Black Cherry Blues: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

by James Lee Burke (Author) "Her hair is curly and gold on the pillow, her skin white in the heat lightning that trembles beyond the pecan trees outside the bedroom..." (more)
Key Phrases: handbill man, drilling company, Dixie Lee, Sally Dio, Sally Dee (more...)

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.

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

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (December 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380712040
• ISBN-13: 978-0380712045
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,472 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Dave Robicheaux Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 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 (Washington, Dc USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	"irongiant" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	jeanne-scott (Asan, Guam) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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!