James Lee Burke is old school, and his main characters—Dave Robicheaux and Cletus Purcel are old school detectives. They are hard men and not without their own flaws. Dave is literally wrecked with old school Catholic guilt, memories of Vietnam, and the guilt that comes from alcoholism and his constant desire for a drink. And Dave is a model citizen compared to the walking trainwreck that is the life of Clete Purcel, his unusually inappropriate friend, his former NOPD partner, and now a private investigator in the gritty reality that is post-Katrina New Orleans. And these are Burke's hero's. His villains are evil and usually more than a little twisted. Even the innocent bystanders have to deal with their phobias and demons, and the reader is left wondering who among the cast can avoid death or degradation.Most of this series is set in New Orleans, Louisiana or in nearby New Iberia Parrish where Dave is employed as a deputy sheriff and where he lives in a house on a bayou with a grill and a baitshop in his backyard. But this story is in a new place. It is set in the range and forests of the foothills of Montana, just north of Missoula. Burke is a master as painting a scene and he does not falter with this change of scenery. [Montana is Burke's 2nd home and so he's found a way to transplant his southern Louisiana cast to the north country.]I liked this story very much. It is full of the no nonsense philosophy of hard men, honed over years of difficult challenges. Burke is a poet and a philosopher and his smooth language takes you to and away from some pretty frightening places. Yet, by Burke's standards, this story has a happy ending. The most poetic of crime writers, Burke turns in another strong one. This one has a Louisiana cop and his private investigator buddy on a fishing vacation in Montana when people around them start dying and they get pulled into the case. A subplot involves a character named Jimmie Dale who seems based on the singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore and who is tormented by a prison guard into extra violent rape. Moral ambiguity and the power of love play surprisingly big roles. Bechdel test: fail.
What do You think about Il Prezzo Della Vergogna (2009)?
Lots of action. Not Burke's best work but still very enjoyable.
—Isaiahhh
Darker than most Dave Robicheaux novels, but a great read.
—Patrick
