James Lee Burke's mystery series stars New Orleans Dave Robicheaux. He has won the Edgar award twice and the quote on the book cover states he's "America's best novelist". Time to give him a try. Dave has been played in films by Alec Baldwin and Tommy Lee Jones, and there are 19 books in the series ~ Swan Peak is number 17. His awards include one for his enduring contribution to the "literary intellectual heritage of Louisiana".
So, of course I choose as my first Burke novel, Swan Peak, which finds Dave and his wife leaving Louisiana with his friend Clete Percel for a Montana vacation.
Staying on a friends ranch, and are quickly involved with two double murders which takes place near the property. Dave begins helping local law enforcement, and encounters the wealthy and belligerent Wellstone family. Their secretive ways and bodyguards keep the town off their property and make them suspect. Meanwhile, Clete becomes involved with a Wellstone wife Jamie Sue, a former country singer in the mold of Skeeter Davis, trapped in a loveless marriage.
Her former lover Jimmy Dale has just broken out of a Texas contract prison, and has hitchhiked up to Montana to reunite with her. Jimmy is being tracked by a former Abu Ghraib prison director, Troyce Nix. Troyce is a wild card in the mix, the least evenly drawn character who moves from a violent and sociopathically volatile prison guard who cannot stop himself from beating and raping prisoners and random men on the way to Montana; to falling in love with a former roller derby girl and running a cafe.
This is a man's book; this was not written by a woman. The murders by torching were gruesome, and the action rough. It starts with a bang and rolls on like a juggernaut with side stories involving tent preachers, corruption, gambling, and pimping. Although the characters were well drawn, they were not just flawed, but without a drop of warmth. Dave seemed to be the only character with a moral compass, though near the end his alcoholism gets to him and he's not above smashing someone's head into a gas range. Clete is even more an out of shape alcoholic, who may have good intentions, but they are hidden under a train wreck.
In another book, Troyce Nix would be the sadistic villain who gets off on torture, but here he blends in. His violent outbursts are on the same level as other characters who molest young girls or throw acid in someone's face. He even shows up at the finale in the woods, where all the characters are forced to gather to kill or be killed and dumped in a pit, and becomes somewhat of a hero! Near the end, Troyce has a line that typifies the general level of the characters, "Have you ever been in a nocturnal environment where snipers lurk inside the foliage?" Sure, haven't we all!
Swan Peak was grittier and darker than I thought it would be. I thought of mystery beach reading, but it was more in a Tom Clancy direction. Action without emotion.
I would try another Burke book, but one that takes place in Louisiana, where I'm sure the locale will bleed into the pages. This was northern Montana, where big trucks, guns collections, drinking and fishing are the cultural events.
Well written, but not recommended.
2009 / Paperback / 592 pages
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