::READERS REVIEWS::

This One Didn't Do it For Me - I am a big James Lee Burke fan. I can tell this was an early novel. The plot took a hard to believe turn when (plot spoiler) he decided to take Alafair with him to Montana. Why in the world would he decide to take a 6 year old with him on a trip to confront deadly gangsters, some of whom had already once threatened the child? Well, to me it was so she could be threatened or harmed in some manner later on in the book. I don't know if I am correct, I haven't finished the book, but I bet I am.

Also, there is an awful lot of "coincidence" in this eveyone knows someone who knew someone all tied together. Hard to swallow. The bad guys here seem pretty stereotypical. I'm just not diggin' this one like I have the other books with this character. 2 stars, might not finish it.

Ok, I finished it. I was wrong about the daughter, the only purpose it served was to waste page space having to add who he left the child with every time he went out.

Also, I personally think the author does not understand the term "dry drunk" at all. Additionally I grew weary of hearing about the alcoholic issues. Maybe I'm wrong...but I think an "alcohiolic" who has been sober a very long time doesn't have to go through the sweaty white knuckle moments and physical illness/symptoms anymore.

Maybe 3 stars. I found the ending to be sort of flat like a soda with no carbonation. Almost an as if the "climax" was an epilogue or something. I read it as a rough first effort and will likely continue to read the Robicheaux series.

Black Cherry Blues - Narrator was excellent but James Lee Burke flowers descriptions up too much like he is being paid by the word wow. I work from home and listen to so many audio books. Black cherries Blues I couldn't concentrate on it after two cassettes I had to stop I was day dreaming too much so started a different audio book with a different author fully engrossed in it instantly from the first line. If James Lee Burke would just get on with the storyline which is actually quite OK more people would follow his books. sorry will never buy another James Lee Burke again.

A thoroughly gripping mystery - [***** = breathtaking, **** = excellent, *** = good, ** = flawed, * = bad]

I'm not a worshipful fan of every single thing that Burke writes, but I found Black Cherry Blues one of his best. Robicheaux gets framed on a murder charge, and once he's out on bail, he must travel to Montana to investigate an illegal Mafia take-over of tribal lands that, in a complicated way, pertains to his murder trial.

The character interactions are nothing short of amazing. I found myself shaking my head again and again at the foolish actions of has-been singer Dixie Lee, mentally urging Robicheaux to get the heck away from him, and simultaneously kind of liking him for being so colorful! And Clete Purcell ... words fail me. Was there ever a cop who was more out-of-control than this self-destructive hellraiser? His hospital scene with Robicheaux made me burst out laughing at the same time that it almost brought a tear to my eye.

Definitely read this book. There are scenes that give you the chilling feeling that you are one imperfect guy with the impersonal forces of the universe arrayed against you. The book puts you deep into Robicheaux's psyche. Longer review at the Mystery Books site on BellaOnline (BellaOnline.com).

My New Favorite Detective Series - Black Cherry Blues is my second James Lee Burke read - I also enjoyed Pegasus Descending. I think this is the superior book in my opinion but nevertheless I'm now hooked on the Dave Robicheaux series and have to get them all.

I would compare Burke's writing to Michael Connelly in regards to a dark element in all the characters - "good" and "bad" ones. These are flawed characters who've lived hard lives. Dave Robicheaux is like your "Harry Bosch" character of Michael Connelly's except with a more small town Louisiana/Cajun flavor.

Burke has a real talent for taking you to Louisiana and back - the anecdotes about growing up cajun are fascinating and warmly sentimental.

The rich descriptions, atmosphere and cultural flavor coupled with a strong Clint Eastwood type of character make these stories winners. There is a sort of noir feel like the old Clint Eastwood movies.

Pegasus Descending got me interested but this book hooked me and made me a serious fan.

I highly recommend - especially if you like Michael Connelly's work.

Decent reading - My first book by this author, and definitely not the last. There is quite decent plot in it, even though sometimes one asks oneself, is the main character masochist or what? Some outcomes are predictable, but generally a good mystery book. I also like the description of Montana.

This Edgar Award winner is about as good as it gets - This was one of the best mysteries I have ever read, hands down. It has everything - great dialogue, complex characters, interesting bit parts, occasional humor, great descriptive passages, tension, danger, darkness, and depth. It is just very well written all the way thru. The hero is Dave Robicheaux, a Cajun and former Big Easy cop. He is as interesting a paperback detective as I have ever seen. Like most of them, he is tough and cool when necessary, but unlike a lot of them, he is a fully rounded character with deep flaws and heartaches. Robicheaux is a former New Orleans cop who runs a bait and tackle shop in the Louisiana bayou. He is the guardian of a six year old Latina whom he rescued from some disastrous situation. He pines for his dead wife, who was murdered by enemies of his, and sees her ghost from time to time, along with that of his father. He is a recovering alcoholic, and dark moods can descend on him. The image that comes across is that of an intense brooding man, quiet and controlled, with a strong sense of right and wrong.

