Rating: 
Summary: Robicheaux's best
Review: If I could do it all again, I'd almost be tempted to read this book and not read any more of the Dave Robicheaux series, due to the incredible similarity of plots. In almost every novel, the trouble starts because Robicheaux finds something in a body of water, whether that be a bayou, a lake, an ocean, a pond, et cetera. Then all these interested parties start hounding Robicheaux because of what he's uncovered. However, this book remains the best in the series.In this entry, Robicheaux and his wife Annie witness a small single-engine plane crash into the water while they are out on their boat, and Robicheaux rescues the only survivor: a young girl of about toddler age. Soon after, he finds himself being hounded by INS representatives, a DEA agent, and some very unpleasant people who are interested in keeping the crash a secret. This book finds Robicheaux at his most hard-boiled, the plot is very much character driven, and it makes for an intriguing story all around. I would highly recommend this book, but only this book of the Dave Robicheaux series.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific writing,wonderful characters
Review: James lee Burke is one of thosed underrated masters of prose,forever delegated to second rung because of his genre. Heavens prisoners, the second in this series,is,in many ways, the best. Dave Robicheux, the alcoholic new Orleans cop,is out fishing when a single engine plane crashes into the lake,and everything changes.Mr. Burke's descriptions of alcoholic despair and rage are perhaps the finest,and least sentimental I have read. The violence is brutal and freakish in its intensity[as violence is],the dialogue is so well written that i feel for these characters,and want to read more. Though much Longer then Neon rain, the first entry,Mr. Burkes seems to hold the intensity through the narrative. From the lousiana locales to histroical comments on Cajuns, from Cletus Purcell{his sort of sidekick]to the suprising[at least for me] ending, Mr. Burke solidifes himself as one superb writer.And, fortunately, the series goes on ...
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks heart
Review: Plot-wise and writing-wise, this book is as good as Burke's others. But it lacked heart, considering Dave's loss. For a guy who's pretty introspective (about his drinking and the war,etc.), he doesn't seem to give a second thought about Annie after she's killed. He talks a little (very little) about his guilt, but not about how he misses her and loved her. Instead he turns almost immediately to Robin, which just doesn't seem in character. It bothered me and got that fifth star knocked off.
Rating:
Summary: Lyrical evocation of Southern Louisiana
Review: Readers expecting a standard detective novel will be amazed at the literary quality of Burke's characters and landscape. Even those who know nothing about Southern Louisiana or Cajun culture will feel that they have been there. The story is tautly constructed but the dialogue and descriptive passages are some of the best in the world of today's writers. Burke's use of colloquial names like the "four-corners" rather than the "crossroads" makes an individual place very real. It is very frustrating to Burke/Robicheaux fans that the movie, well cast, beautifully photographed, and with the same atmosphere as the book was caught up in Hollywood studio politics and when finally released after a lengthy delay received no advertizing or other promotion. Alec Baldwin's portrayal of Robicheaux gives all Burke readers a mental image to carry as they read all the other seven books about this complex literary character. James Lee Burke has also written a number of! books NOT about the Cajun detective and they are all worth a read and a re-read.
Rating: 
Summary: Black as Swamp Water
Review: That James Lee Burke is one of the most talented writers of modern fiction cannot be denied. Few superlatives would exaggerate the power of his lyrical prose; the lucid images his words conjure. Burke's southern Louisiana bayous are no mere backdrops in which a mystery is dropped, but such forceful allegory that character and plot sometimes must play a secondary role to his poetry. But therein lies the problem - Burke's mood and moodiness, as reflected in the character of Dave Robicheaux, can eventually wear down even the most ardent Burke fan. Nowhere is this sense of despair and desperation more apparent than in "Heaven's Prisoners", the second in the Robicheaux series. Ostensibly a thriller/mystery involving a suspicious plane crash and Robicheaux's unofficial investigation of the forces behind it, this is really the tale of Robicheaux's (and Burke's, one would assume) internal struggles with alcoholism, guilt, self-doubt, and eventual revenge. In the Louisiana of "Heaven's Prisoners", it seems to rain only slightly less than in "Blade Runner", providing the perfect settings for the author's rather bleak outlook on culture, love, and the inequities of life in general. Bleeding heart liberalism is always lurking surreptitiously between the lines of Burke's fiction, though in this one, the cause of Burke's despair is less apparent. In summary, "Heaven's Prisoners" is an effort typical of Burke's superb literary skills, though not his finest. If the reader is looking for redemption as a reward of following Burke's meandering journey of self-pity and doubt, I fear that, like our hero Robicheaux, in the end will come up short.
Rating:
Summary: HEAVEN'S PRISONERS --A GOOD READ!!!!!
Review: This is the second in the Dave Robicheaux series. I am trying to read them in order. Dave has quit the New Orleans police department and is running a fishing camp. He is married and very happy. Then a plane crash, and one of the bodies disappears. Dave is drawn back into the underworld he knows so well. This time he really pays for his involvement. Won't say how because it would take away from the reading. He goes at it with Bubba Rocque, a man he grew up with and has known for years. Bubba in one of the bad guys now. But, is it Bubba or his wife that is the worse. Burke writes so you can feel like you are there. You can see the people fishing and moving through the darkness. Except for his flashbacks I would give it a 5 rating but I don't care for those. A good book that will hold you attention.
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