Supernatural Elements Take Over

I am an avid reader of James Lee Burke and have read all the Dave R novels. This is the first audio I have tried. Overall this is my least favourite of his novels. Whilst the change of narrative perspective is interesting the story is disappointing. The element of supernatural have been present in previous novels and help set in context the rich cultural history of the region, in this case they are over played in my opinion and start to drive the plot rather than add a back note. The choice of the 15th century French martyr Joan of Arc is very strange and the fact that she starts to perform miracle healings is a stretch too far.
The narration is enjoyable but a little hammy in places and I am not sure the voice quite fits the character. I kept thinking of John Goodman as the perfect actor to portray Clete in a movie adaptation although he is too old now.

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Just love James Lee Burke's writing

I don't think James Lee Burke and the Robicheaux novels will be for everyone, but for me they take me to a place no other novels do. I've read them all, and would recommend reading them in order. I think his later books may split opinion, even more than the early ones. They increasingly embrace more than just the physical realm, which you can take as being in the minds of the protagonists, or something more. Burke is a writer who is concerned with the deeper questions of life and human nature, which I think touches the soul as well as the mind. His descriptions of Louisiana and the American South, the Nature, the history, the culture and the food make me long to visit. I live in the UK, so it's a long way to go, but listening to this latest novel has put it at the top of my bucket list again! This was the first Robicheaux I've listened to on Audio and I thought the reader was excellent.

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1 person found this helpful

description of everything

Great to hear cletes point of view, hopefully more of this ... Great from start to finish

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Will Paton is perfection in his delivery

In my opinion the most enjoyable James Lee Burke book so far and Clete is a helluva character

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Clever twist on the Robicheaux series

Performance was great as usual. Clete was a standout success. Keep on rolling JLB. Maybe a dual first person narrative next time?

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'Justice and Charity'

I've enjoyed all the Dave Robicheaux novels and Clete is a major character in the series so I was looking forward to listening to Will Patton read one from Clete's perspective. Much of the writing is of the same high standard we alway expect from James Lee Burke and his descriptive powers are as good as ever, if a little repetitive in places (there are only so many times you can hear about the live oaks and Spanish moss). I know that Clete has a troubled past and he's been affected by booze and drugs but the end of times hallucinatory scenes with Joan of Arc (yes, that Joan of Arc) I found hard to swallow. 'Sir' Clete is portrayed by Joan as 'a Knight in Shining Armour' and 'a voice for those that have none'. I'm not sure Hemingway would have approved of this over the top purple prose but that's what you sign up for with James Lee Burke and nobody does it better.
So, enjoyable in many ways but also hard to comprehend some of the more mystical elements.

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Interesting story about Crete

Not as good as his others, but a good listen and good narration with Will Patton

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Beautiful but ludicrous…..

As always JLB writes with astounding narrative skills and brings the story to life… the narrator is perfect…. But the story deteriorates and we enter a world of ludicrous fantasy where “Sir Clete “ becomes a plot too far …. Leaving the listener feeling it was time wasted .

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oh dear

this book tells us that Cletus is a paranoid, ineffective overthinker. he stumbles about following ghosts and complaining. this doesn't gel with the guy we know from previous books.
plus, the amount of repetition in this one made the book a slog.

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Dreadful

For context, I've read (or listened) and mainly enjoyed all of JLB novels. This is definitely the worst. So much so, I haven't finished it. It was a simple story padded out with largely irrelevant supernatural nonsense. I'm sure JLB is getting on now, and it looks like he's run out of steam. If he writes more Holland stories, I might be tempted. Otherwise, I have to find a reliable read.

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