Last Car to Elysian Fields

by James Lee Burke

Book Overview

Sheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans to investigate the beating of a controversial Catholic priest and murder of three teenage girls in this intense, atmospheric entry in the New York Times... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743245423
• ISBN13: 9780743245425
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 335 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Disappointed

I decided to read this book because the subject matter sounded like something I would like. It started out interesting but in my opinion it began to get more and more convoluted with so many characters, some were fleshed out while others just merely mentioned. I found myself waiting for something to happen, to get exciting but that did not happen. There are all these different story lines that were supposed to, I assume tie in together in the end but alas, they did not. There is the old murder that was a large part of the book, unfortunately was anti-climatic when it was finally solved, but by then you did not really care about it. The saving grace of this book is that it has some parts that nicely written especially when he describes New Orleans. There is one small mention of the title of the book and I never heard it again. I was disappointed because I found myself just wanting the book to end and get it over with already, which is not a sign of a satisfied read.

Great writer, another great book

One of the common traits with mystery series is that the lead character is typically an outsider. This goes back to the early days of the modern, hard-boiled mystery. Philip Marlowe, Lew Archer or Sam Spade were drawn into the soap operas of other people's lives. While James Lee Burke's stories about Dave Robicheaux definitely fit in this type of genre, Robicheaux is not an outsider. Instead, his stories always seem to involve people he knows and places he's been. As Last Car to the Elysian Fields (around book 15 in the series) opens, Robicheaux is at another crossroads in his life. His wife Bootsie has died, having finally lost her long battle with Lupus. He has a new boss as his former partner Helen Soileau has been elevated to the post of sheriff. In addition, his house has burnt down due to some bad wiring and his adopted daughter Alafair is off at college. For Robicheaux, the stress is enough to make the former alcoholic want to re-hit the bottle, and things are about to get worse. Local priest Jimmie Dolan has been aggravating the wrong people, first getting beaten up by a local thug and then getting targeted for assassination. The killer, Max Coll, is an ex-IRA guy who's a bit nuts; he also has just enough of a conscience to not kill Dolan, although this gets him targeted himself. He's still a hit man, however, and he will leave a few more dead by the end of the book, even as he forms a bond with both Dolan and Robicheaux. Meanwhile, Robicheaux suspects Castille LeJune of the long-ago murder of a jazz musician named Junior Crudup. There are additional entanglements: LeJune owns a liquor store that served alcohol to a teenage girl who later died in an accident; LeJune's son-in-law owns what was once Crudup's land and is now dumping waste there; and LeJune's daughter Theodosia is struggling with her demons and is trying to draw her one-time brief lover Robicheaux into her private hell. Robicheaux is a man with rage that is barely under control most of the time, and at times he lets loose, causing additional problems. His hatred for certain types of people, especially the wealthy establishment sorts like LeJune, taints his judgment. Only his friend Clete Purcel, who has no inhibitions at all about causing trouble, is somehow able to make Robicheaux sane, at least by comparison. The plotting and characters are all well-written, but, as always, the thing that makes James Lee Burke really stand out is his descriptive abilities. The images he evokes of Louisiana (in particular, New Iberia and New Orleans) make the place come alive. In certain ways, there may be better authors, but no mystery writer is as good with his imagery as Burke. Last Car to the Elysian Fields is another great novel by one of the best mystery writers - actually one of the best writers, period - around.

Murder, mayhem and blues on the bayou...

