What do you think?
Rate this book
Dave Robicheaux #6
In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead
On the trail of a serial killer, detective Dave Robicheaux, assisted by an actor claiming to be a psychic, finds himself among ghosts of the Civil War, who have been awakened by a movie crew filming in the bayou. Reissue.
346 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 1993
685 people are currently reading
3466 people want to read
About the author
James Lee Burke
209 books4,103 followersJames Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for
Black Cherry Blues
in 1990 and
Cimarron Rose
in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 551 reviews
November 1, 2019
Burke is one of the few authors who writes a literary mystery. The Robicheaux books (especially the first eight or ten) are wonderful reads filled with atmosphere, vivid descriptions of the settings and characters who come alive on the page. Electric Mist is one of my favorites along with Neon Rain, Heaven's Prisoner and morning for Flamingos.
d.
d.
August 31, 2017
3.5 ★
Most of you reading this know I’m a Robicheaux fan girl but my reception to this one was a bit toned down. I've been wanting to read it so I could watch the film version with Tommy Lee Jones 😍. Of course movies leave out a lot but in this case that worked for me because less was more. I liked it better than the book. Hard to say if TLJ had something to do with that. Levon Helm as General John Bell Hood was excellent also, as was Buddy Guy playing Sam ‘Hogman’ Patin—my dance pheromones kicked in immediately 💃. The film, soundtrack, and audio book are all currently available on Hoopla so I’ll be putting my dance shoes on later and checking out more of the music. Because I finally figured out how to mirror my laptop on to our TV husband watched with me and liked it just as much.
So was the book to blame or me? I’ve been in a slumpy mood lately and this was supposed to slap me out of it but even Robicheaux was channeling his Tommy Lee side.
JLB is usually my recreational drug of choice when it comes to reading fun so what was the problem? Perhaps too much of a good thing or maybe I need to start seeing some other guys—mix things up a bit and have some of that spiked Doctor Pepper Dave got himself into?
July 6, 2016
"... we had welcomed him back, winking our eyes at his presence and pretending he was not what or who he was."
The 6th, and maybe the best, in the Dave Robicheaux series thus far. Dave is returning from the scene of a particularly gruesome murder of a young prostitute when he pulls over a drunk driver and a series of events are set in motion. The driver, Elrod Sykes, is in New Iberia to star in a Civil War movie. He tells Dave about a skeleton he saw in the Atchafalaya Swamp while filming. The same location where, in 1957, Robicheaux witnessed the killing of a chained black man by two white men. Soon the body of another young woman is found in a barrel. Haunted by the past and confronting the present day apparent serial killing of young prostitutes Dave partners with FBI agent Rosie Gomez to try and apprehend the psycho. Their investigation connects the recent murders to mobster Julie "Baby Feet" Balboni who has a partnership in the movie production. A movie that is bringing a lot of money and jobs to New Iberia. In fact the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce put pressure on the sheriff to try and get Robicheaux ease up on "Baby Feet". There is also the cold case from 1957 that some would prefer remain in the past. Is there a connection between the murder of a black man in 1957 and the serial killing of prostitutes today? One thing is sure ... Dave Robicheaux will not quit the investigation of either.
Throughout the story Dave is haunted by a series of dreamlike encounters with General John Bell Hood and a troop of Confederate soldiers. What is the meaning behind these dreams? Is there a message? If so what is it? And Dave is not the only character in the story to have encounters with the Confederate dead.
In previous books in the series Dave struggled with sobriety. Often times having relapses. In this story his sobriety is strong and he works to help Elrod Sykes get sober. They say the key to sobriety is to help another alcoholic and in helping Sykes, Dave has his work cut out for him. At first Sykes is not very likable but this changes as the story progresses.
I always enjoy the close relationship between Dave and Alafair, his adopted daughter. And of course Tripod, Alafair's three legged pet racoon. The conversations between Dave and Alafair usually add some levity to an otherwise dark story.
The 6th, and maybe the best, in the Dave Robicheaux series thus far. Dave is returning from the scene of a particularly gruesome murder of a young prostitute when he pulls over a drunk driver and a series of events are set in motion. The driver, Elrod Sykes, is in New Iberia to star in a Civil War movie. He tells Dave about a skeleton he saw in the Atchafalaya Swamp while filming. The same location where, in 1957, Robicheaux witnessed the killing of a chained black man by two white men. Soon the body of another young woman is found in a barrel. Haunted by the past and confronting the present day apparent serial killing of young prostitutes Dave partners with FBI agent Rosie Gomez to try and apprehend the psycho. Their investigation connects the recent murders to mobster Julie "Baby Feet" Balboni who has a partnership in the movie production. A movie that is bringing a lot of money and jobs to New Iberia. In fact the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce put pressure on the sheriff to try and get Robicheaux ease up on "Baby Feet". There is also the cold case from 1957 that some would prefer remain in the past. Is there a connection between the murder of a black man in 1957 and the serial killing of prostitutes today? One thing is sure ... Dave Robicheaux will not quit the investigation of either.
Throughout the story Dave is haunted by a series of dreamlike encounters with General John Bell Hood and a troop of Confederate soldiers. What is the meaning behind these dreams? Is there a message? If so what is it? And Dave is not the only character in the story to have encounters with the Confederate dead.
In previous books in the series Dave struggled with sobriety. Often times having relapses. In this story his sobriety is strong and he works to help Elrod Sykes get sober. They say the key to sobriety is to help another alcoholic and in helping Sykes, Dave has his work cut out for him. At first Sykes is not very likable but this changes as the story progresses.
I always enjoy the close relationship between Dave and Alafair, his adopted daughter. And of course Tripod, Alafair's three legged pet racoon. The conversations between Dave and Alafair usually add some levity to an otherwise dark story.
