Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not really "stand up".
Review: I can understand JLB getting tired of his cajun caracter, but I have'nt had quite enough of him and I'm not so sure the author has either. I'm a loyal fan so I'll sick with him as he works on his new guy. I just hope he comes along as well the old one.
Rating: 
Summary: "I have sinned.......but so have you!"
Review: As a fan of the Robicheaux novels, Neon Rain, Heavens Prisoners et all, I cursed the introduction of a new character(authors seem to tire of their creations before we do) but Cimarron Rose has no part of disappointment in the whole description. Billy Bob Holland and Deaf Smith,Texas deliver both the 'body bags and toe tags' of Burke's relentless realism; and,like Dave Robicheaux in New Iberia, also sandpapers our frequently dulled sensibilities. There is in James Lee Burke's work a prevalent theme of honor - lost,or misplaced,but like a gremlin sitting on your shoulder, always there just out of sight. While Burke has a storyteller's gift and the ability to create intensely vivid locale, the private lights of his tarnished heros are what transform paper and ink to flesh and blood. In all the Robicheaux novels, and now in Cimarron Rose,the protagonists seem to say...."Bless me Father for I have sinned", while others in the cast echo the truth.........."but so have you."
Rating:
Summary: Billy Bob: a "darker, brooding" Robicheaux
Review: This book is terrific, so why the 7? It's Burke's attitude toward soldiers and Viet Nam. In the Robicheaux series, there's always some demented, half-crazed, ex-"machine gunning the children" GI on the loose. In "Rose," it's not a U.S. Army soldier but a crazed Mexican who was trained at Fort Benning. Memo to Burke: there are a lot of us veterans who served our country, went to war when we were told and did so honorably. Second, lighten up. If you're going to give us a "dark brooding Robicheaux" as a lead character, at least give us a character like Clete to make us smile occasionally. Know what I mean, Streak?
Rating: 
Summary: A great new protagonist!
Review: Move over Dave Robicheaux, make way for Billy Bob Holland, a defense attorney in the small Texas town of Deaf Smith. Billy Bob has to defend his illigetimate son who alleged to have raped and murdered a young girl.
As is typical of a Burke main character , flaws make them human and in this case a spectre of his former partner haunts him. Actually the ghost gives our hero good advice throughout the book.
Darl Vanzandt is a twisted sociopath who gives the novel some spice as does a convict who is released from prison on a technicality.
Burke's novels are imbued with powerful characters, great dialogue and moving prose.
I look forward to the next book in this series
Rating:
Summary: Cimarron Rose makes me want more James Lee!
Review: Cimarron Rose has many of the same elements as the Robicheaux novels, but it's a great leap for Burke. The writing is tighter and more condensed, yet magically evocative of strong characterizations and sense of place and time. More than any of his other books, there are several places where one sentence is simply perfect in its description of a place, scene, or person, bringing the entire picture together in the reader's mind. ( I can't believe the Kirkus reviewer wasn't able to figure this out). The story is satisfyingly complex, with no loose ends or "wait a minute!" suspensions of belief. Yes, Billy Bob is something of a clone of Robicheaux (and Burke might have used a less sterotypical name name for his protagonist). But every author must get sick of writing about the same character time and again. Billy Bob has great potential (no wife or kids) which will allow Burke to take the character into uncharted directions in future books. I especially love what Burke does with descriptions of not only sights but sounds and smells. Within 50 pages, the reader is simply THERE, and feels as though he/she has been there and knows these folks like they were long-lost neighbors, relatives, friends and enemies. Bravo, Mr.Burke
Rating:
Summary: Another superb book from one of the greats!
Review: I have been a long time admirer of James Burke, and have read all the Robiceaux novels. I was skeptical about Burke straying away from Robiceaux. But skeptical no more. Burke has created a wonderful new character, Billy Bob Holland - full of humanity, family and humor. And tough. The story moves at a brisk pace, lots of suspense and thrills, and I was sorry when it ended. Great job, James Lee
Rating:
Summary: Greed, lust, drugs, who could ask for more!?
