Rating: 
Summary: First Time Burke Reader
Review: Ugh! Maybe this is not one of Burke's better books. I'm still struggling to just get through this book and have seriously contemplated just giving up, which is so unlike me. This book has been a serious stuggle to get through and is extremely slow moving. Surely, there is a point somewhere towards the end? I hope. I probably will not purchase another Burke book since reading other reviews this is typical "Burke" style. To slow of pace to my liking. If you enjoy being overwhemled with details and taking a long time to get to the point, you may enjoy this read.
Rating: 
Summary: The Voice of Dave Robicheaux...
Review: It seems that many reviewers have only listened to the abridged recordings of past Robicheaux thrillers, performed by various actors. Be advised that Mark Hammer has perfored unabridgments of ALL past books in the series for Recorded Books, Inc. While admitting his voice is unique; to those of us who have listened to ALL of the other books, he has BECOME the voice of Dave Robicheaux. Whenever I read the print versions, it is Hammer's voice I hear in my head. Mark does a fantastically unorthodox job of becoming Dave. He's great!
Rating:
Summary: Jolie Blon's Bounce
Review: This was classic Burke. Lean and mean. One of the best and I've read quite a few. I'm beginning to wonder where Dave and Clete are headed. They are both getting a a bit older and Burke is starting to bring it up in the stories. It will be interesting to see where he takes the series
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I bought the audio of Jolie Blon's Bounce but was so disappointed with the narrator Mark Hammer that I could not listen to more than 15 minutes of it. Will Patton did such a terrific job of bring the characters to life on all the other Robicheaux tapes. I could visualize every action taking place. Hammer made it dull and boring. I did read the book which brought the characters back to life but not as well as Will did. I realize that Will Patton is starring in a TV series and is busy but he is a great actor and narrator and really brought the characters to life. Burke and Patton were a winning combination and it is impossible to read a book while driving the LA Freeway's.
Rating:
Summary: "Jolie Blon's Bounce"
Review: A story of murder and evil in the deep south, I am in awe of the talent of James Lee Burke and feel his storytelling is unsurpassed. His descriptive writing is like poetry and he is so imaginative in decribing a scene, that I often find myself rereading a sentence for the sheer appreciation I have for his remarkable way with words. Read the book not only for the gritty story but also for the appreciation of this master of words. "Jolie Blon's Bounce" is a book to recommend and I believe,is one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: Great villain...right in the "mode"...
Review: Legion Guidry puts me in mind of Stephen King's "Walkin' Dude" in "The Stand" and Pete Dexter's thoroughly horrible character, in the novel of the same name, "Paris Trout." All writers want to write truly believable evil people. Burke's
almost done it here...Legion's as bad as they come, the
incarnation of Evil itself. However, much as I loved this book, I thought the Walkin' Dude was much scarier and Paris Trout more believable.
Still, Burke's so good, a pleasure to read. I feel greedy asking for "More! More!"
Rating:
Summary: Poor start
Review: ... This book was supposed to have been about a girl being killed and the person that the police believe is the suspect. The author even takes the time to do his own introduction. Mr. Burke talked about the Cajun life and music. It was wonderful to hear his thoughts on this and I thought he would add a bit of this local color to his story. I was very excited to begin listening to the story. I was all set to listen to a GREAT book on Southern life and the murder of this poor girl. ... With 12 CD's, I had no desire to listen to the rest. I wanted to get into the story that was stated on the overview on the CD case. If you are interested in listening to a book that takes many chapters to set up the story, then this is the book for you to read. If you are like me and want to get into the story, I would not buy this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Burke's been better
Review: After reading every entry in the Robicheaux series, and at one time being convinced that James Lee Burke was America's greatest living author and a modern-day Hemingway, imagine my disapointment in reading "Jole Blon's Bounce", at once utterly predictable and recycled from previous novels. Granted, as always, the Burke heroes - uncannily similar to the "Hemingway Heroes" - like Robicheaux himself and his invariable alter-ego, Clete Purcel, are interesting because of their complications and inner plagues with which they battle. But I'm beginning to tire of the "Burke Bad Guy", which not only is uncomplicated but almost the same in every novel, which is to say absolutely evil -no shades of gray - just simply portrayed in black and white. For example, this novel's primary villain (and there are many), Legion Guidry, is described as "a demon" and "pure evil", without any understanding of how he became that way. But what's really insulting is the ending, which is reminiscent of the ridiculous abridged finale of the movie version of "The Bad Seed", not only in its preditability, but in its simplistic, holier-than-thou vision of Good's triumph over Evil. Mr. Burke, with all due respect, I know you can do better.
Rating:
Summary: Will Patton is the Best!
Review: To listen to Will Patton read James Lee Burke is to feel like you know Dave Robicheaux in person and you are standing there with him as he looks off into the Louisiana bayous. I can't get enough of his material. As for Jolie Blon's Bounce, I thought was one of the best in the series. Don't miss it!
Rating: 
Summary: Reading instead of performing
Review: ... Not only available, but unabridged and read by Will Patton, whom I feel is the best reader now that Frank Muller is hurt. Burke's descriptions are unsurpassed and Patton's performances are unmatched, certainly in the Southern dialect.
Now, imagine my disappointment in receiving my audiocassette and finding someone named Frank Hammer as the READER. I use the emphasis to highlight that he is a reader aand not a performer. Patton's renditions are true art, Hammer just reads. I could not enjoy the true skill of Burke because of Hammer's uninspired, by the numbers reading.
I am disappointed that hammer was allowed(by whomever) to ruin this reading for me.
My rating would be 5+ for the book and 2+ for the audiocasssette.
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