Rain Gods: A Novel [Hardcover]

James Lee Burke (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 14, 2009

When Hackberry Holland became sheriff of a tiny Texas town near the Mexican border, he'd hoped to leave certain things behind: his checkered reputation, his haunted dreams, and his obsessive memories of the good life with his late wife, Rie. But the discovery of the bodies of nine illegal aliens, machine-gunned to death and buried in a shallow grave behind a church, soon makes it clear that he won't escape so easily.

As Hack and Deputy Sheriff Pam Tibbs attempt to untangle the threads of this complex and grisly case, a damaged young Iraq veteran, Pete Flores, and his girlfriend, Vikki Gaddis, are running for their lives, hoping to outwit the bloodthirsty criminals who want to kill Pete for his involvement in the murders. The only trouble is, Pete doesn't know who he's running from: drunk and terrified, he fled the scene of the crime when the shooting began. And there's a long list of people who want Pete and Vikki dead: crime boss Hugo Cistranos, who hired Pete for the operation; Nick Dolan, a strip club owner and small-time gangster with revenge on his mind; and a mysterious God-fearing serial-killer-for-hire known as Preacher Jack Collins, with enigmatic motives of his own.

With the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a host of cold-blooded killers on Pete and Vikki's trail, it's up to Sheriff Holland to find them first and figure out who's behind the mass murder before anyone else ends up dead. In this thrilling and intricate work, James Lee Burke has once again proven himself a master storyteller and a perceptive chronicler of the darkest corners of the human heart.

--This text refers to the Unknown Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

MWA Grandmaster Burke spins a tale replete with colorful prose and epic confrontations in his second novel to feature smalltown Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland (after Lay Down My Sword and Shield). An anonymous phone call leads Holland, a Korean vet who survived a POW camp, to the massacre and burial site of nine Thai women, a crime that brings FBI and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials running. As a slew of bad guys relocated from New Orleans after Katrina grapple for advantage in new territory, mercurial killer Preacher Jack Collins finds plenty of work. Pete Flores, a possible witness to the massacre, and his girlfriend are targeted by Collins for elimination, and by the FBI for bait. Holland must protect the hapless Flores and his girl from both. Three strong female characters complement the full roster of sharply drawn lowlifes. The battle of wills and wits between Holland and Collins delivers everything Burke's fans expect. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Critics have nothing but praise for Burke's latest Hackberry Holland novel. An author with a deep regional feel for parts of the United States -- including Texas and Louisiana -- Burke aptly portrays "a range war in Southwest Texas -- a pitched battle between gangs of displaced bad guys, fighting among themselves for the new territory against the outmatched locals" (New York Times Book Review). He revisits themes of sin and redemption, but adds unusual layers of depth to his story with a keen exploration of human flaws and true characterizations. Preacher Jack intrigued critics to no end, while even minor characters were wholly compelling. Burke's fans will relish this fast-paced, tense, and harrowing addition to his oeuvre.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (July 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439128243
• ISBN-13: 978-1439128244
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.5 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #571,347 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.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#12 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

#15 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#20 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical

#25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#31 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

#12 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

#15 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals

#20 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical

#25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#31 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 92 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars James Lee Burke Does Cormac McCarthy... August 4, 2009

By Gary Griffiths TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

And, for the most part, succeeds. If Burke doesn't twist and torture and then so beautifully reassemble passages in McCarthy's unique version of the English language, he is certainly no rookie when it comes to spinning his own brand of moody, atmospheric prose never too far a field from Faulkner's steamy bayous and weighty themes - but decidedly more readable. In the spellbinding "Rain Gods", Burke moves west from Louisiana's delta and Dave Robicheaux's perpetual but lovable gloom to a Texas southern border town where Korean War veteran Hackberry Holland is sheriff. "Hack" stumbles upon the shallow churchyard grave of nine illegal alien women, setting off a deliciously convoluted mystery/thriller featuring a rich field - rich even by Burke's lofty standards - of characters ranging from the mildly flawed to the unrepentantly deranged. Like Robicheaux, Sheriff Holland is haunted by ghosts from his past - hefting a trunk full of baggage that carries the nightmares of North Korean POW camps, the guilt from days of alcoholism and debauchery, and sorrow over the loss of his second wife. Holland pursues his own brand of justice battling these internal demons as well as a host of those in real flesh and blood - from the serial-killing psycho "Preacher" to three-letter government agencies not afraid to sacrifice the mostly innocent to bag the bigger game.

