Black Cherry Blues [Paperback]

James Lee Burke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2005

Personal tragedy has left Dave Robicheaux close to the edge. Battling against his old addiction to alcohol and haunted nightly by vivid dreams and visitations, Dave finds his only tranquility at home with his young ward Alafair. But even this fragile peace is shattered by the arrival of Dixie Lee Pugh who brings with him a brutal trail of murder and violence. Robicheaux reluctantly agrees to help out his old friend but becomes more involved than he bargained for when he finds himself suspect Number One in the series of bloody killings. Forced to leave his home, Robicheaux's precarious existence reaches breaking point when Alafair's life is threatened.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In this winner of the 1990 Edgar Award for best mystery novel, Dave Robicheaux, a former New Orleans policeman, is pursued by a psychopath and flees his home on the Bayou Teche, in the heart of Louisiana, to find a new life in Montana. After settling near the Blackfoot River Canyon, Robicheaux finds himself smack dab in the middle of an illegal Mafia takeover of Indian lands. As he struggles to expose the truth, he must face some hard facts about himself, especially after the appearance of an old Cajun friend, Dixie Lee Pughe. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Burke pits a land-hungry oil company against a Blackfeet Indian reservation in a stunning novel that takes detective fiction into new imaginative realms. His Cajun sleuth, Dave Robicheaux, an ex-New Orleans cop featured in two previous novels, attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, has recurrent nightmares about his murdered wife, and cares for an adopted El Salvadoran refugee girl. When two American Indian activists disappear, Robicheaux's dogged investigation not only sets him on a collision course with Mafia thugs and oil interests, but also leads him into a romance with Darlene American Horse, his ex-partner's girlfriend. All the main characters in this darkly beautiful, lyric saga carry heavy emotional baggage, and Robicheaux's sleuthing is a simultaneous exorcism of demons of grief, loss, fear, rage, vengeance. Burke's fictional terrain--stretching from the Louisiana bayous to Montana's red cliffs and pine-dotted hills--is uniquely his own, yet also a microcosm of a multi-ethnic America. He writes from the heart and the gut. 35,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Orion Paperbacks (June 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753820315
• ISBN-13: 978-0753820315
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,845,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Lee Burke, a rare winner of two Edgar Awards, is the author of twenty-three previous novels, including such New York Times bestsellers as Bitterroot, Purple Cane Road, Cimarron Rose, Jolie Blon's Bounce, and Dixie City Jam. He lives in Missoula, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The first is one of the best, May 12, 2000

By 

Doug Vaughn - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Black Cherry Blues: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read James Lee Burke's entire Dave Robicheaux series, I have to say that this novel, which introduced the flawed ex-cop with the mystical bent, is still one of the best. There are several things about this book that hit me as unique and made me want to return every time Burke served up another helping; the first is that Burke's ability with description and locale are unparalled, the second is the depth of character he was able to give Robicheaux by focusing on his personal demons (drink, violence and inner torment from loss and regret), and third is the 'mystical' element that informs each book - sometimes more than others - and allows the plot to be advanced by such devices as messages in dreams and intimations of a 'higher power.' Since Burke himself is a recovering alcoholic he is able to make this side of Dave's life quite real and moving.

This book (which won the Edgar Award in 1990) differs from later ones in the series in that Dave strays far afield from the rural Louisiana coast setting readers normally associate with him. But he is also, in the beginning, a more complex and interesting character. As the series progresses he becomes stiffer and more self righteous. Here he is unsure of himself and trying to come to grips with a life that has him on the ropes.

This is some of Burke's best writing and I would highly recommend it to mystery fans who have never tasted this rich Louisiana stew. It is unique and memorable.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story and characters, May 21, 2000

By 

"irongiant" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Cherry Blues: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Of all James Lee Burke's wonderful books, this was his first commercial success and remains his best single novel. It is a gritty mystery set in Louisiana which introduces us to Dave Robicheaux, a flawed but intelligent and good-hearted lead character.

Burke is a wonderful writer for two main reasons. First, his characters are well-written; they are memorable, realistic, and intriguing. Their dialogue absolutely CRACKLES.

Secondly, no reader can be unaffected by his descriptions- poetic even in the most grisly scenes. Seeing these scenes through Robicheaux's eyes, scenes as well-crafted as only Burke can do, we realize the depth and beauty of Robicheaux's mind.

Black Cherry Blues is less a Mystery Novel and more a Literary Work, an ideal way to spend an evening.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard core Robicheaux!, June 21, 2000

By 

jeanne-scott (Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Cherry Blues: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

James Lee Burke has written a wonderful novel in this one. The characters are tough and full of vitality. As always his locations are so well portrayed you feel,see, taste and smell the details. Robicheaux, the ex-cop is coping with the murder of his wife, his service in Vietnam, being a recovering alcoholic, he is being blamed for a murder and he fears for the life of his adopted daughter. He is on the run from New Orleans to beautiful Montana. This is a wonderful book that surprises you with Robicheaux's philosophy. "...because I believe that God is not limited by time and space as we are, I believe that perhaps he can influence the past....and I begin to dwell on the unbearable suffering that people probably experienced before their deaths,I ask God to retroactively relieve their pain, to be with them in mind and body, to numb their senses, to cool whatever flame licked at their eyes in their final moments." James Lee Burke can stun you with his craft. This is a must read!