Texas attorney and former Texas Ranger Billy Bob Holland has many secrets. Among them is Vernon Smother's son, Lucas, a now-teenaged boy about whom few know the truth - Lucas is really Billy Bob's illegitimate son. When Lucas is arrested for murder, Billy Bob must confront the past and serve as the boy's criminal attorney. Billy Bob knows the propensity of the town, Deaf Smith, Texas, to make scapegoats out of the innocent and to exploit and sexually use the powerless.
Burke delivers withanother great mystery/hero!
Reviewed on Aug 10 2012
by Charles(Greensboro, NC, United States)
Heartwood is a kind of tree that grows in layers. And as Billy Bob's grandfather once told him, you do well in life by keeping the roots in a clear stream and not letting anyone taint the water for you. But in Holland's dusty little hometown of Deaf Smith, in the hill country north of Austin, local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made a fortune running roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Billy Bob has problems with Deitrich and his shamelessly callous demeanor, but can't shake the legacy of his passion for Deitrich's "heartbreak-beautiful" wife, Peggy Jean.
Narration slowed down story
Reviewed on Jan 17 2013
by Sarah(Tulsa, OK, United States)
Billy Bob Holland's friend, Doc Voss, has been battling against a local mining company whose operations would severely threaten the area's economy. Despite Voss's best efforts, the mining interests make it clear that they will resort to any means to see that Voss backs off. What Billy Bob doesn't know is that one member of the pro-mining faction is Wyatt Dixon, a recent prison parolee intent on exacting revenge for his imprisonment and his sister's death, both events he believes were Billy Bob's doing.
Good Book - Narrator has Quirks
Reviewed on Oct 02 2012
by William(Hurst, TX, United States)
In a thrilling combination of haunting suspense and captivating villains, James Lee Burke treats readers to another Billy Bob Holland novel, set in beautiful and mysterious Montana. In the Moon of Red Ponies is Burke at his best - a novel defined by plot twists, breathtaking suspense, and a colourful cast of the unforgettable villains which have earned Burke critical praise and a bestselling readership.
In In the Moon of Red Ponies, Billy Bob Holland discovers that jail cells have revolving doors and the bad guys are back and aching for revenge.
Billy Bob Moves to Montana
James Lee Burke gets better with age. While I still prefer the trashy underworld and Cajun swamps of Dave Robicheaux, the move to Montana for Billy B..Show More »ob Holland suits him. Burke brings the Big Sky Country alive with his lyrical prose. Of course it's predictable, but in a comfortable way, like an old shoe. The narrator does an above average job.