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James Lee Burke

Swan Peak (Dave Robicheaux, No. 17) Mass Market Paperback – May 26, 2009

by James Lee Burke (Author)

537 ratings

Book 17 of 23: Dave Robicheaux

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James Lee Burke’s beloved Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux returns—this time, traveling from New Iberia Parish to the wilds of Montana in this adventure-filled sequel to Black Cherry Blues.

Dave Robicheaux, his wife, and his buddy Clete Purcell have retreated to an old friend’s ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from the harsh, gritty landscape of Louisiana post-Katrina. But the serenity is soon shattered when two college students are found brutally murdered in the hills behind where the Robicheauxs and Purcell are staying. They quickly find themselves involved in a twisted and dangerous mystery involving a wealthy, vicious oil tycoon, his deformed brother and beautiful wife, a sexually deviant minister, an escaped con and former country music star, and a vigilante Texas gunbull out for blood. At the center of the storm is Clete, who cannot shake the feeling that he is being haunted by the ghosts from his past—namely Sally Dio, the mob boss he’d sabotaged and killed years before.

Deftly weaving intricate, engaging plotlines and original, compelling characters with his graceful prose, Burke transcends genre yet again in the latest thrilling addition to his New York Times bestselling series.

Print length

592 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pocket Books
Publication date

May 26, 2009
Dimensions

4.13 x 1.3 x 7.5 inches
ISBN-10

1416548548
ISBN-13

978-1416548546
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Another triumph." -- Los Angeles Times

"A sprawling, exuberant thriller." -- The Oregonian

About the Author

James Lee Burke is a New York Times bestselling author, two-time winner of the Edgar Award, and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. He’s authored thirty-seven novels and two short story collections. He lives in Missoula, Montana.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pocket Books; Reprint edition (May 26, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 592 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1416548548
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1416548546
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.13 x 1.3 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,447,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8,073 in Hard-Boiled Mystery
- #21,064 in Police Procedurals (Books)
- #60,115 in Suspense Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
537 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		69%
4 star		21%
3 star		6%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Ploeppe

Great book, but hundreds of typos in the Kindle edition.

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2017

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In my humble opinion, James Lee Burke is a national treasure. His ability to turn a few words into vivid and complete descriptions is without parallel. Just ask his peers, like Michael Connolly, an amazing writer himself. Having read everything Mr. Burke has published at least twice, I recommend Swan Peak without hesitation. I would say it is my favorite, but Mr. Burke is so skilled that all his works are among my favorites. His opening pages often bring me close to tears with the artistry he demonstrates; as a professional musician for over 40 years I can best liken his writing to a fine piece of music.

All that said, I think he would be appalled at the number of typographical errors in the Kindle edition. I haven't counted them, but I am sure there are in excess of 100. Stupid stuff, too, like not spelling a person's name the same way for several pages. I have the hardback edition-no such errors are present in that. Which begs the question-Mr. Bezos, do you really think we should have to pay for something so flawed? Frankly, it's worse than many galleys I have read. For the price you charge, you should be ashamed of the lack of quality editing.

The story, Mr. Burke's writing, excellent. Five stars, no question. Mr. Bezos' crappy editing (it comes back to you, Jeffrey!) deserves no stars-it's a travesty. Amazon, Bezos, get it together.
Please. This is unacceptable.

9 people found this helpful

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Dimi Mestier

Ah, Robicheaux and Burke...simply the best

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2018

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It had been a few years since I read a Robicheaux novel. You know how it is, you find new authors and get busy with them. Then I saw Burke's name and wondered what I had missed since my last, and found quite a few just waiting to be purchased. The Kindle edition must have been updated because I did not notice typos, and that's something I definitely would notice.

I am a writer of technical materials, but if I could create poetry in words the way James Lee Burke does, I would be all over that. It's hard for me to describe, but I absolutely fall into a Robicheaux novel and feel that the words and emotions they evoke are beautiful, true, and fulfilling. Even though the content is often violent and the stories sometimes hard to bear, there is something quite satisfying in consuming Burke's stories. For as long as these novels have been around, I never quite picture Dave or Clete as old, although they surely are getting up there. And I will always love Dave, but Clete, oh man, Clete...I am getting a bit tired of him. I know he's a good soul, but he is hard to take.