In this story, trouble stumbles onto him in the form of Dixie Lee Pugh, an old college buddy who is a washed up rockabilly star. Dixie is usually loaded up on beer, and his southern fried speech is hilarious. He hears about some nasty stuff that an oil company he has been working with is involved in - a possible double murder in Montana. Dixie is a brilliant mystery character - seedy, charming, basically decent despite his lunacy and alcoholism. Dave's instinct is to stay away from Dixie's garbage, but he can't help but do a little investigating, and when he does, some oil company goons take an interest in him. After they threaten his little girl's life, it gets personal, and Dave goes after them. He ends up in jail, and then out on bail, trying to solve the crime before his trial date. He goes up to Montana and tangles with a mobster named Sally Dio, and runs into his old partner, Cletus Purcell, now a freelance hooligan. Purcell is another fine Burke creation. A muscular, tough good ol boy, a former rogue cop for hire, he suffers from impotence and a lack of focus in his life. He also turns out to be a man Dave can count on.

I would gladly pass a few subway rides with Burke again someday. The company can be a little rough, but the quality of the writing is undeniable.

Burke Book, Black Cherry Blues - Within a few pages of reading this book, pages started falling out. The publisher needs to use better quality products.
However, I am enjoying the novel.

Robicheaux is Rock Solid - Burke's third in the series packs a punch just as the first two Robicheaux novels. His writing style is perfect, drawing the reader in immediately and keeping our attention throughout. He builds weaving story lines and has created a great hero in Robicheaux. By the end of this one, we've been given a great tale, more of Dave's depth is revealed and Burke has created other lasting characters. Looking forward to reading all in this series.

A Good Exemplar of His Work - "Black Cherry Blues" (1989) was the third novel published by American author James Lee Burke in his New York Times bestselling detective Dave Robicheaux series. Like the earlier books of the series, and many of the series' works to follow, the book, a Southern noir, police procedural/mystery, is set in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, more or less home country for Burke, who was born in Houston, Texas, in 1936, and grew up on the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast. But it also takes Robicheaux on the first of his many excursions to Big Sky Country, Montana, where Burke now spends some time.

The plot is set in motion by Dixie Lee Pugh, supposedly Robicheaux's roommate freshman year at Southwestern Louisiana Institute - the school that Burke himself attended. It seems that Burke modeled Dixie Lee on Jerry Lee Lewis: he begins his career, Burke tells us, at that recording studio, unnamed by Burke, but known as Sam Phillips Sun Studio to us, where Burke tells us, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison began theirs'. And Dixie Lee played the Brooklyn Paramount, in those legendary shows of Alan Freed's, along with Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran. At any rate, Dixie Lee has had a successful career in the country music business, but, like many of Burke's musicians, he has lost that career to drink and drugs. However, Dixie Lee has found himself work doing odd jobs for another of Burke's many not-so wiseguys, all similarly named, in this case, Sally Dio, and has also picked up work in the Montana oil business. Dixie Lee comes to Robicheaux with a problem, and the way Robicheaux operates, we know it will soon be Robicheaux's problem. And it will call him and his adopted daughter Alafair to Montana.

"Black Cherry" finds Robicheaux still mourning the death of his second wife Annie, who was murdered by hit men looking for him; still mentioning occasionally his parents and half-brother Jimmie, and still being called "Streak," by those close to him, such as Clete Purcel, his former partner on the New Orleans Police Department, an overweight, heavy-drinking, brawling, heavily-scarred survivor of the city's tough Irish Channel neighborhood, who is still around to help Robicheaux: Clete's in Montana too. Robicheaux is of Cajun ancestry, and continues to relive the nightmare of his service in Vietnam. He has a drinking problem, and a tendency to violence. This book finds him not working in law enforcement, but he still owns and operates the boat rental and bait business, while living in the house in which he was actually born. He is assisted in the operation of his business by a black man, Batist, whom we've met before, and will see again. And we again meet Alafair's pet. the three-legged raccoon Tripod, whom we've met before and will meet again.

Burke continues to write with energy, passion and power. His Montana work is very nicely done, but, to me, nothing touches his Gulf Coast work, some of the most beautiful, knowledgeable writing ever committed to paper about the flora, fauna, geography, and human occupants of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, now so much in the news. Burke attended Southwestern Louisiana Institute; later received B. A. and M. A. degrees from the University of Missouri in 1958 and 1960 respectively. Over the years he worked as a landman for Sinclair Oil Company, a pipeliner, land surveyor, newspaper reporter, college English professor, social worker on Skid Row in Los Angeles, clerk for the Louisiana Employment Service, and instructor in the U. S. Job Corps. His work has twice been awarded an Edgar for Best Crime Novel of the Year. At least eight of his novels, including the more recent Jolie Blon's Bounce, and Purple Cane Road (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries) have been New York Times bestsellers. "Black Cherry," aside from its regrettable--to me--dalliance in Montana, is a good exemplar of his work.