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11th out of 64 books
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6 voters
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Heaven's Prisoners (Dave Robicheaux #2)
This acclaimed novel has now been adapted to film by Savoy Pictures starring Alec Baldwin as Vietnam vet Dave Robicheaux and Mary Stuart Masterson as his wife. Heaven's Prisoners is a steamy mystery that combines the noir atmosphere of Chinatown with the evocative New Orleans setting of The Big Easy.
Paperback, 308 pages
Published
July 13th 2010
by Pocket
(first published January 1st 1988)
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After book one (NEON RAIN) our hero, David Robicheaux (hereinafter DR), has retired from the NOLA police department and opened a bayou fishery up by tapping into his pension. He's also married to his love interest from book one but DR can't avoid a mystery and one stumbles upon him while he's out fishing on the bayou and just like any good fictional detective he pokes his nose into places and violent, corrupt people get angry. But the real strengths of this tale (other than it being a solid myst...more
The second novel in James Lee Burke's long running series of Dave Robicheaux novels finds Dave running a bait and tackle business in the swamps and deltas of southern Louisiana. He's left the New Orleans police force, quit drinking and has remarried. His domestic bliss is broken when a plane crashes near his boat. Diving to investigate, he rescues a young girl being smuggled in from Central America and in inadvertently stumbles across a drug running operation. This knowledge puts him in the midd...more
Julie Davis
rated it
This book continues Dave Robicheaux's story after he has turned his back on the New Orleans police force and struck out on his own with a bait/rental shop and barbecue shack in his home town in Cajun country. He finally has the chance for a happy life until one day he sees a plane crash in the lake where he is fishing. This sets into motion a chain of events that severely test his ability to stay away from the detective business.
I'd say more, but to do so would involve many spoilers. I...more
I'd say more, but to do so would involve many spoilers. I...more
Robicheaux made his first appearance in “Neon Rain,” but the character not only hits his stride in this second novel, but many of the events central to later stories have their genesis in “Heaven’s Prisoners.” Here, Robicheaux has tired of both the bureaucracy and seediness of being a homicide detective, and left his job on the New Orleans police force. Instead, he seeks a more laid-back life in his childhood home, rural New Iberia, LA. Operating a bayou boat rental and bait-shop isn’t necess...more
If you have never read a David Robicheaux detective/mystery novel, you don't know what you are missing. James Lee Burke is about to release the 18th novel featuring the Louisiana detective. I have read numbers 15, 16 and 17 and decided to go back to the beginning and read them all in chronological order. This book is number 2 in the series and I really enjoyed it. Burke's descriptions of life in Louisiana are heartbreaking beautiful. This book was written in 1988 long before Katrina's devas...more
This is the 2nd in the Robicheaux series and is a real edge of the seat thriller. Love this series.
Back Cover Blurb:
Dave Robicheaux is trying to put a life of violence and crime behind him, leaving homicide to run a boat-rental business in Louisiana's bayou country. But one day, while fishing in the Gulf with his wife, Annie, he witnesses an event that will change his life forever.
A small two-engine plane suddenly crashes into the sea and Robicheauex dives down to the w...more
Back Cover Blurb:
Dave Robicheaux is trying to put a life of violence and crime behind him, leaving homicide to run a boat-rental business in Louisiana's bayou country. But one day, while fishing in the Gulf with his wife, Annie, he witnesses an event that will change his life forever.
A small two-engine plane suddenly crashes into the sea and Robicheauex dives down to the w...more
An early chapter from Dave Robicheaux's career. In this book he rescues a five-year-old girl from a plane that's come down in the Gulf. He and his wife, Annie, decide to keep the child who is clearly an illegal immigrant and who's mother died in the plane. Dave is struggling with addiction, childhood memories, and nightmares of Viet Nam. His anger and violence have not yet been tempered.
The language is compelling, Burke's descriptions are top rank --- even in the winter the rea...more
The language is compelling, Burke's descriptions are top rank --- even in the winter the rea...more
I am a pretty big fan of the Dave Robicheaux series but this was my least favorite book so far. I understand that Dave has a "cowboy" personality and always wants to rebel against any kind of authority figure but it was way overdone in this book.
