Book 5 - A Stained White Radiance - A Dave Robicheaux Novel

Dave Robaheaux is a rather renegade cop that leaves him digging himself out of his own messes.Action packed, though some might find it a little rough and tough.
What I enjoy most is James Burke's references to local culture. Probably few readers realize that most of the landmarks that he mentions actually did or do still exist. Having grown up in New Iberia, I could lead you to the exact spot that he is talking about most of the time.
He mentioned going to eat at Possum's Restaurant. I actually went to high school with "possum", and did indeed eat at the same restaurant.

I recommend reading this series of books in order as the story line flows continuously from one book to the next.

I enjoy, no, LOVE everything James Lee Burke writes. I am listening to all of the books he has written about Dave Robicheaux narrated by Mark Hammer! Burke's philosophy, knowledge, wisdom are entwined in all of his stories, and, what stories; all fascinating and well told! My husband doesn't listen to Audible books, so I bought this one for him to read.
If you want to "hear" James Robicheaux, listen to Mark Hammer. He IS Dave Robicheaux!!
Great Stuff!

Incredible! I expected nothing less. James Lee Burke has an incredible way of describing Louisiana, he knows the city of New Orleans, Lafayette and the bayou like no other author or writer that I have ever come across. He has yet to disappoint me and I don't think he ever could.

There is nothing really wrong with the Dave Robicheaux series if you like a book that is 70% descriptions of the Louisiana Bayou country (well written-have to give him that), 20% meandering through Dave's personal issues with his wife "Bootsie" (not kidding about this), and 10% action. Not a book to you can't walk away from and do something else. This is the 2nd James Lee Burke book I have read, and I guess its ok for a beach read.

James Lee Burke is my favorite author I have decided. While this book is far more lengthy and involved it is still a work of art. I am reading his entire series now in order. My husband and I became hooked when we checked out a couple of his books on CD for a road trip and fell in love with his writing, his characters and Will Patton, his reader.

Long before he served in Vietnam or joined NOPD as a homicide detective or quit that and his alcohol addiction and returned to New Iberia to open a bait and boat rental business, Dave Robicheaux knew the Sonnier family very well. Their father was an abusive parent and the children all grew up with their own set of problems: the oilman Weldon had ties to organized crime; Lyle was a televangelist who convinced the poor people in his listening area that he could cure their ills . . . for a price of course. Young sister Drew, who had a passing fling with Dave, seemed to be a little bit too close to her brothers. The father, believed to have been killed in an explosion, appears suddenly on the scene, horribly disfigured and intent on some unspecified act of evil. Despite it all, Dave manages to meet up with Bootsie, the first love of his life, who has been married into the Giancano crime family. We’re never as young, Dave discovers, as we were in the Summer of 1957. Bootsie has Lupus and the outlook for recovery is bleak. Not a cheerful book by any standards but it’s all a part of Robicheaux’s history. It’s a wonder that Dave managed to survive the past that he idolizes so much but he does, course. So do we all.

Dave Robicheaux becomes involved with people from his childhood - in this case the Sonnier family, two brothers and a sister. He remembers when they came to schoold with cigarette burns on their bodies. They came out of a bad background. The older brother is now an oil wildcatter, having started with drilling on family property, and is married to the sister of a rising politician. The younger brother had been a tunnel rat serving with Dave in Vietnam, and had come out of the war with a troubled mind - he became a faith healing minister laying on his hands. The sister is, well, the sister and had at one time been Dave's girlfriend. The older brother has some problems - three gunballs working for a local bad guy kill a deputy sheriff who intrudes when they are ransacking his house.

The novel is a well written story about life in the underside of south Louisiana, with a generous portion of redneck coona***s (some things get censored by the store, but if you are from the area, you get the drift). Dave, with some help from his friend Purcel, has his own way of dealing with bad guys. The novel has its moments, but be warned that there is violence and language and a couple gruesome scenes.

As always, Burke’s work is exceptional. His characters are wonderfully formed and his plots are enjoyable. The only reason I rated this book a 4 is that the narrator was mediocre at best. I couldn’t tell if he was saying “he” or “she” half the time and often the ends of his sentences trailed off into indecipherable gibberish.

James Lee Burke has given us another strong effort in his fifth Dave Robicheaux mystery, A Stained White Radiance.

Book five opens with someone shooting a rifle through a window of Weldon Sonnier's house. The Sonnier children (Weldon, Lyle and Drew) were friends of Robicheaux's growing up in New Iberia. Unfortunately, they suffered a horrendous childhood at the hands of their father. It is obvious that Weldon is hiding something and that his life is in danger. A few days later, three men break into Weldon's house and trash the place. When Robicheaux arrives as backup at the scene, he discovers the body of a fellow police officer who was first sent to investigate. He was executed mob-style. Robicheaux now applies a full court press to identify the murderers, discover who is behind then, and also, reveal what dark secrets the Sonnier's are hiding. Burke also has to deal with some issues at home including a sick wife (lupus) who is jealous of an old flame. We also see Robicheaux more in an AA setting. Although he remains on the wagon, we see him work the program more than in previous books.

A Stained White Radiance touches on the "usual" southern Louisiana maladies including drug dealing. But Burke also shows the ugly side of Louisiana that often includes not on the mob, but also rednecks, Nazi's and Aryans. One character, Bobby Earl, is a former Klansman now running for state office (think David Duke). He operates on the fringe, getting others to do his dirty work. Somehow, these guys are all in bed together.

Burke has always been a fine writer, but he really tightened things up since the first books in this series. The plots are less predictable and more enjoyable. The good guys don't always win and the bad guys don't always lose (which often happens in the real world). Burke's character development has also evolved, and they become more complex and are written in more varied hues. These changes have provided his readers with a richer texture.

