Heartwood

Billy Bob Holland #2

by James Lee Burke

Billy Bob has a problem with local kingpin, Earl Deitrich, but also has a passion for Deitrich's wife. So he has to be very careful when he takes on the defense of Wilbur Pickett, a man accused of stealing from Deitrich.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Westerns, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 3, 1999

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

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sometimes feel like my 'Great American Detective' shelf should be called 'Great American Vigilantes', considering that Spenser and Jack Reacher share space on it with Harry Bosch and Elvis Cole. (It's a very chauvinistic category I've created for myself, here. Have to see about fixing that.) Billy Bob Holland is a lawyer, and justice is more important to him than fitting nicely into the system.

Burke is amazing storyteller, and I don't mean just that he has a knack hand with plot. He uses language in a way that makes me linger over these books, often reading passages aloud to myself. His descriptions of Texas - both scenery and society - are fascinating. He's the kind of writer who makes me want to be not only a good writer, myself, but a great writer.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love any book by James Lee Burke and am determined to read them all. I especially enjoy his descriptions of the Louisiana landscape. This book is different: it takes place in Texas and stars Billy Bob Holland, a lawyer. I am so enamored of Burke's other hero, Dave Robicheaux, that I couldn't help but wish he was in this book too. I think I'm getting a little crazy when I'm starting to think of a book character like Dave as real but that gives you an idea of how good James Lee Burke's writing can be.
For lovers of this author, I heartily recommend this book.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book published in 1999.

Lawyer Billy Bob Holland, ex-Texas Ranger, lives and practices law in Deaf Smith, Texas. He's not like most lawyers - - money doesn't float his boat. Rightness and goodness do. Temple Carroll is his investigator. She's a former patrol officer and sheriff's deputy. In this story, a farm hand is accused of stealing from the richest man in the county.

I had a little time in between trips to the library so I chose this older book off my shelf. I've read a few novels in the Dave Robicheaux series and didn't even know that Burke wrote other books. I can tell it's his work though because he has a style all his own. Every time I read one of his books, I marvel over the eloquence of his writing. So atmospheric! Here we have the good ole boys in the south which is Burke's specialty. I liked Billy Bob!!

Since I didn't read the first book, I have one unanswered question. How can Billy Bob operate a law office when no one is able to pay him? Obviously, this is not a concern for him. I just put the first book on reserve so hopefully, I can learn the answer.

[Mikel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billy Bob series is a great one. Burke really captures Texas (warts and all) very well. Looking forward to more from this series, as Dave Robicheaux can't go on forever.

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always give James Lee Burke's books five stars, because they are all outstanding. This time (1999) the main character is Billy Bob Holland, and it is before he marries Temple Carrol, his investigator. There are all kinds of interesting characters, most of whom could use the services of Billy as a lawyer, and the ghost of his former Texas Ranger partner, whom he tragically and accidentally shot to death. Lots of action, murder and some suspense.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burke is one of the best writers, maybe the best writer I've ever read.. Heartwood #2 book in the Billy Bob Holland series. I read this about 10-12 years ago but was worth reading again..Holland an ex Texas Ranger now an attorney in a small hill country town west of Austin trying to find justice against all odds. His best friend who he accidentally killed visits him still....

[Geri Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book on tape at a garage sale for fifty cents. (Sorry, Mr. Burke, no royalties there) but it did get me started following this magnificent author and his two characters, Robicheaux and Holland, along with his short stories.
Generally, I enjoy reading books with strong female leads, but Mr. Burke has be hooked!

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like this author, but this is the second book of this series that I have tried and they are way too testosterone-intense for me. A really unpleasant reading experience.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

HEARTWOOD by James Lee Burke is 341 pages in hardback form. It is #2 in Billy Bob Holland series.

