©1999 James Lee Burke, All Rights Reserved; (P)1999 Simon & Schuster, Inc., All Rights Reserved. AUDIOWORKS is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.
"Not Burke's best, but a good listen."
Will Patton's strong narration helps carry the book. Perhaps the unabridged version is better. Still, it's a Burke book, and his less than best is still pretty good. A lot of action, a quick pace, mean characters with just enough humanity so that a reader can feel some remorse for their passing, wonderful dialog, which Burke know how to end on deft note, all the good things Burke regularly delivers are here. So buy it; you'll not be sorry you did.
"heartwood"
A standard Burke novel.Enjoyable, and fast paced. Great dialog and dynamic villans.Hardnosed heros and venomous vixons. Burkes books always hit close to home with anyone from the Big Sky state or The South, especially Texas or Louisiana and this is no exception. If you are a long time Burke reader than of corse you must read this one. If not I would suggest starting off with one of the Robicheux books.Its not that this book is bad but Burke has done much better.Audible should also think about offering Burke's award winning novel, Black Cherry Blues.I would recomend Burke to anyone who is a fan crime stories in fact I would shove them in his direction.He may be the best in the business.
"Overproduced and Overabridged"
There is little left of substance after the abridgement. Insipid blues guitar pieces separate the set pieces, as well as overwrought, inconsistently used sound effect, give this an incredibly amateurish feel. This is particularly tragic given the excellence of Burke's writing and Patton's narration. The producer and editor should have been horsewhipped.