<![CDATA[Sunset Limited]]>

false <![CDATA[Sunset Limited]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172701059m/209461.jpg 209461 16 Imagine Philip Marlowe sans the cigarettes and in AA. Put him in Louisiana and jump forward 50 years or so and you've got David Robicheaux, a tough-talking detective with the same soft spot as his prototype for troublesome women and for delving into places into which he probably has no business. New Iberia, Louisiana, perfectly rivals Marlowe's L.A. for its grit and corruption and dames who'll turn a good guy bad. James Lee Burke's 11th Robicheaux book, Sunset Limited, is a twisted mystery that at times becomes almost byzantine in its attempt to keep disparate characters and narratives wound in a cohesive story line. But Burke's writing is so stunning that all is forgiven as you become immersed in the tale, which meshes past and present to uncover the secret of a decades-old murder. Forty years ago, a local labor leader was crucified in a crime that remains unsolved. Now, his daughter--Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Megan Flynn--returns to New Iberia. With a seemingly insignificant remark to Robicheaux, she begins a chain of events that lead right back to her father's death. New Iberia, in some sense, is frozen in time as the age-old problems of race and class weave their way into the mystery, complicating Robicheaux's discovery of not only the original crime, but the wealth of murders that spring up along the way. Add in the Chinese mob, corrupt policemen, and a Hollywood film shoot, and the stage is set. Burke's forte is his ability to create characters so evil they're liable to get you up in the night to check in your closet and under your bed. The players--both good and bad--are characterized more by their flaws than their attributes, giving everyone a wicked sheen. The book isn't overly gory (although short descriptions can be rather graphic), but everyone has a dark side, emphasizing the noir-ish tones of the novel. His writing is powerful, mixing tender landscapes ("[W]e dropped through clouds that were pooled with fire in the sunrise and came in over biscuit-colored hills dotted with juniper and pine and pinyon trees...") with dead-on, cutting descriptions ("His face was tentacled with a huge purple-and-strawberry birthmark, so that his eyes looked squeezed inside a mask") and the camp dialogue of Chandler ("Evil doesn't have a zip code"). Oddly, these sundry elements blend seamlessly, allowing you to overlook tenuous connections and occasionally confusing turns. Don't pick this up expecting a happy ending. But for those who long for a modern-day Chandler, you'll find Sunset Limited a gripping and satisfying read. --Jenny Brown 202727 1998 Sunset Limited total:402|5:104|4:167|3:109|2:15|1:7| 402 1552 526 26 3 0 false false Fri May 15 14:24:19 -0700 2009 Fri May 15 14:24:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 14 05:42:56 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 12:31:56 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 15:09:27 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 15:14:35 -0700 2009 Tin Roof Blowdown, I just can't catch the fever.

I am interested, though, in Robicheaux cypress house. Apparently there are those who advocate ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Mon Jan 28 20:24:13 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 28 20:25:25 -0800 2008 Audible.com

Narrator: Will Patton
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2001
Length: 4 hours 30 min. (abridged)

Publisher's Summary
The forty-year-old crucifixion of a prominent labor leader named Jack Flynn remains an unsolved atrocity that has never been ...more...]]> 4 0 false true Sat Feb 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 10:31:26 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 03:45:10 -0800 2009
But...

I've remarked in other reviews about how in many books the damaged or otherwise imperfect seem to be more expendable characters than the whole and beautiful. ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 13:45:42 -0700 2008 Sat May 17 12:47:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 10:26:10 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 07 17:04:29 -0800 2008 The cryptic, focus-switching style and Louisiana argot take a bit of getting used to, but the characters are ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 16:05:30 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 16:09:11 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Dec 30 11:13:58 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 11:53:51 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Mon Mar 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 15:32:37 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 15:34:08 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 18 18:54:17 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 18:54:17 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Fri Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 01 15:29:13 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 01 15:30:47 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Mar 05 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Wed Sep 23 12:34:32 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 23 12:34:32 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 20:07:29 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 13:32:31 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Mar 14 04:34:01 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 04:34:16 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri May 01 16:27:27 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 16:27:27 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Feb 23 05:17:56 -0800 2009 Thu Mar 12 16:45:22 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Tue Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 18 10:11:30 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 25 08:26:42 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Oct 29 11:38:02 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 10 11:12:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2000 Fri Mar 07 17:53:05 -0800 2008 Fri Mar 07 17:53:05 -0800 2008 Dave Robicheaux, cop and bait store owner in New Iberia, LA investigates charges of brutality in the Parish jail and unearths a 40 year old murder of union organizer Jack Flynn. Old passions and old race and class lines come back to haunt the present. Good mystery, better exami...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=209461