August 22, 2020
This hardcover is signed by James Lee Burke
June 8, 2012
Dave, Dave, Dave. Your moral compass seems to move constantly depending on the circumstances. The inner demons never go away either so you're in a constant battle with yourself. Maybe easing up on yourself would help? Perhaps, but probably not. And how would you do that anyway? A psychiatrist couch? That's not going to happen.
Thank god for Alafair and Bootsie who help you keep the hands on the moral compass in the green area and out of the red and yellow although sometimes they can't even help you. You can only help yourself and it's a constant battle, we know.
And if not for these colorful and crooked old classmates of yours, your life would be less eventful but then I could not enjoy the adventure you take me on each reading when I can't turn the pages fast enough.
Dave, you had multiple storylines this time around; murder you witnessed 30+ years ago; serial killer on the loose; making of a movie about the Civil War; a drunken actor who insists he's seen war torn solders; your own visions; and an old schoolmate and not so upstanding citizen who moved back to New Iberia for the movie. Looks like he may have a monetary interest in the movie as a scam. Plus, Dave, there are a number of secondary storylines such as your new temporay partner from the FBI, Rosie Gomez, who has her own demons and moral compass to contend with.
On top of all that's going on, you, dear Dave, through your boss, you have to take the heat from the Chamber of Commerce and other local business owner's because these folks are bringing in money from the picture being shot in the area. Morally, who cares that there are mob connections? Or maybe a murderer among them? They're bringing in money. Oh, my, Dave, another moral dilemma, back off or do your job?
Dave, you've once again taken me on a wild ride and I thank you. Your description of the beautiful and haunting area you live in, only adds to the atmosphere, dark decisioins and mood of In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead. Once again, it's been great.
Thank god for Alafair and Bootsie who help you keep the hands on the moral compass in the green area and out of the red and yellow although sometimes they can't even help you. You can only help yourself and it's a constant battle, we know.
And if not for these colorful and crooked old classmates of yours, your life would be less eventful but then I could not enjoy the adventure you take me on each reading when I can't turn the pages fast enough.
Dave, you had multiple storylines this time around; murder you witnessed 30+ years ago; serial killer on the loose; making of a movie about the Civil War; a drunken actor who insists he's seen war torn solders; your own visions; and an old schoolmate and not so upstanding citizen who moved back to New Iberia for the movie. Looks like he may have a monetary interest in the movie as a scam. Plus, Dave, there are a number of secondary storylines such as your new temporay partner from the FBI, Rosie Gomez, who has her own demons and moral compass to contend with.
On top of all that's going on, you, dear Dave, through your boss, you have to take the heat from the Chamber of Commerce and other local business owner's because these folks are bringing in money from the picture being shot in the area. Morally, who cares that there are mob connections? Or maybe a murderer among them? They're bringing in money. Oh, my, Dave, another moral dilemma, back off or do your job?
Dave, you've once again taken me on a wild ride and I thank you. Your description of the beautiful and haunting area you live in, only adds to the atmosphere, dark decisioins and mood of In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead. Once again, it's been great.
November 30, 2020
4.5 stars. Really well done, and amazing audiobook narration by Will Patton. I loved Dave Robicheaux's cool and easy n'orleans attitude, Burke's use of old ghosts and legends to infuse an uncanny sense of mysticism, and a superbly executed buildup of suspense and climax. Really well done.
January 18, 2010
The best Dave Robicheaux so far. Almost too much of a good thing. Too much of Dave’s brooding and too much sensory overload in the prose. But too much of good thing is still a lot of a good thing. The plot is bit more of a procedural but the mystery is good, the villain heinous and the magical realism/supernatural elements push this into what it is, a meditation of the south and its history of violence.(Civil war, civil rights era lynchings, and the squalid presence of Angola prison) Great character names in this one(Julie “Babyfeets”Balboni, Cholo Manelli, Doobie Patout, Bootsie, Cherry Leblanc, Dewitt Prejean, Twinky Herbert Lemoyne, Poteet, Alafair, Sam “Hogman”Patin etc.) Both a celebration of southern life and a look at its underbelly of sleaze and violence.
Read
July 9, 2012James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels are never 'typical' crime novels. First, there's Robicheaux, a disgraced, former NOPD Homicide lieutenant turned sheriff's detective in Iberia Parish. Robicheaux is a good man with a chequered past; a Vietnam veteran and recovering alcoholic who carries traces of post-traumatic stress disorder and an unspecified, but lingering, guilt from the eruption of his parents' marriage, his father's death and his mother's violent murder at the hands of corrupt, NOPD detectives. His background is working class,backwoods, Louisiana Cajun. He's Catholic. He runs a bait shop and bayou cafe when he's not detecting. He has problems with authority, is single-minded in his pursuit of wrongdoers, corporate polluters and the antebellum remnants of the southern ascendancy.Robicheaux, although an essentially good man, has a violent streak. Some of Burke's other novels, like Two for Texas, are historical explorations of the complex forces that combine to make up Robicheaux's contemporary environment; Louisiana's sub-tropical swamplands, struggling to survive against the elements of natural phenomena like hurricanes, corporate greed and pollution and the complicit dealings of corrupt politicians, police and the Mafia.
Into this milieu in 'In the Electric Mist', he introduces a story about a violent and sexually perverted, serial killer, an alcoholic, Hollywood actor with psychic leanings and a sociopathic, Mafia boss turned film producer. The actor taps in to Robicheaux's own psychic inclinations by introducing him to the ghost of a one legged, one armed, Confederate general who, along with his ragged bunch of soldiers, haunts the swamps around his home.
Now he's worried it's just a dry drunk dream or living nightmare or has he conscripted into a new struggle with the Confederate dead, to fight the forces of evil, whether corporate, criminal or perverse or combinations thereof, that threaten his life and the lives of those he love as well as the environment they live in?
I've read everything I could find of James Lee Burke's and I'm a fan.
