 "Another Atmospheric Southern Thriller From the Subject Matter Expert!" | 2009-09-25 |
| - Reviewed By gangsteroflove7 |
James Lee Burke has consistently written novels that are centered in the deep south and ooze with colorful characters and atmosphere that makes a John Grisham novel appear tame (by comparison).
In this latest effort, Burke brings back a character from a past novel - Sheriff Hackberry Holland - who resides as the local law enforcement presence in a small Texas town near the Mexico border. In keeping up with current events and the immigration issue - "Rain Gods" lands Sheriff Holland smack in the middle of this controversial topic when he is brought into a case involving the murder of nine illegal immigrants.
Waving between mystery and thriller - Burke has his hero due battle with both a team of vicious killers as well as the political entrapments presented by the U.S. Department of Immigration.
Not a novel for the faint of heart - but hard-boiled Southern Gothic at its' finest! |
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| "Hack is back!" | 2009-09-21 |
| - Reviewed By recovering_audiophile |
| Rural Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland all of a sudden has an awful lot on his plate. From a mass murder to interference from both the FBI and ICE to protecting innocent locals to dealing with re-emergent dreams of his time as a POW in North Korea to handling new and confusing situations with his chief deputy. And, to top it off, he's become the focus of attention of "The Preacher", a professional hit man whose accomplishments are nearly as legendary as his psychosis. This is a fast-paced thriller with enough twists and turns to keep even the most devoted fan of James Lee Burke and Dave Robicheaux well-satisfied with just enough of their native Louisiana thrown in to keep it authentic. You'll not want to put it down before learning what happens with Hack & Pam or Pete Flores & Vikki Gaddis or Nick & Esther Dolan. How do ancient scripture and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fit perfectly into a plot that's basically about drugs, prostitution and greed? Pick this one up and you'll have trouble putting it back down until you know the answers to these questions. |
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 "Updated wild west novel" | 2009-09-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A11H9ZMDMCULRG |
Who says westerns have to be set in the 19th century? Here is the ultimate modern western. With the Texas terrain as much a character as Preacher and Hack, the old-time western is updated by Burke here in a masterful tale of testosterone. Not only is it reminiscent in its plotline and character development of the the classical oaters but you also cannot help but think about No Country for Old Men quite a bit while reading it. Who cares? The plot is linear but delightful, the characters are drawn with a fine pen, and suspense is maintained throughout.
Gritty and tough, this one is a page turner that maintains its high level from beginning to end. |
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| "The human spirit is indomitable." | 2009-09-18 |
| - Reviewed By sam_sattler |
In his second Hackberry Holland novel, "Rain Gods," James Lee Burke explores the battle faced by Texas lawmen charged with stopping drugs and illegal aliens from crossing the state's southern border. The fact that Hurricane Katrina flushed some of the worst New Orleans scum into Texas, criminals who thrive on human suffering and weaknesses, including human trafficking, makes Sherif Holland's job just that much tougher.
Hack Holland admits to himself that he has lived a full life but even at seventy-something years of age he is not ready to call it quits, and he his still the chief law enforcement officer in his little corner of southwest Texas. Hack is a reasonable man, not a judgmental one. He readily admits that his own past includes a time during which he was both a "drunk and a whoremonger" but those years have given him keen insight into the human condition. What he discovers behind a church late one afternoon, however, will shake him to his core.
Working on an anonymous tip directing him to the empty ground behind the abandoned church, Holland unearths the machine-gunned bodies of nine women and girls who had been killed there just hours earlier. What he sees and smells as he uncovers the bodies causes him to flash back to his days as a Korean War POW and he knows that his nights are destined to be filled with nightmares again. What he does not know is that he has just stepped into the middle of a fight between New Orleans lowlifes that began decades earlier.
"Rain Gods" is an epic confrontation between good and evil but it is one in which those on the side of good are not always squeaky clean and those on the side of evil sometimes live under a moral code only they can understand. Its plot is a relatively simple one - but plot is not the most important thing in this James Lee Burke novel. What Burke does best is create complicated, totally believable, characters by adding layer after layer to their makeup while exploring what it is that makes each of them tick. And that is exactly what he does in "Rain Gods."
