• A Stained White Radiance

  • A Dave Robicheaux Novel, Book 5
  • By: James Lee Burke
  • Narrated by: Mark Hammer
  • Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,020 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
A Stained White Radiance  By  cover art

A Stained White Radiance

By: James Lee Burke
Narrated by: Mark Hammer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.96

Buy for $17.96

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author who "can touch you in ways few writers can" (The Washington Post), James Lee Burke's fifth Dave Robicheaux novel is now an audiobook.

Cajun police detective Dave Robicheaux knows the Sonnier family of New Iberia - their connections to the CIA, the mob, and to a former Klansman now running for state office. And he knows their past - as dark and murky as a night on the Louisiana bayou. An assassination attempt and the death of a cop draw Robicheaux into the Sonniers' dangerous web of madness, murder and incest. But Robicheaux has devils of his own. And they've come out of hiding to destroy the tormented investigator - and the people he holds most dear.

Filled with the usual Burke combination of brilliant action and a stunning novelistic theme, A Stained White Radiance will keep Burke's fans riveted - and win him many new ones.

©1992 James Lee Burke (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"James Lee Burke is the best writer of detective fiction on the American scene and A Stained White Radiance is proof.... It takes the crime novel into places it's never gone before." ( San Francisco Examiner)

What listeners say about A Stained White Radiance

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    592
  • 4 Stars
    315
  • 3 Stars
    84
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    582
  • 4 Stars
    216
  • 3 Stars
    61
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    16
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    530
  • 4 Stars
    261
  • 3 Stars
    83
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    9

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Poetry!

These lyrics don't need music... they sing... Or at least the late Mark Hammer sings them in a spoken voice that makes me hurt over how good it is to listen to him read Burke. Okay, there's a circle in those last words and I don't know where to cut in... anymore than I'd know how to cut a perfect diamond anywhere without losing something precious.

Please... don't read this book... Not if you haven't started with the first in the Dave Robicheaux series and earned entrance to this story. Elsewise you'll inherited too many spoilers to enjoy those early stories as Robicheaux and this ensemble cast reveal a texture richer than a dense moss hanging from a New Orleans cyprus on a hot... damp.. Dixie night.

Ooops... Burke makes me try to write like that and Hammer makes me think like that and the plotting and story arc and reflections on the human condition in these novels make me feel ... feel... Hell, they just make me feel. That's enough.

Wonderful work... enjoy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A great writer at work here

James Lee Burke is a gifted writer, very few writers have his talent. This book takes the storyline and characters into some dysfunctional waters, there are some twists and turns and moments when you can be immersed in the world of South Louisiana and taken by the beautiful dialog and become a part of the world and scene. The series is amazing and pulls no punches in looking at uncomfortable topics. If you crave to find a writer with talent and want to be taken with great narration that is a match to some of the best dialog I have ever listened to then this is a series to get into.
Recommended enthusiastically.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Burke Never Disappoints

I came to Burke and Robicheaux in the middle of the series with The Tin Roof Blowdown the year it was Audible's best book. I was hooked and have never been disappointed since. I am well aware of the controversy over narrators Patton and Hammer and as most readers find Will Patton to be just about the perfect narrator for the Burke works, but I don't think anything is lost when Mark Hammer narrates. So, sit back and enjoy a little more of the story of Dave, Alifair (sic), Bootsie and of course, Clete Purcell. You won't be disappointed. Enjoy the magnificent Burke prose and the peculiar twist he utilizes to mete out justice to the New Orleans mafioso kingpin when it seems he will slip through the cracks of justice.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

READ THIS BOOK.....PLEASE DO NOT LISTEN!!

Attempted to listen to MARK HAMMER for several looooong hours and finally finished this story. I read a few reviews which stated that the story overrides the narrator; well folks that is not the case with this ole boy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

hated it

Would you try another book from James Lee Burke and/or Mark Hammer?

absolutely !!!!I love James Lee Burke . I will never hear another book from Mark Hammer.Please bring back Will Patton. This Mark Hammer sounds 80 years old with a mouth full of marbles and I began and ended hating the book

What do you think your next listen will be?

Am downloading aTom Clancy book

How could the performance have been better?

Hire Will Patton

Any additional comments?

I am sorry Mark Hammer if I hurt your feelings but your voice ruined this book for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Mush Mouth Narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Mark Hammer is such a poor narrator that I couldn't finsh the book. Where is Will Patton when you need him?

What do you think your next listen will be?

James Lee Burk with Will Patton

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Can't tell on person from another

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Don't know didn't finish

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic James Lee Burke

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

For all those who love James Lee Burke, this book will not disappoint. In this early novel we get to know the rich characters as well as the distinctive setting which becomes another character whose presence stalks the story of ravaged childhoods and their resultant effects on the lives of the now grown adults. Burke delves beneath the surface of his characters and their lives to explore the complexities of the human heart.A wonderful read!

What did you like best about this story?

I love the details of setting and the attention paid to motivations in the lives of the characters.

What about Mark Hammer’s performance did you like?

Hammer's voice captures the sense of place that is so important to Burke's writing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another JLB Winner

Every Burke story & narration is great prose and spoken (whether by Hammer or Will Patton) in a truly believable dialect.

Most of my favorite authors deliver reliably solid stories but none as consistently as James Lee Burke. OK, maybe CJ Box and Baldacci are as solid too.

Buy it - Listen - Enjoy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, great reader

I started reading James Lee Burke a couple of years ago and gradually moved through the last half dozen novels. I then went on to begin the series and have listened to the first five. I've now listened to "A Stained White Radiance" and have moved on to the next in the series. "Stained" is a pretty good book, not the best in the series but still rating a 5-star review. What makes this one stand out is the perfect narration by Mark Hammer, who brings the characters and story to life in a way I can't imagine another reader emulating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sensations

What did you love best about A Stained White Radiance?

James Lee Burke has the ability to create the stage of new Iberia. I can see it, feel it,and smell it in my mind. Thank you for the experiences. I wait for each new release.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful