Crusader's Cross
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Review
The characters and atmosphere are, as ever, first rate (MAIL ON SUNDAY (10/9/06) )
Review
'...the pace, the plotting and the scene-setting are, as always, marvellously evocative and sustained.' -- Philp Oakes LITERARY REVIEW 'Nobody evokes the steamy bayous that surround New Orleans and the seedy low-life that dwells there more eloquently than James Lee Burke, one of America's most elegaic writers in any genre.' -- Myles McWeeney IRISH INDEPENDENT 'There's not much left to add to the praise already heaped on Burke. He is simply one of the best crime writers in the world.' -- Susanna Yager SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Robicheaux's complex character elevates Burke's work above the usual crrime fiction genre ... he keeps it up there with his elegaic descriptions of the Louisiana landscape, a place where, in the marshland of the bayou, the past is an integral part of the present.' SUNDAY EXPRESS '[James Lee Burke] has a shelf-full of awards and a shedful of sales. Everyone who knows the genre grasps that his series of books about the Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux has grown into one fo the crowning achievements in current US fiction. Together, they compose a matchless portrait of the ragged America we saw dissolve into chaos and cruelty.' -- Boyd Tonkin THE INDEPENDENT 'As ever with Burke, the novel is beautifully written, prefectly structured and peppered with some wonderfully flawed characters. But, more than that, he tells a great story, making some pretty profound oservations along the way.' -- Allan Laing HERALD 'Crusader's Cross is further confirmation of why [Burke's] the best in the business.' IRISH EXAMINER
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Only the present exists, so the philosophers tell us, but for Dave Robicheaux the past is not mysterious, rather it lives with him. This new novel finds Dave initially retired but dwelling on a occurrence many years before when he and his brother were still young when a girl vocalist who helps them survive a brush with drowning disappears. Gentle probing of the past produces an immediate response from two nasty police officers. Their tactics launch Dave back into police work as a Sheriff's Deputy for the newly promoted Helen Soileau. This is one cool relationship that somehow never takes off as it should, one gets the feeling that James Lee Burke is just not sure where this could go. Investigations lead Dave to the Chalon family, a strange brew that has a long history back to the crusades. An interesting triangular tension is set up between the sultry Honoria , Valentine,her journalist brother and Dave. The tectonic plates beneath this triangular structure move viscously and without warning. The entire tale is set against the backdrop of a serial killer working the Baton Rouge parish. Addicts will be pleased that Cletus Purcell still works on the borderlines between law and anarchy, he brings a pleasing complexion to a novel that is particularly dark. Dave's struggle with his demons is put to the test and for a chapter or two one is left on a knife-edge about his success with these demons. During Dave's investigations he meets Molly, lay worker who is known in the community as a nun. Both of these are, in their own way, outcasts and a gravity of attraction pulls them together with, for me at least, surprising results. The novel is as usual well crafted although since Jolie Blon's Bounce I've felt a slight unease, maybe reflecting that of the author. A brilliant experience to read for a glimpse into some dark corners of the soul.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
James Lee Burke's Robicheaux series represents some of the finest detective fiction ever written. His novels weave together the past and the present, social comment and gritty plotlines, and flawed characters at society's margins to create a vivid picture of Louisiana and New Orleans.
All this is done in a very distinctive and lyrical style, not only unique amongst crime writers but which evokes a dark brooding atmosphere, while making some acute observations which will leave their mark.
This book represents a return to top form. There have been a couple of recent books which have been a little formulaic, but here, although the form is familiar, Lee Burke has managed to breathe new life into it. The pace here is quicker, the style familiar but altogether tighter.
The plot theme, the past creating trouble in the present, is typical JLB, and allows him room to integrate his pet themes of social justice and the environment, which he has seldom done with more power.
If you are interested in reading the best(detective)fiction that the USA has to offer then I recommend this book - if you read it the odds are that you will want to read the earlier books. You will not regret it.
All this is done in a very distinctive and lyrical style, not only unique amongst crime writers but which evokes a dark brooding atmosphere, while making some acute observations which will leave their mark.
This book represents a return to top form. There have been a couple of recent books which have been a little formulaic, but here, although the form is familiar, Lee Burke has managed to breathe new life into it. The pace here is quicker, the style familiar but altogether tighter.
The plot theme, the past creating trouble in the present, is typical JLB, and allows him room to integrate his pet themes of social justice and the environment, which he has seldom done with more power.
If you are interested in reading the best(detective)fiction that the USA has to offer then I recommend this book - if you read it the odds are that you will want to read the earlier books. You will not regret it.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Crusader's Cross marks a stunning return to top form from James Lee Burke after a couple of recent disappointments. Having said that, even Burke's "disappointments" are up there with the best of crime fiction.
