Rating: 
Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: If you have never read a novel by James Lee Burke, this is the one to start with. If you have read every one of his works (including the early rancher novels) read this one now. He really brings it all to this production. The descriptive prose sparkles, the plot develops with skillful ironic, situational twists of a master writer's mind, characters are fully realized yet harmonious with readers' previous knowledge of them. This is perhaps the grand summation of what Burke has been doing with Dave Robicheaux,; there is a maturity to the character that fills in those spaces that were once gnawed out of him by disappointment of youthful desires for justice. In a curious way, Dave could always see his own flaws more than those of other characters, perhaps that is the cross an alcoholic bears, but in this novel he is also aware of those of Clete, Helen and even the new character Fr. Jimmie Dolan. Especially interesting is Coll, the IRA gunman turned hitman who suffers from wounded conscience; what a great foil to the self serving oil plutocrat in the golf club who shares locker facilities with the workers. Having read everything of Burke's I could get my eyes on, it is my opinion that this is far and away his finest effort.
Rating: 
Summary: An Amazing Puzzle of a Novel!!
Review: James Lee Burke creates another dark mystery in the heat of the Louisiana swamps. In this latest Dave Robicheaux tale, the death of a teenage driver turns into a series of twists and switchbacks that lead to a series of murders and cover-ups from decades ago through to the present. The story involves a hit man for the IRA, pornographic film stars, a former lover, blues musicians, along with a military hero using his past as a facade for who he really has become. The layers of mystery are unwrapped slowly, each layer uncovered reveals new clues and new directions and new crimes to investigate for Dave and his podjo Clete.
I have two criticisms of this novel. The first is that Robicheaux is dealing with a major loss in his life and we see that only in the aftermath, which feels like either a slight to the reader or an inability to deal with it by the author in a believable manner. The second is that although I am aware of the authors political beliefs, they seem to predominate this novel like never before. Even with these two situations, Burke comes through with an amazing puzzle of a novel.
Rating:
Summary: The best writer in the genre
Review: James Lee Burke is simply the best writer of the genre in the sense of pure writing. Turn to virtually any page in the book and the most amazing descriptions and metaphors jump out at the reader. It is impossible not to be swept away by the sheer majesty of his language. Nobody evokes the Louisiana bayou like he can. The stories of the hapless hero, Dave Robicheaux, are complex and peopled by the most well mannered evil thugs in the universe.
Robicheaux's friend, Father Jimmy Doyle undergoes a severe beating in New Orleans. Robicheaux, a New Iberia detective investigates with the help of the violent but lovable Clete Purcel. Of course this simple act leads to an increasingly complex web of violence consuming the lives of both the good and the very bad.
Burke's stories never really change. That is the one problem with the books. Each particular work is outstanding but taken as a whole they appear quite repetitive. Names are unbelievably unique- Junior Crudup, Merchie Flannagan, Castille LeJeune, Sugar Bee Quibodeaux, among many others. After living for eight years in New Orleans, I have never come upon a set of names of the characters that populate a Burke novel. Nonetheless, they are so very realistic that the reader will truly feel they know each and every one before the end. Superb- just not unique to the author.
Rating:
Summary: Burke churns out another Robicheaux classic!
Review: James Lee Burke's lead series character of Dave Robicheaux has become one of my favorites of recent years, and the latest in the Robicheaux series, LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS, certainly does not disappoint. While not necessarily long at around 340 pages, Burke still manages to easily maintain three different storylines that, while seemingly independent of each other, all come together nicely in the end. This installment also illustrates the latest changes in Dave's life as he grows older and wiser. With his daughter Alafair at college and his wife Bootsie deceased, Dave continues on in his life alone. As always, colorful character and Dave's former partner Clete Purcel is a big part of the story and it's always interesting watching the two go back and forth.The finest recurring quality of all of Burke's books is the beautifully descriptive prose. With the setting in the Louisiana bayou, Burke's colorful descriptions lets you close your eyes and imagine the setting with relative ease. The only drawback from the book came late in the book. On several instances in the last hundred pages, it really seemed as if the autor was trying to push his political agenda on the reader. The remarks had nothing to do with the characters, hadd nothing to do with the storyline, and really distracted me from the reading experience for a few pages as I tried to figure out why those remarks were there. Outside of that, this is a classic Burke and evidence that neither he nor Dave Robicheaux are showing any signs of slowing down!
