Rating: 
Summary: The start of a great series
Review: If Spenser is introspective and articulate, Dave Robicheaux is haunted with his vision. And visions. If Elvis Cole is funny and irreverant, Dave is sad and wry. If Patrick Kenzie is haunted by his catholicism, Dave can't forget his alcoholism.But most of all, Dave Robicheaux speaks in metaphors and aliteration. James Burke is the Poet Laureate of detective writing. The plots are intricate, the friends have tarnished feet along with the hero, and the bad guys, well, they're really bad. All of the series is beautifully crafted. Mistakes he made, loves he cherishes, loyalties he prays for, all of these are part of the man. Black Chery Blues is the beginning of a great series. Start with this one and read them all. You won't be disappointed. James Lee Burke is one of the best. He'll be on your shelf with Lehane, LeCarre, Parker and Crais, and all the rest.
Rating:
Summary: 9
Review: If you like Elmore Leonard,check out JLB.Cop Dave Robicheaux from New Iberia and his pal Clete Purcel are skilfully developed characters.I prefer the novels set in New Orleans,but the usual ingredients are here.Burke has a fine sense of ironic humour,writes lively dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: Would you expect less from a true Southern writer?
Review: James Lee Burke can say in a paragraph what many writers could say in a sentence. With Burke it just flows with descriptions that put you in the place and time of his characters. This isn't newspaper writing. You get the whole experience not a snippet. I have read all of Burke's work and I think it is a shame that he is relegated to the genre of mystery. His work is the quality of any great Southern writer. Black Cherry Blues is a great book. Like all Burke novels it makes you start searching for his next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard core Robicheaux!
Review: James Lee Burke has written a wonderful novel in this one. The characters are tough and full of vitality. As always his locations are so well portrayed you feel,see, taste and smell the details. Robicheaux, the ex-cop is coping with the murder of his wife, his service in Vietnam, being a recovering alcoholic, he is being blamed for a murder and he fears for the life of his adopted daughter. He is on the run from New Orleans to beautiful Montana. This is a wonderful book that surprises you with Robicheaux's philosophy. "...because I believe that God is not limited by time and space as we are, I believe that perhaps he can influence the past....and I begin to dwell on the unbearable suffering that people probably experienced before their deaths,I ask God to retroactively relieve their pain, to be with them in mind and body, to numb their senses, to cool whatever flame licked at their eyes in their final moments." James Lee Burke can stun you with his craft. This is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent story and characters
Review: Of all James Lee Burke's wonderful books, this was his first commercial success and remains his best single novel. It is a gritty mystery set in Louisiana which introduces us to Dave Robicheaux, a flawed but intelligent and good-hearted lead character. Burke is a wonderful writer for two main reasons. First, his characters are well-written; they are memorable, realistic, and intriguing. Their dialogue absolutely CRACKLES. Secondly, no reader can be unaffected by his descriptions- poetic even in the most grisly scenes. Seeing these scenes through Robicheaux's eyes, scenes as well-crafted as only Burke can do, we realize the depth and beauty of Robicheaux's mind. Black Cherry Blues is less a Mystery Novel and more a Literary Work, an ideal way to spend an evening.
Rating:
Summary: Not the first one, but the quite possibly the best in series
Review: One reviewer is off by a couple, Black Cherry Blues is the third in the series with Dave.
First one is Neon Rain, second one is Heaven's Prisoners (which was made into a mediocre movie with Alec Baldwin.
James Lee Burke is one of the greatest living American writers.
He will be read in High Schools across the nation eventually as an example of fine American literature.
Rating:
Summary: Great writing, gripping story
Review: Over and above anything else, the first thing that struck me about James Lee Burke's "Black Cherry Blues" was the quality of the writing. Burke has an incredibly ability to beautifully describe his settings, making small town Louisiana and rural Montana vividly real to the reader. His descriptions are so good that I would often have to suppress the urge to have a late night snack after having my appetite whet when reading about something so basic as what Dave and his daughter made for dinner. Take away the whole suspense/mystery/thriller aspects of this novel, and it would almost still be worth reading just for Burke's descriptive abilities. The plot itself is the classic "innocent man falsely accused" story. Dave Robicheaux, who is trying to live a quiet, simple life running a boat dock/bait shop and raising his daughter in New Iberia, LA, begrudgingly helps out an old college friend who is involved with some unscrupulous individuals. This leads to a series of events involving ominous threats towards Dave's daughter, Alafair, and culminates in Robicheaux being accused of a murder he didn't commit. The majority of the book takes place after Robicheaux heads to Montana to attempt to clear his name before his trial begins. Burke seems to take great care in formulating his plot to make sure all his bases are covered. One small thing he did in this book that I really appreciated was to actually attempt to logically explain some of those bizarre coincidences that happen so often in suspense novels that immediately take me out of the novel because they come off as so unrealistic. There is a scene in "Black Cherry Blues" that is reminiscent of many thrillers, where a character is a second of two from having a knife stabbed into his chest, but is saved when somebody "happens" to walk in just at the right time. Many authors just take if for granted the readers will actually buy this, when my usual reaction is "yeah, right". Burke, on the other hand, actually takes this thriller cliche and gives a logical, believable explanation as to why this person knew to be where he was at exactly the right moment. This kind of care is taken throughout the book. If I were to nitpick I would say that I was sometimes confused by Robicheaux's behavior, in that at times he seemed like someone who genuinely wanted to lead a peaceful life, and then would knowingly behave in a way that would get him into trouble with the wrong people. To be fair, if I had read the previous two Dave Robicheaux novels in the series (and after the quality of "Black Cherry Blues" I fully intend to) perhaps I would have had a better understanding of his character and personality.
Rating:
Summary: Very good but the nightmares seem to be endless
Review: Pretty good stuff, but the nightmares seem to be endless and too long starting from this book and so on. If the hero's nightmares become a unchageable format, he should not be able to have a new romance later. J.L.Bourke should give the hero and the reader a break, less nightmare and more normal life. A guy with so many nightmares consistantly experienced would result in asylum instead of in a bed with a new love. Basically, I don't think nightmares are a MUST or main part in this series, kind of bored.
Rating:
Summary: The Edgar Award was well-deserved.
Review: The mystique of Dave Robicheaux continues in this book, the 3rd installment of the series. Throughout the book you can feel Dave's pain as he remembers Annie, who died in Heaven's Prisoners. He's still struggling with the alcoholism that once wrecked his life, and his main focus is caring for his daughter Alafair. Burke, as usual, does a tremendous job developing his characters, all the while staying in the first person...telling the story from Dave's eyes. Dave is a flawed hero, but you're pulling for him regardless. Another gem from James Lee Burke, and it just adds to the puzzle that the Robicheaux series has become.
Rating:
Summary: GIVE CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE- JLB'S A SUPERIOR WRITER
Review: The true mark of a fantastic author/writer is the ability to take what is, on the surface, an ordinary plot, and turn it into something special through amazing writing. That about sums it up for JLB. The man uses metaphors and descriptions that ordinary writers can only envy. I think the guy's a complete genius. This is a good, not great, story written in a superlative manner. I would actually give it 4.5 stars. An author worth reading if you like quality writing AND stories with a commercial edge.
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