Rating: 
Summary: You'll want to hop in your car and travel these roads
Review: I've read every Dave Robicheaux book written by James Lee Burke, and find that when I read one, I get out the road atlas and take a look at his Lousiana -- Burke's sense of place is so perfect, I need to put a finger on the map to deliver me closer to his bayous and cities.A deeper and more introspective Robicheaux works his way through the secrets of his past, as they explode into the present, intermingling in the lives of those near and dear to him, both dead and alive. Time is of vital importance in this book; the calender counts down the remaining days of a woman who may or may not deserve to be put to death for murder. Time past provides access to truths about Robicheaux's parents, a notorious local murder, even Vietnam and its effects on Robicheaux and others today. Burke always juggles an assortment of colorful characters and seemingly unrelated plots. Regular readers know that there will be much murder and bloodshed before the conclusion that draws it all together. One small beef, and why I will buck the crowds and give this book 4 stars instead of 5: Robicheaux and his buddy Clete Purcel are macho beyond compare, and that's fine - Burke writes great big manly books, full of action and energy; I always enjoy them. But I think that his female characters, especially in this book, are getting sketchier and less fully drawn. Boots appears as almost an afterthought here, more as a sexual aside or a possession than a fully formed wife and partner (as she has been in books past). Alf's behavior, in particular, seems vapid and not true to her knowledge of Dave's job, his character, and the violence in both their pasts. Most of the Burke's male characters have history and are fully fleshed. Women play vital roles in this book, and we know very little about what makes some of the most important ones tick. That bothered me; I found myself, at the end of the book, feeling like I didn't know enough about some of these ladies to understand their actions, and thinking that maybe it could have been a better book with just a little more attention paid to the gals this time.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Robicheaux Book Yet!
Review: Well, what a ride! PURPLE CANE ROAD is probably James Lee Burke's best Dave Robicheaux novel yet. That statement comes without qualification because I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the books in this series. All the characters you have come to look forward to reading about are back again. There's Dave, Clete Purcell, Bootsie, Helen Soileau, Alafair and Batist. Even Tripod, Alafair's three legged pet racoon is still in the cast. What Burke does exceptionally well with this novel is introduce more interesting characters to the mix. The story also deals with obsession(s) as Dave tries to clear a woman on Death Row while finding out who killed his mother more than 30 years before. The violence that punctuates all of the novels in this series is also present here as well. Most noticeably, Clete Purcell, Dave's loyal former partner and always best-friend, seems to find more than his fair share of it. His excessive drinking and intemperate remarks and lifestyle continue in PURPLE CANE ROAD and it is during the moments when we read of these events that JLB interjects much of his pathos and humor. Clete is an extremely violent man, but it is also good to know that he is primarily on the side of right. God help the people of Louisiana if he were ever to cross over to the criminal side of the spectrum. Dave Robicheaux is obssessed by the need to find out who killed his mother Mae in 1967. Readers of this series will remember that Dave's mother abandoned him for a bouree dealer when she left while Dave was still a small boy. As a grown man and a police officer, Dave struggles to do right by her memory by re-opening the unsolved 30 year old case. Along the way, he runs into the string of sociopaths that Burke is so fond of populating this series with. All is not right in New Iberia Parish or in New Orleans, either. Cops and politicians are dirty and corrupt and James Lee Burke fully fleshes out the parasites who feed off power, money and the misfortune of others. This is a well-crafted and believeable novel, right through to the very end. When Burke leads the reader to the end of his story, there is a certain type of closure that Dave and the reader both receive. When the reader stops to consider the final outcome of the plot line, he/she will also realize that there is a certain balance to the scales of justice after all. This was a fast read and the story gripped me right from the beginning. Unlike some of Burke's other books in this series, which start out slowly and speed up, this one asks the reader to climb aboard while the train is traveling down the track at 100 mph. When I finish these books, I wonder when Burke will bring us his next installment. This one left me thirsty for more on the detective and his cohorts in New Iberia, LA. After reading PURPLE CANE ROAD, you'll never have to ask why James Lee Burke is one of only two authors to win the EDGAR AWARD twice. This man is a master of his craft and this book just proves it. Paul Connors
Rating: 
Summary: Not competitive with the best
