Rating: 
Summary: Non-Stop Suspense
Review: Detective Dave Robicheaux is back again, though in the somewhat quieter community of New Iberia, Louisiana, away from his bad memories of The Big Easy. Living alone in a rented house, with his step-daughter away at college, he begins investigating a recent attack on his friend Father Jimmie Dolan, a somewhat renegade priest whose latest cause is a campaign to shut down drive-through daiquiri shops. But the violence against Father Jimmie is just the tip of the underbelly that Dave and old friend and P.I. Clete Purcel soon discover. Beginning the investigation into the fifty-year-old disappearance of Junior Crudup, a Creole who vanished while working on a prison work gang at Castille LeJeune's mansion, Dave finds that ex-IRA member Max Coll is a hit man ordered to kill the good priest, and former love interest Theodosha Flannigan can't be trusted. Burke weaves a tangled web with his cast of characters especially when the owner of the daiquiri shop that served an under aged girl killed in a car accident is found shot to death in the shop's parking lot. And the weapon that killed the shop owner is registered to William Guillot, a builder with connections to Merchie Flannigan, husband of Theodosha, daughter of Castille LeJeune. Think complex, multifaceted, and fascinating suspense-it's all there in this latest installment in the Dave Robicheaux series that connects the wealthy good old boy Castille to the likes of porn producer Fat Sammy Figorelli. Readers are likely to eagerly anticipate the next installment in this series with its well-developed characters and endless twists and turns.
Rating: 
Summary: Back to big sleazy
Review: His wife dead, daughter away, our hero is in a rut. Depressed and wanting a drink, he goes thru the motions and is a catalyst for disaster. A slew of characters are never fully developed and we are left wanting. A magnificent writer, but this is not up to his best efforts (except for comments regarding baseball hats and politics).
Rating:
Summary: GOOD, BUT NOT WHAT WE'RE USE TO.
Review: I always look forward to any new Burke novel, and especially a Dave Robicheaux story. I was somewhat diappointed in this one however. It started with the sudden death of one of the characters that we've become familar with over the years. It was presented so matter of factly, that I had to go back to the Amazon book list to see if I might have missed one of the books in the series. (I didn't) Other usual characters were just in the book as a mention only, and not pertinent to the plot for the most part. I know the main character has to evolve, but this direction was unexpected. The plot and work done by Dave and Cletus to get to the conclusion was disjointed and the book didn't seem to have a flow to it. I DID enjoy the book, but it wasn't up to the standard that we expect from Burke.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I am a huge Burke fan. I have read them all, some a couple of times. BUT, this book was horrible. I started skimming the usual plush, rich, time/mood/place descriptions. Then I started skimming the anti-Bush, Farenheit 911 stuff. Then I started skimming the dacquiry seller as satan stuff. Then I started skimming the corporation as satan stuff. Then I was done with an uninteresting book. I still love Clete though. The opera embarrassment of the mafia guy was horrible--not good. Plus, hasn't Burke written these characters and story lines at least 10 times? If I'm going to reread the same stories, I'll go back to reread the first 5 or so in the series. OUTSTANDING. Gritty, hard, evocative, moody, dark, southern and quotable. Makes you want a po boy and dirty rice. Please go back podna, this way ain't forward.
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Summary: Beware the audio book version!
Review: I gave my dad the unabridged audio book version of "Last Car to Elysian Fields" for Christmas. He was excited, because James Lee Burke is one of his favorite authors. But he's given up trying to get through this book -- the Cajun accent the reader adopts is so thick it's too much of a struggle for him to understand. Dad had some trouble with the last Burke audio book, but this one (same reader) is worse.
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Summary: Hey, big mon! Did I miss something?
Review: I guess I'd better go back and review the last couple of Robicheaux books, because I seem to have missed Bootsie's demise. Not that I was a big a fan of hers. She was just to perfectly cutesie (almost rhymes with Bootsie) to be a fully human woman. Quiet, model-thin, always available for sex, morally incorruptible...every guy's Perfect Dream. Only a man would have written her. However, I would like t know what happened so I can piece together the story lines. Whatever. It's another great one for the New Iberia superheroes...mopping up the street slop, popping tops, crushing trash, etc., etc. It's the way people talk, but not the way they really are. Often, the clean-up crew is a bunch of thugs who do NOT attend 12-step programs and who are far from witty and loveable. But it's fun and there's poetic justice mixed with the poetry. In a Dave Robicheaux novel you love to snicker at the bad guys, knowing they will surely meet Clete.
Rating:
Summary: Another hit in a great series
Review: I have read all of the novels in the Dave Robicheaux series. I have thought that on the whole they are a fantastic series. The characters are always well draw and original. If you have read the series like I have you have a real interest in what happens to the hard luck Robicheaux. I can honestly say I worry in every novel that he will start drinking again. That kind of attachment to a fictional character is few and far between. This is perhaps a bit darker novel in terms of the main character. His third wife Bootsie has died (natural causes)and his house has burned to the ground. It is very obvious that he is even more troubled then in novels past. Once again you wonder if he will finally order that shot of Beam with a Jax on the side. As with the other novels in this series Clete Purcel is involved. I don't think there is a better "side-kick" in this genre as great as Clete. I thought the best description of him came from Robicheaux's mouth when he said that "We are opposite sides of the same coin". To be honest I would love to see a novel with Clete as the main character. In closing all I can say is that if you have read this series before (you kind of have to, to understand Robicheaux) then this will be another great addition to the series.
Rating: 
Summary: So Disappointed
Review: I have read all the Dave Robicheaux novels and have enjoyed them very much. This one, however, was disappointing. Burke's ability to richly evoke sounds, smells, colors, moods, and his ear for speach especially dialect remain unsurpassed. But the story line in this book is so disjointed and difficult to follow and understand as to ruin the novel. It is tedious to read and many of the characters are almost cartoon like and quite unbelivable.What a pity.This is one Robicheaux that I will not pass on nor recomend with enthusiasm to others .
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Summary: Thanks for spoiling it, booklist!
Review: I love this series of books, and I glanced at the 'booklist' review as I was about to make my purchase, to find that they GIVE AWAY a key element of the book! Thanks for taking away some of the enjoyment of reading it - Amazon, shame on you for posting this giveaway review where we can't avoid seeing it. I'm so upset about this I'm going to take my purchase elsewhere.
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Summary: Best Burke Book in a While
Review: I'll admit it; I love the writing of James Lee Burke. I love it so much I would probably buy a copy of the man's grocery list if it were published. I have to admit, though, that the last few books in the Dave Robicheaux series have been slightly disappointing to me. It's not that they were bad, they were simply not as extraordinary to me as his first five or six were. Last Car to Elysian Fields was, to me, his finest book in several years. The prose simply drips with atmosphere and texture, more like poetry than a novel. The interwoven plot lines were fresh and interesting, the characters were superbly drawn as usual, and the climax was both touching and believable. I highly recommend this book to Burke fans and to anyone who enjoys crime novels written with literary flair.
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