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The New Iberia Blues A Dave Robicheaux Novel James Lee Burke 9781501176876 Books

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The New Iberia Blues A Dave Robicheaux Novel James Lee Burke 9781501176876 Books

After reading all of Burke's novels over the past couple of decades, I can safely say that New Iberia Blues is his swan song. As much as I love his writing and his characters, the Louisiana culture and its beauty, I wish it was a stronger piece of work. And, I wish he had not ended it with Dave getting all pants-on-head stupid about a woman fifty years his junior.

After Dave finds the body of a young woman floating in the bay, nailed to a cross, he knows there is yet another sick killer out there who will kill again. When a second body is found, it also has a stylized body presentation that Dave's new partner, Bailey Ribbons, recognizes as representative of The Hanged Man, of the Tarot cards. As more bodies stack up, each is staged like another card in the deck.

Meanwhile there is a production company in town filming a movie with highly acclaimed director Desmond Cormier, a local from Dave's past. It's full of creepy Hollywood types with capped teeth, fast cars, and twisted proclivities. Dave, rightly so, does not trust them and he's positive Desmond, who he remembers as a young boy, is lying. And he is creeped out by Desmond's sidekick with the funky name, Antoine Butterworth.

The story moves along with Clete being his usual destructive, but loyal, self and Helen Soileau running the department with her usual soft side for Dave even though he infuriates her on a daily basis. Alafair is still living with Dave as she writes her latest novel, The Wife, so she can sell it for optioning (look it up, true story in Burke and Alafair Burke's life. It's her best work, IMO). And New Iberia Blues is filled with the usual Louisiana/Cajun characters with desolate backstories, desolate present lives, and poetic names. There is also the usual cringe-worthy violence that will make the reader curl their toes.

The weakest plot line in the book is Dave's relationship with his new partner, Bailey Ribbons. He's insta-hot for her, as are other male characters, and it completely detracts from the story. I understand she is there to create tension and distraction and doubt but I was annoyed by the screaming difference in ages between her and Dave. He was alive during WWII, she was 5 years old on 9/11. Yep, there is a 50 year difference and I'm not being ageist when I say it is the most implausible coupling in all his novels. I almost tossed his last Hackberry Holland book out the window when he got it on with his female partner forty years his junior. Burke's books are fiction, not fantasy.

I liked the Tarot aspect to the serial killings, it added a mystical element that fits in well with Burke's Louisiana. But when the killer is finally revealed, the motive is weak and the reason why that person used the Tarot is lost in the chaos.

There's a lot of philosophical narrative and reminiscing in this book. There were times I was lost as to what Burke was saying but I got the message: Dave Robicheaux may be mortal but Burke is more so. There is a paragraph in the epilogue when you know the author is saying goodbye; he loves his characters, his books, his Louisiana, but after twenty-two Robicheaux books and 16 other novels, and at 81 years of age, I think James Lee Burke is calling it a night. He will always be one of my favorite writers.


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The New Iberia Blues A Dave Robicheaux Novel James Lee Burke 9781501176876 Books Reviews

