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Purple Cane Road (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)
by James Lee Burke
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Dell (2001-05-08)
ISBN: 0440224047
EAN: 9780440224044
Dewy Decimal #: 813
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Release Date: 2001-05-08
SKU: 04810
Condition: Collectible: Very Go
Comments: First edition book,in very good condition
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
From Edgar Award-winner James Lee Burke comes this emotional powerhouse of a novel ... in which everyman hero Dave Robicheaux confronts the secrets of his long-forgotten past in a shattering tale of revenge, murder, and a mother's haunting legacy....
Robicheaux first hears it from a pimp eager to trade information for his life: Mae Guillory was murdered outside a New Orleans nightclub by two cops. Dave Robicheaux was just a boy when his mother ran out on him and his whiskey-driven father.
Now Robicheaux is a man, still haunted by her desertion and her death. More than thirty-five years after Mae Guillory died, her son will go to any length to bring her killers to justice. And as he moves closer to what happened that long-ago night, the Louisiana cop crosses lines of color and class to find the place where secrets of his past lie buried ... and where all roads lead to revenge -- but only one road leads to the truth....
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Amazon.com Review
In New Iberia, Louisiana, memories are long and dangerous, and the past and present are seldom easy to untangle. Homicide investigator Dave Robicheaux is trying to help Letty Labiche, a New Iberia girl on death row for killing the man who molested her and her sister as children, when chance brings him to Zipper Clum, a pimp and pornographer who recognizes Robicheaux secondhand through a 30-year haze: "Robicheaux, your mama's name was Mae.... Wait, it was Guillory before she married. That was the name she went by ... Mae Guillory. But she was your mama," he said. "What?" I said. He wet his lips uncertainly. "She dealt cards and still hooked a little bit. Behind a club in Lafourche Parish. This was maybe 1966 or '67," he said. Clete's eyes were fixed on my face. "You're in a dangerous area, sperm breath," he said to Zipper. "They held her down in a mud puddle. They drowned her," Zipper said. To Robicheaux, whose memories of the fun-loving Mae are few and bittersweet, the news comes like a bolt of lightning. Though she abandoned him to the uncertain mercies of a violent, alcoholic father, he loved her, and his desire to find her killers--cops in the pay of the Giacano crime family, according to Clum--is instantaneous and deeply felt. Unfortunately, Zipper Clum meets the wrong end of a .25 automatic soon after his electrifying announcement, but his conversation with his killer is recorded--and Mae Guillory's name comes up again. The winding trail of evidence connected to both Letty Labiche and Mae Guillory leads Robicheaux almost immediately to Jim Gable, the New Orleans Police Department's liaison with city hall, whose position has afforded him a number of less-than-legal advantages. Gable also happens to be an ex-lover of Robicheaux's wife, Bootsie--formerly the widow of Ralph Giacano. From there the web of connections grows ever wider, and (not surprisingly) incriminates those in high places. These include the state attorney general, a woman who, if photographic evidence is to be trusted, was once friendly with the Labiches' parents, who were known procurers. But if Purple Cane Road has its share of corrupt powermongers, it's also filled with beautifully rounded characters, like piano-playing governor Belmont Pugh and hit man Johnny Remeta, whose personality slowly begins to unravel as he gets closer to Robicheaux's daughter. The plot converges seamlessly to its climax--the true story of what happened to Mae Robicheaux--as James Lee Burke's trademark of uncompromising justice is brought to fruition. Like Burke's other Robicheaux novels, Purple Cane Road offers a solidly satisfying piece in the picture of a complex hero. --Barrie Trinkle
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Customer Reviews
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Pyschologically complex, atmospheric page-turner (although there are a few plot holes that need to be overlooked)
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-07-05
Purple Cane Road is a beautifully written, complex thriller; its pages teeming with Louisiana atmosphere.