Review: This was my first James Lee Burke novel. I really liked the writing style. Lee is spare with both words and discriptions but yet still creates full characters and a sense of what a small west Texas town is like. The plot has as many twists and turns as a rattlesnake slithering across hot asphalt. I felt though that with these twists and turns, there were too many plot angles left untied. And, I really couldn't understand Holland's infatuation with the cop. But, all in all, I couldn't put it down
Rating:
Summary: Burke at the top of his form
Review: James Lee Burke has produced another winner, and introduces all of us to a new, compelling hero. "Cimarron Rose" tells the dual tale of Billy Bob Hollander, and his great-grandfather Sam Hollander. (Sam's tale is relayed through excerpts of his diary which Billy Bob reads during the course of the novel.)
Billy Bob is a flawed hero, in the vein of Dave Robicheaux. He is a man of strong moral principles and unapologetic faith. How he balances his ideals, and seeks justice in a corrupt world, makes or good reading; and provides food for thought.
I believed that the latest entries in the Robicheaux series showed some tiredness on Burke's part. He has pretty well explored Robicheaux's character and world. It was time for Burke to move on, and he has wisely chosen to do so. Still, this new novel contains what we have come to expect from Burke: an interesting protagonist, other characters with both good and bad traits, and a sense of the world in which they all live. A classic touch: Burke's descriptions of the meals his characters eay. If the Robicheaux novels left you hungry for a po' boy sandwich, wait till you read about Billy Bob's meals of steak, eggs and refried beans!
It is a wise author who knows when it's time to retire a character. James Lee Burke has made a smart decision in bringing us Billy Bob Hollander. I look forward to future tales of his adventures in Texas.
Rating:
Summary: A Clear Winner
Review: I admit I approached the latest James Lee Burke offering with trepidation. Having been burned by Tony Hillerman (Finding Moon), Patricia Cornwell (Hornet's Nest) and Robert Parker (All Our Yesterdays) when a favorite author strayed outside of familiar territory, I was very afraid that Burke had done the same. I am ecstatic to report my fears were unfounded. This is Robicheaux in Texas! Billy Bob Holland brings all the volatility and suspense of Iberia Parish to a small Texas town. The story is thrilling and Holland is a winner. I'm still looking forward to the next Robicheaux entry, but this is one not to be missed
Rating:
Summary: But Bitterroot is better!
Review: I liked part two (Bitterroot) of James Lee Burke’s Billy Bob Holland saga so well that I gave this first part a listen on unabridged audio. Boy howdy, Billy Bob gets better with age! Cimarron Rose is our introduction Billy Bob Holland, an attorney/former Texas Ranger (the Law Enforcement kind – not G.W.’s former baseball team) and his friends and relatives, including his dead ranger partner, L.Q. Navarro, for whose death Billy Bob, a “river-baptized” Baptist turned Roman Catholic, feels all the guilt that the latter can impose. The plot exposes small-town caste sociology to the light - without proselytizing - like Stephen King did in the horror venue with “Carrie.” But what’s up with Great-grandpa’s journal? This reader doesn’t see the point - except to exploit the extreme predjudices of the period against Native Americans. The author’s forays (via excerpts from an old journal) into Billy Bob’s outlaw/preacher great-grandfather’s lust for the “savage” Cimarron Rose, and concomitant self-hatred, seem superfluous and gratuitous. Burke’s writing is superb. At one point I just had to stop and write down a quote. Billy Bob (the tale is written in the first-person) is telling us about his Daddy, who had gone nearly blind as a welder. Then, “Clarity of sight” came only when he was welding “and saw again the flame that was as pure to him as the cathedrals bells were to the deaf bell-ringer Quasimodo.” This tour of Burke’s Deaf Smith County, Texas is well worth the trip. Stay on board for Bitterroot, Montana!
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