Genre: Novel
Grade A
Notable People: James Lee Burke
Title: Jolie Blon’s Bounce
Review: Burke’s Dave Robicheaux may be the best thing going for old style Raymond Chandleresque crime novels. All set in the Louisiana bayou, they are small works of art, featuring the recovering alcoholic and Vietnam Vet, Robicheaux, who live his demons daily as he strives to be a better man while facing the worst of backwoods evil in the deep parishes of the South. His former , and sometimes, partner, Clete Purcel is a character for the ages, and the books all contain the type of wired, sociopathic bad guys that are unforgettable. Burkes descriptions of the deep south , both then and now, are riveting ….as are his physical portraits of the place. This 2002 novel, is one of the best I’ve read in this long running series. Burke is an American treasure and should be tried at least once.