Like McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men", "Rain Gods" deals with the drug trade across the border, and like "No Country", it is brutal, violent, and realistic. Burke, always the champion of the poor working class and never afraid to proselytize, lays it on thick here, though without Bush in the White House to cast as the villain, the targets of his righteous but sincere venom is a bit confused. Where McCarthy wraps "No Country" around simple, apolitical despair, Burke shades "Rain Gods" with a heavy hand of morality. But it works. Hackberry is a complex but likable protagonist - the stoic and troubled loner cast perfectly for the Clint Eastwood of "Gran Torino" - with a Texas accent. Hack's deputy Pam Tibbs adds color and sexual tension, and Iraq War vet Pete Flores and his talented girlfriend Vikki Gaddis make credible fugitives. But most fascinating is the almost mystical "preacher", a complex and unpredictable villain, already an urban legend among those who pursue him on both sides of the border.

In the final analysis, despite some minor flaws, this is a powerful novel - entertaining while sobering, beautifully written, the uncommon and intelligent page-turner one would expect from James Lee Burke, who is without any doubt is back in full "Jolie Blon's Bounce" or "Last Car to Elysian Fields"-form. Hackberry Holland will no doubt fill pages of subsequent Burke novels, which I'll be anxiously awaiting. Well done, Mr. Burke, and good to have you back.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Thou Shalt Not Put False Gods Before Me August 28, 2009

By T. Slaven VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

There is much to admire and lots to like in the writing of James Lee Burke. At its best, his prose can be poetic and evocative. When he doesn't descend to favorite tropes (for example, "pardners" and "swinging dicks") or let himself slip over the perilous edge of metaphor ("[he] ate a pattern of buckshot as wide as his hand and watched his brains splatter across the side panel of his truck"), he uses the language well and is a pleasure to read.

If I have a criticism, and I do, it's that he leaves his stories ragged. Too many characters are allowed to bow in, often for no seeming purpose, and subplots head off in their own directions like pets that have escaped their leashes. It sometimes seems that Mr. Burke just can't tame the writing beast that lives within him.

Rain Gods is a case in point. There are three or four sets of bad guys when one or two would suffice. There are several layers of cops, at odds with one another. Another bunch of characters is groomed for unlikely heroism. Sadly, I really don't feel that I came to know and understand these people through the long course of the book.

The novel suffers in comparison to Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men, a comparison that is inescapable. Both novels are centered on an old-time Texas sheriff with a past he is trying in some way to live down. An innocent and his woman are fleeing pursuit by a single-minded avenger. Border traffickers litter the landscape with bodies. The bete noir of Rain Gods, a villain called Preacher Jack Collins, is one part McCarthy's Chugre and two parts Judge Holden from Blood Meridian. The story of both novels is one of moral entropy.

But where Burke is expansive, McCarthy is spare. Where Burke ranges free, McCarthy is disciplined in both his scope and his language: if this isn't a mess, it'll do until one comes along. Why spin off a paragraph when ten words will suffice?

This is not to say that Rain Gods is not worth reading. It is. But I wish it hadn't come in No Country's shadow, and I wish it had been pared down and more directed so that I had a better sense of just what its author was trying to say.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquent, poignant, powerful... July 25, 2009

By Cynthia K. Robertson TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I always look forward to a new book in James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series each July. So I was a bit disappointed to discover that Rain Gods is not part of this series. But it didn't take me long to enjoy it--every bit as much as Robicheaux. In fact, I think it was a good change for him. Although it takes place in Texas, it's not part of his Billy Bob Holland series, either (although Holland plays a very small role in this book).

The time is post-Katrina, and a number of displaced New Orleans crime figures find themselves relocated to Texas. These guys are into everything from drug smuggling and prostitution to murder for hire. Sheriff Hackberry Holland gets an anonymous phone call about nine Asian women buried in a mass grave. Hack has had a checkered history, battling the demons caused by his time in a Korean POW camp. After spending time as a lawyer, he finds himself as county sheriff later in life. That's not necessarily a bad thing. He is told that "you're stubborn as a cinder block." In Rain Gods, Hack tries to juggle a lot of balls. While Hack is trying to solve the crime, the FBI and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) have their own agenda while a hit-man named Jack "Preacher" Collins is trying to kill anyone associated with the Asian mass-murder.

Preacher is perhaps one of the most fearsome villains in fiction. Thinking himself the right hand of God, his code of ethics is chilling. Yet, he often does the right (and unpredictable) thing. It is intriguing to see him match wits with a number of characters, including Hack. As Hack says, "If certain things we do or witness don't leave a stone bruise on the soul, there's something wrong with our humanity."

For my money, James Lee Burke is perhaps the most eloquent, articulate, poignant and powerful mystery writer being published today. Isaac Clawson, and ICE agent, lost his young daughter to a brutal crime. "Theologians claimed that anger was a cancer and that hatred was one of the seven deadly sins. They were wrong, Clawson thought. Anger was an elixir that cauterized sorrow and passivity and victimhood from the metabolism; it lit fires in the belly..."

I came to admire Sheriff Holland and will definitely go back and read one of Burke's earlier works. I understand that Lay Down My Sword and Shield features Hack as a young lawyer. It will be interesting to see where both men (Holland and James Lee Burke) came from and how far they have traveled.