The craft displayed herein explains why James Lee Burke was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. The juxtaposition of Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell combined with the predictably unreliable narration by Clete is the recipe James Lee Burke uses to reinvigorate a thirty-five-year-old mystery series. Clete is exceptional even for a master of the genre like James Lee Burke.
In the latest installment in his famous Detective Dave Robicheaux series, New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke brings Dave’s partner and friend Clete Purcel to the forefront for the first time as Clete and Dave attempt to stop ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug
Clete Purcel – private investigator, ex-member of the New Orleans Police Department, and war veteran with a hard shell and just a few soft spots – is Dave Robicheaux’s longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past. When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only…
Readers don’t need the forty-some-odd novels to know Kelton is the greatest western writer of all time. These sixteen short stories impart both the great drama of the west and, more impressively, the quiet desperation of those scratching out a living in agriculture from a harsh country. Kelton finds the majesty and human triumph in both the great and small. We read a nice bookend of Hughey Calloway stories. The quintessential American cowboy does not disappoint. In between we are treated to glimpses into the lives of sheep herders, ag teachers, and working cowboys.
No one writes the old west like Seven-time Spur Award-winning author Elmer Kelton. In The Cowboy Way, Kelton captures the action, adventure, brotherhood and betrayal of the old west, chronicling the highs and lows of cowboy life in these sixteen stories, collected together for the first time.
Can a painter create an image more lifelike than reality? Elmore Leonard proved a novelist can mirror the chaos of reality and still render it an interesting read. There is no recognition of traditional heroes, and the line between right and wrong blurs beyond recognition. He paints reality on a canvas and compels us all to turn the pages. Having marveled at the work, I must point out there is little inspirational or life affirming in this work, and it captures much of the essence of humanity.
Pagan Babies is classic crime fiction from the master of suspense, New York Times bestselling author Elmore Leonard.
Father Terry Dunn thought he'd seen everything on the mean streets of Detroit, but that was before he went on a little retreat to Rwanda to evade a tax-fraud indictment. Now the whiskey-drinking, Nine Inch Nails T-shirt-wearing padre is back trying to hustle up a score to help the little orphans of Rwanda.
But the fund-raising gets complicated when a former tattletale cohort pops up on Terry's tail. And then there's the lovely Debbie Dewey. A freshly sprung ex-con turned stand-up comic,…
A racist killer uses the resources of his Aryan gang to falsify an innocence claim, intending to use fraudulent evidence to gain his release from prison. Only the original trial team, cowboy detective E.J. Kane and his former prosecutor ex-wife Rebecca Johnson, refuse to surrender to injustice. An unrelated suicide holds the key to unraveling a massive conundrum of DNA evidence. Meanwhile, their daughter faces the stark consequences of drug addiction and continued victimization from sex trafficking. E.J. will have to battle a corrupt sheriff, an army of white supremacist, the legendary Big Thicket National Preserve, and a startling revelation about his past dishonor. The fast-paced modern world of changing social norms forces E.J. Kane to question the traditional codes of his heritage. He must embrace truth and reject false values to draw the hard lines necessary to forge the future.
