Swan Peak

A Dave Robicheaux Novel

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

James Lee Burke's new novel, Swan Peak, finds Detective Robicheaux far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the untouched wilderness of rural Montana. He, his wife, and his buddy, Clete Purcell, have retreated to stay at an old friend's ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from the harsh, gritty landscape of Louisiana post-Katrina.

But the serenity is soon shattered when two college students are found brutally murdered in the hills behind where the Robicheauxs and Purcell are staying. They quickly find themselves involved in a twisted and dangerous mystery involving a wealthy, vicious oil tycoon, his deformed brother and beautiful wife, a sexually deviant minister, an escaped con and former country-music star, and a vigilante Texas gunbull out for blood.

At the center of the storm is Clete, who cannot shake the feeling that he is being haunted by the ghosts from his past - namely Sally Dio, the mob boss he'd sabotaged and killed years before.

In this expertly drawn, gripping story, Burke deftly weaves intricate, engaging plotlines and original, compelling characters with his uniquely graceful prose. He transcends genre yet again in the latest thrilling addition to his New York Times best-selling series.

More mayhem? Listen to more of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux thrillers.

©2008 James Lee Burke (P)2008 Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Absolutely fantastic

I listened to this audiobook perhaps three years ago, and randomly started listening to it again. I think this may be one of the best Robicheaux novels--even at second reading. James Lee Burke's luscious environments and artful dialog are never better exemplified than in Swan Peak. Burke gets away with the deus ex machina like no other writer because he sets it up so carefully in advance, and it ends up feeling completely plausible.

great book

Loved this book. It was good to see Dave and Clete in a different setting. Narrator seemed to have a little difficulty going between characters but i could still follow along.

Great story

Narrator needs to get pronunciation correct. There are names of things that are incorrect. Others than that he does a great job.

Burke Never Fails to Please

As usual, many intriging characters and a twisted plot. The troublesome Bobsy Twins from Louisana are at it again. James Lee Burke is one of my favorite authors and Dave and Clete are wonderful characters. I thought Tin Roof Blowdown would be his best, but maybe not.

Justice Montana style

Really engrossing story that pretty masterfully entwined the passions and human weakness and capacity for avarice into one big thumping tome. JLB has to be one of the best writers of popular fiction in our day and I hope more and more folks have chance to sample his prose.

Once again, the perfect combo

I think Will Patton does a stunning job of bringing these characters to life. I thoroughly enjoy listening to him. (I should say I enjoy listening to MOST of it. The violence sometimes is just too raw.) It's not like he's working in a vacuum, though. James Lee Burke certainly gives him a full range of characters with which to work his magic. Speaking of that ...

I don't know if I was distracted while listening or what the deal was, but the characters in this particular Burke were hard for me to keep straight until I was about 75% done. There's a point where Dave reviews in his mind all that has happened. That helped me enormously. This is something I just don't think I can fault the writer on. I really needed to pay attention to names and details when each character was introduced. My bad.

I love these guys

These two guys are always a good time. They are becoming somewhat of caricatures of themselves but that's ok too. The language they use and the pickles they get in (and out) of are entertaining.

Robicheaux is quite the dark philosopher which adds another layer to the stories. Keep them coming.

This one, set in Montana, has a new set of characters and wonderful scenery, but the two of them manage to get into trouble anyway.

A perfect combination of author and narrator

This may be the best combination of reader and author that I've listened to yet. I say that having listened to hundreds of books on Audible. I listened to the book on an Ipod with playback on Faster which almost kept up with my need to know what was coming next.

The perfect marriage of author and narrator

Will Patton and Burke make the best combination of all the 100+ audiobooks I have experienced. Although not in the same class as Tin Roof Blowdown, it still kept me awake through a cross country drive

Will Patton rocks!

The story line is not as strong as some of Burke's other novels, such as Tin Roof, but Will Patton's narration makes it interesting, entertaining and difficult to put down! Will's ability to give each character such a distinguishable voice, especially Clete, makes this a best seller in my book.