Brief Description:

Central to Burke's second Billy Bob novel (Cimarron Rose was his first) is Wilbur Pickett. Wilbur had a brief moment of glory as a rodeo cowboy before sliding into a downward cycle of luckless enterprises. He ends up laboring for a wealthy family, the Dietrichs, in the Texas town of Deaf Smith. The Dietrichs accuse Wilbur of stealing some bearer bonds, and Billy Bob--now a defense attorney--reluctantly take his case. He is hesitant (because he idolizes Peggy Jean Dietrich), and for good reason: Billy Bob discovers that her husband Earl may be involved in shady, even violent, business practices.

Other ghosts from the past also haunt Billy Bob: he accidentally killed his former partner on a drug raid in Mexico and still hears his voice. And then there's Holland's illegitimate son Lucas, who is growing up with problems of his own. The weight of all this back-story might overwhelm a lesser writer, but Burke manages to make it seem as natural as the soft wind that stirs the tumbleweed in the town of Deaf Smith. --Dick Adler

I love James Lee Burke and his dark characters. The fact that his characters are not perfect makes them even more interesting. Billy Bob does live with demons and that is why he has trouble with people, because they can't live with him and his demons.

Billy Bob is a very good guy though even under his the dark side. He never forgets to help Pete his neighbor and takes him places he would never be able to go. I love when Pete says, "I knew you were going to say that". Even though Pete is a child you do see that he does understand and wants to help if he can.

Billy Bob doesn't do things the way a normal way, but usually gets the job done. It is not a book you can finish and then just forget. Some of the things in the book just stay in your head for a couple of days. These books are normally violent in some ways so one must be prepared for that. It is not only violence to bad people, sometimes the violence is put upon the good ones too.

There are several turns in this book and one that I didn't see coming, but that was okay. I am still not sure what happened in the end, but that is okay too. I don't think you really need to know. I think you just need to accept the fact that sometimes things don't get all tied up.

I am giving this 4 out of 5 stars and am going to try and read the rest of this series.

BUY NOW: Conniesbookshelf.com $7.50 Hardcover

[Larry A. Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Fails to Entertain

I am sad to say I have now read all of Mr. Burke 's books, including the short stories. I am pretty good at a few things. But my prowess at any of them falls well short of his as a storyteller.

[Hella Comat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t get enough of James Lee Burke. This is #2 in the Billy Bob Holland series - he’s a defense attorney in Deaf Smith, Texas (which is actually a real Texas county!). He deals with corrupt wealthy people, lowlife gangsters, Mexicans and native people who are treated like second class citizens, and even crooked sheriffs. The action is frightening; the language is awesome - who can’t love an author who uses words like meretriciousness and abeyance?

[L.A. Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this and can appreciate that it is really well written. Just not as pacy as the Robicheaux series and the characters and storylines are quite gloomy, although very interesting.

I've just finished re-reading Heartwood and really enjoyed it, having forgotten the review I gave (above, 4 stars) after the first reading! This time round I didn't see the characters as gloomy at all. There is a very varied mix of characters, and the storylines hang together well. While using very evocative descriptions of the locations they are very different from those of Louisiana, in the heat of texas mostly, but equally well done. Yep, thoroughly enjoyed it and would have read it much more quickly if i hadn't been so busy with work! I especially like the 'psychological visions' and discussions with the dead! Something that is also well done in the Robicheaux books.

[Lindsay Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read the 4th Billy Bob Holland book and wanted more. This is #2. Billy Bob is still in southern Texas. He's a lawyer (and former Texas Ranger), and his future wife Temple is his investigator.
Billy Bob's girlfriend from his teen years, town beauty Peggie Jean, is now married to wealthy Earl Dietrich. A down on his luck rodeo rider with a blind psychic Native American wife gets involved in the theft of an antique watch and some bearer bonds from Earl. Meanwhile, some Mexican gang bangers are involved with Earl's son and Billy Bob's son. Throw in a couple of escaped cons and you've got fertile ground for James Lee Burke's wonderful story telling and beautifully descriptive, if a little wordy, language. Now I have to find books 1 and 3, so I can find out how it all begins, and how Billy Bob and Temple end up in Montana.

