Jolie Blon's Bounce

Good stuff, no doubt. Containing the wonderfully evocative writing I've come to expect from Burke, it built a world of mud and heat I could just about sink my toes into. Yet despite all the elements that make it a prototypical Robicheaux novel--as noted by Nanosynergy in their pointed review--it lacked a certain spice to really pull it together into exceptional.

The story begins with a young girl brutally raped and murdered, and what seems to be an obvious suspect, a young black musician who had been dating the girl and whose prints were found on a can of beer nearby. Dave Robicheaux has doubts after the kid tries to suicide and a pillar of the community decides to represent him. Before long, a prostitute is found savagely beaten to show more death, and it starts to look like a serial killer. The woman, Linda, is connected to a crime family, and now her father is on the warpath. However, it isn't long before both cases are sidetracked as Dave follows the age-old private eye premise of harassing various people in hopes of seeing what shakes out. Mostly what shakes out are a lot of threats, but occasionally some beatings as well.

Perhaps because I've been reading more police-type procedurals (as long as Ben Aaronovitch counts), but it surprised me that there wasn't more straight-up detecting, particularly as Robicheaux has official status. Robicheaux also feels aggressive when he meets various people connected with the case(s), which surprises me a bit from the charming Cajun I thought he was. Then again, I suppose this is book 8, so some things must have happened between book three and this one. Still, I found the general repetitiveness of the (lack of) plotting a little tiresome. Not enough to skip, but enough to put it down and wander away.

Characters are interesting, particularly the renegade Clete, inarguably Dave's best friend and general wild card. Although Dave's wife and daughter make brief appearances, they seem to be more of an afterthought in this book. Dave's pseudo-addiction is a little tiresome, both from a plotting standpoint and from a psychological perspective. I'm definitely ambivalent about the reason for the addiction in this book, and if anyone wants to discuss, please let me know!

Narrative is mostly from Dave's point of view, but there are a few others included. It's a little strange when stories of the past--both immediate and distant--are told as Burke moves the scene back in time and tells it from an omniscient point of view, including that of women being abused. It's very evocative, but leaves the mystery to head into literary fiction-land.

Overall, not a bad read, just one that had me wishing for a bit more of actual detecting and less from the bar-brawler.

Three and a half stars, rounding down to even out the average 4 stars rating. show less

Following the brutal rape and murder of a teenage girl, Dave runs across an otherworldly malevolent person named Legion. Legion is the epitome of evil, sometimes mumbling what sound like an unutterable language. Dave tangles with him and takes a beating that lays him up in the hospital and puts him into a relapse with anything he can lay his hands on, short of liquor - pills and powder. Robicheaux can sometimes pitch holier than thou with the twelve steps and recovery when talking to another addict, but he learns in the midst of the relapse that his own problem runs far deeper than any of the substances he reaches for - a vital realization for him. It's heartening to find Dave struggling so deeply with his demons - he's always show more struggling but this time he gets down a little closer to the roots.

Even though Legion meets his fate - a lightning bolt no less - it is not hard to see him coming back in some way.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended show less

I've been a fan of the Dave Robicheaux books for a long, long time now, and this is one of Burke's best. Burke's not afraid to explore evil; even his heroes have darkness and violence in them that bubbles to the surface more often than I expect. But that violence is usually there for a reason: VietNam flashbacks, deep poverty, victimization, racism. In this book though, there's a man called Legion, and like the Biblical demon of that name, he's pure evil. I may have nightmares about him for a few days.

I'd like to tell you that everything works out in the end of this book, but that's not always Burke's way. He's realistic about the deeply entrenched racism and poverty that hold sway in Louisiana, and he's not always optimistic that show more something that deep can ever be overcome. There was a quote early on in this book that stuck in my head, and I'm having a hard time coming to terms with it:

I came to learn early on that no venal or meretricious enterprise existed without a community's consent.

I'll be chewing on that for a while, I think.

If you can stomach hardboiled mysteries with a tortured hero who makes mistakes, I definitely recommend Burke's books. He's a marvelous writer, and Louisiana is as much a character in these stories as Dave or Clete Purcel or Batist. He's been called the Faulkner of detective fiction, and I understand why; the comparisons are evident both in his themes and in the quality of his storytelling. But these are not books for the faint of heart. Be prepared. show less

So I got through this, but it took forever. There is not one likeable or good person in this book. The language in which it was written is so harsh. The life in this area is brutal and awful things happen all the time. It was really a grinding and extremely violent story. Legion was just awful, but in a visceral way. He brutalized and humiliated everyone around him. Not just the black women that worked under his authority on a plantation, but everyone around him. He was in his 70s but he trounced everyone who tried to cross him. Guns under restaurant tables, truncheons and saps – he was prepared. It was awful.

And even the ‘good guys’ were kind of awful. Dave is an alcoholic who resorts to violence whenever policy couldn’t work. show more His buddy, and ex cop, Clete is equally awful. Then there were a bunch of other people who were just brutal and had no class and lived hand to mouth. I can’t explain it. It was depressing.

Turned out that while Tee Bobby didn’t do the actual deed, he stood by while someone else killed one woman. The other was killed by a traveling bible salesman, but he wasn’t convicted. I was expecting Legion to have a huge revenge scheme do away with his ass, but no. Dave and the mysterious drifter who claims he was the medic that saved Dave’s life in Vietnam, chase Legion into a swamp and he is struck by lightning. Damn – ripped off! I wanted greater satisfaction. I wanted him to pay. He was a gross, degenerate and cruel man. He should have paid more than just getting struck by lightning. show less

This was my first read in this series; apparently this is book 12. It stood alone as far as I can tell, and I enjoyed the voice of the Louisiana setting. Listening to it on audio brought the flavor of the south right to me, some of the good ol' boy mentality of many of the characters was appalling. The narrator did a fabulous job bringing the characters to life.
The story is around rape and murder. Someone is accused, but Dave Robicheaux, the main character, isn't sure they've got the right guy. The more he digs, the more tangled things become.

I enjoyed it, but the end did have a bit of deux ex machina to wrap things up. A little too quick after the big set-up of the whole story. It seemed a bit forced as if Burke just wanted to be done show more with the story.

It held my attention. show less

A horrendous murder shocks even the depths of the bayou country as Dave Robicheaux fights his own demons while trying to find the killer of teen Amanda Boudreau. Other killings come into murky view, complicating the search. Quirky, dark characters abound -- somehow they're as scary as Carl Hiassen's Florida denizens are bizaare.

A Barnes and Noble review call Jolie Blon's Bounce "a contemporary account of murder and madness". One could also say that James Lee Burke has merged a murder mystery with a biblical parable. In Luke 8:26-39 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac by casting out demons who possessed the man. The demoniac said his name was Legion because he was many. In Jolie Blon's Bounce there is a nasty character names Legion who is a murderer, rapist and extortionist but he may not be the murderer that Dave Robicheaux is seeking. In this dark and complicated story two women are murdered in the same week. One a high school student and the other a drug addled prostitute. Are the murders related or just coincidence? The usual characters are here plus the evil show more Legion, a young man with musical talent and a drug problem and a strange door to door bible salesman who might be a bit off. As usual Detective Dave Robicheaux of the New Iberia, Louisiana Sheriff's Department struggles to stay sober and control his violent impulses. Dave's friend the always indulging Clete does not help. show less