Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcel need to get away from post-Katrina south Louisiana. It's not that the city isn't being rebuilt, but the character and nuances that the pair of former NOPD detectives loved about the area has been washed out with the sea, never to return. In Swan Peak, they've headed north to western Montana, where their friend, the write Albert Hollister has a ranch.
The Wellstones
No sooner do they arrive in "Big Sky Country" than they run into a pair of thugs employed by the richest man in the county--a Leslie Wellstone, a man who has been disfigured in a tank fire during his service in the Sudan and who has a beautiful, young wife and a pile of secrets. By coincidence (or not), one of the thugs is familiar to Robicheaux and Purcel. He used to work for "Sally" Dio, a mob underling who died in a fiery plane crash several years before. Several parties, including a couple of FBI agents, maintain that Purcel had something to do with the crash. So much for a quiet get-away.
A Shady Cast of Characters
The pair of detectives have only been at the ranch a couple of days when the local sheriff comes around, asking about a pair of similar murders. Four victims within a week is quite a lot for this sparsely-populated part of Montana. Somewhat against his better judgment, Sheriff Higgins asks Robicheaux to help investigate. What he finds startles even this hard-nosed cop and threatens to not only end his friendship with Purcel, but end his life as well. In a plot with a half-dozen twists and false leads, will he be able to decipher truth from deception in time to avoid disaster?
Swan Peak is a great read, that enjoyable combination of "Old West" and "film noir." Fans of the Robicheaux series will enjoy seeing what their old friends are up to, but new readers will enjoy the action and antics of this quirky pair.
About James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke is the author of more than 25 novels and short story collections, the most famous of which feature NOPD detective Dave Robicheaux and Billy Bob Holland.
Burke has won two Edgar Awards, for "Cimarron Rose" (1998) and "Black Cherry" (1990) and two of his books have been made into films. A third, "In the Electric Mist" with Tommy Lee Jones as Dave Robicheaux is scheduled to be released in 2008.
Burke and his wife have been married for 48 years and have four children. They divide their time between New Iberia, Louisiana and Montana.
Other Recommended Detective Novels
- Last Breath by George Shuman
- Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais
- Murder on the Rue de Paradis by Cara Black