[James Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Lee Burke does not disappoint in Heartwood. It's not my favorite of his, but it's solid. Burke continues to paint a perfect portrait of the landscape and of the times of which he writes. He captures social classes and the regional identities of his subjects wonderfully. He continues his theme of good versus evil, battle of the sexes, and battles of the haves versus the have-nots. He tells the story of how Heartwood trees grow in layers from the inside out; this was told to the main character, Billy Bob Holland, by his grandfather when he was river-baptized as a teen. The story is passed down and the symbolism has significance in this novel.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally deconstruct F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby; swap around the characters; add drugs and some Native American magical realism; make the narrator a former Texas Ranger; set the story in the hill country west of San Antonio, and you will have something close to this crime novel from the fertile mind of James Lee Burke.

It even ends with a dead body in a swimming pool and a melancholy closing image much like Fitzgerald’s—not “boats against the current,” but a boy and girl in a customized car speeding into the night, unaware of any rough road that lies ahead...

More at my blog.

[Derek Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb book by a superb writer. Like many on here, JLB is one of my favourites and I always look forward to reading his work. I enjoy his characters and his sense of place, his descriptions (of course). He knows how to create suspense and build to big endings. Everything is there, and no matter how dark the content there's always a joy to his writing. The only reason I gave it four, instead of five stars, is that I do feel it was a bit too similar to the first Billy Bob book. The same thing happens with the Dave Robicheaux books. But then, I guess, the same criticism could be levelled of many writers. But four stars means go and buy it, and read it!

[Thelma · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Heartwood", is the second in a series of stories 'starring' Billy Bob Holland, a defense lawyer who was a Texas Ranger. Like most of Burke's stories, it is beautifully written, haunting and you don't know what the hell motivates the characters to do the things they do. It certainly holds its own in his list of novels and if you are a fan of Burke, you will probably enjoy this book.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 in the Billy Bob Holland series. Finalist 1999 Hammett Prize.

Billy Bob Holland - lawyer and ex-Texas Ranger, gets involved with local kingpin Earl Dietrich, wife Peggy Jean (who took Billy Bob's virginity) and son Jeff (and his thuggish friends). An ex-rodeo rider and his blind wife are central to the story.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was rather disappointed with this novel -- I had read so many good reviews of Burke's work that I was expecting more. I felt that he over-describes everything to the point where it's distracting. I also wasn't that fond of the whole story, the characters and especially the dialogue. Not sure if I'll read any more of his novels.

[umdaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's my favorite author. Read a Burke book and your in a dark theater by yourself surrounded and engulfed by his images. I've read them all but can only do so once every 3-4 months because in the end they are their message about the human condition is not hopeful.

[Geoff Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Lee Burke has an ability to capture people and places in a lyrical yet economic style. I can hear his characters talking and his heroes have a classical stature. No one does Louisiana and Texas like he does. The perfect book for a long plane trip.

[Leon Aldrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burke does it again with another yarn spun in Texas. If there is another author on the planet who turns catchy phrases with such ease, please share em' with me...

[Rick Boyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raw; visceral; taut; chilling; hard-edged; and an extremely good read!

[Jill Hatmaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great author

I read every Burke book I can get my hands on.
His descriptions of places and people are amazing and his story lines captivate.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Modern Western Book Set in Texas

I feel ambiguous about these books; when you see a list of his titles, you think James Lee Burke has some good titles, but you really have to be in the mood for the author mixing in the living and the dead with his plots [spoiler alert] talking to his dead partner, getting notes about what's really happening from his neighbor's wife, born blind who sees what is happening in the supernatural world instead of this one.
It'll keep you reading though, and you'll be finished reading this book at the end of your weekend vacation "down the shore" as they say on the east coast. (first you go down the shore, then you go to the beach, be it Cape May, or Atlantic City or the Jersey Shore any other locations.)
Burke turns a good phrase, writes one good sentence after the other until he has a shelf load of novels for you to read.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Heartwood” by James Lee Burke, published by Doubleday.

Category - Mystery/Thriller Publication Date – September 21, 2011.

This is another Billy Bob Holland novel and another one that I have been remiss in reading.