Also, I got pretty tired of young, really attra active women begging to sleep with Dave (a not-so-young alcoholic who has tons of issues and isn't particularly attractive). Once the third girl came after him, I was really rolling m...more
Also, I got pretty tired of young, really attra active women begging to sleep with Dave (a not-so-young alcoholic who has tons of issues and isn't particularly attractive). Once the third girl came after him, I was really rolling m...more
I object: I object to the genre. I object to detective fiction. I object to the chisel jawed, sad-eyed protagonist that always walks lonely streets. The man who's got a good woman but can't keep her. The man w/the tragic past that he just can't forget. The man who's got the stoicism of a Hemingway character and the drinking habits of Big Papa. I object to the evocative descriptions of scene: the zydeco churns, the bream and gar dimple the Gulf, while étouffée bubbles and ole negro men play bour...more
This is Burke's second Robicheaux novel (published 1990)and it shows itself as an early work. More Cajun than the others I've read especially as Dave Robicheaux has to works up a CV to kickstart his fictional existence.
And Robicheaux suffers enough trial and tribulation to fill a tragedian's performances through several life times. Its' the journey and what goes on in Dave's head that's the clincher. These other throw away characters who inhabit the swamps and streets of Lousiana a...more
And Robicheaux suffers enough trial and tribulation to fill a tragedian's performances through several life times. Its' the journey and what goes on in Dave's head that's the clincher. These other throw away characters who inhabit the swamps and streets of Lousiana a...more
Hey after Neon Rain and now this -- I am hooked and in the process of obtaining all of Burke's books. This one is essential in providing background on his characters that were left out of Neon rain. The story moves along well spinning the plot here and there while remarkably giving us a deep insight into life in the backwoods of Louisiana-
A really great sit back and enjoy type book -- great to relax with and soak up the rich vernacular and solid story telling--
buy it -rent it-borro...more
A really great sit back and enjoy type book -- great to relax with and soak up the rich vernacular and solid story telling--
buy it -rent it-borro...more
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Another reviewer said exactly how I feel. That I can't muster up much enthusiasm for Dave Robicheaux, and that I need my mysteries to be
more cerebral.
I had heard James Lee Burke interviewed on BBC's book review podcast, and
the three panelists were positively gushing over him. So I gave him another shot, after being unimpressed with The Neon Rain many years ago.
I made it through more than half the novel before giving up.
I don't like Robicheaux. He's too m...more
more cerebral.
I had heard James Lee Burke interviewed on BBC's book review podcast, and
the three panelists were positively gushing over him. So I gave him another shot, after being unimpressed with The Neon Rain many years ago.
I made it through more than half the novel before giving up.
I don't like Robicheaux. He's too m...more
Heaven's Prisoners by James Lee Burke.This is the follow up to Neon Rain, Burke's first novel starring Dave Robicheaux. I loved Neon Rain but I just fell for Heaven's Prisoners. Big time. I read it in one sitting. I kept going "only one more chapters" and ended up finishing the novel. It's roman noir at its very best. The characters have layers upon layers, even the third bad guy from the right has layers. I won't give up the plot because it's so part of the novel that giving up one thing feels ...more
Richard Katz
added it
Went back to the roots of Burke's Dave Robicheaux series. Reconfirmed the poetry of Burke's writing, his careful plotting and deep, credible characterizations. Burke is also able to balance lightness and darkness in a really unusual way and his protagonist almost comes off as a dark angel. A tortured soul who is nevertheless set on the earth to do good works. One who is loved by innocents, but is nonetheless consigned to roam the dark and seemy sides of life. Odd, but it really works.
2nd in Dave Robicheaux series. It starts out with Dave and Annie out on the Gulf doing some shrimping and an airplane comes out of the sky and Dave rescues a little girl that is the only one left alive in the plane. Annie and Dave were married but Annie was murdered. Dave helped Robin get on track in this one, but at the end she left him to work for his brother. Dave is a very sad guy and had another alcohol binge again. I really did like the one though even though really dark.
Incredibly good. The power of this man's pen to create images in the mind is extraordinary. His descriptive passages in which he inks in the landscape of the Atchafalaya Delta almost bring you the smell of the river and the closeness of the shirt-dampening heat. And then there is his biblical story-telling. Oh, sure, there are tart-with-a-heart sterotypes in the repertory cast which inhabits his novels, but I love Burke's parables of redemption. This is one of the absolute best.
This was better than the first novel on many fronts. I still think Burke spends more time on describing the actual landscape than he does on explaining how his character manages to make emotional leaps, but here it keeps the action moving. The mystery isn't always front and center; it's not always clear what's going on or what's going to happen, but that's OK. It's fine just to hang out with this character and those who surround him and take things as they come.