In each book, Robicheaux always seems to get into a life-threatening scrape. Despite the danger of his job, I hope Burke keeps Robicheaux alive and working for many books to come.

I read Burke’s 1992 A Stained White Radiance because it deals in part with a politician who appeals to “the old southern myths” with the campaign theme, “Let me be your voice, let me speak your thoughts.” However, in this novel Robicheaux is written with passion, but not the compassion that Burke reflects in Robicheux in his later books. Roicheaux recognizes his passion gets him in trouble such as being “guilty of that old southern white conceit that we must protect people of color from themselves”; and when rhetoric would have no effect . . . words of moral purpose too often [mask] acts of cruelty . . . [s]o that’s when you let go of reason.”

"A Stained White Radiance," published in 1992, is fifth in James Lee Burke's increasingly popular Dave Robicheaux series. It bears some family resemblance to the others, particularly in Burke's remarkable ability to make his home country-- New Orleans and its surround, Southern Louisiana-- sing. His descriptions of its landscape, animal, vegetable and mineral, are so deeply felt, that people who have never been closer to New Orleans than Chicago can sense its morning aromas, its approaching storms and nighttime skies.

There are further family resemblances, to be sure. Robicheaux is married to second wife Bootsie, whom he knows, as he does most people in his world, from high school or before. Bootsie suffers from lupus. The detective has quietly, unofficially adopted orphan Alafair; she keeps a three-legged raccoon, called Tripod, as a pet. Robicheaux owns a bait shop that Batist, longtime black family servant, manages. The detective is with the New Iberia police department, as he's been kicked off the New Orleans department. He's still battling his demons: drink, dark memories of Vietnam. His cases generally lead him to the dark side, often to New Orleans, frequently to conflict with the local mafia. When he needs to, he calls upon Clete Purcell, his former partner at NOPD, who's been excommunicated from the department, as he has. Purcell's a heavy, sunburnt, Irish Channel kind of guy, eats too much, smokes and drinks too much, drives an old Cadillac, and lets his anger out to play too frequently. Robicheaux's cases often, as this one, involve present-day outgrowths of hidden, long-ago misdeeds. The family resemblance continues in that the case in this book centers, as so many of the author's do, around the detective's childhood friends, the Cajun Sonnier family, that are ineradicably marked by the harsh abuse they suffered in childhood. The case also centers around the murder of a local cop. When Robicheaux finally clears the murder in his usual fashion, with a high body count, his supervisor will tell him, "I think you wrote your signature on this case with a baseball bat, Dave." Sometimes he does.

However, in this book, Robicheaux is unable to reach the man he really wants to bring down. He muses, " I was guilty of that age-old presumption that the origins of social evil can be traced to villainous individuals, that we just need to identify them, lock them in cages, or even march them to the executioner's wall, and this time, yes, this time, we'll catch a fresh breeze in our sails and set ourselves on a true course." Doesn't mean he doesn't keep trying.

A Stained White Radiance by James Lee Burke.

This is the 5th book in the Dave Robicheaux series. A tangled web of murder and secrets kept hidden by the Sonnier family. Dave has more than just another case to solve on his hands...this one involves his childhood friends. Clete Purcell has a role in this story and will play even more important roles with Dave in books to come.

Although very well written this is not one of my favorites in the Dave Robicheaux series.

I love the way Burke writes, so very descriptive you can feel the scene he's painting for you. The characters are all living breathing individuals that you come to know and care about. This story is a continuation of
Dave Robicheaux's life, and what an interesting life this lawman has. Trouble finds him on every turn, but he always manages to take the bull by the horns and deal. Since, you never know from previous books, if he will loose the people he cares for, you can never take one of Burke's stories for granted that everyone will fare well in the end. This fact makes his writings that much more suspenseful, and this story has it's moments of pure fear of the outcome as well.

Once again, a lot of thunderstorms on the Gulf, Cajun food, etc. A little boring for those of us who grew up around the Gulf. Also, once again, he is on leave from law enforcement at the end. Why do they ever allow him back? He is just gonna quit again. Typical Robicheaux book.

Anything that James Lee Burke writes is a great read. Dave Robichaeux is one of his charactors that has lasted in a series of 17 books, this is just one of them. It's a great story to follow from the beginning (Neon Rain) Dave as a Homicide Detective who has his shares of ups and downs in life along with some bizzare cases he and his partner have to endure. A must for all mystery/crime readers.

I reread some of his descriptive phrases, because it makes me see the scene. I love his perspective be it on society or the look at those who get away with crime - I relish his ways of catching up with those who think they can get away. Unfortunately, all too often one sees them getting away - or come back using different venues.

After reading many of the earlier novels, I was disappointed by this one. We get the usual rich descriptions of bayou settings and life in this corrupt environment. Characters just don't have the appeal that I felt in the earlier novels, and the subplots don't really support the overall theme.
Several of those subplots never get anywhere near resolved by the close of the novel, so we are left hanging, so to speak, wishing that they had either been omitted or woven more completely into the piece.

This whole series is great. The stories, the characters, and the atmosphere. If you like James Lee Burke and this series. You will love this book. It is one of my favorites in the series. Read this one, Dixie City Jam, and In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead.

This was my first Burke. Great character depictions, but little story. When I finished, I was certain the publisher had left off the last chapter(s). It seems as though it was written by a committee that had very few meetings. In essence, much ado about not much.

Burke despises Republicans and conservatives to such a degree that I threw this book away after 150 pages. His monotonous chamber of comerce recitals of picturesque 'Bayou Teche' and never ending weather reports are bad enough, but his self hatred and his insistence on denigrating Republicans makes this trash unreadable.
Of course liberals will probably celebrate it, but they get their books from a library.