Synopses & Reviews
Sheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans in this intense, atmospheric entry in the andlt;I andgt;New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt; bestselling series by and#8220;Americaand#8217;s best novelistand#8221; James Lee Burke (andlt;I andgt;The Denver Postandlt;/Iandgt;)andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;For Dave Robicheaux, there is no easy passage home. New Orleans, and the memories of his life in the Big Easy, will always haunt him. So to return thereand#8212;as he does in andlt;Iandgt;Last Car to Elysian Fieldsandlt;/Iandgt;and#8212;means visiting old ghosts, exposing old wounds, opening himself up to new, yet familiar, dangers.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;When Robicheaux, now a police officer based in the somewhat quieter Louisiana town of New Iberia, learns that an old friend, Father Jimmie Dolan, a Catholic priest always at the center of controversy, has been the victim of a particularly brutal assault, he knows he has to return to New Orleans to investigate, if only unofficially. What he doesnand#8217;t realize is that in doing so he is inviting into his lifeand#8212;and into the lives of those around himand#8212;an ancestral evil that could destroy them all. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;A masterful exploration of the troubled side of human nature and the darkest corners of the heart, and filled with the kinds of unforgettable characters that are the hallmarks of his novels, andlt;Iandgt;Last Car to Elysian Fieldsandlt;/Iandgt; is James Lee Burke in top form in the kind of lush, atmospheric thriller that his fans have come to expect from the master of crime fiction.
Review
"James Lee Burke is at the top of his game in Last Car to Elysian Fields....Burke's heavies make great showpieces, but Max Coll...knocks them all off the shelf." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"The writing is beautiful, as always, laced with the author's signature descriptions....This is an outstanding entry in an excellent series." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Burke is, above all, an elegiac poet; his sweeping, lyrical sentences give life to the dead and make living worthwhile for the Robicheaux in all of us." Bill Ott, Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Give yourself a star if this all sounds awfully familiar, and another if you can remember who killed whom ten minutes after Burke's last glowing page." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Burke's depiction of the racist-to-the-core criminal-justice and prison systems in 1950s Louisiana is terrifying. In his hands, though, Louisiana is almost as funny as it is violent and corrupt..." Richard Lipez, The Washington Post Book World
Review
"Violence, death, and terrific prose are abundant in the 13th entry of Burke's Dave Robicheaux series....While the crowded story isn't on par with the best involving Robicheaux, Burke again writes with the touch of a master." Library Journal
Review
"What elevates Burke's work...are the rich interior lives of his characters and his brilliant evocation of the culture and landscape of south Louisiana. In Last Car to Elysian Fields, Burke admirably carries on both traditions, throwing in a typically labyrinthine plot." Houston Chronicle
Review
"Burke's up to his old tricks again, at the peak of his powers....Sad, melancholy, violent, haunted Robicheaux is one of contemporary mysteries' finest creations, and it's great to see him striding through his doomed domain once again." Providence Journal
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author and two-time Edgar Award winner James Lee Burke returns with detective David Robicheaux in a hard-hitting novel that blends human drama with relentless noir suspense. A rainy late-summer night finds David Robicheaux in a New Orleans bar, about to confront the man who may have savagely assaulted his friend, Father Jimmie Dolan. But things in a Burke novel are rarely what they seem, and soon Robicheaux is back in his New Iberia jurisdiction, probing a car crash that killed three teenaged girls.
Synopsis
Sheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans in this intense, atmospheric entry in the New York Times bestselling series by "America's best novelist" James Lee Burke (The Denver Post)
For Dave Robicheaux, there is no easy passage home. New Orleans, and the memories of his life in the Big Easy, will always haunt him. So to return there--as he does in Last Car to Elysian Fields--means visiting old ghosts, exposing old wounds, opening himself up to new, yet familiar, dangers.