What I like most about these novels is the moral ambiguity of the characters. Dave is essentially a good man (although that's probably debateable) who, despite his self-righteousness, rarely takes the moral high road. He contemplates murdering a man in cold blood, considers hiring a hit-man, assaults anyone who gets on his nerves, and isn't above re-staging a crime scene if necessary. He's a dark, brooding, violent man, tormented by his tour in Vietnam and a recovering alcoholic. He makes Harry Bosch look like a well-adjusted boy scout.
Strangely, these are traits I like in a leading man. I like that Burke blurs the lines between right and wrong.
Burke's other great strength is dialogue. No one else, except perhaps the great Elmore Leonard, has a better ear for dialogue, in particular the language of the street. (Not that I, as a child of the Canadian suburbs, have much first-hand knowledge of how criminals talk).
Purple Cane Road features a complex multi-layered plot that involves Dave trying to track down the people responsible for his mother's 30 year-old murder, uncover the truth behind the murder of a pedophile before the alleged killer is executed, and catch a very polite but psychotic hit man. To complicate matters, Dave's wife has a history with the dirty cop Dave's trying to bring down, his daughter has a crush on a charming young hit-man, and his best friend Clete continues to be a loose cannon in danger of losing his license, going to jail or worse. I found the strange relationship that develops between Dave and the hired killer especially intriguing.
While I enjoyed the novel, I do feel compelled to point out that there are some significant plot holes and extraordinary contrivances in this novel. Dave doesn't actually do much (if any) detecting in this novel. Characters in the novel have the information Dave is looking for, but essentially wait until the author decides it is time for them to share the info with Dave, when the plot demands it. Dave, in a matter of minutes, uncovers evidence at an eight-year old crime scene, that somehow crime scene investigators missed the first time around. And in a pimp's dying recorded statement it's never clear how the pimp knew that his killer was linked to Dave's mother's murder. The plot just requires him to know.
Despite some of the shortcomings in the plot, this is a very good novel, arguably one of the best in the series. The ending of the novel, in particular, is very strong, full of that moral ambiguity that I like.
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Middle of the road
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-06-30
This is my first book by Burke and I immediately realized that I was in the middle of a series. Try the 11th book in a series. Goodness. The problem is, I believe that no matter where a writer is in a series, each book should stand alone...and Purple Cane Road doesn't quite pull it off. Not that the plot hinders you, but the author takes for granted that the reader is already connected to Dave Robchieaux-and I certainly was not. By the end of the book, I still wasn't. Books like this one make me long for the days of Dennis Lehane and his little P.I. group. While there are some cute turns of phrases, I wasn't overwhelmed by the writing. Especially from a man who won a couple of Edgars. Plotting wise, nothing felt like it was running a cohesive manner. When we were dealing with Dave's mother, I'd forget about the Lebiche twins. When we were dealing with the twins, I'd forget about Remeta. And wasn't the whole Remeta thing anticlimactic? And I still didn't understand his relationship to Little Face or why he even tried to hook up with Alafair. The pages turned easily, but by the end I was far from satisfied.
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audio
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-05-15
I have been listening to this book for a few days on my way to work. The writing is just as others have said; almost poetic. Beautifully visual. The reading by Bill Patton is amazing. I want to send a fan letter for the first time in my life! If you travel a lot, this is the book to listen to. I would love to read the un-abridged book.
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Holds Your Attention
Rating (4)
Date: 2007-12-28
Purple Cane Road was a very satisfying book . Everyday I looked forward to reading it. Detective Robicheaux is a very complex person. The story centers around the murder of a pediphile that occured several years earlier. The execution of the covicted killer will take place in a few weeks. Robicheaux investigates the crime again. There's alot of slimey characters and a hired killer who drawn to Robicheaux. It is not a fast moving story because James Lee Burke developes the characters. It is very atmospheric. I was sorry when it ended.
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deadly memory
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-07-10
I thoroughly enjoy the characters created by James lee Burke in the novel 'Purple Cane Road." These are people I'd like to know or avoid. I like stories of revenge and retribution, and this one is a winner.
I especially like the main character 'Dave Robicheaux." Without a doubt he's the most compelling character today in this genre of novels. I would recommend this novel to anyone who wants a good quick read. I don't think anyone will be disappointed.
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