Rating: 
Summary: I expected great and I got it.
Review: I've been reading Burke for more than a decade and he has never let me down. This one -- second in his new series about a former Texas Ranger who is now a brutally honest West Texas lawyer -- delivers in ways that I partly expected, partly caught me by surprise. It's worth five stars, but only if you like damned good novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Have a Nice Day!
Review: I've read a half dozen of Burke's books primarily for the atmospherics as I've alsways found the plots rather weak & fuzzy. But now I think I've had it with the atmospherics, too. Probably nobody paints more vivid word pictures than Burke but he just can't stop. He never just says, "It was a nice day," he has to take half a page to tell you why it's a nice day. Also I couldn't find anyone in the book to identify with, including Billy Bob. When one particular annoying character died, I felt like cheering. When I finished the book (I always try to finish), I did cheer.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm Sure I've Read this Book Before
Review: If you've never read Burke before, this is a fine start. If you've read Burke before and have grown to love his style (as I have), this is a placeholder at best.On the plus side, this book has everything that is a hallmark of Burke's writing-- interesting characters, hard-core insights and solid writing. Billy Bob Holland is as good a character as there is if you've never heard of a certain New Iberian cop before. All the other characters in this book are compelling as well. Unfortunately, this is just rehashed stuff from previous Burke books. There is nothing new here and I suffered serious deja vu to "Burning Angel," right down to the big house going up in flame at the end. I think it's great that Burke put aside his very successful Louisiana line of books to try to do something different. I just wished that it was indeed something different. A change of pace would be nice and I'm sure a man of Burke's talents could have developed something unique. But just to be clear, a below-average Burke book is clearly a better read than 90% of the stuff out there.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Sure I've Read this Book Before
Review: If you've never read Burke before, this is a fine start. If you've read Burke before and have grown to love his style (as I have), this is a placeholder at best. On the plus side, this book has everything that is a hallmark of Burke's writing-- interesting characters, hard-core insights and solid writing. Billy Bob Holland is as good a character as there is if you've never heard of a certain New Iberian cop before. All the other characters in this book are compelling as well. Unfortunately, this is just rehashed stuff from previous Burke books. There is nothing new here and I suffered serious deja vu to "Burning Angel," right down to the big house going up in flame at the end. I think it's great that Burke put aside his very successful Louisiana line of books to try to do something different. I just wished that it was indeed something different. A change of pace would be nice and I'm sure a man of Burke's talents could have developed something unique. But just to be clear, a below-average Burke book is clearly a better read than 90% of the stuff out there.
Rating:
Summary: Billy Bob Holland helps an innocent man prove his innocence.
Review: James Lee Burke is one of my favorite writers, but it is now as a result of his vivid descriptions of his enviroment rather than his stories. Much as I hate to say it, Mr. Burke feels to me as though he is telling the same story over and over again, be the protagonist Billy Bob Holland or Dave Ropbucheau. There is always the polarities of people, many of whom seem to be more and more violent with each new book. I DO like Billy Bob/Dave's interaction with children. We need to see a soft side of the "heros". I will conti ue to read Burke, indeed even in hardback, in hopes of some day finding the great kick I got out of his earlier books.
Rating:
Summary: Burke At His Best
Review: James Lee Burke just gets better with each successive novel, whether in the Dave Robicheaux series or this new series, begun in "Cimarron Rose" and continued in "Heartwood." Here, as in his prevoius books, he creates fully-developed characters that leap off the pages and a compelling plot line, and combines this with his hypnotic decriptive power to create a novel that transcends the mystery genre to take its place as a full-blown work of literature. Read "Cimarron Rose" first, and then read "Heartwood." You will be very glad you did. (I also highly recommend "The Lost Get-Back Boogie," one of his first novels and, to my mind, one of his best.)