Crusader's Cross sees Dave Robicheaux looking back into his youth when he and his half-brother Jimmie were saved from sharks and befriended by the mysterious Ida Durbin in 1958. Jimmie wants her to run away with him, but she disappears and is not seen again.
In 2004, a dying friend hints to Dave that he may have information relating to Ida's disappearance. At the same time, a serial killer is leaving bodies all across Baton Rouge. Dave is driven to investigate Ida's disappearance and pleads with Helen Soileau, now the sherriff of New Iberia, to reinstate him as a detective.
During his search for Ida and the Baton Rouge killer, Dave runs up against the Chalons family who can trace their lineage back to the Crusades. he also meets a nun who, conveniently, has not taken her vows, and forms an interesting relationship with her.
Clete Purcell plays his usual role as Dave's best friend and rent-a-bull in a china shop, and between them, they continue to wreck bars and restaurants and end up barely on the right side of the law!
Burke's writing is tighter than usual, his description of the countryside and environs around New Iberia are stunning, as usual, and there is more maturity than ever in this novel.
My only issue is that, as Dave says in the story, he was 20 in 1958 when Ida disappeared, this would make him at least 66 at the time this story is set. He is still getting the girls, and still beating up the bad guys (although some of them must have been older than him, so perhaps that wasn't too difficult!). Maybe there's hope for all of us...
A marvellous story. Read it and enjoy the pure poetry of Burke's writing at it's peak.
Crusader's Cross sees Dave Robicheaux looking back into his youth when he and his half-brother Jimmie were saved from sharks and befriended by the mysterious Ida Durbin in 1958. Jimmie wants her to run away with him, but she disappears and is not seen again.
In 2004, a dying friend hints to Dave that he may have information relating to Ida's disappearance. At the same time, a serial killer is leaving bodies all across Baton Rouge. Dave is driven to investigate Ida's disappearance and pleads with Helen Soileau, now the sherriff of New Iberia, to reinstate him as a detective.
During his search for Ida and the Baton Rouge killer, Dave runs up against the Chalons family who can trace their lineage back to the Crusades. he also meets a nun who, conveniently, has not taken her vows, and forms an interesting relationship with her.
Clete Purcell plays his usual role as Dave's best friend and rent-a-bull in a china shop, and between them, they continue to wreck bars and restaurants and end up barely on the right side of the law!
Burke's writing is tighter than usual, his description of the countryside and environs around New Iberia are stunning, as usual, and there is more maturity than ever in this novel.
My only issue is that, as Dave says in the story, he was 20 in 1958 when Ida disappeared, this would make him at least 66 at the time this story is set. He is still getting the girls, and still beating up the bad guys (although some of them must have been older than him, so perhaps that wasn't too difficult!). Maybe there's hope for all of us...
A marvellous story. Read it and enjoy the pure poetry of Burke's writing at it's peak.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of my favourite authors
Once again a great read and posted and packaged on time and well, cant fault this company which does what it says on it's site...
Published 6 months ago by bruno bettelheim
His Pen is Mightier Than Any Sword
"Crusader's Cross," (2005), is the fourteenth novel published by American author James Lee Burke in his mighty New York Times bestselling Detective Dave Robicheaux series. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Stephanie DePue
If you enjoyed the book, try the audio
Most reviewers have said it, so all I'll add is that the audio book has excellent narration from Will Paton which means a great accompaniment to a long car journey. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2007 by Ventris Arden
Tedious
I completely lost interest at about page 200. I just wanted the book to wrap it up, and if the protagonist went after Chalons one more time I was going to tear my hair out. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2007 by M. Annal
What, again?
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the Dave Robicheaux novels, but I do wonder sometimes whether Burke's plan is to have Dave destroy all the wealthy families in Louisiana. Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2007 by Book Fan
Back on form
I loved this book. After reading a lot of Robicheaux novels in a short space of time I lost it - or maybe I just got bored - but this is up there with the best. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2006 by lmhh
Brooding menace
Dark and brooding, this is a real return to form by Burke. The Robicheaux series remain unmatched as the finest series in crime fiction and this is up with the best entries. Read more
Published on 8 Jun 2006 by Mr. Warren M. Fisher
A poet of a writer!
If he was'nt a crime writer, James Lee Burke could be a poet, such is the vivid descriptiveness of his writing. Read more
Published on 3 Feb 2006 by Mrs. Gillian Deadman
As time goes by
Very few writers with a recurring hero have the capacity and the talent to give the readers the feeling that, book after book, we,the hero, the writer and the readers, have aged at... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2005
Dave Sticks Out His Elbows to Make Room for Hope
One of the beauties of James Lee Burke's remarkable series about Dave Robicheaux is that we come to live inside Dave's world of turbulent emotions, violent people, dangerous... Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2005 by Donald Mitchell
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