An impressive start to the Dave Robicheaux (sp?) books. Yes, I know there's one earlier, but I've been told that it's not up to par with the others, and this one has all the hallmarks of a first book.
It may be that I've read too many Burke books in close proximity, but I found that there were some familiar elements there, and that some of them were not quite as wonderful as they seemed when viewed as a single snapshot.
That said, it was a good book, and he pulled it up ...more
It may be that I've read too many Burke books in close proximity, but I found that there were some familiar elements there, and that some of them were not quite as wonderful as they seemed when viewed as a single snapshot.
That said, it was a good book, and he pulled it up ...more
Action-packed Pee Wee! again, more Detective Robicheaux. still the 80's. still bayou. still pimps, drugs, hookers, booze, recovery, repeat. man did the movie suck. alec baldwin as dave mickey fricky Robicheaux? naw man, thats bullshit. guess who pops in to visit? a young teri hatcher's naked boobies. i think those guys from knocked-up have them catalogued in the 67th minute of the movie.
Retired as a detective from the New Orleans PD, Dave Robicheaux is now married and running a bait ship when he sees a small plane crash. Rescuing a little Hispanic girl from the submerged plane, Dave is drawn back into an investigation. James Lee Burke is very descriptive and the reader is drawn into Dave's battle with criminals, morality, his past, and his own demons.
Another great Dave Robicheaux story. I am looking forward to reading more of this series. However, I have to mix in some lighter reading as I go. There is a lot of darkness and pain woven into these stories. Robicheaux constantly balances on the knife edge of his addiction and his self destructive impulse to thumb his nose at every bad ass and bully he encounters doesn't help his health any.
Downloaded from Audible.com
Narrator: Will Patton
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2001
Length: 3 hours (abridged)
Publisher's Summary
Vietnam vet Dave Robicheaux has turned in his detective's badge, is winning his battle against booze, and has left New Orleans with his wife for the tranquil beauty of the Louisiana bayou. But a plane crash on the Gulf brings a young girl into his life - and with her comes a netherworld of murder, deception and homegrown crime. Sud...more
Narrator: Will Patton
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2001
Length: 3 hours (abridged)
Publisher's Summary
Vietnam vet Dave Robicheaux has turned in his detective's badge, is winning his battle against booze, and has left New Orleans with his wife for the tranquil beauty of the Louisiana bayou. But a plane crash on the Gulf brings a young girl into his life - and with her comes a netherworld of murder, deception and homegrown crime. Sud...more
I'm slowly working my way through this author's books as I need something light and enjoyable to read (in e-book form) in airports and on planes.
Easy to pick up and put down, active plots, and vivid atmospheric descriptions of their Louisiana and Cajun locales.
Easy to pick up and put down, active plots, and vivid atmospheric descriptions of their Louisiana and Cajun locales.
He's my favorite author. Read a Burke book and your in a dark theater by yourself surrounded and engulfed by his images. I've read them all but can only do so once every 3-4 months because in the end they are their message about the human condition is not hopeful.
3.5 I've been reading these all out of order, so never know ahead of time whom Dave is married to or who has been bumped off. Still find them all engrossing reads, and the descriptions of outposts of Louisiana completely mesmerizing.
As many reviewers will have told you, this is the 2nd book in the Dave Robicheaux butt-kickin' swamp-cruisin' crime-solvin' hard-drinkin' Viet vet Cajun-cop series, and if you've got this far, you're probably gonna be addicted.
James Lee Burke, what can I say I love him. He is a flawed individual constantly trying to be a better person. Who does fail in this constantly but you know he has a soul, which he constantly fights for. Brilliant.
Audiobook (cassette)
This is one of Burke's earlier books and while the book is very good, the reader is not nearly as good as the reader in the two of his later books that I have listened to.
This is one of Burke's earlier books and while the book is very good, the reader is not nearly as good as the reader in the two of his later books that I have listened to.
Great book, how the bayou comes alive and I can smell and see the storms as they come in! Dave finds Alafair, and his wife gets gunned down, what demons he deals with. And believable.
Only the second in the series (I believe), he really hits his stride here and introduces Alafair, who is a character for the rest of the series. A beautiful book.
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James Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for Black Cherry Blues in 1990 and Cimarron Rose in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, re...more
More about James Lee Burke...
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, re...more
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