Rating:
Summary: Burke is Brilliant AGAIN
Review: Last Car to Elysian Fields is another in the Robicheaux series and like Jolie Blon's Bounce before it, is original, relatively complex and ultimately an excellent story that I had a hard time putting down. Burke can be wordy, not nearly as so as king and others who don't seem to know when to shut up, but not in this book. His usually elegant descriptive prose is there, but not in the annoying extent that it can be found in other of his novels. Still, for me to complain about Burke's prose is pretty hypocritical since I consider the source of that prose one of the literary communities greatest assets...and he's just a mystery writer...yeah right! Without giving away the plot, Burke has brought us Clete Purcell at his best, an ira hitman looking for absolution and a typical cast of unsavory southern characters, the higher eschelon's of southern society, forwhom Robicheaux has a natural distaste...as do I. Perhaps that's why I like Dave so much, he's a lot like all of us...a bit in the extreme but a lot like us. Last Car to Elysian Fields is an excellent read, well worth the price. I highly recommend this book to any one who likes a good mystery, with lots of action. MS
Rating:
Summary: Multidimensional Mayhem Unbounded!
Review: Last Car to Elysian Fields marks a major turning point in the Dave Robicheaux novels. Dave seems cut loose from his few normal inhibitions, and lives to regret his loose cannon ways. He's clearly a man headed for a crack-up, and his increased vulnerability makes him a more interesting character. The plot itself is as unpredictable and complex as you can imagine without becoming overloaded. One of the beauties of this book is that any one of several mysteries would have been more than adequate to have made this an above-average book. For example, an ex-IRA hit man, Max Coll, has a gambling debt he cannot pay off. He's given the choice of killing a Catholic priest, Father Jimmie Dolan . . . but something always intervenes to foil his efforts. Pretty soon there's a hit out on Coll as well. In a second plot line, a talented songwriter and singer, Junior Crudup, found his way into the bottom of Louisiana's prison system from which he disappeared with no trace. The prisoner turns out to have been used as a laborer by a prominent war hero who denies remembering the prisoner. In a third plot line, a 17 year-old girl kills herself and two others driving drunk. She got the booze at a drive-through "daiquiri window" . . . and someone wants to stop the investigation into the daiquiri window. Dave also finds the man who miswired his house . . . and caused Bootsie's death. Someone is bound to pay for that! In the background, there are also porn stars, ex-lovers, sleazeballs, and other assorted criminals. Against this backdrop, Clete Purcel is his most outrageous righter of wrongs. After the book was over, I found myself thinking that this book must surely deserve to be a five-star book. Then, I realized that the novel leaves so little room for hope and redemption that I found myself more despairing about people than encouraged about them. I hope that in future books, Mr. Burke will also show redemptive qualities as well as the darker side of human nature.
Rating:
Summary: Multidimensional Mayhem Unbounded!
Review: Last Car to Elysian Fields marks a major turning point in the Dave Robicheaux novels. Dave seems cut loose from his few normal inhibitions, and lives to regret his loose cannon ways. He's clearly a man headed for a crack-up, and his increased vulnerability makes him a more interesting character. The plot itself is as unpredictable and complex as you can imagine without becoming overloaded. One of the beauties of this book is that any one of several mysteries would have been more than adequate to have made this an above-average book. For example, an ex-IRA hit man, Max Coll, has a gambling debt he cannot pay off. He's given the choice of killing a Catholic priest, Father Jimmie Dolan . . . but something always intervenes to foil his efforts. Pretty soon there's a hit out on Coll as well. In a second plot line, a talented songwriter and singer, Junior Crudup, found his way into the bottom of Louisiana's prison system from which he disappeared with no trace. The prisoner turns out to have been used as a laborer by a prominent war hero who denies remembering the prisoner. In a third plot line, a 17 year-old girl kills herself and two others driving drunk. She got the booze at a drive-through "daiquiri window" . . . and someone wants to stop the investigation into the daiquiri window. Dave also finds the man who miswired his house . . . and caused Bootsie's death. Someone is bound to pay for that! In the background, there are also porn stars, ex-lovers, sleazeballs, and other assorted criminals. Against this backdrop, Clete Purcel is his most outrageous righter of wrongs. After the book was over, I found myself thinking that this book must surely deserve to be a five-star book. Then, I realized that the novel leaves so little room for hope and redemption that I found myself more despairing about people than encouraged about them. I hope that in future books, Mr. Burke will also show redemptive qualities as well as the darker side of human nature.
