Black Cherry Blues

4 1/2 stars on this one. This is the third book in the Dave Robicheaux series. Although I know there are a lot more titles in this series and I'm trying to read them in order, this book is a step above the other two excellent books that come before this. In this one, we see a calmer and cooler Dave Robicheaux who is trying to fight his demons and mourn his dead wife without going to the bottom of a bottle. But trouble seems to find him, even though he isn't looking for it. It usually arrives with an unexpected visit from some old friend who is trying to lay his baggage on Dave's doorstep. Pursuing this villain puts Dave and his little girl, Alafair in danger and threatens his freedom. It also takes him out of the bayou and up to Montana show more where he is forced to lock horns with mafia goons. crooked oil barons, dangerous hitmen and other really bad guys. The tension does not let up until the very last sentence, and the book left me craving another Dave Robicheaux fix. No one writes like James Lee Burke. His prose is jaw-dropping, his characters realistic, his plot tight and scenery descriptions are poetic enough to make the reader breathless. I'm thrilled that I still have so many books to discover in this stellar series. show less

Sometimes I wonder if you can really like the Robicheaux series. It isn't easy witnessing a man struggle with his demons, both internal and external, to root for him and watch him both succeed and fail, sometimes in the same breath.

Dave isn't a simple person, which is one of the attractive aspects of him as centerpiece to a series. He knows his weaknesses, fights them and yet is unable to avoid following his pattern, like Sysiphus hauling the boulder again and again only to watch it roll downhill. He's been seeing a therapist since his wife died, and they have an oddly telling discussion:
"'Cut loose from the past. She wouldn't want you to carry a burden like this.'
'I can't. I don't want to.'
'Say it again.'
'I don't want to.'
He was bald show more and his rimless glasses were full of light. He turned his palms up toward me and was silent.'"

Beautiful.

Book three in the Dave Robicheaux series opens in a motel, Dave dreaming of the helpless night his wife Anne was murdered. Restless and haunted, he heads to an all-night diner and runs into Dixie Lee Pugh, former roommate, master blues singer, old-time rock-n-roller and dedicated drinker. They only spend a few minutes together, but shortly after, Dixie looks Dave up for help with a couple of thuggish business acquaintances. From there, Dixie's flailing, drunken attempts to stay out of Angola pull Dave into a world of hurt. As he asks a few questions on Dixie's behalf, he runs into his former partner Clete. Dave watches him drive away and wishes him a powerful blessing:
"Whatever you're operating on, I hope it's as pure and clean as white gas and bears you aloft over the places where the carrion birds clatter."
Dave almost breaks free of Dixie's situation when the thugs threaten Alafair; Dave's inner demons take over and he finds himself facing a murder charge. Freeing himself will mean digging deeper into Dixie's connections in Montana.

Burke weaves his trademark beautiful, evocative beginning, bringing the varied landscape of the deep south to life, from Louisiana to the edges of Texas. In fact, it's fair to say that the setting stands in for Dave Robicheaux's emotions, and it seems to be raining quite a bit in the bayou these days. Unfortunately, setting doesn't seem to work as well after they head up to Montana, the land of pines, mountainous geography and multi-colored streams. Memories of the south stand in instead.

There is just a touch of humor in this, the kind that makes me smile, albeit crookedly:

"But I had never bought very heavily into the psychiatric definitions of singularity and eccentricity in people. In fact, as I reviewed the friendships I had had over the years, I had to conclude that the most interesting ones involved the seriously impaired--the Moe Howard account, the drunken, the mind-smoked, those who began each day with a nervous breakdown, people who hung on to the sides of the planet with suction cups."

Once the story moved to Montana, I found Clete and Dixie rapidly took over the story with their extravagant personalities. I didn't mind, but if anyone is more flawed than Dave, it's Clete. Clete is no fool either, and is well aware he's Dave's stalking horse:
"'Why'd you keep partnering with me at the First District after you saw me bend a couple of guys out of shape?' He grinned at me. 'Maybe because I'd do the things you really wanted to. Just maybe. Think about it.'"

Character arcs and redemption go farther than I expected, and if the villain is a bit of a sociopath, he's a frustrated sociopath with resources and its no less frightening for it. Batist is well done and avoids both disrespect and pitfalls of the loyal support character. Alafair is written appropriately for a young child, and one of my favorite moments is when Dave acknowledges the foolishness of telling her to be brave: "She had experienced a degree of loss and violence in her short life that most people can only appreciate in their nightmares."

