Heartwood

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 5 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this story of haves vs. have-nots, past vs. present, justice vs. the justice system, Texas defense attorney Billy Bob Holland has his work cut out for him. According to Billy Bob's grandfather, you do well in life by keeping your roots in a clear stream and not letting anyone taint the water for you. But in Billy Bob's dusty little hometown of Deaf Smith, local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made his fortune running roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Now Billy Bob finds himself fighting Deitrich in court and fighting his own desire for the kingpin's beautiful wife, Peggy Jean.

©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.

How to mess up a James Lee Burke novel

I have read and listened to everything Burke wrote and believe he is a national treasure. Will Patton is a fantastic reader. The editor for this should be fired. It was a mess. If I wanted a musical recording I would have bought one. If it wasn't a Burke novel I would give it zero stars.

Excellent narration

I really didn't care for the music. Will Patton is fantastic. I don't care for abridged books that much.

love will paton but abridged versions are annoying

Would you try another book from James Lee Burke and/or Will Patton?

love will patton and jim burke

Who was your favorite character and why?

pete

What about Will Patton’s performance did you like?

hes my favorite preformer of audiobooks

Was Heartwood worth the listening time?

yes

Any additional comments?

so darn annoying waiting for the music to end in between each chapter, i would have preferred the unabridged version but that one is preformed by Tom Stechschulte who does a terrible southern accent. its worth the wait in between chapters just tp have Will Pattons awesome voice

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.