Into this milieu in 'In the Electric Mist', he introduces a story about a violent and sexually perverted, serial killer, an alcoholic, Hollywood actor with psychic leanings and a sociopathic, Mafia boss turned film producer. The actor taps in to Robicheaux's own psychic inclinations by introducing him to the ghost of a one legged, one armed, Confederate general who, along with his ragged bunch of soldiers, haunts the swamps around his home.
Now he's worried it's just a dry drunk dream or living nightmare or has he conscripted into a new struggle with the Confederate dead, to fight the forces of evil, whether corporate, criminal or perverse or combinations thereof, that threaten his life and the lives of those he love as well as the environment they live in?
I've read everything I could find of James Lee Burke's and I'm a fan.
October 17, 2018
This is my favorite James Lee Burke novel and the first I ever read. His use of language in this book was wonderful and he never really replicated that in any of his other books. This was made into a very poor movie starring Tommy Lee Jones. it's another example of how films can't capture the language and nuance of the written word. Highly recommended.
May 31, 2024
Typical Sherrif Detective Dave Robicheaux novel. He's determined, conflicted, at times violent, has unusual dreams/visons that sometimes lead him in the correct direction. A recovering alcoholic that goes off the wagon at times (not this time though). These books are a very readable series that constantly rehashes past events, sometimes so much it annoys me. I always say in these reviews that a lot of books in the series feel like the same old stories, just different characters with not so different endings. However, without delving into the story itself I must say I really loved this book. Close to five stars but not quite there. I'll sometime soon be into the next book in the series. Would I recommend this book, I sure would.
January 26, 2019
The best written Robicheaux so far, and that is a huge compliment in itself as the series is known for its silky prose. Burke insists on clawing and pounding at the glass ceiling like it is the coffin in which he has been buried alive till it is shattered and he can set the bar higher still. The writing is mesmerizing, picture it as a pristine lake in the midst of a forest fire, it details a decrepit world filled with corruption, mayhem and despair but still retains an innate beauty. Many authors try to give the setting a vibrant personality of its own (George Pelecanos comes to mind, he describes Washington DC in minuscule detail in each of his novels), some succeed but very few do it like Burke. He describes Louisiana like the city was his unrequited first love. The descriptions are beyond vivid, they are intimate portrayals of life in and around the place.
The plot has more threads than few of the earlier Robicheaux books put together, organized crime, a depraved serial killer and a cold case combine to keep the narrative moving and the tension rising. Robicheaux is an adept cop but he is no Sherlock so the cases are solved in a procedural manner. However unlike other stories of same ilk, here the investigations don't drag, the excellent hard boiled dialogue, an overlooked part of the series keeps the exchanges terse and always a joy to read.
No crime series has such a rich cast of supporting characters and like most Robicheaux books the best of the bunch is the villain. Julie Balboni, yet another character with ties to Robicheaux's past is the pick of the supporting cast this time round. And there is Robicheaux himself. He matures with every book, he was lost in The Neon Rain, broken in Heaven's Prisoners, grieving in Black Cherry Blues, discovering a sliver of redemption in A Morning for Flamingoes and slowly losing it again in A Stained White Radiance. In this book, he is angry and tired and he is almost on a crusade against a system that does not work. His morality is the first victim to his sense of justice and and indignant rage. This character development (unlike say Harry Bosch who has only been angry for almost 20 books now) keeps the series feel so rich and realistic in spite of the fact that Robicheaux has more close shaves with death in a day than all the inhabitants of an ICU combined.
There is a mystical/paranormal subplot where Robicheaux sees a dead army Captain (the titular Confederate Dead) that feels strangely out of place in a gritty crime novel. It adds a surreal sheen to the writing but it is integrated only haphazardly and tangentially to the plot. Stylistically the gamble pays off, it adds to the atmosphere but plot wise it becomes a constant distraction. It is the only reason I refuse to give it the perfect rating. Violence and bleakness as always are constant companion to Robicheaux and unless they turn anyone off, all fans of good fiction should give this series a chance. Rating - 4/5.
The plot has more threads than few of the earlier Robicheaux books put together, organized crime, a depraved serial killer and a cold case combine to keep the narrative moving and the tension rising. Robicheaux is an adept cop but he is no Sherlock so the cases are solved in a procedural manner. However unlike other stories of same ilk, here the investigations don't drag, the excellent hard boiled dialogue, an overlooked part of the series keeps the exchanges terse and always a joy to read.
No crime series has such a rich cast of supporting characters and like most Robicheaux books the best of the bunch is the villain. Julie Balboni, yet another character with ties to Robicheaux's past is the pick of the supporting cast this time round. And there is Robicheaux himself. He matures with every book, he was lost in The Neon Rain, broken in Heaven's Prisoners, grieving in Black Cherry Blues, discovering a sliver of redemption in A Morning for Flamingoes and slowly losing it again in A Stained White Radiance. In this book, he is angry and tired and he is almost on a crusade against a system that does not work. His morality is the first victim to his sense of justice and and indignant rage. This character development (unlike say Harry Bosch who has only been angry for almost 20 books now) keeps the series feel so rich and realistic in spite of the fact that Robicheaux has more close shaves with death in a day than all the inhabitants of an ICU combined.
There is a mystical/paranormal subplot where Robicheaux sees a dead army Captain (the titular Confederate Dead) that feels strangely out of place in a gritty crime novel. It adds a surreal sheen to the writing but it is integrated only haphazardly and tangentially to the plot. Stylistically the gamble pays off, it adds to the atmosphere but plot wise it becomes a constant distraction. It is the only reason I refuse to give it the perfect rating. Violence and bleakness as always are constant companion to Robicheaux and unless they turn anyone off, all fans of good fiction should give this series a chance. Rating - 4/5.
April 28, 2009
I have read all of his novels. I have even read his daughters first novel, she is called Alafair, the name of Dave Robicheaux's daughter in the books! I have watched his writing mature to its present gravitas. Early on, I admit, I used to rush through his descriptive passages but as he wrote, these became more and more beautiful, and now the darkness of the crimes and violence are melded with the beauty of the landscape. In this book, the psychic element was introduced in an historical invocation of American history. Magnificent! I can never wait for the paperback to come out I rush out for the hardback as soon as they are published. Can there be a better reccommendation?
December 26, 2023
This is it - the one that sets the bar for all the other Dave Robicheaux novels to come.
I've already mentioned how much I love James Lee Burke's style. These are gritty crime novels with a tendency toward the poetic. Burke knows how to describe the sweltering Louisiana backdrop without waxing purple, or going on with his descriptions for pages on end (looking at you, Anne Rice). No, JLB does it perfectly. With In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (great title), he's added the exact bit of something extra that puts this one squarely at the top of the Dave Robicheaux pile.
The circus has come to New Iberia - specifically, a bunch of Hollywoodens have set upon the parish to make a movie. Not only are they ruining the peace and quiet, but location selection was helped along by Giuli "Baby Feet" Balboni (is that a great nickname or what?!), a mobbed-up local who threw money at the producers to come.
The town fathers are pretty happy with the boost to the economy, at least until the star of the movie spots a chained skeleton that's been churned up out of the swamp. Forensics reveal it to be the body of a young black man who escaped arrest back in 1957. Meanwhile, a much more recent murder grabs the attention of the sheriff's department. A young prostitute has been found gruesomely murdered with a blade. Dave partners up with an FBI agent officially, but also works off-the-books with Girard, an old friend from the Lafayette PD.
In a strange twist for this series, as Robicheaux gets deeper into both investigations, he experiences visions of a Civil War cavalry contingent, led by General John Bell Hood. Hood and his soldiers are as 3D as it gets - they're solid; they speak; they offer Dave a seat at their fire. Most importantly, Hood seems to appear just when Dave's moral compass starts spinning. But will he actually listen to the advice of what has to be a hallucination?
ItEMwCD was so very different from all the rest of the series so far. It still had all of the good stuff I loved - the action, the coonass slang, the gritty crimes, and the beautiful writing you'd never expect from this genre - plus a touch of the unexpectedly supernatural. It was the perfect, unforeseen element to take this book to the top of the series.
I have a feeling it will be downhill from here, with downhill being 4-star reads. Onward to Dixie City Jam.
I've already mentioned how much I love James Lee Burke's style. These are gritty crime novels with a tendency toward the poetic. Burke knows how to describe the sweltering Louisiana backdrop without waxing purple, or going on with his descriptions for pages on end (looking at you, Anne Rice). No, JLB does it perfectly. With In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (great title), he's added the exact bit of something extra that puts this one squarely at the top of the Dave Robicheaux pile.
No matter what occurs in your life, no matter how bad the circumstances seem to be, you must never consider a dishonorable act as a viable alternative.
The circus has come to New Iberia - specifically, a bunch of Hollywoodens have set upon the parish to make a movie. Not only are they ruining the peace and quiet, but location selection was helped along by Giuli "Baby Feet" Balboni (is that a great nickname or what?!), a mobbed-up local who threw money at the producers to come.
The town fathers are pretty happy with the boost to the economy, at least until the star of the movie spots a chained skeleton that's been churned up out of the swamp. Forensics reveal it to be the body of a young black man who escaped arrest back in 1957. Meanwhile, a much more recent murder grabs the attention of the sheriff's department. A young prostitute has been found gruesomely murdered with a blade. Dave partners up with an FBI agent officially, but also works off-the-books with Girard, an old friend from the Lafayette PD.
In a strange twist for this series, as Robicheaux gets deeper into both investigations, he experiences visions of a Civil War cavalry contingent, led by General John Bell Hood. Hood and his soldiers are as 3D as it gets - they're solid; they speak; they offer Dave a seat at their fire. Most importantly, Hood seems to appear just when Dave's moral compass starts spinning. But will he actually listen to the advice of what has to be a hallucination?
ItEMwCD was so very different from all the rest of the series so far. It still had all of the good stuff I loved - the action, the coonass slang, the gritty crimes, and the beautiful writing you'd never expect from this genre - plus a touch of the unexpectedly supernatural. It was the perfect, unforeseen element to take this book to the top of the series.
My dreams took me many places: sometimes back to a windswept firebase on the top of an orange hill gouged with shell holes; a soft, mist-streaked morning with ducks rising against a pink sun while my father and I crouched in the blind and waited for that heart-beating moment when their shadows would race across the cattails and reeds toward us; a lighted American Legion baseball diamond, where at age seventeen I pitched a perfect game against a team from Abbeville and a beautiful woman I didn’t know, perhaps ten years my senior, kissed me so hard on the mouth that my ears rang.
I have a feeling it will be downhill from here, with downhill being 4-star reads. Onward to Dixie City Jam.
September 3, 2023
Dave Robicheaux is a tragic protagonist in search of redemption. Burke's gorgeous language make you want to understand how injury to the soul happens. Drink, broken promises, and civil war ghosts combines and create the nurturing swamp water of criminal violence. This is one of Burke's older but best books, and at times, moves into the realm of ghost story, but it is mostly the broken ghosts of violent past. Burke is the modern granddaddy of the Missoula wave, which includes a rich collection of fantastic crime writers, including James Crumley and Steve S. Saroff, and Jon Jackson, Bobby Simm Reed, and more. Read this one in order, and you wont be disapointed.
March 26, 2016
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.
Stereotypes and tropes galore, I could not wait to leave the southern Louisiana town full of hatred, vitriol, racisim, bigotry, sexism, and where ignorance in general just runs amuck. There was no enjoyment to be found spending literary time in a shoddy place full of weak, despicable people. Not even the paranormal ghost story element could save this one for me, which is normally a fictional favorite for me.
