Too long by about 20% in my opinion. The characters are fascinating, and Dave's old partner Cletus makes an unexpected reappearance. The Montana setting of most of the book is very compelling. But the mystery element, with Dave again and again overstepping his bounds and of course, eventually triumphing over all obstacles is too drawn out. Still, presenting such a flawed character in such detail is certainly an achievement. But after book 2 in the series, I turn every page afraid that something truly awful and unfixable is going to happen. I'm still not sure how long into this series I can go. On the other hand, Burke writes extremely good sentences and makes you feel immersed in the story. ( )

This is my second time reading this series. Black Cherry Blues is one of his best. Cheers to James Lee Burke! ( )

This book was kind of hard for me to read in some ways. Dave Robicheaux, the protagonist, a former policeman, is hard to like due to his self-destructive behavior. He does things that he knows are not a good idea but can't seem to help himself. Also, he sometimes walks into obvious traps unprepared for the possible, or even probable, results. But overall, he's a good man, honest, and doesn't usually want to hurt people even when they deserve it. And he never takes the easy way out.

The best things about this series are the people and the descriptions of the places. He brings it all to life, these things we mere mortals will probably never experience. People from the lower walks of life, who frequent bars anytime of the day, who have usually spent time in prison but are not really bad people, just people who have either made bad choices and/or had bad luck. In this story, Dave himself is pretty close to going to prison for murder, although he is innocent. But fortunately, the really bad guys are not very smart, so he manages to outwit them despite himself. ( )

I enjoyed and will continue with the series...liked the south Louisiana setting, he is great at setting the mood of the location. A lot of scenery descriptions, which were beautiful but too long. I love the relationship between Dave and Alafair, his young, adopted daughter. ( )

In the third book of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux stories many of the usual characters end up in Montana. Dave is accused of murder in Louisiana and while out on bail goes to Montana to find the people who can prove his innocence. Along with Robicheau and his adopted daughter Alafair his former police partner Clete shows up. Suspect oil leases, the mafia, the American Indian Movement and bars and AA meetings all take a turn. There is even some fly fishing. How does it end? Who survives and who doesn't? No spoilers here. ( )