A Morning for Flamingos (1990)

I read this book in three days. Burke's descriptions of characters and the landscape, his story-telling connect with me like no other author. I'll have to pace myself and hold the few remaining unread books to one or two a year. This story has a particularly satisfying ending and adds a new dimension for me to Robicheaux. ( )

No. 4 in the Dave Robicheaux series. Dave is sober throughout this story, and never seems tempted to take a drink. But he is still being tormented by Viet Nam memories. He leaves his adopted daughter Alafair with a cousin and goes undercover for the DEA to bust a Mafia drug ring. He’s recruited by Minos Dautrieve, who we first met in Heaven’s Prisoners. His own reasons for getting involved in this are tied to an incident in which his partner was killed and Dave himself badly wounded while transporting two prisoners to the death house at Angola Penitentiary. One of those prisoners, Tee Beau Latiolais, a young black man, had been convicted (wrongly, Dave believes) of a murder, and it was through his subterfuge that Dave’s life was spared. Now, of course, Dave owes him one, and is determined to find out who really killed Tee Beau’s supposed victim. The DEA does not come off well, as far as backing up its operatives in a pinch. But Dave’s Mafia target, Tony Cardo, turns out to be a complicated individual with demons of his own, and a physically disabled little son he adores, leading Dave into the moral ambiguities Burke loves to explore. Dave re-connects with his first love, Bootsie, who is now a Mafia widow and can’t see her way out of the “family”. Thanks to an epilogue that ties up many loose ends, this book has a “they lived happily ever after” feel to it, as if Burke may have thought he was going to end Dave’s story here. ( )

Definitely a book I feel guilty for having enjoyed! Burke's novel reads like an episode of Miami Vice, with each and every character being a massive cliche. From Italian ganglord Tony in his brightly coloured Hawaiian clothes, to seductive gangster's widow Bootsie, and not forgetting the powerful underlord Gros Mama Goula, whose gangster English more than makes for difficult reading...! This book is definitely a good laugh, and moreso I think for the fact the writer clearly believes in his characters, and depicts their completely bizarre and unbelievable qualities with deadly seriousness.

There's a lot of unnecessary detail in the book, often involving lengthy descriptions about the weather and how oppressive it is before a key scene, what lavish outfit certain characters are wearing (even though they're as wooden and predictable as the stereotypes), and amusingly, how many bench presses and pull-ups the lead character does at various stages of the book.

It's enjoyable in the same way you would enjoy sitting and watching a crime drama like CSI, but the content is so thin and predictable, you feel you already know what's going to happen. Most infuriatingly I found, the book is laced throughout in morality, with the lead character, an all-round American hero who fought in 'Nam and has an adopted daughter who he frequently takes to the game, completely disbelievable and dislikeable in his extraordinary unbelievableness.

Still, I can't stress enough that I really enjoyed reading this book, and would read others of the Dave Robicheaux series. It's a fun fast read, with credit to be given for good pace throughout. The ending was rushed and a bit disappointing, but I'd definitely embrace the chance to be swept up in Burke's sunny 1980s police drama series again! ( )

This series is well worth the second look I'm giving it, reading it in order including the scattered installments I'd already read. The man can just flat-out write. While the books contain all the gritty action and language and nastiness typical of the genre, Burke always manages to bring in a positive note at the end of, or even in the midst of, the turmoil. These are books that make one think; beyond the fistfights, gunshots, and plot twists, complex issues are explored. The bad guys aren't all totally bad, and the good guys -- even (especially) the protagonist -- have major flaws. And the descriptions put you right on the scene.

This one starts with Dave transporting two condemned prisoners to Angola, the tough Louisiana prison where executions take place. One of the prisoners is a long-time friend, one is evil almost beyond description. But you can't count on them reaching their destination. Add in a DEA agent trying to recruit Dave for a drug sting, a drug-dealing mobster with a disabled son, an old flame of Dave's who married into the mob, and assorted other shady characters, and you have the ingredients for a thriller only James Lee Burke could concoct. ( )

It's been a while since I read the previous installment in this series. I guess I was a little bit unnerved by some of the language in this one and it wasn’t of the cursing kind. That's saying a lot because I'm generally not made uncomfortable by such things , especially when it's necessary. I think that I did get a bit squeamish was intentional on Burke's part. While he is by no means an in your face writer, he instead sneaks it in, and artfully so. He is quite gifted in making several decades of the Southern environment, both the physical and psychological landscapes, seem within reach of the reader. ( )