The reader will have to pay special attention to this novel because unlike his other novels “Heartwood” tends to be a little more complex in both the story and the characters.

If you remember Billy Bob is an ex Texas Ranger turned lawyer. He is a believer in that the poor man gets poor representation, while the rich man gets full advantage of the law.

Billy Bob is out to defend Wilbur Pickett. He is accused of stealing an heirloom and thousands of dollars from the richest man in Deaf Smith. Not only is Billy Bob against a formidable foe but the foe is married to Billy Bob’s High School sweetheart.

Kippy Joe, an American Indian and wife of Wilbur, has inherited property that may have oil on it. This provides another reason why Wilbur is possibly being framed by Earl Deitrich. The situation gets so complicated that it involves the Chicago Mafia, another problem that Billy Bob has to work around.

Another great novel from James Lee Burke.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartwood isn’t really a “mystery” in the sense that many of the James Lee Burke novels are true mysteries. There is a disappearance of valuables that isn’t (or maybe it is) as obvious as one thinks at first glance. There are deaths, but in few of them is the perpetrator hidden. I suppose one could call a “thriller” in that it is a page-turner and there are times when one hopes that a character one cares about is not about to be either the perpetrator of or victim of a potential crime or atrocity. Yet, Heartwood doesn’t have the pulse-pounding adrenalin of a tightly wound situation. Protagonist Billy Bob Holland is too indifferent for one’s classic “thriller” character.

There are romantic elements but Heartwood, again because of the indifference just mentioned, isn’t a “romance.” And, although I found myself involved with Heartwood enough to keep turning pages, the cast of characters wasn’t really explored enough to be satisfying “literature.” I suppose one could just as correctly define Heartwood as noir since the protagonist keeps getting dragged down to lower levels of frustration, fear, and desperation. But none of these “genres” perfectly describes the book.

Billy Bob Holland is absorbed with his past in Heartwood. Indeed, readers will see where the title came from when Billy Bob resolves some of the demons within. Unlike Burke’s alcoholic Dave Robicheaux, Billy Bob’s problems seem to flow from guilt, resentment, and unresolved infatuation. Yet, one senses that Holland is often his own worst enemy by following what seem like unproductive lines of investigation and not giving adequate attention to the sound advice his subconscious gives him through the visions of his dead compatriot, L. Q. Navarro. Since I seem to be reading this series in reverse (Cimarron Rose was the first one I read and this is the second), it seems like Holland has come to grips with his “ghost,” but he has tremendous problems dealing with his past.

Heartwood begins with an invitation to the home of an individual he despises who won the prize of Holland’s first love. He sees the emperor’s clothes of his long-desired’s husband for what they are, but there are too many sycophants easily swayed by the individual’s wealth for him to be exposed to everyone. So, Billy Bob has to live with the indigestion of his insight and cope with the reality that this bad guy has infected his family with his corruption such that he and his son tend to victimize anyone in the town not aligned with their desires.

Everyone else seems to think that Billy Bob has lost his objectivity due to his obsession with the wealthy tyrant, but Billy Bob holds true to his principles—no matter who gets hurt by the backlash. Certainly, he cares about those who get hurt by the backlash. He even puts up his own money, however limited, where his mouth is. But, too often, it doesn’t seem like he counts the price until it’s too late. That’s not surprising. It happens in mysteries, thrillers, and horror (not that this is the latter), but it’s Billy Bob’s seeming oblivious tunnel vision that made this hard to take for me.

Heartwood is full of revenge, poetic justice, heartbreak, violence, and sweetness. It has some memorable characters one would like to see again, but the parts seem better than the total (for my taste). Part of the problem for me is that his fictional town of Deaf Smith offers up all of my personal prejudices about Texas. [Please don’t get offended if you are a Texan; I admitted they were prejudices—by nature irrational!] I liked Heartwood for the most part. It just didn’t resonate with me like the other books I’ve read (and look forward to reading) by Burke.

[rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another well-written, tightly plotted crime novel from James Lee Burke, very similar in style to many of his Robicheaux stories. There is a considerable amount of back story in 'Heartwood', re-telling elements of the first Billy Bob Holland novel 'Cimmaron Rose'. Key elements of that back story continue to raise troubling questions of ethics and the commitment of Americans to the rule of law.

The hero Billy Bob Holland is a defence attorney, an ex Texas Ranger, but also a professed vigilante and murderer. Although an officer of the court, he evinces little or no remorse over his past vigilantism except for the fact that on one such illegal expedition into Coahuila, Mexico, he accidentally killed his partner L.Q. Navarro. His partner's ghost plays a recurring role in these novels. The role is quite strange - sometimes a conscience but often a shade that suggests to Holland that he should contemplate darker deeds again.

"Heartwood" paints a bleak picture of central Texas. It is set in the town of Deaf Smith, which is, I think, mythical although there is a Deaf Smith county in Texas. Perhaps the Deaf Smith of these novels is a thinly disguised Hereford, the county seat. A quick look at Google Streetview shows Hereford to be flat, ugly and somewhat forbidding. There are elements of the story that seem to gel with the map of Hereford.

Violence simmers just below the surface throughout "Heartwood" and bursts out frequently. The local police are corrupt and violent. Only one character in the novel, the prosecutor Marvin Pomroy, demonstrates a pure commitment to the rule of law.

There is some sexual tension - a will he or won't he relationship between Holland an an investigator Temple Carroll, carried over from "Cimmaron Rose" and clearly intended to continue into further novels in the series.

I found this to be a very readable and entertaining book, but it paints a bleak picture of the role of violence in American culture, the readiness of that society (in Texas at least) to resort to murder and the lack of abhorrence of violence that would force strong political and legal responses in most other Western countries.

[Cheap and Lazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar plot and character types as in the first Billy Bob Holland book, “Cimarron Rose.” A number of the secondary characters (even those in their bizarre uniqueness) and the roles they played read a bit like retreads from the first book. Mr. Burke doubled down on the villains here too; these are guys you love to hate. Narrator has a great, gravelly voice, is good with accents, and Lucas doesn’t sound inbred like he did in the first one. But his phrasing got on my nerves pretty quick and I had trouble listening past it on and off throughout the book. Even annoyed by the narrator, I’m completely invested in the story. Although it’s told first-person, some scenes are through a narrator’s eyes (and some drift that way), which I’m honestly grateful for, as they really add to the story right from the beginning. As in the first book, everything was highly, poetically, detailed: setting, characters, and action. I recommend this one for listeners who want to take a trip out West (before cell phones). Great balance of story and action. Pacing was good, and the action, narrative, and dialog well-balanced. The angst steadily increases, although enough satisfaction is doled out to to keep it a pleasant, if gritty and intense read. If I’d read this one first, I probably would have liked it more, though I did appreciate the healing and growth I saw in Billy Bob throughout this book and from the first one. Don’t think I’ll listen to any more of these (too similar to each other and I’m a variety hound), but I will give one the Dave Robicheaux series a try, as this author has a style all his own.

[Will · Rating 2 out of 5]

"In my mind's eye I saw Ronnie Cross and Esmeralda Ramirez flying down an empty six-lane highway through the countryside, the chromed engine roaring, the green dials on the walnut dashboard indicating levels of control and power that seemed to transcend the laws of mortality itself.

I thought of horsemen fleeing a grass fire in Old Mexico and civilian soldiers who waited with musket and powder horn at an adobe wall and a preacher who baptized by immersion and created a cathedral out of trees and water and sky. I smelled banks of roses and saw Ronnie Cross speed-shift his transmission and floor the accelerator, tacking up now, the rear end low on the road, the twin exhaust pipes thundering off the asphalt. Esmeralda twisted sideways in the oxblood leather seat and grinned at him, pumping her arms to the beat from the stereo speakers, she and Ronnie disappearing down the highway, into the American mythos of gangbangers and youthful lovers and cars that pulsed with music, between hills that had been green and covered with sunlight only an hour ago."