Genre: Novel
Grade: A-
Notable People: James Lee Burke
Title: Heartwood
Review: Burke is 80 and still going strong- writing the long running and excellent Dave Robicheaux series as well as the two western series –set in Montana and Texas. This is the Texas series- featuring lawyer Billy Bob Holland, an aging former Texas Ranger, with a closet full of skeletons (one who speaks with him hourly), an oil rigging- country musician son, a tough- as- nails, take no prisoners lady private investigator…and a boatload of moral crisis. The protagonists in Burke’ s books never get off easy…..more like go to hell and back…..but they sure do try to do the right thing. As usual, this one is filled with odd and imaginative characters, and the pulls of wealth and lust…tinged with an underlying religious symbolism and one overloaded religious fanatic (who is quite likeable). These books are exceedingly well written, confident, have that same love of place that Burke has for the Louisiana Bayou….and spin a very good story. Burke is a master.