Heartwood [Hardcover]

James Lee Burke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 1999

A brilliantly layered novel of crime, character, and place from the two-time Edgar Award winner, Gold Dagger Award winner, and New York Times bestselling author of  Sunset Limited.

Few writers in America today combine James Lee Burke's lush prose, crackling story lines, and tremendous sense of history and landscape.  In Cimmaron Rose, longtime fans of the Dave Robicheaux series found that the struggles of Texas defense attorney Billy Bob Holland show Burke at his best in exploring classic American themes--the sometimes subtle, often violent strains between the haves and the have-nots; the collision of past and present; the inequities in the criminal justice system.

Heartwood is a kind of tree that grows in layers. And as Billy Bob's grandfather once told him, you do well in life by keeping the roots in a clear stream and not letting anyone taint the water for you. But in Holland's dusty little hometown of Deaf Smith, in the hill country north of Austin, local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made a fortune running roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Billy Bob has problems with Deitrich and his shamelessly callous demeanor, but can't shake the legacy of his passion for Deitrich's "heartbreak-beautiful" wife, Peggy Jean.

When Holland takes on the defense of Wilbur Pickett--a man accused of stealing an heirloom and three hundred thousand dollars in bonds from Deitrich's office--he finds himself up against not only Earl's power and influence, but also a past Billy Bob can't will away.  A wonderfully realized novel, rich in Texas atmosphere and lore, and a dazzling portrait of the deadly consequences of self-delusion, Heartwood could only have been written by James Lee Burke, a writer in expert command of his craft.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether he's writing about the Louisiana Bayou Country (in his Dave Robicheaux books) or the Texas hill towns around Austin (in his series about former Texas ranger Billy Bob Holland), James Lee Burke has deep roots in the American soil that link him to some of the great adventure writers of the past such as Jack London and Mark Twain. Like them, Burke writes novels illustrating how failure shapes a man much more than success does.

Central to Burke's second Billy Bob novel (Cimarron Rose was his first) is Wilbur Pickett. Wilbur had a brief moment of glory as a rodeo cowboy before sliding into a downward cycle of luckless enterprises. He ends up laboring for a wealthy family, the Dietrichs, in the Texas town of Deaf Smith. The Dietrichs accuse Wilbur of stealing some bearer bonds, and Billy Bob--now a defense attorney--reluctantly take his case. He is hesitant (because he idolizes Peggy Jean Dietrich), and for good reason: Billy Bob discovers that her husband Earl may be involved in shady, even violent, business practices.

Other ghosts from the past also haunt Billy Bob: he accidentally killed his former partner on a drug raid in Mexico and still hears his voice. And then there's Holland's illegitimate son Lucas, who is growing up with problems of his own. The weight of all this back-story might overwhelm a lesser writer, but Burke manages to make it seem as natural as the soft wind that stirs the tumbleweed in the town of Deaf Smith. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

Burke's newer series hero, Billy Bob Holland (Cimarron Rose, 1997), could have been separated at birth from Burke's long-time protagonist, ex-New Orleans cop Dave Robicheaux. Although Holland is a lawyer in the rolling hill country north of Austin, Tex., he shares Robicheaux's sensibilities: he's brutally honest, haunted by his past, kind to children, protective of the underdog, a lover of the beautiful country in which he lives. Most of Burke's villains are arrogant millionaires; here, the dark heart belongs to Earl Deitrich from Houston, who spread his money around the town of Deaf Smith and married the prettiest girl, Peggy Jean Murphy, Holland's high-school sweetheart. Deitrich's pervasive evil extends from threatening Kippy Jo and Wilbur Pickett into ceding him the oil-rich Wyoming property Kippy Jo inherited from her grandfather, to arranging the false arrest of a business victim, to arson and murder in an alliance with a San Antonio Chicano gang. Meanwhile, Deitrich's insolent son Jeff elopes with the sister of the gang's leader; their breakup places Holland's own, illegitimate son in peril. Despite a circuitous, often confusing plot, the novel compels for its lush portrayal of exquisite countryside; its beautifully composed, mood-setting scenes that pace the action; and the leisurely introductions that give dimension to the many eccentric characters. At one point, a Deitrich victim sums up a consistent Burke theme: "Law punishes a poor man. Rich man don't have to account." Holland agrees, but succeeds in turning the tables in this rewarding novel. Major ad/promo; author tour. (Aug.) FYI: Cimarron Rose won the 1997 Edgar Award for Best Novel.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (August 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385488432
• ISBN-13: 978-0385488433
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,872,088 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

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars James Lee Burke and Billy Bob Holland Are Back In Top Form, July 12, 2000

By 

P. Connors "Colonialpara" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heartwood (Billy Bob Boy Howdy) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have to say that I was somewhat suspicious of James Lee Burke after having read CIMARRON ROSE. His new main character, Billy Bob Holland seemed to be just a Texas version of Dave Robicheaux and Deaf Smith, Texas was a poor substitute for New Iberia, LA. But I stuck with the book and overcame my intitial reservations. While the similarities are there and very palpable, if one has never read the Robicheaux series, then the Billy Bob character is as new and alive as any character readers are likely to meet in popular fiction today.

The second installment in this parallel series is called HEARTWOOD and in it, James Lee Burke continues to delve into the psyche of Billy Bob Holland and the lives of various miscreants he comes across in the small Texas town he calls home. HEARTWOOD does not differ from previous JLB offerings. The prose is alternatively lush and spare. The descriptions of places and people are without peer. Whether it is New Iberia, LA or Deaf Smith, TX, James Lee Burke's descriptions are so well constructed that I can imagine myself in either location and viewing the action of the story as it takes place around me. That is a technique that Burke is a master of and he retains that stylistic approach in HEARTWOOD.

It would be easy to say that HEARTWOOD is a continuation of CIMARRON ROSE and that Burke is just expanding on that novel's previously offered theme. Some readers might find it so. But what Burke does so well is explore classic American literary themes. In these two books, it happens to be the struggles between the haves and the have-nots; the rich and the poor. Deaf Smith, Texas is a study in contrasts. There are those who have money, creature comforts, status, prestige and power and then, there are those who have none of the above. To contrast the two ends of the spectrum, Burke even geographically juxtaposes the groups by placing them at opposite sides of the town.

Burke is and always will be a master at creating characters antagonistic to the order of the rest of society. In HEARTWOOD,that person is Earl Deitrich, a man who has made his life's work (and fortune) by stomping people who get in his way. His wealth has bought him power and he is a man totally unafraid to use that power to whatever advantage he thinks he is entitled to.

As in the Robicheaux novels, the main character, Billy Bob Holland has a past that he is trying to live down. Once a Texas Ranger and Assistant U.S. Attorney, Billy Bob has taken to defending the lesser elements of society; they are the people who violate the law as easily as the rest of us turn on a light. Many are people who are criminals through the accident of not having enough common sense to realize that what they are doing violates all normal standards. Billy Bob and Burke show a world weary sympathy for the folks in this category and it is another feature continued from previous books.

Burke always provides a paradox in his novels, however. While Billy Bob may defend the sociopathic members of society, Burke points out that the well-to-do are not without their own monsters, too. Scions of powerful fathers tend not to be nice people in the books of James Lee Burke and Earl Deitrich's son Jeff is no different.

Burke always supplies his readers with a large cast of characters to keep track of. But what he does so well and continues here is that he delivers well-realized people. The good folks are the ones you root for. The vile ones are the folks you hope he kills off. Of course, that doesn't always happen either, so there are few (if any) plot gimmicks that would make these stories all too tidy.

Readers of the Robicheaux series root for Dave, Bootsie, Alafair, Batist and Helen. In HEARTWOOD, readers will root for Billy Bob, Lucas Smothers, Pete and Temple Carroll. It was nice being able to transfer sympathetic feelings for another set of characters in this new location.

Burke also retains one of the features from CIMARRON ROSE that I found annoying and that was the use of conversations between Billy Bob and his dead partner L.Q. Novarro. While not as noticeable as in CIMARRON ROSE, they are still there and somehow this time, I found them less intrusive and annoying. I think that Burke retained them and uses them to remind his readers that we all have little foibles that haunt us from time to time and sometimes these hang-ups are mysterious to others. They are however, what make each of us individuals. Billy Bob is a flawed human being just like the rest of us. He is looking for respite and redemption but the crazies in Deaf Smith just won't give him a chance.

I still think that James Lee Burke is showing us the less attractive side of America. HEARTWOOD is no different than his previous works in that regard. What it does do exceedingly well is explore a man's limits and his sense of personal honor and integrity. Just like Dave Robicheaux, Billy Bob Holland is a man of action but no longer one of barely restrained violence. While I once thought they were two sides of the same coin, I now realize that I must modify my opinion. Dave and Billy Bob are more cousins than they are brothers. The brotherly part only comes to the fore when th reader realizes that both man stand for doing the right thing.

The Billy Bob Holland novels ARE NOT the Dave Robicheaux stories despite the similarities and the imitative plot devices. I recommend that readers of HEARTWOOD forget Dave Robicheaux and read this book as if they had never read any others by JLB. When you do, you'll realize that James Lee Burke really is at the top of his form and is the undisputed master of this genre.

Read HEARTWOOD as a stand alone and judge it on that basis. If you do that, without comparing this series to the one containing Dave Robicheaux, then I think you'll find this to be a most enjoyable read.

Paul Connors

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD WRITING, BUT THE CHARACTERS WERE A LITTLE TIRED..., December 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Heartwood (Hardcover)

I finished "Heartwood" about a week ago, and while Burke's writing of almost lyrical prose was well in order, the novel just didn't touch me or stay in my mind like some of his other works. Maybe it's because I've read so many of his books that all the characters are begining to seem alike. You can only warm over the same old plot lines and archetypes so many times before it gets old.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A cerebral departure in Burke's storytelling style, October 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Heartwood (Hardcover)

Burke fans are used to in your face violence and sex spicing the always anxious, but simple plotlines. Heartwood isn't as graphic, but the feelings of the characters resonate with most of us who have made a big mistake or really blown it but tried to keep on keeping on. The multiple characters' hurts and wounds are implied, leaving out the heavy handed violence and sweaty couplings. Nothing is gratuitous in Heartwood. The reader has probably seen and experienced the cultural mismatches. Although, set in the beautiful hill country of Texas, Heartwood could be about anyplace. Billy Bob Holland is more believable than Dave Robicheaux. After only two novels in the Billy Bob series, readers familiar with Burke's character development can only hope the next book is another Billy Bob Holland. The ghost of L.Q. Navarro is a Greek chorus facility making the book a haunting reminder of every tragedy any of us have caused, never minding how innocent and well intended. Heartwood is an advancement in the James Lee Burke repertoire of fine writing. I lingered over the pages not wanting the book to end. When you put it down after the last paragraph, you will probably look out the window and just think about yourself.