Review: I don't know where all the laudatory reviews are coming from. This book isn't particularly well written. Burke's writing is unmemorable, his similes and descriptions frequently lame. The book isn't particularly well plotted. The plot is fairly complex, but implausible. The protagonist, Dave Robicheaux, is a homicide cop in a Louisiana parish outside New Orleans. He does much of his work in the company of a thug private investigator named Clete. Clete is just a transparent device invented by Burke to allow Robicheaux to engage in flagrantly illegal activities and violations of the rights of private citizens. It is obvious that this situation wouldn't be tolerated by any law enforcement agency, regardless how corrupt or how good-ol-boy Southern. Louisiana may have more than its share of a history of political corruption, but the percentage of outright crooks in both the police departments and the elected officials in this book defies credulity. It is similarly implausible that an ordinary cop from outside New Orleans would be such good buddies with the governor and that his wife would be an old friend of the Attorney General. The book isn't particularly well characterized. Robicheaux is a recovering alcoholic (a remarkably imaginative and original touch, isn't it?). Very few of the characters come to life. One who does is Robicheaux's buddy Clete - but it's not hard to create a character who's nothing but a bully and a thug. The other is Johnny Remeta, a hired hit man with an unusual combination of psychoses. Considering how many other writers of hard-boiled detective novels there are out there, I see no reason to read Burke. Read this, and then read anything by Dennis Lehane (for example), and the difference is dramatic.
Rating:
Summary: Close to the Best - but Not Quite There
Review: I am the greatest fan of James Burke and can't get enough of his writing. Obviously I've either read or listened to all books/audios of the Dave Robicheaux series and have been in awe of Burke's writing. Being a writer myself, I especially love his eretheral descriptions of surroundings and/or people, and his authenticity of the Cajun surroundings and/or language gives each of his books realism. This book did not disappoint - but at times it seemed to ramble and too many characters were introduced, which gave the reader a disconnected feeling at times. It's about time that "Dave" addressed his past, which was a sort of closure for the reader. I both read the book AND listened to the audio cassette - which should tell you how much I enjoy his writing. Was glad to see that Clete Purcelle remains part of his life, as Dave would be lost without his fall partner. I loved the book, rambling and all. I only hope this doesn't bring to a close his tales of Dave, and I would love to see more movies made out of the novels beyond his initial one (Heaven's Prisoners).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Iberia Parish homicide detective Dave Robicheaux, accompanied by private sleuth Clete Purcel, seeks a New Orleans pimp Zipper Chum on a capital case. When the duo catches up with Zipper in Baton Rouge, he tosses a verbal hand grenade at Dave involving the police officer's missing mother. Zipper accuses cops on the take from the Giacanos mob of killing Mae Guillory (her maiden name), a whore, in the sixties. Obsessed about what Zipper claims happened to his mother, Dave begins making inquiries into learning the truth, even at the cost of ignoring his family. Along the way, Dave begins to uncover new evidence on his "other" case that might free death row murderer Letty Labiche. However, as he makes progress on both cases, someone systemically kills his witnesses, making his mother's investigation impossible and probably leaving Labiche for the electric chair. The psychopath jump starts Dave into action when he targets the cop's daughter as one of his victims. PURPLE CANE ROAD is the best Robicheaux tale to date and that is saying a lot since author James Lee Burke has two Edgars to his credit. The story line is crisp and exciting as expected from the novels in this series. However, this time the plot turns personal which allows the audience to see much of the inner sanctum of Dave's soul. One of the great, perhaps the greatest mystery writer of the past decade, Mr. Burke scores on all cylinders with this taut thriller. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Best crime novel since Raymond Chandler
Review: I've been reading crime novels all my life, and this is the best one I've read since Raymond Chandler. "Purple Cane Road" has everything a good crime novel should have, and more. Good guys and bad guys and many shades of gray. Corrupt cops. Cold-blooded killers. Femme fatales. And at the center a great swirl of emotion and moral principles and deep caring known as Dave Robicheaux. We always know where this hero stands and how he feels and what makes him feel that way. Burke breaks several conventional rules here. There is more than one through-line, indeed a rich and complex whirlwind of story involving half a dozen characters and as many killings. This is an amazing piece of work. My hat is off.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting annoying
Review: Although Purple Cane Road is worth reading, the Robicheaux series is losing its appeal. I
enjoyed the early books in the series but lost track of Burke some time after Dixie City Jam.
