"The Glass Rainbow" by James Lee Burke

When you open a James Lee Burke novel it's like stepping out of an airplane at several thousand feet, you just don't know exactly where you are going to land. Mr. Burke, a two time Edgar Award winner, and a recipient of the Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America, writes so convincingly, that it is hard to tell where his life intersects with that of his main character, Dave Robicheaux. I suspect that, at times, they are one and the same.

"The Glass Rainbow", released in 2010, has New Iberia Parish Detective Dave Robicheaux back in the middle of a seemingly impossible to solve string of murders. The victims have all been young, and disenfranchised, young women, all that is except one. She is the sister of a convict in Mississippi, Elmore Latiolais, who has requested to see Detective Robicheaux after seeing a newspaper article related to his sister, Bernadette's, murder. This meeting sets in motion a chain of events that leads to the underbelly of race, religion, politics, gambling and alternative energy, all of which define the animus of present day Louisiana, as well as Texas, which in turn defines some of the forces which serve to tear apart the America of the recent past. And that is one of the strengths of James Lee Burke as a writer. He weaves real life politics and the problems of the ordinary man together seamlessly with a mystery based on the social injustices of our own times. And, as if that is not enough to satisfy you, he also connects the problems of today's society with the sins of our own past.

With his usual flair for detail, he serves up a cast of characters that becomes more diverse with each of his several dozen novels. And, with "The Glass Rainbow" he has surpassed even himself in this endeavor.

With his pal Clete Purcel at his side, and at the same time watching his back, Detective Robicheaux peels back the layers that conceal the corruption of people, and organizations, that threaten to wipe out all of the good in this world. With energy schemes, masquerading as religious good will, and involving some of the wealthiest families, it is often hard to remember that you are reading fiction.

I actually tried to diagram this book in the way that the detectives do on TV, all in a vain effort to uncover the real guilty parties before Mr. Burke serves them up. It was an effort in futility. I was on the right track, but took the wrong fork in the road in this sprawling work of fiction that has its roots in the headlines of today's newspapers. With greed and corruption at every turn, and with his daughter, Alafair, home from college, things get hot and heavy as "Streak" and Clete Purcel pursue every lead, and lowlife, in order to bring to justice the people who are really responsible for the death of Elmore Latiolais' sister, Bernadette, who was an honor student with a penchant for saving wildlife. What is her connection to the 7 arpents of land left by her grandfather?

I have never read a James Lee Burke novel without learning something about the music, history and politics that have come to define the image of New Orleans, either pre, or post Katrina.

In "The Glass Rainbow", Mr. Burke has once again done the seemingly impossible. He has blended all of these elements into a tale that sometimes has the reader going back a few pages, in order to keep things straight, while navigating the fascinating and colorful world which has become the hallmark of all his writing. And, in the end, though the good guys always win, the reader is left wondering at the price paid for the injustices inflicted upon the average man by those with so much power.

"Swan Peak" by James Lee Burke

Whenever reality begins to bite too deeply I find myself looking for an escape. The search often leads to James Lee Burke. His novels, based as they are on the sociological mess that we call civilization, don't remove me from reality, they simply confirm for me what is happening in the real world. So, I guess I don't get to escape at all. But the beauty of Mr. Burke's writing is in what you take away from any of his books.

I'm a fan of the Dave Robicheaux series of novels, which primarily take place in New Orleans and involve mob figures, hookers and pimps. Having been raised in a city, I can relate to most of what is happening in the street. But when Dave Robicheaux goes on vacation to Montana, taking along his old sidekick Clete Purcell, I can get lost in the unfamiliar terrain.

When Clete decides to go fishing and accidentally takes the wrong fork in the road, the scene is set, and the race is on. Two men who work for the Wellstone family come out to visit Clete, ordering him from the land. Two college kids are murdered sadistically behind the home of Dave's friend, Albert Hollister, a noted historian and author. The murders set off a chain of events that lead back to the Wellstone family, an evangical, and odd, collection of misfits who feed off of one anothers needs.

What is the secret which is being kept from everyone. What role is Wellstone Ministries really playing? And what are the stakes? Hang on as Mr. Burke tests your patience, and intelligence in this wide ranging mystery.

One of the best things about Mr. Burke's books are the mixture of fact, fiction, and history thrown in. I have never come away from one his books without adding some new music to my ipod. In this book, the character J.D. Gribble, an escapee from a contract prison road gang, serves as the vehicle for the music. He is a dobro player, and leans toward Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Elmore James and Leon McAuliffe. When I get to these parts I always hit You Tube to see what I have missed, or in this case just to re-visit some old music with which I am already familiar.

Want some history with your fiction? Mr. Burke provides that, too. Shedding light on some of the lesser known events which shaped our nation is something that comes naturally to Mr. Burke. Working such notables as John Wesley Hardin into the narrative, along with the Sutton-Taylor Fued will send you scurrying to the history books, as well as educate you a bit.

