Black Cherry Blues

I decided to read this book, to be completely honest, because the kindle price was right. I’ve just finished reading Burke’s latest Robincheaux novel New Iberian Blues (2018) and I was so taken with that book’s immersion qualities that I wanted to follow it up with something earlier in the the series. This book, is the third in the series and one of my favorite characters from both books is Dave’s former partner Cletus… it keep picturing him being played by Donald Logue, Harvey Bullock from Gotham…

The plot centers around Dave minding his own business literally, when an old college friend blows through town… and I’ll wind flowing with him that draws Dave into a maelstrom of murder leading from Louisiana to Montana where the bodies really start piling up…

The best thing I can say about this book… is that I really have to read the first book, Neon Rain…

This is the third book of this excellent series by James Lee Burke and the best of the first three in my humble opinion. I like to read series in order and was turned on to Mr Burke by my brother over the Christmas holidays. This poor protagonist has been through so much in the first three books it is a wonder he is not a walking heart attack. One thing about the author, he is truly obsessed with rain. I have never read a series of books with so much reference to stormy weather. This third installment is much easier to follow as the first two have so many twists and turns it was almost impossible to follow. No spoilers here. Just enjoy this slick novel that is a page turner. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Trouble has a way of finding ex-New Orleans PD detective Dave Robicheaux. A former college roommate, and over-the-hill country singer, comes into town and trouble starts. A boat catches fire, Robicheaux receives a note threatening his daughter, and lastly he is charged with murder. To clear his name, he heads to Montana, where a crime boss resides who seems to be implicated.

As usual, the authors descriptions and depictions are quite vivid and perceptive, almost to the point of excess. The author has Dave driving all over Montana, but that doesnt save a plot that seems rather sketchy. Robicheaux is an interesting but flawed character, who has a penchant for putting himself in harms way. Of course, he looks positively pure compared to his associates. Furthermore, he seems to have a woman problem: they either die, get killed, or move on.

Abuse triggers

James Lee Burke is a must buy, must read author. This stand-alone is easy to follow and difficult to put down. No editing errors, gratuitous violence or drag-you-down drama.

Entertaining storyline with several twists throughout. Descriptive writing that draws the reader into each scene. Realistic procedures, actions and reactions. Believable characters with distinct personalities. Thought-provoking and occasionally snarky dialogue.

‘But you offer what you have, perhaps even bless it with a prayer, and maybe somewhere down the line affection grows into faith and replaces memory.’

I will re-read this story and always look forward to works by this author.

OVERALL
Lightweight but entertaining. Mostly succeeds at what it sets out to do, except when it comes to the female characters.

READING STATS
Started the book on Jan 13 2019. Completed on Jan 25 2019. Averaged 24 pages a day. I read the Kindle version, on my Kindle Oasis.

MY HIGHLIGHTED PASSAGES
Beware of spoilers, which are not marked:

NOTES
Solid but lightweight Robicheaux southern gothic mystery yarn. After the crushing melodrama of the first two novels (note: I’m not complaining here, that thick, juicy southern gothic melodrama is one of the main reasons I read the series), the lightweight nature of the book is a nice change-of-pace; especially since we’re settling in for a 20+ book series here.

The mystery and plot of this one was a lot more clear-cut than the first two, whose plots were chock-full of ambiguous twists and turns and characters with murky motives. In retrospect, I think I prefer the moody, melodramatic murkiness of the first two (the True Detective TV series strikes a similar tone), but again the breeziness is a nice break after the intensity of the first two.

Im docking an entire star for the embarrassingly paper-thin female characters, whose portrayal in the series this far is borderline misogynist. Now, those are strong words, so I should clarify that I don’t sense any intention of this kind of animosity from the author; in fact, quite the opposite, I sense a genuine warmth and affection for his doomed cardboard damsels, which makes me think that maybe James Lee Burke should stick to writing male characters? Hopefully this is an aspect of the series that will improve as we go.

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