Swan Peak
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Product Description
Distress follows Dave Robicheaux.
James Lee Burke’s new novel, Swan Peak, finds Detective Robicheaux far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the unconcerned wilderness of rural Montana. He, his wife, and his buddy Clete Purcell have retreated to stay at an ancient acquaintances ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from the harsh, stark landscape of Louisiana post-Katrina.
But the serenity is soon shattered when two college students are establish cruelly murdered in the hills behind where the Robicheauxs and Purcell are staying. They quickly find themselves involved in a twisted and treacherous mystery involving a wealthy, vicious oil tycoon, his deformed brother and gorgeous wife, a sexually deviant minister, an escaped con and ex- country composition 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.
In this expertly drawn, gripping tale, Burke deftly weaves intricate, engaging plotlines and original, compelling characters with his uniquely graceful prose. He transcends genre yet again in the latest thrilling addition to his New York Times bestselling series.
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We listened to the audio version while traveling cross country. The reader was talented but the tale was so raw and brutal it was hard to take. I have never read this leader before and probably won’t again. If stark cruelty is your thing you may like it but be warned it is not for the faint of heart. The only thing we really loved was the outlandishly descriptive language which was sometimes so over the top we had to laugh. The leader must write with a text book of over blown adjectives with the object of using as many as he can cram onto the page.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
Burke’s past Robicheaux books indulged his taste for baroque twists of “fate,” the use of landscape imagery to evoke a sense of evil or excellent, and lots of violence as the “excellent” guys took down the terrible guys. By now, as he moves his setting from New Orleans to Montana, it’s getting more than a small ancient, in part because of Burke’s heavy-handed application of both purple prose and socialist invective. Burke has his protagonist regularly divert into his theories of the warfare between “haves” and “have nots.” Anyone with a decent income in a Burke mystery is usually corrupt, evil, twisted, and perverse. Income, or money, or success, comes only with the loss of one’s soul and integrity. An example (and there are endless ones) from Swan Peak: From a description of a trip cabin: “…its grandeur had …been made by on the breadline craftsmen hired by people with Midas levels of wealth.” We read about the Iraq war and the desire of Americans to fill their SUV’s with oil; we read about ex-Klansmen and their racial hatred, we read about the ultra-rich terrible guys who control oil and porn and evangelist preachers who get out the vote on despise issues in order to elect their supporters.
It’s just dull to read, over and over, page after page,Dave Robicheaux’s musings on life. I was rooting for the terrible guys this time, hoping that if they took out either Clete or Dave, we’d at least be spared the same ancient violent encounters. Neither of them has changed in the 30 years they’ve been together. Based on their personal histories and the contemporary (2007) setting, they’re ancient guys in their early 70’s. Yet we’re supposed to judge they’re still terrible cops who snub all laws in order to get the really terrible criminals, and still physically capable of intimidating bikers in bars and all manner of evil villains. Right… it’s like the Hollywood casting of 60+ year ancient actors with 20-something actresses who fall for their wit and looks and charm. Yeah, right.
Burke’s earlier books were complex and appealing lacking descending too far into baroque plot lines that have to be wrapped so quickly that you’re left wondering what it all meant. He seems to have lost control of his writing, or perhaps gained enough stature that no one dares edit his prose any longer. It’s a bring shame on, because it’s now both unbelievable and uninteresting. If I want to read denunciations of the US capitalist system, there are plenty of outlets for it . I don’t need it masquerading in the name of “mystery.” But worse than the constant railing about every perceived injustice Burke sees is the sheer boredom of these two ancient drunk has-beens from New Orleans. IT’s too terrible Katrina didn’t place them out of their misery.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
I like and I’ve read all of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux mysteries…WHEN THEY ARE SET IN NEW IBERIA, LA. His descriptions of his surroundings are part of what I like about his books (even though, sometimes it IS hard to imagine these ancient guys fighting like young Steven Seagals). I just don’t get it…Swan Peak was just like all the others except he’s changed the scenery, but I just couldn’t imagine Dave and Clete doing the things that they usually do, in Montana. If this book HAD been set in New Iberia, I suspect I would have agreed the book more of a chance, but I just can’t get with this renegade Louisiana detective in Montana. I just want James Lee to bring Dave and Clete back HOME.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
While the mystery itself held my interest, and I like the location, I establish small to delight in in this book. The most notable problems were the use of vocabulary and idioms that will place many (perhaps most) readers a bit confused or searching for a glossary of urban slang. Perhaps readers who are from Louisiana or who work in prisons will be familiar with the unusual terms and phrases, but this will not appeal to an audience of common American English speakers.
Another reviewer mentioned that it is long. Yes, the tale is rather stretched out, and the narrative swings from tedious detailed descriptions of insignificant traits or actions of some characters or events to glossing briefly over others.
The one additional flaw is in the lack of geographic orientation. Not until near the end of the tale does the leader give some description of where the Swan area is. Up to that point, it would appear from the time frames and movements of the characters that the Swan is no more distant from Missoula than are the Hellgate area, Bonner, or Hamilton. While Montanans routinely travel 20 or 30 miles to a restaurant, it is a long trip from Missoula to the Swan Valley. Of minor issue are the couple of times when a federal highway (such as US 12) are referred to as state routes.
Reader’s Rating: 2 / 5
I am not going to give a long description of this book as it has already been done. I reflect this is one of Burke’s best yet! I like his writing and his description of the area. It makes you feel like you are there. I live in Louisiana and I can tell you he is dead on in how he describes south Louisiana!
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5