‘Swan Peak’ by James Lee Burke
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Heaven’s Prisoners” with Alec Baldwin and Eric Roberts, then you’re already familiar with the character of Dave Robicheaux, an ex-Vietnam veteran and former New Orleans homicide detective who now runs a bait shop in New Iberia, a parish outside of New Orleans, and in the later novels, also works for the local police department, giving them almost as much grief as he did the NOPD in putting down the bad guys.
Now, we come to the newest book in the series by James Lee Burke and perhaps the best in sheer quality, “Swan Peak.” Robicheaux, his wife, Molly, and his close friend and ex-NOPD partner, Clete Purcel, are vacationing in Montana this time around, wanting to get away from the chaos of New Orleans after its destruction by Hurricane Katrina and the slow rebuilding by the U.S. government.
Trouble is the last thing that they’re looking for, but it finds them nevertheless when Purcel discovers an out-of-the-way stream to fish in, only to be run off by employees of the Wellstone Ranch. This starts a chain of events that not only will include a battle with the Wellstone family, but the search for a serial killer who has been murdering for decades.
The story also includes a Texas gumball who travels to Montana in search of an escaped convict, who stuck a handmade knife into him after being sexually abused, plus the possibility that Sally Dios (the mobster that Pucel thought he’d killed in an arranged airplane crash) might actually be alive and seeking revenge. Before the ending is reached and nearly a dozen people have died, both Robicheaux and Purcel will find themselves on their knees beside an open grave, waiting to be executed and wishing there was a better way to die.
“Swan Peak” is perhaps the most complex of the Robicheaux novels, with the author juggling several subplots and managing to bring them all together into a perfect ending. There are characters you’ll like and some you’ll hate, and even a few you will change your mind about before the final pages are reached.
Burke’s prose is like the soft touch of velvet across one’s skin, creating images that bring alive the beauty and essence of Louisiana, or in this case, Montana. His words have a way of capturing and captivating the reader, luring them into a scene as if they were living it to the fullest extent. His characters are always true to life, rather than caricatures that are generally found in other books by different authors. For me, Robicheaux isn’t a fictional creation, but rather a friend who I get to visit with once a year and play some catch-up with. In another sense, Robicheaux is “everyman” with his strengths and weaknesses, attempting to live a good life while battling the evil that seeks to erupt from just beneath the surface of humanity and envelope those within its reach.
The Robicheaux series is probably the best in its genre, giving new authors a look at what it takes to master the written word and to tell a damn good story. “Swan Peak” will grab you in the first few pages, offer you strong characterization, tense plotting, prose that will have you reading out loud, and an ending that will take your breath away.
James Lee Burke has done what most series authors never achieve: He’s written a novel that surpasses the previous books in the series.
Highly recommended!