If it had not been a selection for a local book club, it would have been DNF'd early on, easily and without regret. I never became invested in any of the characters and found almost every character to be dislikeable. To be fair, this was the first book for me in this series, so maybe those that have read the others will have more of an attachment to the characters. I dislike reading a series out of order, but again, it was chosen for a local book club.
I will say the author developed the characters enough for me to detest spending time with them, which requires more skill than poor characterization with flat, cardboard cut-outs, for which you feel nothing. I'd be open to reading something else by him, but have no inclination to pick up anything else from this particular series.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: Maybe we have so much collective guilt as a society that we fear to punish our individual members.
First Sentence: The sky had gone black at sunset, and the storm had churned inland from the Gulf and drenched New Iberia and littered East Main with leaves and tree branches from the long canopy of oaks that covered the street from the old brick post office to the drawbridge over bayou Teche at the edge of town.
Stereotypes and tropes galore, I could not wait to leave the southern Louisiana town full of hatred, vitriol, racisim, bigotry, sexism, and where ignorance in general just runs amuck. There was no enjoyment to be found spending literary time in a shoddy place full of weak, despicable people. Not even the paranormal ghost story element could save this one for me, which is normally a fictional favorite for me.
If it had not been a selection for a local book club, it would have been DNF'd early on, easily and without regret. I never became invested in any of the characters and found almost every character to be dislikeable. To be fair, this was the first book for me in this series, so maybe those that have read the others will have more of an attachment to the characters. I dislike reading a series out of order, but again, it was chosen for a local book club.
I will say the author developed the characters enough for me to detest spending time with them, which requires more skill than poor characterization with flat, cardboard cut-outs, for which you feel nothing. I'd be open to reading something else by him, but have no inclination to pick up anything else from this particular series.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: Maybe we have so much collective guilt as a society that we fear to punish our individual members.
First Sentence: The sky had gone black at sunset, and the storm had churned inland from the Gulf and drenched New Iberia and littered East Main with leaves and tree branches from the long canopy of oaks that covered the street from the old brick post office to the drawbridge over bayou Teche at the edge of town.
April 27, 2013
This series just keeps getting better with each book. Dave is a fascinating character, the plot of this book was one of the best in the series, and I always enjoy the descriptions of the lush scenery. Listened to the audio version read by one of my favorites the late Mark Hammer.
October 1, 2017
A convoluted, almost hallucinogenic tale involving a drug-lord, movie-making in the Louisiana swamps and a Confederate army officer who appears to our hero at odd times - or does he?
September 11, 2018
i do love burke thriller. he have a unique style and great athmosphere
November 12, 2019
This might be a case where the movie is better than the book.
December 26, 2013
Great author but I’m not enjoying his subject matter and plot choices.
I love this author’s writing style, the phrases he uses, his rich and creative descriptions, and the way he develops characters. In my review of Black Cherry Blues I give examples of some of his phrases. He is a great writer, but his subject matter is too depressing for me. He writes about man’s cruelty to man, torture and killing of blacks, women, prisoners, and others, and getting away with it. I’ve read three of his books, but with great reluctance I do not plan to read anymore.
Dave is a flawed hero but a good cop. There were two instances of hero stupidity which bothered me. One example: Dave asks his friend Lou to be his backup when Dave went to a dangerous place to meet someone. They arrive, that person is not there, so Dave tells Lou to leave but Dave will wait a little longer. So Lou leaves and then something bad happens to Dave.
I was also troubled by the way the author had Hog Man delay telling things to Dave. Hog Man knew things. But the first time Dave talks to him, Hog Man just tells him part of something. The second time, Hog Man tells Dave to come to him for info, but then doesn’t tell Dave anything. The third time Hog Man calls Dave offering to tell him the rest. I didn’t see a reason or motive for Hog Man to keep doing this if he was going to tell it all eventually. I felt the author was playing me, disrespecting me. It was a contrivance, not supported with thought.
Technically there is a happy ending with some but not all of the bad guys dealt with.
There is some fantasy. Dave talks to the ghost of a civil war general several times. That was interesting, but it didn’t add to the main story and it wasn’t complete enough on it’s own. There was a neat occurrence linking the two stories toward the end. But something more should have been done with the secondary story.
The narrator Mark Hammer was good.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Dave Robicheaux. Unabridged audiobook length: 14 hrs and 5 mins. Swearing language: strong but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one referred to. Setting: around 1993 Louisiana. Book copyright: 1993. Genre: mystery suspense with a little fantasy.
I love this author’s writing style, the phrases he uses, his rich and creative descriptions, and the way he develops characters. In my review of Black Cherry Blues I give examples of some of his phrases. He is a great writer, but his subject matter is too depressing for me. He writes about man’s cruelty to man, torture and killing of blacks, women, prisoners, and others, and getting away with it. I’ve read three of his books, but with great reluctance I do not plan to read anymore.
Dave is a flawed hero but a good cop. There were two instances of hero stupidity which bothered me. One example: Dave asks his friend Lou to be his backup when Dave went to a dangerous place to meet someone. They arrive, that person is not there, so Dave tells Lou to leave but Dave will wait a little longer. So Lou leaves and then something bad happens to Dave.
I was also troubled by the way the author had Hog Man delay telling things to Dave. Hog Man knew things. But the first time Dave talks to him, Hog Man just tells him part of something. The second time, Hog Man tells Dave to come to him for info, but then doesn’t tell Dave anything. The third time Hog Man calls Dave offering to tell him the rest. I didn’t see a reason or motive for Hog Man to keep doing this if he was going to tell it all eventually. I felt the author was playing me, disrespecting me. It was a contrivance, not supported with thought.
Technically there is a happy ending with some but not all of the bad guys dealt with.
There is some fantasy. Dave talks to the ghost of a civil war general several times. That was interesting, but it didn’t add to the main story and it wasn’t complete enough on it’s own. There was a neat occurrence linking the two stories toward the end. But something more should have been done with the secondary story.