When Robicheaux, now a police officer based in the somewhat quieter Louisiana town of New Iberia, learns that an old friend, Father Jimmie Dolan, a Catholic priest always at the center of controversy, has been the victim of a particularly brutal assault, he knows he has to return to New Orleans to investigate, if only unofficially. What he doesn't realize is that in doing so he is inviting into his life--and into the lives of those around him--an ancestral evil that could destroy them all.
A masterful exploration of the troubled side of human nature and the darkest corners of the heart, and filled with the kinds of unforgettable characters that are the hallmarks of his novels, Last Car to Elysian Fields is James Lee Burke in top form in the kind of lush, atmospheric thriller that his fans have come to expect from the master of crime fiction.
Synopsis
This powerful New York Times bestseller by the two-time Edgar Award-winning author brings back detective Dave Robicheaux in a moody, hard-hitting novel that goes the limit in its provocative blend of human drama and relentless noir suspense.
Synopsis
For Dave Robicheaux, there is no easy passage home. New Orleans, and the memories of his life in the Big Easy, will always haunt him. So to return there as he does in
Last Car to Elysian Fields means visiting old ghosts, exposing old wounds, opening himself up to new, yet familiar, dangers.
When Robicheaux, now a police officer based in the somewhat quieter Louisiana town of New Iberia, learns that an old friend, Father Jimmie Dolan, a Catholic priest always at the center of controversy, has been the victim of a particularly brutal assault, he knows he has to return to New Orleans to investigate, if only unofficially. What he doesn't realize is that in doing so he is inviting into his life and into the lives of those around him an ancestral evil that could destroy them all.
The investigation begins innocently enough. Assisted by good friend and P.I. Clete Purcel, Robicheaux confronts the man they believe to be responsible for Dolan's beating, a drug dealer and porno star named Gunner Ardoin. The confrontation, however, turns into a standoff as Clete ends up in jail and Robicheaux receives an ominous warning to keep out of New Orleans' affairs.
Meanwhile, back in New Iberia, more trouble is brewing: Three local teenage girls are killed in a drunk-driving accident, the driver being the seventeen-year-old daughter of a prominent physician. Robicheaux traces the source of the liquor to one of New Iberia's daiquiri windows, places that sell mixed drinks from drive-by windows. When the owner of the drive-through operation is brutally murdered, Robicheaux immediately suspects the grief-crazed father of the dead teen driver. But his assumption is challenged when the murder weapon turns up belonging to someone else.
The trouble continues when Father Jimmie asks Robicheaux to help investigate the presence of a toxic landfill near St. James Parish in New Orleans, which in turn leads to a search for the truth behind the disappearance many years before of a legendary blues musician and composer. Tying together all these seemingly disparate threads of crime is a maniacal killer named Max Coll, a brutal, brilliant, and deeply haunted hit man sent to New Orleans to finish the job on Father Dolan. Once Coll shows up, it becomes clear that Dave Robicheaux will be forced to ignore the warning to stay out of New Orleans, and he soon finds himself drawn deeper into a viper's nest of sordid secrets and escalating violence that sets him up for a confrontation that echoes down the lonely corridors of his own unresolved past.
A masterful exploration of the troubled side of human nature and the darkest corners of the heart, and filled with the kinds of unforgettable characters that are the hallmarks of his novels, Last Car to Elysian Fields is James Lee Burke in top form in the kind of lush, atmospheric thriller that his fans have come to expect from the master of crime fiction.
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;James Lee Burkeandlt;/bandgt;, a rare winner of two Edgar Awards, and named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America,andnbsp;is the author ofandnbsp;thirty-one previous novels andandnbsp;two collections of short stories, including such andlt;iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/iandgt; bestsellers asandnbsp;andlt;iandgt;The Glass Rainbowandlt;/iandgt;,andnbsp;andlt;iandgt;Swan Peakandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;The Tin Roof Blowdownandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Last Car to Elysian Fields,andlt;/iandgt; and andlt;iandgt;Rain Godsandlt;/iandgt;.andnbsp;He lives in Missoula, Montana.