Swan Peak
by James Lee Burke
published
July 15th 2008
by Simon & Schuster
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binding
Hardcover, 402 pages
characters
setting
Louisiana
isbn
description
Latest Dave Robicheaux novel.
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At the Peak of His Powers
Sometimes you uncover treasures in the most unlikely places.
Nearly fifteen years ago, in the dusty back corner of a convenience store, I happened upon a VHS cassette of Heaven’s Prisoners.
Renting the bulky black tape and returning home to watch it on a small television beside my bed, careful not to wake my sleeping family—which included a newborn who wasn’t much for night sleeping anyway—changed my life.
The movie, starring Alec Baldwin, wasn’t ba...more
Sometimes you uncover treasures in the most unlikely places.
Nearly fifteen years ago, in the dusty back corner of a convenience store, I happened upon a VHS cassette of Heaven’s Prisoners.
Renting the bulky black tape and returning home to watch it on a small television beside my bed, careful not to wake my sleeping family—which included a newborn who wasn’t much for night sleeping anyway—changed my life.
The movie, starring Alec Baldwin, wasn’t ba...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Bluedaizy by:
favorite authorrecommends it for: Everyone
James Lee Burke is a KING! Most authors tend to get a bit tired after six or seven novels, but not Burke. He knocked this one out of the ball park! I read it waaaaay too fast and now I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait another year for the next one. heavy, heavy, getting depressed, sigh....
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Read in July, 2008
Let the others try to condense this story into 4 paragraphs, here are my thoughts. Many writers improve with age while others hit a pinnacle and begin a slide back down. This Robicheaux novel is as good as it gets and crosses a fine line from storytelling to real and lasting literature. Burke has no peer, with the possible exception of Cormac McCarthy, in creative and authentic dialogue. Clete Purcell further embeds himself as a favorite anti-hero, the bad guys are as bad as it gets, slow to ang...more
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Louisiana police detective Dave Robicheaux and his friend, private investigator Clete Purcell need a break from post-Katrina southern Louisiana, so the decamp to a friend's cabin in the Montana wilderness to fish and rest. That rest is short lived however, when Purcell accidentally wades into a trout stream owned by a wealthy family, and stirs up a hornets nest of trouble. When two students from the local college are murdered behind their friends property, Robicheaux and Prucell are pulled even ...more
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Read in September, 2008
Read by Will Patton.
As I've said before, I'm sure, I really like Will Patton reading James Lee Burke's novels. This was an outstanding example,
Publisher's Summary
James Lee Burke's new novel, Swan Peak, finds Detective Robicheaux far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the untouched wilderness of rural Montana. He, his wife, and his buddy, Clete Purcell, have retreated to stay at an old friend's ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from th...more
As I've said before, I'm sure, I really like Will Patton reading James Lee Burke's novels. This was an outstanding example,
Publisher's Summary
James Lee Burke's new novel, Swan Peak, finds Detective Robicheaux far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the untouched wilderness of rural Montana. He, his wife, and his buddy, Clete Purcell, have retreated to stay at an old friend's ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from th...more
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Read in July, 2008
Can't wait for another Robicheaux, I swear that every time I read one I can smell the bayou. Burke is a master.
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Read in August, 2008
Burke, James Lee. SWAN PEAK. ****1/2. Robicheaux and his buddy Clete Purcell can’t seem to go on a simple fishing trip to Montana without managing to meet up with a gang of sociopaths and psychotic killers on the way. As usual, Burke manages to have both of his main characters stand up for peace, justice, and the American way – though in a manner that promises mayhem on almost every page. Two murdered teenagers are found behind a hill that abuts the ranch of the friend they are staying ...more
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A dark novel peopled with characters of torment, each carrying some kind of horrific past event or time as a defining point to their persona. A novel of folks that drink too much, philosophize grandly, are sometimes violent, and—not surprisingly—at times seem to feel sorry for themselves. Or stop just short of feeling sorry for themselves, with the very fallible good guys managing to overcome both great external and internal odds to successfully deal with the very very fallible bad guys, who...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Jennifer by:
CLC Library (by having it sit so nicely on the shelf)recommends it for: anyone who likes moody violent mysteries
James Lee Burke's style is moody, gritty, and yet strangely optimistic when you least expect it to be. In this latest mystery featuring Dave Roubicheaux, Louisiana is not the setting. Dave, his wife, Molly, and his best friend, Clete Purcell, are vacationing in Montana--spending time near an old friend of Dave's who owns a working ranch.
It doesn't take long before Clete Purcell gets into trouble--he has an encounter with some members of a powerful local family when he accidently tresspass...more
It doesn't take long before Clete Purcell gets into trouble--he has an encounter with some members of a powerful local family when he accidently tresspass...more
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Read in September, 2008
James Lee Burke is one of my all time favorites. His books are hardly light, though. They do make me smile occasionally, but they show a darker side of life and a much rougher existence. This books starts out with this paragraph: Clete Purcel had heard of people who sleep without dreaming, but either because of the era and neighborhood in which he had grown up, or the later experiences that had come to define his life, he could not think of sleep as anything other than an uncontrolled descen...more
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Read in July, 2008
Burke has taken Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell from their usual Louisiana and New Orleans haunts Montana. Less reflections on alcoholism and other similar addictions than the previous book, but more focus on the abuse of children leading to aberrant sexual and violence. The graphic violence continues, but the story is complex, the character interactions are engaging, and you want to find out who-dounit.