The first read was somewhat less than satisfying, perhaps because I was pushing the mood and the speed. Burke does not write thrillers, although they certainly have their share of violence and mayhem, and his stories are not conducive to skimming. Visual setting and childhood memories are as important as suspect interviews. The second time--largely accomplished on a comfy lounge chair in the sun--was far more successful and satisfying. I always want to visit the bayou after I'm finished with Dave Robicheaux.

Highly recommended. Note: it won Burke's first Edgar Award.
Four and a half, five stars.

Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/black-cherry-blues-by-james-lee-burke-... show less

A bit of a change of pace after the first two Robicheaux novels, this one focuses less on action and more on Robicheaux's character under extreme stress: a threat to his child, and the prospect of going to prison. Most of it takes place not in southern Louisiana but near Billings, Montana, where Robicheaux briefly relocates to investigate the main witness against him in his upcoming case. Although he doesn't fall back into drinking, Robicheaux's other faults, including a hot temper, impulsive violence, and an uncommon lapse in judgment, get him in a lot of trouble, making the story a bit troubling to those who would prefer that the hero suffers more from the forces of evil than from his own demons and infirmities. A dash of humor would show more be welcome, too. Still, this is an uncommonly intelligent and nuanced tale that came by its Edgar award honestly, and Burke's thrillers continue to make, say, Michael Connelly's look like comic books in comparison. show less

James Lee Burke is the novelist that just keeps on giving... to me. I picked up his first in the Robicheaux series about a month ago, loved it, thoroughly enjoyed the 2nd, and just completed the 3rd, 'Black Cherry Blues'. It's equally good. Burke's literate, lyrical prose in the tough 'crime' genre is a breath of fresh air, his characters are wonderfully developed and memorable, and the star, Dave Robicheaux, is as complex a personality you'll encounter. This series, so far, is simply fantastic.

Black Cherry begins down in the bayou and ends there, but most of the action takes place in the mountains out west. Robicheaux runs into some old acquaintances and quickly gets mixed into a complicated situation with a couple really bad dudes who show more threaten his little daughter. That's too much for Robicheaux, a man of action if there ever was one, so he takes matters into his own hands and beats the crap out of both of them. However, one of the guys takes the opportunity to kill his fellow miscreant in a way that makes it appear Robicheaux did the murder. Dave's arrested, manages to get himself released on bond, and travels west with his daughter to track down the real murderer before he finds himself in prison among a population he, in many cases, helped put there. Early on and throughout the story Dave is helped by a Federal agent tracking the crew, his former partner on the New Orleans police force is likewise thoroughly involved in the action, and things get even more complex as Mafia characters are encountered and enmeshed in various conspiracies. Robicheaux nearly runs out of time before his murder trial, but a solution comes to him in a dream and things end up working out.

Robicheaux is a fantastic character, a tough recovering alcoholic Vietnam vet ex-cop with a highly developed conscience and a bias toward action, sometimes violent action. He's respectful toward women but has experienced tough luck (and then some) on the romantic side. Since his retirement from the force, he runs a bait shop in a little town on the bayou where he tries, unsuccessfully so far, to lead a quiet life. One interesting aspect of the series is the glimpse we get into 80's-era policing, racial issues, and other societal topics that are still relevant and evolving today. It's fascinating stuff.

The real 'star' of the series, though, is Burke's writing. He can paint a picture like no other in this genre, he's great with dialogue, he's not averse to using unique devices like dream passages in his stories, and his pacing is excellent. I'm not sure where this series is heading but I'm sure happy I jumped on the bus to find out. show less

Overall, the superior writing elevates some less-than-superior plot points for this novel.

Burke is a phenomenal writer, and can evoke a mood, or an atmosphere, or a locale with ease. His characters are complex, emotional beings. But, while the author (thankfully) didn't have Robicheaux fall off the wagon this time, he made some curious choices.

I won't really get into the plot stuff, because I'd prefer to stay away from spoilers. But I have to say, I got very sick of all the dream sequences with his dead wife.

Having said that, I'll still read a substandard novel by Burke over a lot of other authors' finest works.

Dave Robicheaux just can’t help himself, especially where his friends or family are concerned – and Dave’s definition for those terms extend well beyond any normal person’s. In this case, an old classmate, Dixie Lee, and Clete Purcell, Dave’s old partner, have themselves mixed up with a group of mobster-types who’ve embarked on a land and white-collar scheme up in Montana. Dixie is also battling some demons all too familiar to Dave, so he wades in with his typical blunt force. By the end, a plane full of Italians comes tumbling out of the sky and Dixie is easing on up the road, sober – at least for now. The book also sees at least half of the action in Montana, which is a breath of fresh air and hints at Burke’s eventual show more Western novel itch.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended show less

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.