In rejoining the series with this book, several facts became strikingly clear. First, Burke
remains a skilled atmospheric writer. The bloodred skies, the gum trees and schooling fish,
the blowing rain and leaves, the physical appearance of the characters -- Burke can certainly
paint a scene. Second, Dave remains as humorless and grim and earnest and possessed by
""demons'' as ever, and frankly I'm tired of it. In 341 pages, I had one involuntary laugh.
(And that was when the sheriff made light of Dave's weirdness.) Didn't Marlowe and Lew Archer
have a similarly admirable (if unconventional) moral code, without having to beat everyone
over the head with it? No one is asking Dave to be a comic, but a lead character must be
appealing, and Dave isn't. Third, Burke still writes excellent, snappy, idiomatic dialogue.
It's great fun to read characters talking about about ""flushing'' someone's ""grits'' and
other colorful euphemisms for killing. Beyond these general observations, some specifics.
Other reviewers have pointed out that the Alafair infatuation is wholly unrealistic; I agree.
(I am also tired of Dave calling her ""Alf'' despite her wish going back several books that he
use her full name.) Cletus is on tilt, and that's fine; he's one of the main attractions of
the series. And as with others in the series, it doesn't pay to try to diagram all the plot
twists, or holes, in Purple Cane Road. Just read and enjoy. Burke has created Robicheaux and
he has to live with him; I don't. So although this was a fairly satisfying read, the
annoyances detailed here will keep me from running out to buy the next in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Few too many plot holes/manipulations
Review: I tend not to read many novels by any one mystery/thriller author before the sameness of plot/character/style begins to wear. That said, I have probably read more by Burke than any other author. But Purple is probably my last one for a good while. Robicheaux's anger, righteousness, and violence were too unrelieved for me. By the middle of the story, I felt as if I were being hit with a hammer. Also his anger seems contrived as it tends to serve the plot by preventing him from pursuing critical information until the plot requires it. Similarly, too many other characters' actions were transparently manipulated for plot purposes: e.g. His daughter's implausible crush on the hit man, Remeta; Passion Labiche's adamant refusal to tell her story until the plot called for it; the unaccountable incompetence of the forensic team that investigated Vachel Carmouche's murder--clues to which Robicheaux deciphered in minutes eight years after the event. But it was a plot hole that hooked me the most: How did a no account pimp, Zipper Clum, know what happened to Robicheaux's mother 30 years previously, how did he know that Mae Guillory was his mother, and how did he know that Joe Remeta lead back to those who killed her? Maybe I missed it, but by the end of the book I was feeling kind of manipulated. I did enjoy the writing, the dialogue, and snappiness with which Burke screams along.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated author produces boring novel
Review: Certainly the wide acclaim Burke has received can not be based on the quality of the novels he has written. Many reviewers and customers continually mistake purple, overwritten prose for good writing--probably because dense, plodding writing seems like it should be "good" writing. Also, the prose contrast with such popular writers as Ed McBain, Elmore Leonard and Robert Parker makes it seem as though Burke is writing "deep," "penetrating" prose, when in reality his writing is mushy, diffuse etc. The story in Purple Cane is thin and totally uncompelling. The characterization is also weak, except for Clete who actually comes across as a possibly real person. Dave's character is supposed to be tormented or "something." What comes across is mush, mush, mush. Also, littered throughout the novel, are political correct observations. Is there anything worse than a so-called suspense novel that slavers on the left-wing point of view. I for one am sick of all the unearned praise showered on Burke. Why not read R. hIll, M. Connelly, T.J. Parker's Silent Joe, Rankin, and several of Cook's novels. It is truly ridiculous that Burke has won two or three Edgars and Connelly only one for first novel. I have no doubt that Burke's popularity with awards commitees is his pseudo-deep prose and his politics. Purple Cane Road was insipid. Those who praise it have been deceived.I
Rating:
Summary: Burke lives up to the hype.
Review: Unlike the main characters of some series who seem to be without fault, Dave Robicheaux is anything but. If you want to get a feel for who some of these characters are (Dave, Alafair, Batist, etc.), check out the movie "Heaven's Prisoners" or just read the earlier books in the series. ... Burke's prose is masterful to put it simply and he gives you a real look into life in the bayou. Great book, fully recommended.
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