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    Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
    Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
    Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

    Written by James Lee Burke

    Narrated by Will Patton

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    2009 Audie Award Finalist for Mystery

    Beloved Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux returns—this time, traveling from New Iberia Parish to the wilds of Montana.

    Dave Robicheaux, his wife, and his buddy Clete Purcell have retreated to an old friend’s ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from the harsh, gritty landscape of Louisiana post-Katrina. But the serenity is soon shattered when two college students are found brutally murdered in the hills behind where the Robicheauxs and Purcell are staying.

    Deftly weaving intricate, engaging plotlines and original, compelling characters with his graceful prose, Burke transcends genre yet again.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJul 8, 2008
    ISBN9780743571869
    Author

    James Lee Burke

    James Lee Burke is a New York Times bestselling author, two-time winner of the Edgar Award, and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. He has authored forty novels and two short story collections. He lives in Missoula, Montana.

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    Reviews for Swan Peak

    4/5

    278 ratings19 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I was hesitant about reading Swan Peak by James Lee Burke, not because I do not enjoy Burke's Robicheaux series, but rather because this book takes place in Montana rather than New Iberia, Louisiana. However I was worried for no reason, the story live was excellent and lead to a wonderfully suspenseful ending.
    • 3/5
      enjoyable and atmospheric as always, here the forests and backwaters rather than New Orleans and Louisiana. I found the lot a bit muddled though
    • 2/5
      Burke has just gotten too creepy and violent for me. EXCELLENT writer -- truly superb. A sad loss to my stand-by list of always read authors.
    • 3/5
      This book was really beautifully written... gorgeous prose.

