Review: Robicheaux

Robicheaux by James Lee Burke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have listened to the audio version of most of James Lee Burke’s Robicheaux books, narrated by Will Patton. Patton has become the voice of Dave Robicheaux for me, as well as the voice of the bayou country as described by Burke, in a way that can be called atmospheric, if that atmosphere is humid, hot, and kinda menacing. According to Amazon “Look Inside”, the word “mist” shows up 14 times in this book, mostly relating to seeing people appear or disappear. Moody. Robicheaux is having a bad time, more than normal, in this one, making this one of the more depressing stories in the series. The story is very similar to other Burke mysteries, as many of the recent books have seemed. But that doesn’t bother me yet, since what you are getting here is a more than plot, it is a mood that Burke knows how to impart very well. To the good is seeing Dave fall apart but hold it together enough to finish the story – there’s no grave injuries and superhuman recovery so prevalent in recent Robicheaux stories. Also, Clete is well-written comic relief (and is well performed by Patton). And you run across some inside jokey bits where you can sense Burke is winking at the reader, one bit playing off of earlier Robicheaux novel titles. I found this a refreshing entry into the cannon.

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