A Stained White Radiance

A Dave Robicheaux Novel, Book 5

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Mark Hammer

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

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)

You can go back but it’s not a lot of fun.

I started the Dave Robicheaux series in the middle and decided to Pick up the beginning books. The Characters had evolved so much that going back to their earlier forms was a little difficult. Still a good book.

Excellent

loved it. I connected with the characters. I will recommend it to my friends who belong to book clubs.

The cops know how to protect!

In a time when policemen are so disrespected, it is great to listen to a story of what they go through. And no one has the command and elegance of the English language as Burke to weave a tale that affects you body and soul.

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!

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.

Now thats a story!

I'm hooked on the adventures of Dave and Cletus! Great authenticity in narration. It takes me straight to Nawlins'!

Native

Fun novel but I wish someone from Louisiana would have read it. As a native and lifelong resident of Louisiana I find the verbal fumbling comical.

I love the series

I feel like I am part of the adventure. Great characters and wisdom beyond any motivator speaker.

A marvelous read

Burke is a truly gifted writer. He sets the scenes with such beautiful descriptive prose that one can see every detail. And he has a fine ear for nuance, and perfectly developed characters. I enjoy the flow of his writing as much as the story. Mark Hammer is tops as a narrator.

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!