I have read every one of his books some of them more than once and am sure I will continue to do so. He always reaches a part of me that brings me to tears. His writing is proof that there are still “good” people in this crazy world.
James Lee Burke has a lyrical way of telling us what makes people do what people do. His turn of phrase and musings are smart and eloquent as they come.
However, New Iberia Blues as a story only gets 3 stars from me. I found it so full of beautiful soliliquies that the actual storyline suffered. It became disjointed, motionless and boring. It's more of a short story peppered with insights. The story itself made ramshackle sense, and I forced myself to finish it because it was a pricey digital purchase. The flow of communication between characters was oftentimes painful. There was no fluidity. I felt that while Parker, Crais, Coben, and Slaughter can say a lot with terse lines from their players, I was invariably left in the dark as to the reason for some of the verbal interplay. Or what the correct inference was supposed to be. JLB has a way with insightful paragraphs, but not so much for dialogue with rapport.
Burke’s poetic prose motivated me to move to Louisiana 14 years ago, and I have never regretted it. His writing is exceptional on so many levels, unique and flawed characters, twisted plots, mysticism and philosophy and a love for this state that is unmistakable. It resounds on every page even as he acknowledges the profound contradiction that IS Louisiana. He pulls no punches giving you both the upside and lowdown. If you have a problem with a plotline or the way it ended just remember how appalled Steinbeck’s editors and the critics were on how he ended THE GRAPES OF WRATH. That seemed to work out well for him. Burke, likewise, should continue to trust his own gut instinct. Works for me. Looking forward to his next fabulous book.
I have been a Robicheaux fan since I discovered him in my teen years and I wait with anticipation for each new novel about him to appear. Burke’s storytelling skills never disappoint and NEW IBERIA BLUES is no exception. Besides being an excellent writer, Burke’s wisdom about history, human nature, and life in general are profound, as well as his ability to paint beautiful prosaic pictures of New Orleans and the Deep South state of Louisiana where most of the stories unfold. The violence and evil he writes about are softened by the personal philosophy that runs through every tale and efforts to make sense of the world we live in without sacrificing the excitement and anticipation that keeps me reading to the last page. His insight into Robicheaux’s struggle with alcoholism and his own humanity are astounding and his skill at putting human flaws and strengths into words unsurpassed. He is a man who definitely grasps the human condition, both good and bad, and who is able to describe it with clarity and sensitivity. Burke is, indeed, a master at his trade, Robicheaux a character who seems to be a modern Everyman, and I do not relish the wait for the next installment!
I have read the previous novels. Aging myself, with Louisiana in my own history, I relate. None of the characters is facile or cliche either. Burke’s power holds. Dave and Cleve and Alafair all grow and change, but retain their core traits. Smiley is fascinating. The climax is, well, both logical and climactic. I will always reread these books—but this one, right away.
I wait impatiently for his books to emerge. This one didn't disappoint. Dave and Clete are my two favorite characters of all the stories I've read. I hope you never stop writing Mr. Burke, but if you do I'll go back to the beginning novel and start this wonderful journey all over again. Thank you for your work.
After reading all of Burke's novels over the past couple of decades, I can safely say that New Iberia Blues is his swan song. As much as I love his writing and his characters, the Louisiana culture and its beauty, I wish it was a stronger piece of work. And, I wish he had not ended it with Dave getting all pants-on-head stupid about a woman fifty years his junior.

After Dave finds the body of a young woman floating in the bay, nailed to a cross, he knows there is yet another sick killer out there who will kill again. When a second body is found, it also has a stylized body presentation that Dave's new partner, Bailey Ribbons, recognizes as representative of The Hanged Man, of the Tarot cards. As more bodies stack up, each is staged like another card in the deck.

Meanwhile there is a production company in town filming a movie with highly acclaimed director Desmond Cormier, a local from Dave's past. It's full of creepy Hollywood types with capped teeth, fast cars, and twisted proclivities. Dave, rightly so, does not trust them and he's positive Desmond, who he remembers as a young boy, is lying. And he is creeped out by Desmond's sidekick with the funky name, Antoine Butterworth.

The story moves along with Clete being his usual destructive, but loyal, self and Helen Soileau running the department with her usual soft side for Dave even though he infuriates her on a daily basis. Alafair is still living with Dave as she writes her latest novel, The Wife, so she can sell it for optioning (look it up, true story in Burke and Alafair Burke's life. It's her best work, IMO). And New Iberia Blues is filled with the usual Louisiana/Cajun characters with desolate backstories, desolate present lives, and poetic names. There is also the usual cringe-worthy violence that will make the reader curl their toes.

The weakest plot line in the book is Dave's relationship with his new partner, Bailey Ribbons. He's insta-hot for her, as are other male characters, and it completely detracts from the story. I understand she is there to create tension and distraction and doubt but I was annoyed by the screaming difference in ages between her and Dave. He was alive during WWII, she was 5 years old on 9/11. Yep, there is a 50 year difference and I'm not being ageist when I say it is the most implausible coupling in all his novels. I almost tossed his last Hackberry Holland book out the window when he got it on with his female partner forty years his junior. Burke's books are fiction, not fantasy.

I liked the Tarot aspect to the serial killings, it added a mystical element that fits in well with Burke's Louisiana. But when the killer is finally revealed, the motive is weak and the reason why that person used the Tarot is lost in the chaos.

There's a lot of philosophical narrative and reminiscing in this book. There were times I was lost as to what Burke was saying but I got the message Dave Robicheaux may be mortal but Burke is more so. There is a paragraph in the epilogue when you know the author is saying goodbye; he loves his characters, his books, his Louisiana, but after twenty-two Robicheaux books and 16 other novels, and at 81 years of age, I think James Lee Burke is calling it a night. He will always be one of my favorite writers.