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| THE GLASS RAINBOW
- Reviews |
2010 (a Dave Robicheaux book)
STARRED REVIEW FROM PW:
The Glass Rainbow: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
James Lee Burke, Simon & Schuster, $25.99 (448p) ISBN 978-1-4391-2829-9
MWA Grand Master Burke offers everything his readers expect--brilliant prose, prosaic situations that suddenly become mystic experiences, and a complex plot that repeatedly plumbs the depths of human depravity and the heights of nobility--in his superlative 18th novel featuring Iberia, La., deputy sheriff Dave Robicheaux (after Swan Peak). Robicheaux finds himself dealing with adopted daughter Alafair's attraction to novelist Kermit Abelard of the degenerate Abelard clan (who echo Faulkner's Snopses), as well as trying to avenge the sadistic murders of two young women, aided by best friend Clete Purcel. Evil comes in many forms, from the psychotic interloper Vidor Perkins to Robert Weingart, a convict turned author, whom Kermit has championed. The sights, smells, and sounds of the Louisiana bayous become sensory experiences in Burke's novels, and death is a constant presence that threatens to overwhelm his angels with "tarnished wings."
Starred review from LIBRARY JOURNAL:
It takes an incredible writer to keep fresh an 18th novel featuring a character that refuses to change, but Burke does so with what may be one of the best in his Robicheaux series. Dave is trying only to serve his duty as a New Iberia, LA, deputy, but as usual his conscience and need to see justice through draw him into trouble. Investigating a series of murders involving young female victims, he discovers a link that involves a former criminal-turned-best-selling author, as well as a local socialite who is involved romantically with Dave's daughter. Dave's best friend and longtime partner, Clete Purcel, provides a helping hand, along with some always-welcome color. As with most of the Robicheaux titles, the story is one of good vs. evil, with little mystery beyond the motivation of individuals. Burke also continues to set the gold standard when it comes to setting, making his readers feel like they're in New Iberia with Dave and Clete.
Verdict Another beautifully crafted effort by a multi-Edgar Award winner, this is an outstanding addition to one of America's best mystery series. Burke fans will not be disappointed
from KIRKUS, starred review
A star is assigned to books of unusual merit, determined by the editors of Kirkus Reviews.
A gruesome series of murders drags Dave Robicheaux, of the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Department, out of his jurisdiction and onto the track of another harrowing cluster of high crimes and misdemeanors.
The officers in Jeff Davis Parish say all seven victims of a faceless killer were prostitutes. But convict Elmore Latiolais insists that his sister Bernadette, an honors student headed for a nursing scholarship, didn’t fit that pattern. A casual remark by Herman Stanga, the pimp Elmore says tried to kill him, that he’s connected to the charitable St. Jude Project puts Dave (Swan Peak, 2008, etc.) on a collision course with his daughter Alafair’s boyfriend Kermit Abelard, his wealthy, dysfunctional family and his latest protégé, convict-turned-author Robert Weingart. As the bodies pile up, Dave and his old buddy Clete Purcel dig ever deeper into the Abelard family’s tangled roots. They link Kermit’s grandfather Timothy to Vidor Perkins, who spent time up the river with Weingart, and self-made investment tycoon Layton Blanchet, who’s hired Clete to get the goods on his cheating wife Carolyn. All these discoveries bring Dave up against every law-enforcement officer in Louisiana, and they don’t do much for his relationship with his daughter either. If the resulting blend of high finance and gutter sexuality is never very mysterious, it conveys an overwhelming sense of miasmal evil.
Burke, whose sonorous cadences and obsession with the past have often recalled Faulkner, has never resembled the sage of Yoknapatawpha more closely than in this magnificent attempt to get it all down between one cap and one period.
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