     
|
James Lee Burke I was driving down the road in Northeast Arkansas listening to NPR's Afternoon Edition on KASU on afternoon. There was an interview with an author at the time. The author was James Lee Burke. They were talking about a new novel he had written. It seemed it was a break with his Dave Robicheaux novels. I'd never heard of him before. I hadn't read any of his works previously. I'll be honest ... from the discussion of the novel (the four letter words and the large number of murders I was given to understand that existed in Burke's work) I wasn't particularly inclined to read it either. A few days later my wife handed me a copy of a book that her mother had bought at a used book store. Mary had looked through the book and felt that her mother wouldn't like it because of the language. The author's name didn't strike me as familiar so I started reading the book. The title was intriguing .. In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead. Turns out the language wasn't as bad as my wife thought (or maybe I'm just becoming immune to it). The story is relatively fast paced. The murders, relatively tame by slasher punk standards. I enjoyed the book and about half way through realized that this was the guy I'd heard the interview with on NPR. I'd recommend the book for interesting mystery reading. Of course, if you are offended by strong language, better watch out. I'd read another of Burke's books though. It was entertaining and interesting. Oh, and the title was cool. |