Rating:
Summary: A great listen!
Review: My job affords me the ability to listen to tapes all day, usually theology lectures, but also novels. I don't have anything to add to the other positive reviews except to say that the book on tape unabridged is really well done and the reader has a fantastic Southern, New Orleans accent that really gets the mood right. If you're driving to work or have a headset int eh office, this s a great one to get!
Rating:
Summary: Usual brutal but exciting look at the underbelly of society
Review: New Iberia, Louisiana homicide detective Dave Robicheaux and his friend private investigator Clete Purcel rough up former porn movie star Gunner Ardoin. Dave and Clete were retaliating for Gunner's beating up New Orleans priest Father Jimmie Dolan. Gunner gets back at the duo for their assault by suing them. Meanwhile hitman Max Coll stalks Father Jimmie. Apparently there is a nebulous connection to 1951 Angola Penitentiary where blues singer Junior Crudup was sent before vanishing. Then there is the link to three teens dying in a DUI incident. Thus Dave has a lot on his plate, jurisdiction not withstanding. However, his typical two-fisted approach will not bring down Castille LeJeune, who is the alleged power behind the scenes of all these seemingly unrelated incidents. LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS is the usual brutal but exciting look at the underbelly of society from James Lee Burke. If the story line sounds a bit disjointed that is because it is. Dave remains an intriguing wild man who does not worry about losing his job as he metes out street justice as few characters do. Fans of Dave will appreciate this rowdy ride while those who prefer a more gentile or just a straightforward plot will want to pass rather than wait to see how the subplots finally tie together. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: taking the "Last Car To Elysian Fields"
Review: New Orleans is a place of painful memories for Detective Dave Robicheaux and that has not changed in this novel of the series. Aided by his old friend, Clete Purcel, they are investigating the beating of another old friend, a Catholic Priest by the name of Jimmie Dolan. Clete and Dave have a very good idea who is ultimately responsible, but proof is elusive as ever and the case quickly stalls.
At the same time, back in New Iberia and Dave's home parish, three girls are killed in a drunk driving accident. The seventeen-year-old driver was the daughter of a local prominent physician who is incapable of accepting any possibility that his daughter, caught before for driving while intoxicated, could have made any mistake. He wants vengeance and blames police incompetence but Dave doesn't want to just get the young clerk that sold the stuff. He wants proof to bring down the owner whom he suspects knew full well what was going on and had no problem with selling to minors. Before he can gather the proof he needs, the owner of the drive through store is dead and the enraged father is the suspect. But that would be simple and James Lee Burke books are always far from simple.
Throw in a toxic dump site, a decades old murder mystery, and his usual ingredients of child abuse, racism, pain, regret, and ghosts of the past, and the reader is faced with one of the darkest books produced by this author in along time. Dave has plenty of reasons to be angry at the world as made clear within the first few shocking pages. His answer to his pain this time is not to dive back into the bottle, something that has haunted him for years, but to instead, obsessively work the cases, driven to find the truth and maybe self-destruct on purpose while he is at it. The result is a dark and twisting read as Dave attempts to deal with the pain-past and present.
While two of the main secondary characters are notable for their absence, most everyone else is back for this go around. So too is Burke's obvious love for southern Louisiana as detailed in his elegant prose describing both the scenery and the past. At the same time, with just a few simple sentences, the author manages to convey both the beauty of an item as well as the dark side of the same item. It is a rare talent and one that should be appreciated by readers as they are pulled into this dark world.
Book Facts:
Last Car to Elysian Fields: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
By James Lee Burke
Simon & Schuster
www.simonsays.com
2003
ISBN # 0-7432-4542-3
Hardback
335 Pages
$24.95 US
$37.50 Canada
This entire review previously appeared online at the Blue Iris Journal Blog.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2005
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