Anyway, Swan Peak is a purely intoxicating novel with rich characters that you love and hate. You are on the edge of your seat, hoping that everything works out for the "nice" people, who are not always so nice, and that the "bad" people get their due too. And mostly that happens. If you like Burke, you'll like this novel. As for me, I read this novel right after Pegasus Descending and will have to take a break before starting another Burke story. My brain can't take that much excellent writing and imagery in three books in a row. :)

5 people found this helpful

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dagmar

Good author, bad editor

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2020

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As usual, Mr Burke delivers a spell-binding story from start to last word. He creates visual pictures; his descriptions of sites makes them real. Philosophy, psychology, literature, social issues and comments, with history thrown in for good measure. Always hard to put down once begun. Much to be learned.
Now, the editing. NEVER have I read a professional publication so full of typos. Unbelievable. Was no human available to correct the word app? The mistakes popped out with only casual reading. Someone can and should do better.

One person found this helpful

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Wayne C. Rogers

I think this is the best of all the "Robicheaux" novels!

Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2008

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If you've ever seen the movie, Heaven's Prisoners, starring Alec Baldwin and Eric Roberts, then you're already familiar with the character of Dave Robicheaux, an ex-Vietnam veteran and ex-NOPD Homicide detective who now runs a bait shop in New Iberia, a parish outside of New Orleans, and in the later novels, also works for the local police department, giving them almost as much grief as he did the NOPD in putting down the bad guys. Author James Lee Burke has been writing this series since the late eighties and has developed a large fan base of avid readers who literally crave a "Robicheaux" six every year. I know because I'm one of them. All the books in this fantastic series are good, while some are truly excellent and have a literary quality that will make them classics in the years ahead.

Now, we come to the newest and perhaps the best book in the series, Swan Peak. Robicheaux, his wife, Molly, and his close friend and ex-NOPD partner, Clete Purcel, are vacationing in Montana this time around, wanting to get away from the chaos of New Orleans after its destruction by hurricane Katrina and the slow rebuilding by the U.S. Government. Trouble is the last thing that they're looking for, but it finds them nevertheless when Purcel discovers an out-of-the-way stream to fish in, only to be run off by employees of the Wellstone Ranch. This starts a chain of events that will not only include a battle with the Wellstone family, but the search for a serial killer who has been murdering for decades. Not only that, but the story includes a Texas gumball who travels to Montana in search of an escaped convict, who stuck a handmade knife into him after being sexually abused, plus the possibility that Sally Dios (the mobster that Pucel thought he'd killed in an arranged airplane crash) might actually be alive and seeking revenge. Before the ending is reached and nearly a dozen people have died, both Robicheaux and Purcel will find themselves on their knees beside an open grave, waiting to be executed and wishing there was a better way to die.

Swan Peak is perhaps the most complex of the "Dave Robicheaux" novels with the author juggling several sub-plots around and managing to bring them all together into a perfect ending. There are characters you'll like and some you'll hate, and even a few you will change your mind about before the final pages are reached. I'll state right now that James Lee Burke is the most literally of the authors I read, and his prose is like the soft touch of velvet across one's skin, creating images that bring alive the beauty and essence of Louisiana, or in this case, Montana. His words have a way of capturing and captivating the reader, luring them into a scene as if they were living it to the fullest extent. His characters are always true to life, rather than caricatures that are generally found in other books by different authors. For me, Dave Robicheaux isn't a fictional creation, but rather a friend that I get to visit with once a year and play some catch-up with. In another sense, Robicheaux is "everyman" with his strengths and weaknesses, attempting to live a good life while battling the evil that seeks to erupt from just beneath the surface of humanity and envelope those within its reach.

The "Dave Robicheaux" series is probably the best in its genre, giving new authors a look at what it takes to master the written word and to tell a damn good story. Swan Peak will grab you in the first few pages, offer you strong characterization, tense plotting, prose that will have you reading out loud, and an ending that will take your breath away. James Lee Burke has done what most series authors never achieve: he's written a novel that surpasses the previous books in the series. Highly recommended!

8 people found this helpful

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Jim 8888

Taxi for Robicheaux

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2015

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This novel finds Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel, the two detective anti-heroes of James Lee Burke’s imagination, in Montana, trying to find some peace of mind and quiet respite from the submerged streets of New Orleans that they normally inhabit. Peace and quiet? If these novels were set in Harrogate, then Betty’s Tea Rooms would be full of hookers, pimps, drug crazed biker gangs, ex-Mafia contract killers, crooked FBI agents and a paedophile priest who had a pet Doberman trained to attack your gonads. And Dave and Clete would serve their measures of justice to them all, sadly lamenting the demise of society and lack of divine retribution as they ram a cream scone down an ex-cons throat while gouging out his eyes. This act would then throw Dave into acres of regret and depression and would inevitably lead him to killing about ten scumbags in consequence. Clete would again drink himself senseless, address Dave as Noble Mon and drive his Cadillac into the legs of a corrupt sheriff. Seriously, these two could turn up at a nursery and find it populated with Mexican drug dealing death squads. I have loved most of James Lee Burke's novels in this series, but I tired of the formula here. There's only so many eccentric psychopathic hoodlums two men can meet, surely, and these two have met them all as far as I'm concerned. Time to find something new and Swan Peak, I fear, has become Swan Song for me and James Lee.