Do you have a bent for sociological issues? Explore the world of "contract" prisons, those cement modules which have replaced the standard state institutions, bringing with them a whole new set of troubling after effects. The guards who staff these contract prisons are often culled from the ranks of returning veterans form Iraq and Afghanistan. These men have seen some brutal things, and often take them to work with them, keeping the cycle of violence and degradation in motion for another generation.

What are the Wellstones hiding, and why is Troyce Nix after J.D. Gribble? What bond connects us all in our global dance to an unknown tune?

The story becomes almost incidental when you read a James Lee Burke novel. The character development, along with a current relevancy, make his books so much more than fiction. When Mr. Burke writes about the lost and damaged people who inhabit his world, we recognize them from the things we have seen in our own lives. Their weaknesses are our own. Their problems are universal. In short, they serve as windows into the good, and evil, which comprise ourselves.

"Pegasus Descending" by James Lee Burke

Fiction and reality collide once again in this action packed and thought provoking novel by James Lee Burke. With his usual flair for tying history together with mystery, this book finds New Iberia Detective James Robicheaux involved in the 20 year old murder of a former friend during an armored car heist gone wrong. When the friend's daughter shows up in New Iberia, she brings with her a whole boatload of trouble.

A dead man is found in a drainage ditch on the side of the road, with no name or identification, and the coincidences begin to add up, leading Detective Robicheaux on a search for the truth which will take him down some of the darkest and ugliest roads of humanity. Politics, old money and outdated societal traditions fuel the story as the case leads to the murder and gang rape of a young girl. Was she killed by the local gangbangers? Or were the rich "frat" boys involved? Or, is there a connection between the two?

With the FBI looking into some of the same suspects for other crimes, Detective Robicheaux is forced into a game of cat and mouse between his own New Iberia Police Department and the Feds. With his old buddy Clete Purcel at his side, rampaging like a bull in a china closet, guess who wins?

This may be one of the most complex of the Dave Robicheaux series to date. There is virtually nothing left out of this wide ranging tale of corruption and greed. From the gambling profits of the Indian Reservations, to the televangelists who may be laundering them, and the politicians who allow these things to go on, Mr. Burke has once again written a novel which is so well grounded in the reality of our times, that it is often difficult to remember you are reading fiction.

All of the usual characters have been assembled here. There is, of course, Clete Purcel, Dave's old sidekick from the New Orleans Police Department, New Iberia Police Chief Helen Soileau, Dave's wife Molly, and Tripod, their pet raccoon. Added to the list are a wimpy District Attorney and a cast of sociopaths.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Mr. Burke's writing is his penchant for tying his plots to the applicable history which has firmly entrenched some very evil people in some of the highest positions of authority, all while waving the flag, or acting as a "shill" for the Lord.

But, against all odds, the self described "Bobbsey Twins of Vice", Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel, kick ass and take down the bad guys, bruising a few egos along the way. With the added lessons in history, as well as some insights into the human condition, James Lee Burke's novels can only be described as Mickey Spillane's "Mike Hammer" on steroids.

"Crusader's Cross" by James Lee Burke

Whenever I get fed up with the real world and all of it's attendant problems, I leave the Non-Fiction section behind and head straight to the Fiction section, usually the B's, as in Burke. The wonder of Mr. Burke's fiction is in it's reality. There are people who firmly believe that fiction is just that, fiction. But Mr. Burke knows better, there are people out there every bit as sinister and depraved as the characters he draws in his novels. I've met some of them.

When former police Detective Dave Robicheaux was a young man, back in the late 1950's, his brother Jimmie worked with him on the off shore rigs of Louisiana, making the money which would put them through college. This is where the story begins.

His brother Jimmie falls for a local girl named Ida Durbin, who saves their lives one day when they are out swimming, and they form a friendship with her. She also happens to play a mean mandolin, and sings like Kittie Wells. But when Jimmie finds out that she is a hooker, working off a debt to a local pimp, he is devastated. When she disappears, after Jimmie has confronted the pimp, offering to buy her debt, only to find himself ripped off, forces are set in motion that lead to a 20 year dead end, which suddenly opens up after a seemingly unrelated string of crimes.

When Robicheaux is re-instated as a detective in New Iberia Parish, in order to help investigate a serial killer, seemingly unrelated to the 20 year old disappearance of Ida Durbin, he joins forces with his old friend and partner Clete Purcell. What they find, when they scratch the underbelly of New Orleans, leads them to believe that Ida might not be dead after all. One thing's for sure in this action packed novel, the "Bobbsey Twins" are back, and nobody is safe until they get the answers they are looking for.

The most amazing thing about Mr. Burke's fiction is the way in which he spins his characters. They range from the seemingly normal schoolteacher type, like the women who killed for Charles Manson, to the truly sick and depraved, both of whom walk amongst us.

Long adept at exploring the dark side of man's nature, this book is no exception. As Detective Robicheaux struggles with the case itself, he is also forced to face the eternal question of just what, if any, are the differences in the motivations that drive both those who stand behind the law, as well as those who oppose it? The answer, like the underbelly of New Orleans, is neither pretty, nor simple.

Loaded with evil, sordid characters, this book will take you behind the headlines and into the world of fiction, which is where non-fiction comes from to begin with. Or is that the other way around....?