      However, I just couldn't connect with the characters or get into the story. It seems like these characters have several books with them, so I might one day find them in chronological order and see if I can develop more of an attachment to them. As I said, it was a beautifully written story. I just picked it up at random on the library shelf.
    • 3/5
      Dave R. is in Montana with Clete and manages to stay alive again. An escaped con from a Texas contract prison, the gunbull he cut up to escape, and a mob boss incognito from New Orleans all congregate near Missoula, resulting in the usual murder and mayhem. Can't they just stay down there in the South???
    • 5/5
      Swan Peak is James Lee Burke's usual -- meaning it's beautifully written, with characters that make you want to scream and cry. The difference for this installment is location. Dave Robicheaux has moved to Montana to get away from things in New Iberia and the New Orleans area. But trouble finds him anyway. The use of first person and third person POVs has broadened the potential of Burke's stories. We now have more insight into the dark recesses of Clete Purcell's mind than ever before. It's fascinating. And it leaves me feeling in need of some of his whiskey. Or whatever he's drinking at the moment. That's a dark hole that houses Clete's mind.The character of Nix makes you want to believe in hell. Then Burke goes ahead and makes him start changing, so he becomes almost sympathetic and you have a hard time hating him. Dammit. And then Burke goes and redeems him -- the story's villain -- and turns the victim into the bad guy, albeit briefly. I still think Nix is rotten deep down, but he showed a shred of humanity. It was his victim that couldn't get past the sins perpetrated against him that put him in Nix's place. How's that for a plot twist.One of my favorite lines, demonstrative of Burke's ability to create an image:"…inhaling a breath that was as sharp as a razor in his throat."Don't tell me you don't feel that.Another of my favorite passages demonstrates Burke's deft hand with a thoughtful moment for Dave, where he sums up so simply and eloquently the philosophy of Dave Robicheaux and how he sees his world:"But if there is a greater lesson in what occurred inside that clearing, it's probably the simple fact that the real gladiators of the world are so humble in their origins and unremarkable in appearance that when we stand next to them in a grocery-store line, we never guess how brightly their souls can burn in the dark.Or at least that's the way it seems to me."
    • 4/5
      Another good Robicheaux read. He brought in a lot of strings but pulled them together at the end. ully established a sense of place. Montana was the back drop instead of Louisiana but he successfAs usual full of sharp jibes and glib retorts and Burke/Robicheaux philosophizing. But Robicheaux and Purcell are getting old.
    • 4/5
      Dave Robicheaux, wife Molly and best friend Clete Purcel are vacationing in Montana after the devastation of hurricanes' Rita and Katrina in New Orleans.When a pair of double murders occurs and the local sheriff seems overwhelmed, Dave and Clete offer their services.Ridley Wellstone a wealthy former Texan, own land aroung Swan Lake and wants to drill test wells for oil and natural gas. He lives on his ranch with his brother, Lyle and Lyle's wife, country and western singer, Jamie Sue Wellstone.When Ridley seens Dave and Clete, he accuses them of working with the person who filed an injunction against him for his well drilling. Even though Dave and Clete deny it, there are bad feelings which will escallate.In a parallel story, Jamie Sue's former boyfriend, Jimme Dale Greenwood, who is the father of their child, is in jail in Texas. He's there for a minor offense but gets into an intollerable situation with guard Troyce Nix. When the situation gets ever worse, Jimmie Dale escapes and makes his way to Montana and Jamie Sue.As we find more of what is going on at the Wellstone ranch and the Wellstone's backgrounds, and as Dave finds more about the people who have been murdered, we see why he is such a popular character. He's humble but determined. He's human and has flaws, a former alcoholic who attends regular meetings. However, he's also a champion for the poor and less fortunate who are taken advantage of by the wealthy opportunists who don't think they have to answer to the law.With the excellent plot, some surprises and well described characters, James Lee Burke is once again at the top of his game.
    • 2/5
      Whoa. what happened. Burke had the characters fine tuned from some great books he wrote a while back and had a contract to fill ( not that kind contract! a book contract.). OK-Burke does a nice job describing Montana la la la. And shows how the emotionally-injured thug can be redeemed by looove. But I´ve had enought of Clete and his problems. And enough sadistic killers, too. How about some nice simple holdups or ponzi schemes for a change. At least the book got me thru a days worth of flu fever. I rate it EAB--emergency airplane book, when thats all they have in the airport bookkiost.
    • 3/5
      A quite powerful book about corruption and redemption. This Robicheaux utters some harsh monologue, judging the character of himself and others. The Montana backdrop, while one get a sense of its great beauty, is not my favorite setting for the Dave and Clete show. They do not quite ring true in Montana.
    • 5/5
      it is not a good idea to put louisiana protqgonists in montana.why? because those (like me) who became enamoured with the author's writing did so because of the apt and drawing descriptions not necessary of Louisiana, but of sugar cane country. As far as the writing and plotting and page-turning ability goes, Burke could get me reading his intgerpretation of roberts' rules of order. he is that good.
    • 5/5