The narrator Mark Hammer was good.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Dave Robicheaux. Unabridged audiobook length: 14 hrs and 5 mins. Swearing language: strong but rarely used. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: one referred to. Setting: around 1993 Louisiana. Book copyright: 1993. Genre: mystery suspense with a little fantasy.
December 15, 2020
Something rather different, and maybe a refreshing change, but, overall, a good installment.
Unlike anything else I've read by Burke, I'm going to shelve this under sci-fi and fantasy, where I put speculative fiction and other other-than-conventional stuff I've read that's based on the central or animating role of ghosts, visions, or hallucinations. Frankly, I didn't see the the Confederate Dead featuring quite so prominently, nor was I particularly sold on the concept or the execution. OK, OK, much as I've enjoyed, say, Graham Joyce's stuff, I'm also in the minority that failed to fully appreciate and wasn't blown away by Lincoln in the Bardo, but I digress
Having said that, I found the book compelling, and I read late into the night (OK, early into the morning) to finish it. That's unusual only in that I generally consume Burke's books at a more leisurely pace - the languid, elegant prose justifies it - and, frankly, isn't that the primary beauty of what Burke does?, and, OK, there are limits as to how much brutality, vice, depravity, and ugliness I can tolerate in one sitting....
I haven't seen the 2009 movie, but, looking at the summary now, the casting seems pretty darn good, to me. I was particularly amused - at multiple levels - that Levon Helm featured as General John Bell Hood. An inspired choice.
Even with more than ten Burke books under my belt, I've got plenty to look forward to. I expect I'll keep chipping away at a leisurely pace.
Unlike anything else I've read by Burke, I'm going to shelve this under sci-fi and fantasy, where I put speculative fiction and other other-than-conventional stuff I've read that's based on the central or animating role of ghosts, visions, or hallucinations. Frankly, I didn't see the the Confederate Dead featuring quite so prominently, nor was I particularly sold on the concept or the execution. OK, OK, much as I've enjoyed, say, Graham Joyce's stuff, I'm also in the minority that failed to fully appreciate and wasn't blown away by Lincoln in the Bardo, but I digress
Having said that, I found the book compelling, and I read late into the night (OK, early into the morning) to finish it. That's unusual only in that I generally consume Burke's books at a more leisurely pace - the languid, elegant prose justifies it - and, frankly, isn't that the primary beauty of what Burke does?, and, OK, there are limits as to how much brutality, vice, depravity, and ugliness I can tolerate in one sitting....
I haven't seen the 2009 movie, but, looking at the summary now, the casting seems pretty darn good, to me. I was particularly amused - at multiple levels - that Levon Helm featured as General John Bell Hood. An inspired choice.
Even with more than ten Burke books under my belt, I've got plenty to look forward to. I expect I'll keep chipping away at a leisurely pace.
May 4, 2008
I recall reading once that James Lee Burke has been described as "the Faulkner of crime fiction". I hate Faulkner more than the Hatfields hated the McCoys, but I love James Lee Burke, thanks to this book.
The story has deep roots in the past: several crimes committed in the New Orleans area are connected to a heinous murder thirty years previous. As Robicheaux investigates the crimes, he starts having visions of Confederate soldiers whose leader provides Robicheaux with oracular pronouncements that indirectly help him with the case. But how real are they, and into what danger is Robicheaux drawing his family with this case?
This book was excellent, with beautiful writing. Normally I have little patience for extensive description, but Burke is an exception. Louisiana is a rich, lush place and so deserves equally rich and lush description to do it justice. The characters are engaging and the storyline intriguing. It's been a while since I've read the book, though, so I'm a bit fuzzy on plot details. However, it was a great read, and I have since read several other Burkes. If you like Louisiana and any literature set there, then this book is for you.
The story has deep roots in the past: several crimes committed in the New Orleans area are connected to a heinous murder thirty years previous. As Robicheaux investigates the crimes, he starts having visions of Confederate soldiers whose leader provides Robicheaux with oracular pronouncements that indirectly help him with the case. But how real are they, and into what danger is Robicheaux drawing his family with this case?
This book was excellent, with beautiful writing. Normally I have little patience for extensive description, but Burke is an exception. Louisiana is a rich, lush place and so deserves equally rich and lush description to do it justice. The characters are engaging and the storyline intriguing. It's been a while since I've read the book, though, so I'm a bit fuzzy on plot details. However, it was a great read, and I have since read several other Burkes. If you like Louisiana and any literature set there, then this book is for you.
May 27, 2012
"In The Electric Mist" is the movie base on JLBs book, starring Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, and Mary Steenbergen. Have no idea if the movie is fair or not but figured I would let the the reading public know.
JLB channels both Faulkner and JD Sallinger in his style of writing. He has his own voice to be sure but the depth of his characters and the intimacy which he brings to his novels is far more than many of his peers.
New Iberia, Bayou Teche, and the Atchafalaya Swamp are characters in his books comprising Nature with her whimsical and capricious moods are as important to JLBs novels as Dave, Bootsie, and Clete.
Reading JLBs books feels like reading literature, not a throw-away crime novel written by some novelist writing 12 books per year. JLB invites you through his writing to learn about the deep south, the role of Slavery, the swamp and its creatures, the language of its people, and the smells and cuisine of the food.
No not a book review. Read one of JLBs Dave Robicheaux novels and consider the geography as well as the prose.
JLB channels both Faulkner and JD Sallinger in his style of writing. He has his own voice to be sure but the depth of his characters and the intimacy which he brings to his novels is far more than many of his peers.
New Iberia, Bayou Teche, and the Atchafalaya Swamp are characters in his books comprising Nature with her whimsical and capricious moods are as important to JLBs novels as Dave, Bootsie, and Clete.
Reading JLBs books feels like reading literature, not a throw-away crime novel written by some novelist writing 12 books per year. JLB invites you through his writing to learn about the deep south, the role of Slavery, the swamp and its creatures, the language of its people, and the smells and cuisine of the food.
