Product Description

The call from ex-Klansman Aaron Crown couldn't have been more unexpected. Sentenced to forty years for the decades-old shooting of a civil rights activist, Crown should have been out of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, for good. Election candidate Buford LaRose wants Detective Dave Robicheaux to ignore Aaron's calls, promising Robicheaux a lucrative job when he makes governor. Worse still, Buford's wife, Karyn, seems unhealthily interested in getting very close to Robicheaux - just like old times . . . The LaRoses, each for their own reasons, want Crown's case buried.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41800 in Books
• Published on: 1997-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

About the Author
James Lee Burke is the author of nineteen previous novels, including eleven featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.

Customer Reviews

Robicheaux Rights Wrongs Readily Redux
Dave Robicheaux is one of those rare characters in today's American detective fiction -- the honest cop with a heart of gold and the toughness to rout the bad guys. In a sense, he is a throwback to the sheriff in the old Westerns. The difference is that Robicheaux's setting is Louisiana, and its peculiar combination rural charm and especially corrupt politics.

You can read this series because you like the Robicheaux character. That would be enough.

Or you can read this series for its wonderful treatment of Louisiana and its people. That would be enough.

As someone who has visited this beautiful state and its interesting people many times, I love reading Burke's descriptions so I am especially drawn to the latter reason.

Luckily, you can read it for both reasons, and that is way more than enough to keep you happily entertained.

One caution: The violence can be pretty stomach churning. If that upsets you, this book is not going to please you.

This story is one of those interesting and rewarding ironies that makes reading fun. The story revolves around Dave's efforts to clear Lester Crown of the murder of a prominent black civil rights attorney 28 years earlier. Crown is hardly someone you'd invite home for Sunday dinner, and this helps to establish Dave's character. Who else would put his family and himself in danger for such a creepy guy?

Lots of people start putting roadblocks and inducements in Dave's way, but that only makes him more determined.

The ending will stay with you for a long time.

The characters ring true throughout, and make you glad you're rooting for Dave! He's our last, best hope. In fact, he's irresistible as a heroic figure. Enjoy!

Robicheaux plunges into the swamp of Louisiana politics
Cadillac Jukebox sees James Lee Burke plunge into the murky bajou of Louisiana politics and race relations. The complexity of the relationships and connections between the various characters leaves the reader dizzy and confused at times, but all becomes clear eventually; as clear as the swamp mud in which the characters wallow. The plot, which concerns the election of a new state governor who helped convict the murderer of civil rights campaigner years before, twists and turns between bouts of appalling violence and moments of introspection. No-one is what they seem - or are they?- and Burke's use of language, often violent and beautiful, adds to the reader's ambiguity towards each of the protagonists. This is a powerful addition to the Dave Robicheaux series, but readers new to Burke's work would be better starting with an earlier, less complex novel. Cadillac Jukebox is a novel to savour and enjoy, if you understand the background to it.