2 people found this helpful

Mike Alexander

Evil's Gravity

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2008

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James Lee Burke's latest novel, Swan Peak, is another chapter in the life of his troubled character Dave Robicheaux. It is set in the wilds of Montana rather than the lush lands of Louisiana. An early novel, Black Cherry Blues was similarly set against the Montana backdrop of mountains and grazing land.
This time Dave and his friend Cletus Purcell are ostensibly taking a well earned break from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. At one point Dave reflects, in a beautifully constructed paragraph, of how the intersections in his life seem practically predetermined as is the attraction of iron filings for a magnet. There is a sense of evil in the first few pages as Clete is bullied by some unpleasant characters who move him off the territory of a rich landowner. It is surely a craft of very few authors to write so infectiously and to create such a sense of bad things to come as does James Lee Burke.
The story is set around the rich landowner and some gruesome killings in the same area. It has, rather like an airliner, a smooth and progressive glide slope to a climax rather than a landing. As a reader one is drawn and even captivated by each turn of the screw.
Woven into this story are some old and some new characters along with just a hint of romance. One or two descriptions of the Montana environment are reminiscent of early Lee Burke writing about Louisiana and I have to say I wish there were more of these.
Quite where Lee Burke gets his material from is a mystery but how he creates such an art from whatever the source is very impressive. It is, yet again, a great read and I'm glad to say the author still retains those qualities of writing that attracted me to the Robicheaux novels all those years ago.

32 people found this helpful

Wynne Kelly

A hero who makes great picnics!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2011

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Dave Robicheaux and his friend (and ex-colleague) are on vacation in Montana when some murders occur and Dave is assigned temporarily to the local Sheriff's staff. In the meantime Clete is obsessed with Jamie Sue Wellstone - an ex-Country and Western singer now married to a scarred war veteran. The wealthy Wellstone family have a ranch and some shady connections and are hoping to search for oil on their land.

The plot is fairly convoluted but what makes this book so great is the richness of the characters and the way in which they interact. Sometimes Clete must feel like a weight around Dave's neck but he is continually loyal to his troubled friend. The bad guys are really bad but in the end no match for Dave and Clete.

Swan Peak has some lovely writing - and is sprinkled ideas: "...we love the earth but we don't get to stay" or "Never go to bed with a woman who has more problems than you".

There were a few bits of plotting that bothered me. Firstly, J.D. escaped from gaol and took refuge with Albert Hollister. He was miles from home - so where did he get his guitar from? Also I thought that Troyce Nix talked a bit too readily to Candace about his problems and his past transgressions. Seemed a bit unlikely.

But once again, Dave Robicheaux is the person to have on your side. And he makes great picnics!

I. Bryant

Time to go Robicheaux.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2011

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I'm such a fan of Burke's Robicheaux books that a year ago I re-read the first 16 in the order they'd been published (mixed with other books in between) and was struck that he'd been able to keep up such a high standard throughout. Most authors understandably tail off when they've used the same characters in more than 10 or 12 books.
But Swan Peak is a book too far and it's time for Burke to turn to other characters. His handling of Cleate has long stretched the reader's patience but in Swan Peak he's ridiculous. Would a young self-confessed FBI lesbian fall into bed with a 60 year old drunken slob and ride off into the sunshine with him? I thought that Cleate was going to be killed off (at last) but Burke can't resist saving him - and all the other characters except the chief villains.
The book is too long and sometimes rambles when the author drops in bits of personal pontification, whilst the Montana setting constantly reminds one of James Crumley, perhaps the finest US crime-writer of the past 50 years.

nickyb

Super Swan

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2014

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I have started reading James Lee Burke again and I am so happy I made that decision. This series is superb. The writing is lyrical and up there with the likes of Le Carr e and Elmore Leonard. Far more descriptive and evocative though. Burke can really wax lyrical so much so that the the pure rhythm of the writing carries you through some quite disturbing passages. The storyline is always intriguing and the characters superb.

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Swan Peak (Dave Robicheaux, No. 17) Mass Market Paperback – May 26, 2009

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