauma of the protagonist, Aaron Hollland Broussard with our National trauma, i.e. genocide of Native Americans by the White Man. The book specifically explores
the Baker Massacre, which occurred Jan. 23, 1870, when the U.S. 2nd Cavalry, led by Maj. Eugene Baker massacred 173 men, women and children, members of the Blackfeet Nation. The author’s references to man’s inhumanity to man do not stop with Native Americans, but the Holocaust, the Klu Klux Klan, the sin of slavery are also threaded into the text. The title of the novel, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood is a reference to the Bible, Isaiah 9:5 ►
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

In telling this story, Burke enters the world of the supernatural which allows him to bring his daughter, Fanny-May, back into his life and keep her there, at least for a time. I accepted this, though I am not generally a reader of that genre, because it made it easier to connect past historical events and people with one’s present.

James Lee Burke, whose books I categorize as Literary Crime Fiction (with the emphasis on literary), has already finished a new book called The Mysterious Obsession of Hannah Leveau. It takes place in Louisiana during the Civil War, 1862-1863. Burke said in an interview, “it’s a really great book, one that I’m very proud of”. I, for one, look forward to reading it (JLB is 85), followed by the next and the next and the….

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Lee Burke has created another spellbinding novel and hit it out of the park. Having read all of his Dave Robicheaux series, I’m familiar with his frequent themes especially good vs evil and always a hint of the mystical, and/or supernatural. Now I’m finding more of the same in the Holland family series, of which this is number 4. Aaron Holland Broussard is a novelist in his 80s who lives in Montana and recently lost a beloved daughter (for author Burke, who also lost a daughter recently, this story is deeply personal). Broussard forms an alliance with a young Indian woman as seemingly everything else around him goes haywire. The supernatural world of the dead coexists with that of the living and Broussard tries to make sense of it all.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always considered James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux thrillers to be one of the best crime series on the market today. His latest masterpiece, EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD, reads like a stand-alone novel but is actually the fourth entry in his epic Holland family saga.

As 85-year-old novelist Aaron Holland Broussard gazes out at the horizon from the veranda of his Montana ranch house, this tranquil moment is interrupted by a red Ford F-150 that pulls up to his driveway. A young man jumps from the rear tailgate and proceeds to paint a swastika on his barn door, urinate in his cattle guard, and return to the truck as he and another individual speed off while flipping Aaron the bird. He has no idea who these people are or why they performed such a lewd act on his property, but he is determined to find out.

State Trooper Ruby Spotted Horse takes Aaron’s statement and is convinced that the men he describes are white supremacists --- a father and his son who live in the area. He also shares that he is mourning the recent death of his daughter, Fannie Mae. Because she was such a kind, giving person and lover of all things --- especially animals --- he tries to go out of his way to continue her good work. He goes into town and confronts John Fenimore Culpepper, the father of the boy who vandalized his property. He agrees not to press charges if they repaint his barn. From what Aaron can tell, Culpepper assumed he was a rich Hollywood type, which is where the former Klansman’s hatred of him comes from.

Aaron spends his nights at his ranch contemplating suicide while crying out for Fannie Mae, hoping for a sign that she might be listening. His wish will come true in a most unexpected way after he visits Ruby at her house. While there, he hears what sounds like a huge force slamming against the cellar door. When he goes to investigate, he only finds some broken bottles of preserves. According to Ruby, they exploded due to spontaneous combustion. But he doesn’t buy that explanation, especially when he picks up a note from the floor that looks like it came from a child. Whoever wrote it is begging for help.

Aaron learns from Ruby that her special cellar is a portal to another world --- that of the dead. He is far more open to believing this as Fannie Mae now regularly visits him and interacts with him throughout the rest of the novel, making for some remarkably powerful scenes. He also is concerned that there may have been someone in Ruby’s basement, so he goes to tribal police headquarters to inquire about that. Ironically, he speaks to Ray Bronson, who just happens to be Ruby’s ex-husband. Bronson thinks she is crazy and that her cellar is just a cellar.

This visit will get back to Ruby, who confronts Aaron and confesses not only what is going on in her cellar, but what is coming soon to the area. A great reckoning of Old People, as she refers to them, are returning to the earth in the form of Major Eugene Baker, an infamous killer of Native Americans. He was responsible for what became known as the Marias Massacre in 1870, and his spirit has returned to Montana to infect the land and certain inhabitants of the Bitterroot region.

What transpires in the final third of the book is quite trippy and at times will question the boundaries of reality for both readers and all the characters involved in this tense narrative. At one point, Ruby shows Aaron a running video on her TV that appears to show scenes of nonstop violent events throughout history, even episodes from his own experiences during the war. A judgment is coming to the area; the blood-soaked, smoke-scorched Montana earth will leave no one unscathed and few alive to tell the tale of what they witnessed. The finale needs to be experienced and goes far beyond what can be described here.

EVERY CLOAK ROLLED IN BLOOD is a deep, soulful, spiritual novel that is unlike anything I have ever read by James Lee Burke. It also blends moments of sheer supernatural terror in ways I never expected. The publisher’s About the Book copy states that this is Burke’s most autobiographical novel to date. If that is indeed the case, then he has led a far more interesting life than any of us ever suspected.