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine New Series
Review: James Lee Burke looks like a cowboy or a roustabout, but writes like a poet. His love of place is evident in his novels, whether they are set in New Iberia, Lousiana, or Deaf Smith, Texas. He also displays his affection for life's underdogs, and returns again and again to the theme of the abuse of power by the priviliged few. In this book, "Heartwood" refers to a type of tree whose core increases in strength as the tree grows, until it is so strong that saws cannot cut through it. Burke's protagonist, Billy Bob Holland, is on his way to becoming a man with a center of heartwood. He has a tragedy in his past, an illegitimate son who is also on his way to becoming a fine and courageous man, and an idealized love for the town beauty, Peggy Jean Dietrich. Peggy Jean is married to the rich, powerful and ruthless, Earl Dietrich. When Earl sets up the naive dreamer, Wilbur Pickett, as the thief who stole a fortune in bearer bonds from his home, Billy Bob takes his case. That's when all hell breaks loose in Deaf Smith, Texas! The plot is densly populated and complex. Burke has always infused his tales with a lot of mysticism, and this one is no exception. Wilbur's blind wife is gifted with second sight, and Billy Bob has visions of the man who was his partner when both were Texas Rangers. Burke writes of gangbangers, drug dealers, crooked cops and the overpriviliged sons and daughters of the wealthy. This book is beautifully written and peopled with fully realized characters, admirable, evil, and all the degrees in between. I have not yet read "Cimmaron Rose", but I am looking forward to another visit to Deaf Smith, Texas.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine New Series
Review: James Lee Burke looks like a cowboy or a roustabout, but writes like a poet. His love of place is evident in his novels, whether they are set in New Iberia, Lousiana, or Deaf Smith, Texas. He also displays his affection for life's underdogs, and returns again and again to the theme of the abuse of power by the priviliged few. In this book, "Heartwood" refers to a type of tree whose core increases in strength as the tree grows, until it is so strong that saws cannot cut through it. Burke's protagonist, Billy Bob Holland, is on his way to becoming a man with a center of heartwood. He has a tragedy in his past, an illegitimate son who is also on his way to becoming a fine and courageous man, and an idealized love for the town beauty, Peggy Jean Dietrich. Peggy Jean is married to the rich, powerful and ruthless, Earl Dietrich. When Earl sets up the naive dreamer, Wilbur Pickett, as the thief who stole a fortune in bearer bonds from his home, Billy Bob takes his case. That's when all hell breaks loose in Deaf Smith, Texas! The plot is densly populated and complex. Burke has always infused his tales with a lot of mysticism, and this one is no exception. Wilbur's blind wife is gifted with second sight, and Billy Bob has visions of the man who was his partner when both were Texas Rangers. Burke writes of gangbangers, drug dealers, crooked cops and the overpriviliged sons and daughters of the wealthy. This book is beautifully written and peopled with fully realized characters, admirable, evil, and all the degrees in between. I have not yet read "Cimmaron Rose", but I am looking forward to another visit to Deaf Smith, Texas.
Rating: 
Summary: Billy Bob & Dave Robicheaux never seem to grow-up
Review: JLBurke has this ugly habit of making his main characters, Dave Robicheaux and now Billy Bob Holland, sexual saps (googoogahgah) for women they have bedded in the past. I find this tiresome. Billy Bob & Dave never seem to grow up. They remain sexually shallow pion brains. And being as half the story revolves around this drivel half the story is a waste. The story itself is the same old same old, the rich abusing/getting over on the non-rich. All the cops are on the "pad", etc. Nothing new.
Rating:
Summary: Will Patton makes the difference!!
Review: Most of the reviews here deal with the book. I'm talking about the audiobook. Billy Bob or Dave, take your pick, Will Patton brings the characters to life with his rich accents and smooth delivery. Burke's writing cannot be better but those of you struggling with formulaic plot lines and sameness of characters could not have listened to the audiobook. This combination of writer/reader just doesn't exist anywhere else. It will change your impression immediately.
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