Last Car to Elysian Fields is my second James Lee Burke mystery in a row, and I'm afraid that I've been infected by the Dave Robicheaux bug. I won't be happy until I've read all fourteen books in this series. In Elysian Fields, Robicheaux is a detective in the Iberia sheriff's department. He has a host of demons that he's battling (several ex-wives, a recent personal loss, and white knuckled abstinence from alcohol-just to name a few). But he is also juggling quite a few cases, and not all of them are "official." The case of a disappearing bluesman from Angola prison is over 50 years old. Also on his plate are the deaths of three underage teenagers who purchased alcohol at a daiquiri bar, pornography and meth ring, a priest friend who was brutally assaulted, an electrician doing shoddy work, a granddaughter who has been cheated out of her grandfather's land, and illegal dumping by chemical companies. Add to that a crazed hit man from Miami, and a bunch of dead bodies, and Robicheaux's life becomes even more complicated. Sometimes it's difficult to figure out who has a hit on who. Burke excels when it comes to his characters. Helen Solileau, is Robicheaux's boss and a woman of great insight and patience. Robicheaux tests her in so many ways, but Solileau knows that Robicheaux is a good but unorthodox cop and she tries to give him a long leash. But my very favorite character is Robicheaux's best friend and former partner, Cletus Purcel. Cletus is now a PI and part-time bounty hunter who spreads mayhem and chaos in his wake. Each book has at least a few good scenes where Cletus is up to his old tricks including he "filled a New Orleans' gangster's vintage automobile with cement, destroyed a half-million-dollar home on Lake Pontchartrain with an earth grader," and "cuffed a dirty cop to the conveyor chain in a car-wash and hot-wax machine." Only a person living in Louisiana can do these things and not spend quality time in jail. Burke also does a good job with hitman, Max Coll. Coll is a bizarre, tortured and destructive character, yet seems to have a conscience of sorts. I have definitely become a James Lee Burke convert, and I just printed out all the titles of his Robicheaux series in order. I can't wait to go to the beginning and start reading.

Burke at the Top of his Game

All of James Lee Burke's novels are deeply atmospheric. His words create a powerful image of the Louisiana bayou - an image that is not merely visual, but also capturing the humidity of the swamps, the grit of the cities, the smells of Cajun cooking. With Burke, you can always count on richly developed characters, moving alternatively between acts of nobility and brutality. And in all of Burke's works, there is a strong sense of societal divide, of racial tension, of Cajun culture, sensibility, sometimes and depravity. It is with a dark pallet that Burke paints his stories, and the results are consistently mesmerizing, addictive. Often, however, the plot and storyline must take a back seat, overpowered by the strength of settings and the casts of James Lee Burke's remarkable writing.Not so with "Last Car to Elysian Fields". This is a mighty novel in all respects: a captivating and complex plot, set in the sleazy back alleys of New Orleans, a barbarous Louisiana prison work gang, the familiar backwaters of New Iberia. Think "Mystic River" with a Cajun accent. Our hero Dave Robicheaux is back, but haunted by the recent death of his wife, Bootsie. Clete Purcel, Robicheaux's one-time NOPD partner is also back, and while Purcel has always been reckless, outrageous, and irreverent, he is truly at home as the master of mayhem in this latest yarn. In a nutshell, a seemingly unrelated series of events, starting with the decades-earlier suspected murder of a black convict, to the highway death of New Iberia teenagers, a drive-up Daiquiri bar, and mob hit man, are welded together in a gripping tale of bigotry, greed, and corruption in the Deep South.Burke is certainly at the top of the pile of modern crime writers, and "Elysian Fields" is an example of Burke at the top of his game. Dark, crude, and ruthless, but at the same time additive and impossible to forget. Don't let this one pass unread.

Right up there with the rest of them...........

Another truly great novel from James Lee Burke, on par with all of his others. What truly distinguishes Burke's novels is his gorgeous writing style--he truly evokes a sense of place and you can almost smell the bayou as he writes about it. His descriptions of people are equally good--I got a very clear picture of each character he described. If you have never read James Lee Burke, TRY HIM! You won't be disappointed. (Oh, and the story is great!)

Usual brutal but exciting look at the underbelly of society

New Iberia, Louisiana homicide detective Dave Robicheaux and his friend private investigator Clete Purcel rough up former porn movie star Gunner Ardoin. Dave and Clete were retaliating for Gunner's beating up New Orleans priest Father Jimmie Dolan. Gunner gets back at the duo for their assault by suing them.Meanwhile hitman Max Coll stalks Father Jimmie. Apparently there is a nebulous connection to 1951 Angola Penitentiary where blues singer Junior Crudup was sent before vanishing. Then there is the link to three teens dying in a DUI incident. Thus Dave has a lot on his plate, jurisdiction not withstanding. However, his typical two-fisted approach will not bring down Castille LeJeune, who is the alleged power behind the scenes of all these seemingly unrelated incidents.LAST CAR TO ELYSIAN FIELDS is the usual brutal but exciting look at the underbelly of society from James Lee Burke. If the story line sounds a bit disjointed that is because it is. Dave remains an intriguing wild man who does not worry about losing his job as he metes out street justice as few characters do. Fans of Dave will appreciate this rowdy ride while those who prefer a more gentile or just a straightforward plot will want to pass rather than wait to see how the subplots finally tie together.Harriet Klausner