No not a book review. Read one of JLBs Dave Robicheaux novels and consider the geography as well as the prose.
November 20, 2020
This was the first Robicheaux novel I read, and my favorite. I've since read most of them twice. The great title of this one foreshadows the fantastic writing and story that follows. Robicheaux is one of the best protagonists in modern literature. Burke is one of the best writers.
December 9, 2014
James Lee Burke e o seu detective David Robicheaux são a "descoberta" na literatura policial em 2014.
“Por Entre as Brumas” é o sexto livro da série protagonizada pelo detective Dave Robicheaux, editado em 1993, pelo escritor norte-americano James Lee Burke.
Um policial que tem como cenário a pequena cidade de New Iberia, situada no sul do Louisiana, rodeada de canais de água e áreas pantanosas, e fustigada por furacões e tempestades tropicais.
O detective Robicheaux é chamado a investigar a morte de uma jovem prostituta de dezanove anos, brutalmente assassinada e severamente mutilada, abandonada numa vala. Nas proximidades está a ser filmado um filme com o actor Elrod Sykes, um bêbado crónico, que lhe indica o local onde se encontram umas ossadas humanas, um esqueleto de um homem negro, assassinato a sangue frio, um crime que o jovem Robicheaux tinha presenciado em 1957 – mas para o qual tinha permanecido em silêncio.
Inesperadamente, Robicheaux tem que enfrentar o regresso do seu amigo de infância, o mafioso e produtor cinematográfico, Julie (Baby Feet) Balboni, e um conjunto de assassinatos de prostitutas, que colocam à prova a sua reputação profissional, que revelam pensamentos e encontros melancólicos e fantasmagóricos com o general John Bell Hood, num relacionamento complexo com a agente do FBI Rosie Gomez.
James Lee Burke descreve admiravelmente um conjunto de personagens complexos, com comportamentos desprezíveis, revelando a fragilidade do relacionamento humano, com destaque para a perpetuação dos conflitos raciais, a corrupção política e policial, e a manutenção e valorização de interesses económicos dúbios.
“Por Entre as Brumas” é um livro “noir”, com uma escrita sensual e sombria, com um humor expressivo e original – imperdível.
O livro deu origem ao filme “Á Margem de Um Crime” (2009) do realizador francês Bertrand Tavernier, com Tommy Lee Jones no papel de Dave Robicheaux.
“Por Entre as Brumas” é o sexto livro da série protagonizada pelo detective Dave Robicheaux, editado em 1993, pelo escritor norte-americano James Lee Burke.
Um policial que tem como cenário a pequena cidade de New Iberia, situada no sul do Louisiana, rodeada de canais de água e áreas pantanosas, e fustigada por furacões e tempestades tropicais.
O detective Robicheaux é chamado a investigar a morte de uma jovem prostituta de dezanove anos, brutalmente assassinada e severamente mutilada, abandonada numa vala. Nas proximidades está a ser filmado um filme com o actor Elrod Sykes, um bêbado crónico, que lhe indica o local onde se encontram umas ossadas humanas, um esqueleto de um homem negro, assassinato a sangue frio, um crime que o jovem Robicheaux tinha presenciado em 1957 – mas para o qual tinha permanecido em silêncio.
Inesperadamente, Robicheaux tem que enfrentar o regresso do seu amigo de infância, o mafioso e produtor cinematográfico, Julie (Baby Feet) Balboni, e um conjunto de assassinatos de prostitutas, que colocam à prova a sua reputação profissional, que revelam pensamentos e encontros melancólicos e fantasmagóricos com o general John Bell Hood, num relacionamento complexo com a agente do FBI Rosie Gomez.
James Lee Burke descreve admiravelmente um conjunto de personagens complexos, com comportamentos desprezíveis, revelando a fragilidade do relacionamento humano, com destaque para a perpetuação dos conflitos raciais, a corrupção política e policial, e a manutenção e valorização de interesses económicos dúbios.
“Por Entre as Brumas” é um livro “noir”, com uma escrita sensual e sombria, com um humor expressivo e original – imperdível.
O livro deu origem ao filme “Á Margem de Um Crime” (2009) do realizador francês Bertrand Tavernier, com Tommy Lee Jones no papel de Dave Robicheaux.
February 2, 2014
Just love James Lee. I probably shouldnt give him 5 stars as the stories, like many mysteries tend to run to the same end and are quickly forgettable having said that he manages it better than most. His language is always evocative and rich and heavy with mood. The thin veil that lies between us and the otherworldly is sketched more strongly in this novel than in others. Somehow Burke seems to stay on this side of the ludicrous(for us recovering romantics) when describing the ghosts that surround us...always worth a read.
November 3, 2008
Another great installment to this terrific series, author changes tact slightly with this story & I believe to good effect with frequent references to the past & american civil war. I really enjoyed this book.
February 11, 2019
A deceptively complex mystery that evokes its setting like none other.
February 24, 2020
Oh boy, there are few finer feelings in life than discovering a potential new favourite writer. I picked this up a while back, on a whim, because I remembered seeing the movie starring Tommy Lee Jones, some years back, but honestly I don't remember it being anything like this book.
There's a humdinger of a howitzer of a whodunnit going on here, as well as about six little side stories, and Dave Robicheaux is a guy I'm going to enjoy getting to know, I suspect, but man, the writing here is just irresistible. Burke excels at providing a sense of place; I feel like he's scooped me up from my seat in deepest, darkest, coldest, wettest Glasgow and transported me to the Bayou Teche where I'm sitting on the porch (or should I say gallery) eating a fried oyster sandwich and sipping a Dr Pepper with my new friend Dave Robicheaux. Honestly, just listen to this for a bit of scene setting:
The rain fell through the canopy of oaks as I drove down the dirt road along the bayou toward my house. During the summer it rains almost every afternoon in Louisiana. From my gallery, around three o'clock, you could watch the clouds build as high and dark as mountains out in the Gulf, then within minutes the barometer would drop, the air would suddenly turn cool and smell like ozone and gun metal and fish spawning, the wind would begin to blow out of the south and straighten the moss on the dead cypress trees in the marsh, bend the cattails in the bayou, and swell and ruffle the pecan trees in my front yard; then a sheet of gray rain would move out of the marsh, across the floating islands of purple hyacinths in the bayou, my bait shop and the canvas awning over my boat-rental dock, and ring as loud on my gallery as marbles bouncing on corrugated tin.