Joining Hackberry Holland in this powerful story are Pam Tibbs, the young deputy who is falling in love with Hack as she works along side him to catch the killers; Pete Flores, the drunken Iraq War vet who knows too much about the murders to be allowed to live; Vikki Gaddis, Pete's long-suffering girlfriend; and "the preacher," a killer with enough of a conscious that he almost becomes a sympathetic character. Interestingly, Burke uses three very strong female characters to save some of his male characters from themselves: Holland has Pam Tibbs to save him from his fatalistic decisions, Vikki Gaddis is willing to flee alongside Pete Flores , and New Orleans gangster Nick Dolan finds that his wife Esther will fight like a tiger to save his life. Without their women, none of these men would have likely survived what happens to them in "Rain Gods."
Burke has a good feel for what life in southwest Texas is like and he uses the look and climate of that part of the state almost as an additional character. Its bleakness and isolation offer the perfect setting for the story being told, a battle between the not-so-perfect and the not-completely-bad set in an environment that can be beautiful and depressing at the same time. |
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| "Not much new here for fans of Burke, but he delivers everything we've come to expect from the author" | 2009-09-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: A20VXF9DYI0I6H |
I'm a fan of James Lee Burke and I enjoyed Rain Gods for all the reasons that I like James Lee Burke. Specifically, I'm a fan of:
1. Great writing: Burke writes descriptive prose that is unparallelled in crime fiction and quite frankly, could rival a lot of our best literary writers. There are times when Bruke's writing is so good I actually stop reading and just admire its brilliance.
2. Dark stories teeming with moral ambiguity: Nobody does moral ambiguity better than Burke.
3. Flawed protagonists haunted by past demons: Hackberry Holland, like Dave Robicheaux, is an imperfect human being, filled with regrets and tormented by his past.
4. Complex and unconventional plots: Many people compare this novel to the work of Cormac McCarthy (which is pretty fair I think) but the plot also reminds me of Elmore Leonard (although Burke's writing bears no similarity to Leonard's lean prose). Plenty of unexpected developments, double crossing, strong female characters, and macho gamesmanship.
5. Great dialogue: Burke has a talent for writing great dialogue (in the crime fiction genre, he is rivaled only by the aforementioned Leonard). Sharp, funny, unpredictable, insightful. I have to admit though that I missed Clete Purcel in this novel, in particular the words Burke has come from his mouth, but there are still plenty of great characters and dialogue in Rain Gods.
I can't say that Rain Gods delivers anything new. If you like the author, I have no doubt you'll enjoy the novel. If you don't like Burke, you won't. It isn't any more complicated than that.
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| "Burke Just Keeps on Ticking" | 2009-08-01 |
| - Reviewed By ann106668 |
It took me nearly a week to read this one-not due to the book being difficult to read but limited time and you just can't rush a Burke book! He always amazes me with his ability to incorporate unforgettable characters. I liked the women in this one who would not let themselves be victims and stood up to the villian. YOu wanted to shout "Way to go girl". The female deputy is equally as strong in going after what she wants. Even the villians are complex-not your run of the mill villians in other novels. Mr. Burke takes the time to acquaint us with them and what makes them the way they are. I found it interesting that for once the main characters' demons come from the Korean War rather than Vietnam which we find so often. This of course makes our character a bit older and you wonder how he manages to endure but he does. Being a senior myself (not as old as Hackberry but on the way there)it does my heart good to see a character of this age being active and being an important part of society.
The descriptions of places and events past and present are written as only Mr. Burke can do it. He has an amazing gift for writing a scene that I didn't expect at all.
With so many characters in this novel you might think there has to be at least one annoying one but there just really isn't. It was interesting the different men in the book who were not hero material you first think who didn't let the things that happened to them keep them from being heroes-wounded heroes as it were but nontheless decent men underneath it all. When the book ends and Burke wraps it up neatly but you would still like to hear more about them.
I have not read all of Burke's book but several of them and some I liked better than others but I never find them predictable. If you've never read one, give this one a try. However, don't try to read it quickly as there is just too much to absorb. I hope Mr. Burke stays the course and keeps top quality books coming our way.
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