Neon Rain

I recently tried to re-read some F. Scott Fitzgerald and some Kurt Vonnegut. Couldn't do it. I just found I didn't care about the characters. Too "literary"? I just managed to make it through "Deliverance" and "No Country for Old Men". When you have to wade thru the prose like it's hip-deep mud, it's more work than I care for at this point of my life. Burke's series of police/detective novels is rich in dialogue and description but not so much that will get you bogged down. Read this and the following books in order for best results.

I have never before seen Southern Louisiana captured in print with such realism as shown by James Lee Burke. The pages drip with Spanish moss, Creole history, and stifling humidity. Whether you say "Neon Rain" is the beginning of a first-rate detective series, or a bayou passion play, it really doesn't matter. You can't put the book down. When you read the last Dave Robicheaux tale, you start over. The bar has just been raised in this genre, and nothing else is quite good enough anymore.

There is only one other mystery writer alive today who can approach the genius of Burke and that is Dennis Lehane. If you have not had the pleasure of discovering Burke, do so with this, the first of his 11, soon to be 12, novels starring the alchoholic, Cajun detective from New Iberia and The Big Easy, David Robicheaux. Dark and edgy and existential, Robicheaux inhabits a world of demons both internal and external. With the brutality of a Peckipah film and the honesty of Sartre essay, this detective puts the formulaic best sellers to shame. If you want to remember why you read Ross McDonald (Lou Archer) and John D (Travis Magee) then do what I'm doing: start with Neon Rain and work your way through in order. The rewards are like a Saturday at the movies when it was a dime and the serials were as good as the main feature and the Duncan Yo Yo expert could walk the dog and rock the cradle. Drop the best sellers, unless you're reading The Last Empire or The Corrections and pick up James Lee Burke. You won't regret it.

There is only one other mystery writer alive today who can approach the genius of Burke and that is Dennis Lehane. If you have not had the pleasure of discovering Burke, do so with this, the first of his 11, soon to be 12, novels starring the alchoholic, Cajun detective from New Iberia and The Big Easy, David Robicheaux. Dark and edgy and existential, Robicheaux inhabits a world of demons both internal and external. With the brutality of a Peckenpah film and the honesty of Sartre essay, this detective puts the formulaic best sellers to shame. If you want to remember why you read Ross McDonald (Lou Archer) and John D (Travis Magee) then do what I'm doing: start with Neon Rain and work your way through in order. The rewards are like a Saturday at the movies when it was a dime and the serials were as good as the main feature and the Duncan Yo Yo expert could walk the dog and rock the cradle. Drop the best sellers, unless you're reading The Last Empire or The Corrections and pick up James Lee Burke. You won't regret it.

My dad listens to a ton of audio books and James lee Burke is at the top of his list; he has most of Burke's books on tape. I listened for months about how good this series was until I just had to give it a try. I ordered the whole series and a few days later a bunch of paperback books were piled high on my desk. Now, a couple of months later I'm on Dixie City Jam and I'm not looking back. Dave is one of the most self-destructive characters I've run across, but that's what makes the book so engrossing. Neon Rain is a great mystery read

I have all of the Dave Robicheaux books, and I think Neon Rain is still the best. Tightly constructed and enthralling. Burke blends the macho of Hemingway, the sensitivity of Fitzgerald, the plot of a J.M. Cain, and the off-beat characters of Elmore Leonard. I reread all the DR series before Jazzfest every year, and I see each subsequent novel after Neon Rain as just a little less polished. Burke is still the best of his genre!