Rating: 
Summary: First time reading Burke
Review: First, I have to agree with the other reviewer in saying that this probably isn't the best book to start off reading that's a part of the Dave R. series by Burke! This was my first by him, and it did seem a bit hard to get a handle on some things.I did enjoy this book, but in trying to sum it up...I'm at a loss. This book had SO much going on!! There's a murder of a black man 40 years ago that is still unsolved and now his children are back in town to possibly resolve it...there are numerous criminals in and about town of a big stature creating a fuss...there are several local's who have issues of their own that need resolving...there's just SO much! There are so many characters, that I had a very hard time keeping them and their pasts straight. While I enjoyed some of the individual stories, it did get to be too much. I felt this book could have used some heavy editing. Over-all, I did enjoy this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat to see how it would end and what all of the big cover-ups were. One thing to note-pay close attention to everything, if you miss something, you'll miss a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Adequate, but not his best work
Review: I am a big James Lee Burke fan and waiting on his latest with Robicheaux is like smelling bacon frying. Unfortunately this one did not taste as well as previous ones, although I was glad to see him return to the Robicheaux series. I don't have a lot of complaints, just felt I wasn't into the characters, including Streak, as much as his other books. The good news is that Burke is still the best at this genre, even for one I like somewhat less than his previous. BLACK CHERRY BLUES is still my favorite and I make a habit of rereading all of his Robicheaux books from time to time. Keep em coming, JLB!
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Writing With Baffling Plot
Review: I am a James Lee Burke fan and I enjoy his beautiful writing, loaded with metaphors and interesting uses of language. The plot was almost impenetrable. Although Dave is a detective, he does no detective work. Instead, he travels to the suspect (or even worse the suspect travels to him) and says nasty things to the suspect and accuses the suspect of being a bad guy. Hopefully, the police are smarter than this. Why the bad guys would waste their time talking to these people is never explained. There is no police work such as determining if a person had an alibi and checking the alibi. Instead, all witnesses are threatened or worse beaten up by Dave, his oddball partner Helen. No one ever seems to interview an eyewitness. Also, Clete, Dave's ex-partner, appears in the story only to beat up bad guys. After the various Clete scenes, I was rooting for the bad guys or at least a civil rights attorney to sue this guy. He is an out of control thug who should be brought to justice. The plot is absolutely dreadful. You end up sympathizing with mobsters and bad people.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Writing With Baffling Plot
Review: I am a James Lee Burke fan and I enjoy his beautiful writing, loaded with metaphors and interesting uses of language. The plot was almost impenetrable. Although Dave is a detective, he does no detective work. Instead, he travels to the suspect (or even worse the suspect travels to him) and says nasty things to the suspect and accuses the suspect of being a bad guy. Hopefully, the police are smarter than this. Why the bad guys would waste their time talking to these people is never explained. There is no police work such as determining if a person had an alibi and checking the alibi. Instead, all witnesses are threatened or worse beaten up by Dave, his oddball partner Helen. No one ever seems to interview an eyewitness. Also, Clete, Dave's ex-partner, appears in the story only to beat up bad guys. After the various Clete scenes, I was rooting for the bad guys or at least a civil rights attorney to sue this guy. He is an out of control thug who should be brought to justice. The plot is absolutely dreadful. You end up sympathizing with mobsters and bad people.
Rating: 
Summary: Burke is still up there with the best contemporary writers
Review: I am an unabashed fan of the Dave Robicheaux series. I know that some readers were disappointed with this particular book because it did not focus quite as much on Dave's homelife as some of the others, but that really didn't bother me in the least. Burke draws his characters so finely, and so seamlessly that it is a joy to read any of his books. This book is somewhat darker than some of the other ones, but the parallels Burke draws between the human condition of the past, and the presesnt are not wasted on the reader. There is also a great deal of humor in the book. The scenes of Clete Purcell (Robicheaux's ex-partner on NOPD) busting up mobsters and setting up dirtbag bikers is hysterical. I laughed until the tears rolled down my cheeks. Underneath it all, however, is the wonderfully complex character of Dave Robicheaux who struggles so valiantly with external and internal demons. There is a spirit to Robicheaux that is difficult not to like or even love. He gives everything to everything he does...not always winning....but never giving up. I loved the book...and I love the series. I hope Burke writes a hundred more.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't measure up to earlier Robicheaux novels.
Review: I have read all of Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels, and, up until the last two (including this one), have thought they were exceptionally well-conceived and well-written. Burke does bring an almost tangible immediacy to the scenes he describes, and in places his prose still has the evocative ability to almost make the reader see, taste and smell the scenery. But I really felt cheated at the end of Sunset Limited. The characters, including Robicheaux himself and his wife and daughter, were poorly drawn, I thought. There was just too much action and running around without the author having made the characters seem real. I really didn't much care, by the end of the book, what the outcome was going to be (though it was not that hard to anticipate most of it). It makes me sad to see this writer getting formulaic and losing what had made me enjoy every page of his earlier works and look forward eagerly to his next novel. I think, like another commentator, that I'll be taking a vacation from Burke in hopes that he'll regain the depth and gift for character development that once distinguished his writing.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulously intriguing as usual; I'm in love with Robicheaux!
Review: I have read every Burke book and am madly in love with his writing. I've lived my entire life in Louisiana and he makes me love this place all over again with his vivid, prose-like descriptions. The story was vintage Dave Robicheaux and the plot kept me guessing. Clete outdoes himself in a fight in the French Quarter with a mobster! A must read for all Burke fans. I highly recommend all of this books! He's a master of plot and a poet at heart!
Rating:
Summary: Dave Robicheaux is the King of Detectives
Review: I haven't read Sunset Limited yet, but I have read the other 9 books in the Robicheaux series. I can't think of a better mystery series being published today than the Robicheaux books. Burke's novels feature great prose, complex plots, vivid settings, and a fragile, tortured hero trying to make peace with his inner demons. Based on early reviews for Sunset Limited, this looks to be an excellent year for Robicheaux fans.
Rating: 
Summary: There are others that are better
Review: I just finished reading, "Angels Flight," "Everybody Dies," and "Sunset Limited." Each of these are the most recent editions of series that feature "Philip Marlowe" type detectives. I've followed all three series and must admit, that as much as I enjoyed the first two, James Lee Burke's latest is disappointing at best. Not only is the story disjointed, it doesn't offer the "page turner" excitement or suspense of the previous Dave Robicheaux' mysteries. The plots and sub-plots were strained. The character development was shoddy. My overall impression was why did I bother.
Rating:
Summary: Overwritten, violent attempt at Southern gothic novel
Review: I like this series but this latest edition makes me wonder why. I was raised in the South and lament the long shadow it casts over everything in the U.S., but Burke's book is just one violent spray of blood after another. Too often the critics think only violence makes for characterization. The South has a clotted history but Southern men like Ken Starr are more damaging to the national psyche than the swamp things that rise up in this novel.
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