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Dave Robicheaux #6 & 9-10
The Best Of Robicheaux: In The Electric Mist With Confederate Dead / Cadillac Jukebox / Sunset Limited
IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD - When a movie crew arrives in New Iberia to shoot a Civil War epic, Robicheaux finds that it’s not just the bayou’s living inhabitants that are being disturbed. As he hunts a sadistic killer targeting young prostitutes, evidence of an earlier murder is brought to light. The skeletal remains are the last echo of a crime Robicheaux himself witnessed as a college freshman almost forty years ago. "An hypnotic thriller … everything that a good mystery is supposed to be" Washington Post CADILLAC JUKEBOX - The call from ex-Klansman Aaron Crown couldn’t have been more unexpected. Sentenced to 40 years for the decades-old shooting of a civil rights activist, Crown should have been out of Louisiana, for good. Election candidate Buford LaRose wants Robicheaux to ignore Aaron’s calls, promising him a lucrative job when Buford makes governor. Worse still, Buford’s wife Karyn seems unhealthily keen to get close to Robicheaux – just like old times … The LaRoses, each for their own reasons, want Crown’s case buried. "The best of American writing, never mind just American crime writing" The Times SUNSET LIMITED - Jack Flynn died on a Klan cross years ago, but Robicheaux has never forgotten it. Nor have Flynn’s two children. When they get mixed up with the case of hustler Cool Breeze Broussard, Robicheaux wonders why? Something ties Breeze to the Flynns and all three of them to plantation magnate Archer Terrebonne. Something long past is poisoning all their lives, bringing death in its wake. "Every new Robicheaux novel makes me want to start reading the whole series all over again" Time Out
- GenresFiction
736 pages, Hardcover
First published December 4, 2000
2 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
James Lee Burke
119 books4,157 followersJames 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, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
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, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 13, 2015
Wow, what a great book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it – as always, it was even better than the movie. I must commend the movie though – it followed the books backbone pretty decently and Tommy Lee Jones was the perfect actor for it.
Again the language in the book is so thick with southern charm that I could see the moss dripping from the trees. It has the feel of times gone by yet was modern day. I loved his descriptions as well: “outside the sky was filling with afternoon rainclouds that had the bright sheen of steam” – that is a poor example but you need to read it to appreciate the wonderful writing.
I liked the ghosts as well – the General appeared enough to get Dave’s attention but not enough for the reader to get tired of the apparitions. You know, I’m sure the rest of the series is good but this is the one I wanted to read after seeing the movie. Hope they make more into movies but I don’t suppose they will.
The book is amazing – if I could write like this, I would never do anything else. Just awesome. I give the book an A+.
Again the language in the book is so thick with southern charm that I could see the moss dripping from the trees. It has the feel of times gone by yet was modern day. I loved his descriptions as well: “outside the sky was filling with afternoon rainclouds that had the bright sheen of steam” – that is a poor example but you need to read it to appreciate the wonderful writing.
I liked the ghosts as well – the General appeared enough to get Dave’s attention but not enough for the reader to get tired of the apparitions. You know, I’m sure the rest of the series is good but this is the one I wanted to read after seeing the movie. Hope they make more into movies but I don’t suppose they will.
The book is amazing – if I could write like this, I would never do anything else. Just awesome. I give the book an A+.
June 2, 2014
He's my favorite. I'm completely shocked, I never thought I would enjoy an author spends so much time describing his surroundings. Isn't James Joyce, but I love it. (Anyway, as far as I'm concerned you can have "Finnigan's Wake"!)
June 2, 2020
Crime novels are not my genre but an article on writing suggested reading James Lee Burke. He is excellent at describing a place, culture, and memorable characters. The history of the American South and how civil rights problems continue to play out today are a focus in the series of novels featuring detective Robicheaux. The Electric Mist with Confederate Dead was especially intriguing with shades of George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo.
August 21, 2009
Always a good, very descriptive read.
Tough though and gritty detective. But the everglades etc. come up realy well.
Tough though and gritty detective. But the everglades etc. come up realy well.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews