Rating: 
Summary: Not bad, but definitely not great.
Review: As a rabid fan of James Ellroy, I find myself comparing other authors in his genre to the Demon Dog. I heard good things about Burke, and picked this book up.While certainly not a bad book, it didn't live up to the hype for me. The dialogue seemed unnatural, and the characters seemed extremely one-dimensional. The whole book seemed like an amalgamation of other authors, and didn't really find it's own. I was entertained, but I can't see myself running out to get any more stuff by Burke.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but definitely not great.
Review: As a rabid fan of James Ellroy, I find myself comparing other authors in his genre to the Demon Dog. I heard good things about Burke, and picked this book up. While certainly not a bad book, it didn't live up to the hype for me. The dialogue seemed unnatural, and the characters seemed extremely one-dimensional. The whole book seemed like an amalgamation of other authors, and didn't really find it's own. I was entertained, but I can't see myself running out to get any more stuff by Burke.
Rating: 
Summary: What a book!
Review: I loved this book! It, along with "In the Electric Mist" are two of my favorites! Tough writing, with characters named Clete, Buchalter, and Robicheaux (what more do you need?) this was a fast-paced novel with excellent plot and development. Also like the dialect--easy to understand and not too much of it. Want a good read and a good mystery along with good writing? This is it. Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood and Cold Mountain
Rating:
Summary: What a book!
Review: I loved this book! It, along with "In the Electric Mist" are two of my favorites! Tough writing, with characters named Clete, Buchalter, and Robicheaux (what more do you need?) this was a fast-paced novel with excellent plot and development. Also like the dialect--easy to understand and not too much of it. Want a good read and a good mystery along with good writing? This is it. Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood and Cold Mountain
Rating:
Summary: Some Great Gumbo!
Review: I went to a Borders reading with James Lee Burke and his humble, yet confident voice added new dimension to his characters...as if that's possible. Dave Robicheaux and his buddy Clete Purcel just about walk into the room anytime I open the pages of these books. Unfortunately, Burke's antagonists are just as palpable. The evil lurking beneath the surface of certain scenes is dark and frighteningly real. It's hard not to cheer for Robicheaux as he faces his foes and, usually, reacts before he thinks. Burke wraps this gritty realism and dialogue in some of the most beautiful and vivid metaphors around. Some accuse Burke's writing of shallow plotting, and I understand their viewpoint. I choose, though, to wander along with Dave Robicheaux through the heat and sound and smells of his day and see where it may lead us. Somehow this style gives his stories an uncharted realism that I personally appreciate. Like the cajun food Burke writes of, his words are alive with flavor and texture and subtlety beneath a layer of eye-popping spices. And--as his fans well know--your sense of smell will also be invited to the meal. Pull up a chair and savor some good Louisiana cooking.
Rating:
Summary: Some Great Gumbo!
Review: I went to a Borders reading with James Lee Burke and his humble, yet confident voice added new dimension to his characters...as if that's possible. Dave Robicheaux and his buddy Clete Purcel just about walk into the room anytime I open the pages of these books. Unfortunately, Burke's antagonists are just as palpable. The evil lurking beneath the surface of certain scenes is dark and frighteningly real. It's hard not to cheer for Robicheaux as he faces his foes and, usually, reacts before he thinks. Burke wraps this gritty realism and dialogue in some of the most beautiful and vivid metaphors around. Some accuse Burke's writing of shallow plotting, and I understand their viewpoint. I choose, though, to wander along with Dave Robicheaux through the heat and sound and smells of his day and see where it may lead us. Somehow this style gives his stories an uncharted realism that I personally appreciate. Like the cajun food Burke writes of, his words are alive with flavor and texture and subtlety beneath a layer of eye-popping spices. And--as his fans well know--your sense of smell will also be invited to the meal. Pull up a chair and savor some good Louisiana cooking.
Rating:
Summary: HE DID IT AGAIN...GOOD STUFF
Review: I've read four Dave Robicheaux novels so far, every one a winner. No complaints, only praise.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner!!
Review: I've working my way through the Robicheaux series, and I must say this is the best by far; I was under the impression that Burke had hit his peak with BLACK CHERRY BLUES. As the series progresses Dave becomes a more intriguing figure--the demons and inner conflicts that Dave deals with mentally whips you by the end of this novel--and the "bad guys" take on an image of pure genius. The novel revolves around a sunken SUB, and the ramifications of Robicheaux knowing the exact location. The book takes off when the trouble invades Dave's home, and threatens to tear the fabric of his marriage. I've read many crime novels and I must say that Will Buchalter is one of the best characters to come about in a long time. The lucky ones that have read the entire series must agree with me when I say Clete Purcel is in rare form in this novel. For the casual Burke fans, this book is being developed into a movie by Tommy Lee Jones; after finishing the novel, I can see why. This is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner!!
