Jolie Blon's Bounce

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Mark Hammer

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

When a beautiful teenage girl is killed, the victim of a particularly savage rape, New Iberia, Louisiana police detective Dave Robicheaux senses from the very start of the investigation that the most likely suspect - Tee Bobby Hulin - is not the actual killer. Though a drug addict and general ne'er-do-well, Hulin doesn't fit the profile for this brutal crime. But when another body turns up - a drugged-out prostitute who is the daughter of a local mafia bigwig - all clues point to Tee Bobby Hulin. The dead girl's father sets out to find - and punish - the killer.

Before Robicheaux can bring the killer or killers to justice, he battles a painkiller addiction, a habit brought on by a humiliating beating he suffers at the hands of a diabolical character known only as Legion. Once the overseer on a local sugarcane plantation, Legion scrapes by through doing odd jobs. In temperament, he's still the malevolent bully, seemingly possessed with supernatural skills of survival.

When Robicheaux's longtime buddy Clete Purcel drops by New Iberia for a visit, he is quickly drawn into the struggle between evil forces - including Jimmy Dean Styles, a black man intent on maintaining his empire of corruption; Joe Zeroski, a trailer park mafioso with palatial aspirations; and Legion Guidry, in whom Robicheaux faces an enemy unlike any he has ever known. And soon, what began as a duel of wits turns into a dance of death.

Gothic, dense, brutal, touching, and always compelling, Jolie Blon's Bounce is classic storytelling from a writer who has been dubbed "the Faulkner of crime fiction."

©2002 James Lee Burke, All Rights Reserved (P)2002 Recorded Books Inc., All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

Audie Award Winner, Mystery, Fiction, 2003

"To read a Burke novel is to enter a timeless, parallel universe of violent emotions and lush, brooding landscapes." (Publishers Weekly)

"Listening to Mark Hammer reading Burke's twelfth novel about Cajun cop Dave Robicheaux, it's easy to imagine you're on the shore of Bayou Teche, hearing a weathered cop tell of past adventures.... With a deliberate pace, Hammer pulls us in, capturing Robicheaux's spiritual exhaustion yet compelling us to hang on his every word." (AudioFile)

"Dave Robicheaux...[is] easily one of the most complex and compelling protagonists in mystery fiction. This is classic James Lee Burke, the master stylist, writing at the top of his game." (Amazon.com)

Not Burkes best work.Very disapointing.

Having regional accent is 1 thing.This 1 VERY hard to understand.Mush mouth.Mashed potatoes in mouth.

A trip into another culture

As always, James Patterson has written an absorbing story with well developed characters. Mark Hammer's narration, with it's effortless switch to dialects of Louisiana, brings the story to vivid life. I'd rather listen to Mark read one of these stories than read it myself. It's a great experience.

Top of The genre

Elmore Leonard use to knock out stories with gritty dialogue and irony till his last few. Burke has not only take up the reins, but extends his stories to characters that can be evoke more realism. They are darker, more exposed and made of blood and guts, not wood and mortar.
Mark Hammer's narration is like a great bourbon. warm, smokey and neat.

Perfection

There is more in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy, so proves Burke's tale of elemental good and evil and their crossroads in the bayou.

Authentic Louisiana

Fascinating characters, especially "Legion". The characters really came alive for me. I also loved the narration which captures Louisiana atmosphere.

Best one yet

What a well-written novel. I almost felt like I was in Iberia Parish witnessing all the tragic events. On to the next one.

Burke at one of his best!

Everything I've ever listen to by J.L. Burke has been narrated by Will Patton, therefore I was not as happy with this narration. However, it was just different, not bad. Good story, I liked the way the problem person was taken out. It's a twist!

great, terrific one of the best books l have read.

when are we going to get the movie? This would be a Blockbuster film with unlimited opportunitys for tv

Even Better on Subsequent Reads

As with each Burke offering, the reader is captivated in the narrative as the words give way to visualization. I have read this and all Burkes’ offerings several times, each as real as the last. Outside the internal battles, evil presents itself in many ways, some darker than many are willing to admit. This story identifies each manifestation with clarity and all the darkness that surrounds it. I highly recommend this and all James Lee Burkes writings; your time shall be well spent and your appreciation of his skill as a writer only endearing all the more.

I Loved it, me.

I have read other customer reviews in this section and couldn't disagree more with those who criticize Mark Hammer's reading of this wonderful book. JLB says this is his favourite in the Robicheaux series and having heard this book twice (the second time was on a long car trip with my wife) I think Mark Hammer did a fabulous job. The pacing is wonderful, the characters are clearly and consistently presented and the atmosphere is seductivelty and dramatically evoked. My wife and I agree... 5 stars for the book and the reading.

Further, I just re-read Neon Rain and loved revisting this fine book. I would love to hear Mark Hammer read this or any other of the DR series. JLB's new Robicheaux book, the soon to be released Last Car to Elysian Fields is eagerly aniticipated in our house as I'm sure it is in other Audible listener's homes. Here's hoping Mark Hammer is hired to read it as well.

Get it. You'll love it!