      Taking a much-needed break from the gritty, hurricane-ravaged landscape of their Louisiana home, lawman Dave Robicheaux, his wife, and his buddy Clete Purcel head to a friend's Montana ranch, where they hope to spend their days fishing and relaxing. But a storm of trouble descends on their wilderness retreat when two college students are found brutally murdered, and the three southerners are pulled into the twisted and dangerous snares of a vicious oil tycoon.
    • 5/5
      This is the most recent book in the Dave Robicheaux series. Instead of Louisiana the book is set in Montana. Dave with his wife Molly and Clete Purcel are on vacation living there as guests of Albert Hollister. Hollister is a writer and also teaches at a university.The story begins with the murders of Seymour Bell and Cindy Kershaw two students at the university in the area. The murders are very gruesome and appear to be the work of a sadistic serial killer. Shortly after their murders another couple is murdered in equally gruesome fashion. Dave is asked by the Sheriff Joe Bim Higgins to assist in the investigation of the murders of the students. Clete is helping Dave out but not at the request of the Sheriff.One of the other plot lines in the story is about Jimmie Dale Greenwood. He had escaped from a prison in Texas after attempting to murder a guard who had raped him and was going to do it again. Greenwood came to Montana looking for his old girlfriend and their son. The guard, Troyce Nix, comes into Missoula County looking for Greenwood and revenge. Along the way Nix had picked up Candace Sweeney and they had developed a very strong relationship which brought real change into the life of Troyce Nix.The story of Nix and Candace Sweeney and their relationship is one of the high points of the book. At first Nix appears to be a stereotype bad guy but as he and Candace fall in love he shows that the love of a good woman can bring change to a man's life. They provide one of the real surprises in the ending of the book which you will have to read to learn about.The book is a showcase of the writing talent of James Lee Burke. He is the master of poetic description of the people, objects and action in the story. Clothing, weather, clouds, people's voices are all given unique descriptions that make reading the book a real pleasure. I marvel at his talent.Clete Purcel plays a large part in the story, larger than in a number of the previous books in the series. He is in the middle of a lot of the action, some violent and some romantic. He has a fling with Jamie Sue Wellstone and becomes more seriously involved with Alicia Rosecrans an FBI agent who is also hunting the serial killer. Some bad things happen to Clete, which I will not detail.The other major characters are Ridley and Leslie Wellstone. Leslie is a real creep who is married to Jamie Sue who once was a country singer with Joe Dale Greenwood. They are the rich guys that Dave loves to hate and they earn his hatred.I thought this was one of the best books written by James Lee Burke that I have read. The suspense in the last seventy-five pages wouldn't let me put the book down. I like Clete Purcel more than I did before I read this book. Troyce Nix goes through a metamorphosis that is wonderful and believable. Dave Robicheaux is still trying to solve the world's problems as he struggles with his own. I give it five stars because that's as high as I can go.
    • 4/5
      I'm very partial to renegades Dave Robicheaux & Cletus Purcel. Having said that, this story flows like a swollen river from begining to end. There must be about a dozen characters to grab your emotions which should cover the gamut from 'she's really a kind sweet soul' to 'you dog; I can't wait for you to get yours'. It's all that in between action that keeps the pages turning. Burke writes with a knowledge that seems as though he's experienced it all, not just researched it. As much as I love the 'Big Easy' locale, Montana has a way of drawing you into it's snow capped, mountainous terrain; just enough to let go of the bayou till next time.
    • 4/5
      I am often repelled by the violence and sadism in Burke's books, but there is something about his prose, his love for his setting, that keeps me coming back. Swan Peak was set in my favorite part of the country, the border between Montana and Idaho. My husband and I drove over the Lolo Pass and Burke's descriptions of the landscape brought that trail to life for me. Clete Purcel was the star of this novel and I wished we had heard more from Molly. The fugitive guitar playing country singer Jimmy Dale was my favorite character.
    • 5/5
      Excellent story from a master. Brutal but excellent!
    • 3/5
      Swan Peak does not take place in Louisiana. Robicheaux, his wife and his buddy, Clete Purcell are staying at an old friend's ranch in Montana. Two bodies, college students, were found nearby. They were brutally murdered. Robicheaux and Purcell are drawn into the case, but not by choice. They are threatened by employees of a neighboring ranch owned by an oil tycoon. This was not my favorite Robicheaux novel. I love the Louisiana setting, and missed it. There seems to be a lot of brutality in this book. Hopefully, Burke will return Robicheaux to New Orleans in his next book.
    • 5/5
      This is the 17th book in the Dave Robicheaux/Clete Purcel series written by James Lee Burke. New Orleans, aka, The Big Sleazy, is home base but this book takes us to Montana where Dave and Clete are vacationing. Trouble is never far away for these two, and a double homicide occurs not far from where they are staying. True to form, they are drawn into the investigation, and this book has all the elements that make a mystery enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      Detective Dave Robicheaux, his wife Molly and his friend Clete Purcell from New Iberia are "vacationing" in Montana to get away from Louisiana crime. Unfortunately they are not to have much of a vacation with multiple bad guys. It is an exciting story with embedded stories. Much philosophizing on Dave's part. The characters that are the bad guys are believable and receive their just due. Molly who is an ex nun is mostly supportive of Dave and his actions. Clete continues in his self destructive mode.