Review: I've working my way through the Robicheaux series, and I must say this is the best by far; I was under the impression that Burke had hit his peak with BLACK CHERRY BLUES. As the series progresses Dave becomes a more intriguing figure--the demons and inner conflicts that Dave deals with mentally whips you by the end of this novel--and the "bad guys" take on an image of pure genius. The novel revolves around a sunken SUB, and the ramifications of Robicheaux knowing the exact location. The book takes off when the trouble invades Dave's home, and threatens to tear the fabric of his marriage. I've read many crime novels and I must say that Will Buchalter is one of the best characters to come about in a long time. The lucky ones that have read the entire series must agree with me when I say Clete Purcel is in rare form in this novel. For the casual Burke fans, this book is being developed into a movie by Tommy Lee Jones; after finishing the novel, I can see why. This is a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Finely tuned evocation of crime in the Big Easy
Review: It can be a terrible thing for the avid reader to discover the works of an already established and prolific author. If the author is not to the reader's taste, no problem exists; if, however, the author's work grabs the reader by the throat and refuses to let go, the reader is faced with the daunting task of reading everything else the author has written. Such is the case with James Lee Burke and his series of Dave Robicheaux novels; while I already have a sizable list of novels on my summer reading list, I am forced, after reading DIXIE CITY JAM, to seek out more of Burke's mystery novels. DIXIE is set in and around the city of New Orleans (always a vivid setting for an atmospheric mystery). Dave Robicheaux is a detective with the Sheriff's Office who is juggling many balls at once. In addition to his police duties, he has been hired to locate a WW II U-boat that was sunk in local waters many years ago. He also has the added predicament of helping out his old comrade Clete Purcel stay alive as he constantly and foolishly aggravates local crime figures Max and Bobo Calucci. But things come to a head when he finds himself warding off the unwelcome advances of Will Buchalter, an enormous neo-Nazi who's ultimate motives for terrorizing Robicheaux's family remain frighteningly obscure. Clearly, Burke has no problem with handling many different plot threads. The narrative leaps from element to element; an ailing gangster who wishes to make amends; a young man who is trying to become more than be believes he can be; an interrogation scene that will make the reader squirm. His management of these disparate elements is so skillful, so loaded with portent, that the eventual solution to Robicheaux's many dilemmas comes off as anti-climactic. In the genre of crime writing, perhaps only James Ellroy can be trusted to pull together myriad subplots into a satisfactory conclusion. But that doesn't mean it's not a travel worth taking. Burke shows a genuine flair for capturing the idioms of New Orleans speech; it may not be authentic, but in relation to the story, it is vital and alive. What may come across as precocious and obtrusive in a lesser writer is transformed in Burke's hands into true characterization and ambiance. The native patois becomes integral to the novel's success at presenting New Orleans as a character, rather than a setting. Burke has crafted a marvelous variety of characters to inhabit his world. Robicheaux is a hero firmly entrenched in the classic detective mode, an honourable man, tough yet tender, who operates with one eye towards justice, and the other towards his own inner demons. Clete is an absurdly erratic yet loyal companion, a man who cannot control his own impulses, even at the risk of self-destruction. And among the wide diversity of supporting characters, none is more frightening or memorable than Buchalter, a creation of monstrous proportions. He is among the creepiest of psychopaths I can ever remember meeting in print, a pleasure/pain lover with severe racist overtones, a genuinely despicable monster with no redeeming qualities. It takes real craftsmanship to construct a portrait of evil so convincingly. As I said, the ending, coming after multiple storylines involving mobsters, anti-Semitism, corrupt cops and blatant racism, seems a letdown. It wraps up the story convincingly, but perhaps it's a testament to Burke's abilities that it seems a shame to end the tale. As in all the great mysteries, Burke creates a world unto itself, rife with passion and rage. That the mystery can be solved at all is secondary to the people who inhabit the world. Burke's New Orleans is a dangerous place, a jungle of seething violence and corruption, a site on par with Ellroy's Los Angeles and Ian Rankin's Edinburgh. One can only hope his further explorations into Dave Robicheaux's universe remain as entertaining.
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