Reviewed by Ray Palen

[Scott Nickels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a few days ago I wrote a short review of James Lee Burke’s previous novel “Another Kind of Eden” where I proclaimed the brilliance in Burke’s writing. Thus due to the kindness of NetGalley I got the opportunity to read Burke’s latest work entitled “Every Cloak Rolled In Blood.” This new story has been described by Mr. Burke as his most biographical as well as a homage to his daughter, who passed away a year or so ago far too young.
I would like to give a couple sentence review of his new book and tell all of you how fantastic this latest novel is from the “master.” However, for the first time (perhaps ever) I cannot automatically give “Every Cloak Rolled In Blood” five stars. I feel as if JLB has channeled his inner Stephen King as the supernatural undertones that have been emerging in his recent works has “broken out” and taken over his narrative. As we begin reading we renter the world of the Holland family that we have encountered in several previous works and meet Aaron Holland Broussard, now an eighty-five year old man, long-time widower, now a famous and wealthy writer in deep pain from his recent loss of his beloved daughter. Broussard gets involved with a whole host of unsavory types, some alive, others ghosts, and some that start the story alive but renter the saga as ghosts.
Other reviews have already been posted that describe the weird goings-on on and around Broussard’s expansive ranch in rural Montana. Though all sorts of activities take place the dominant narrative is the passionate, heart-breaking conversation between Broussard and his ghostly recently deceased daughter Fanny Mae. Having buried two of my three children my heart goes out to Broussard/ Burke. I am able to look past his righteous indignation at those of us on the other side of the political spectrum ( didn’t know we conservatives are That Evil but…)
But having read all of Mr. Burke’s Dave Robicheaux detective series I had hoped the story would not trip across the line from detective/mystery/family saga to fantasy. I have read all the five star reviews and am sad to be in the minority this time: I am glad to have read “Every Cloak Rolled In Blood” but can only give this novel three lonely stars.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extraordinarily heartbreaking story. In the intro, we learn that the author used his own grief in this story and it’s absolutely heartrending – especially reading this as a parent.

Long time readers of the author may be surprised at the paranormal elements to the story, but they’re well done and present a truly fascinating backdrop to our plot.

The white supremacist angle of the book is unfortunately timely. However, I want to be honest: as a reader/reviewer of color, I’m dead sick of being asked to have the grace to understand racists. I don’t care about their pasts and I don’t find them complex – in real life or in literature. This aspect of the book was challenging for me because I don’t care to understand them or focus on the not-so-bad aspects of their personalities. For example, the fact that Hitler had a dog, doesn’t negate everything else he was.

But the book is good. I loved our main character and would love to know him in real life. Our crimes were fascinating and the history that played into everything even more so. And the grief and mourning throughout the book was palpable.

I do think this one will stay with me.

*ARC via Publisher

[Kathleen Minde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every Cloak Rolled In Blood is James Lee Burke’s most personal novel to date. Drawing from elements from his own life, Every Cloak Rolled In Blood is raw and bitter and heartbreaking. The main character, Aaron Broussard, is almost a mirror image of Burke: famous writer, recovering alcoholic, eighty-five year-old expat from Louisiana, also mourning the death of his own daughter. Set in rural Montana, where Burke also owns a home, the story deals with the politics of racism and drugs, ghastly murders, disenfranchised youth, the pain of growing older, and Broussard’s ambiguous comfort at seeing and talking to the ghost of his dead daughter, Fannie Mae. As usual, Burke’s writing is beautiful and full of philosophical exposition, his anger at the world quite apparent.

The details were so real-life there were times I had to remind myself the MC was Broussard, not Burke. And as Broussard tries to solve the murder of a young man and a waitress-while trying to save the souls of characters I found base and irredeemable-I also had to remind myself Broussard was a writer, not a detective. As the eighty five year-old putters about his ranch carrying a gun, talking to ghosts, reminiscing about the war, and flirting with the deputy fifty years his junior (major eye roll there because this is not Burke’s first time) the story spins its wheels. Some of the character arcs were flat, or meandering, or unnecessary. Maybe I’m used to Burke’s usual detective series’ storylines and allowed that to cloud my perspective. I did enjoy Broussard’s conversations with the deceased Fannie Mae-they were touching, haunting, even amusing at times-and his interactions with the ghost of the army major responsible for Indian massacre in 1877 were interesting, but the paranormal aspect felt like another story altogether.

Kudos to Burke for poking fun at his age and use of colloquialisms found in his other novels (“dropped a dime” is my favorite). I have great respect for a man able to finish anything, much less a major novel, after the death of a child. While it’s not his best work, it is his most personal. His anger at the world, at the present-day political situation and unchecked racism in our country, at the unfair hand life dealt him last year, is palpable. Success and wealth mean nothing to a man in his situation, whether real-life or fictional, and that made the end of this book even more heartbreaking. At eighty-five, this might be his last book.

(A big thank you to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review)

[Chris Haught · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an eARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley.

As with the previous novel, Another Kind of Eden, I was pulled in by the description. Honestly, had I managed to read the other book before this one became available, I probably wouldn't have requested this ARC.

Well written once more as Burke's prose is brilliant, this story didn't connect with me even more than the previous book. It was still a decent reading experience and memorable.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

So Disappointing

I love reading James Lee Burk. I’ve read several of his novels. This one had too much political bias for me. I read for entertainment, not to be preached to. I had to force myself to finish it. I almost put it down a quarter of the way through and I wish I had. It’s a miss for me.