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Read in October, 2008
Money aside, I wish I could write like Burke. Any good author can sketch a scene you can see (and Burke can do it better than most, with tremendously evocative descriptions) - but he can also take you into someone's mind with a few words.
Witness this opening paragraph about a primary character in this series:
"Clete Purcell had heard of people who sleep without dreaming, but . . . he could not think of sleep as anything other than an uncontrolled descent in a basement where gargoyles t...more
Witness this opening paragraph about a primary character in this series:
"Clete Purcell had heard of people who sleep without dreaming, but . . . he could not think of sleep as anything other than an uncontrolled descent in a basement where gargoyles t...more
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I am once again blown away by James Lee Burke's writing. This story is set in Montana and deals with the pre-requisite bad guys all around and the dreaded FBI coming in to muck things up.
And after finishing Swan Peak, I was not disappointed at all. Dandy story - gritty at times - but beautifully written. Taut ending.
And after finishing Swan Peak, I was not disappointed at all. Dandy story - gritty at times - but beautifully written. Taut ending.
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Read in October, 2008
One of the best entries in the life of James Lee Burke's detective Dave Robicheaux.
In a post Katrina world, Dave and Clete Purcell visit a friends ranch in Montana. But from the start there is tension with the neighbors and the nagging feeling all is not right. When bodies begin to show up Dave and Clete are deputized into service by the local sheriff who soon regrets his choice.
There are several interesting villains and plot twists. Great for anyone who is familiar with the series.
In a post Katrina world, Dave and Clete Purcell visit a friends ranch in Montana. But from the start there is tension with the neighbors and the nagging feeling all is not right. When bodies begin to show up Dave and Clete are deputized into service by the local sheriff who soon regrets his choice.
There are several interesting villains and plot twists. Great for anyone who is familiar with the series.
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Awww, surprisingly I just love conflicted, crusty but good hearted old lawmen when I need a non-fiction break.
James Lee Burke writes really well done but nasty-gritty mystery novels about a New Orleans area cop and his even crustier friend Clete Purcell. The last book was set right after Katrina and another hurrican hit the area and it was just the saddest but beautiful thing to read.
Dave & Clete are on vacation in Montana this time around, and they just happen to get involved in (of...more
James Lee Burke writes really well done but nasty-gritty mystery novels about a New Orleans area cop and his even crustier friend Clete Purcell. The last book was set right after Katrina and another hurrican hit the area and it was just the saddest but beautiful thing to read.
Dave & Clete are on vacation in Montana this time around, and they just happen to get involved in (of...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Steve by:
I'm a long time fanrecommends it for: those interested in the complexities of man
I read Burke's novels about Robicheaux for many years before I ever visited Louisiana, but his descriptions of the milieu and the people were so vivid that I felt right at home when I finally did visit New Orleans. And I have the feeling that if I'd read Burke's novels set in Montana before I knew the country, I would have the same familiarity. As it is, his brilliant stories and loving description of the mountain country remind me of my years living in Missoula. In Burke's world, no character i...more
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Read in October, 2008
Clete Purcell, Dave Robichaux, and his wife Molly have escaped the destruction in post-Katrina New Orleans for the peaceful country near Missoula, Montana. Except, of course, it is not so peaceful. The evil they encounter is even more pronounced than usual, and it leads to life-changing events for Clete. Burke blends a lot of philosophical and political reflection with the hard-boiled action.
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Read in August, 2008
Gosh, I like James Lee Burke, and I wondered if this time he's inserted himself as a character, the writer and owner of the Montana ranch where Dave, Molly and Clete arrive for a vacation.
I read somewhere that Burke is regarded as the William Faulkner of mystery fiction and that description doesn't surprise me. I like re-reading his books, because there is always another depth of discovery with each reading. The plots are complex like the characters than inhabit his stories, and, I think, a...more
I read somewhere that Burke is regarded as the William Faulkner of mystery fiction and that description doesn't surprise me. I like re-reading his books, because there is always another depth of discovery with each reading. The plots are complex like the characters than inhabit his stories, and, I think, a...more
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James Lee Burke is one of the great writers of his generation; I love his works. This is a good one. I was a bit disappointed by "Tin Roof Blowdown" but I guess it's because even Burke couldn't adequately described post-Katrina New Orleans. Well, not to me anyway, maybe because I was there. Maybe TRB spoke more clearly to those who weren't. I dunno.
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My dad recommended this book to me, and I loved it! I realized, though, that I must start at the beginning of the series, so that is what I plan on doing! Really good characters!
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