I'm right there with ya, Dave. And I've brought mosquito spray.
There's a humdinger of a howitzer of a whodunnit going on here, as well as about six little side stories, and Dave Robicheaux is a guy I'm going to enjoy getting to know, I suspect, but man, the writing here is just irresistible. Burke excels at providing a sense of place; I feel like he's scooped me up from my seat in deepest, darkest, coldest, wettest Glasgow and transported me to the Bayou Teche where I'm sitting on the porch (or should I say gallery) eating a fried oyster sandwich and sipping a Dr Pepper with my new friend Dave Robicheaux. Honestly, just listen to this for a bit of scene setting:
The rain fell through the canopy of oaks as I drove down the dirt road along the bayou toward my house. During the summer it rains almost every afternoon in Louisiana. From my gallery, around three o'clock, you could watch the clouds build as high and dark as mountains out in the Gulf, then within minutes the barometer would drop, the air would suddenly turn cool and smell like ozone and gun metal and fish spawning, the wind would begin to blow out of the south and straighten the moss on the dead cypress trees in the marsh, bend the cattails in the bayou, and swell and ruffle the pecan trees in my front yard; then a sheet of gray rain would move out of the marsh, across the floating islands of purple hyacinths in the bayou, my bait shop and the canvas awning over my boat-rental dock, and ring as loud on my gallery as marbles bouncing on corrugated tin.
I'm right there with ya, Dave. And I've brought mosquito spray.
December 31, 2018
I first read James Lee Burke's fiction in Esquire magazine and admired his ability to weave such great detail about setting and character into such fast-paced stories.
This novel was no different from that short story in this respect. Burke's Louisiana breathes. The bayous belch. You can smell the flowering trees, the rancid corpses of nutria rotting in gutters. You can see the grime on the clapboard houses, the sweat glistening on every character's skin. You can hear the E major blues progression of Sam "Pigman" Patin. And most importantly, you can feel the temperature, the hangovers, the headaches of Burke's New Iberia Parish. I won't go on any longer about this, but it's definitely the most intriguing, and important aspect of this novel. Contemporary crime fiction works best when its novelty lies less in the twists and turns and cleverness of its plot (Come on, everything under the sun has already been done.) and more in the vividness of its setting and characters.
So, on to the characters... As I've found with much crime fiction, the least understandable, least developed characters are the narrator and those closest to him or her. Dave Robicheaux, though he shows the reader a clear morality in each of his actions, doesn't have a face or personality the way some of the more minor characters do. Take Elrod Sykes - an actor starring in a movie being filmed in New Iberia Parish. His alcoholism, his tanned skin, the shirts he wears, the way his speaks, paint a picture of man battered down, but strong.
Robicheaux's morality poses the only problem I have with this novel. The defining moment of Burke's themes justice and heroism occurs at the end of the novel when Robicheaux sheds the constraints of his badge and takes matters into his own hands, going quite beyond the law, destroying the bad guys sure, but destroying them illegally. Burke cheaply has someone else pull the trigger in the end, but Robicheaux's moral force has set the events in motion that lead to the cowboy-style climax.
There's much more to this novel than I've mentioned - Civil War history, racial tension, music, organized crime. Burke takes advantage of Robicheaux's trip into New Orleans to craft an amazing passage describing the French Quarter. I don't think I'd have understood the neighborhood any better if I had been there.
Burke is a great writer. He might be a conservative cavalier cowboy, but he can write a damn good book.
This novel was no different from that short story in this respect. Burke's Louisiana breathes. The bayous belch. You can smell the flowering trees, the rancid corpses of nutria rotting in gutters. You can see the grime on the clapboard houses, the sweat glistening on every character's skin. You can hear the E major blues progression of Sam "Pigman" Patin. And most importantly, you can feel the temperature, the hangovers, the headaches of Burke's New Iberia Parish. I won't go on any longer about this, but it's definitely the most intriguing, and important aspect of this novel. Contemporary crime fiction works best when its novelty lies less in the twists and turns and cleverness of its plot (Come on, everything under the sun has already been done.) and more in the vividness of its setting and characters.
So, on to the characters... As I've found with much crime fiction, the least understandable, least developed characters are the narrator and those closest to him or her. Dave Robicheaux, though he shows the reader a clear morality in each of his actions, doesn't have a face or personality the way some of the more minor characters do. Take Elrod Sykes - an actor starring in a movie being filmed in New Iberia Parish. His alcoholism, his tanned skin, the shirts he wears, the way his speaks, paint a picture of man battered down, but strong.
Robicheaux's morality poses the only problem I have with this novel. The defining moment of Burke's themes justice and heroism occurs at the end of the novel when Robicheaux sheds the constraints of his badge and takes matters into his own hands, going quite beyond the law, destroying the bad guys sure, but destroying them illegally. Burke cheaply has someone else pull the trigger in the end, but Robicheaux's moral force has set the events in motion that lead to the cowboy-style climax.
There's much more to this novel than I've mentioned - Civil War history, racial tension, music, organized crime. Burke takes advantage of Robicheaux's trip into New Orleans to craft an amazing passage describing the French Quarter. I don't think I'd have understood the neighborhood any better if I had been there.
Burke is a great writer. He might be a conservative cavalier cowboy, but he can write a damn good book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 551 reviews