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The Evolution of Dave Robicheaux and the Incredible Career of James Lee Burke

Dave Robicheaux is an amalgamation of swashbuckling detective, political activist, and Catholic theologian. A literary emblem of Raymond Chandler’s theory that the crime investigator is modernity’s substitute for the medieval knight, the protagonist of most of James Lee Burke’s novels is a flawed and complex hero whose struggles against the mafia, serial killers, child predators, and bigots and bullies of fascistic ideologies magnify into stories with implications so large that they feel borderline cosmic.

“The most important battles happen in places no one cares about,” Robicheaux is fond of declaring. The sociopolitical and spiritual significance of the seemingly provincial is a view that the character shares with his creator. Burke was born in Houston, and raised on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Louisiana, and a Master’s in English at the University of Missouri. Before writing multiple bestselling mysteries, and earning the rare distinction of two-

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‘THE NEON RAIN’ by James Lee Burke, (1987)

James Lee Burke is a man who lives and breathes the land he describes. Prior to his success, he worked as a labourer, teacher, and social worker amongst other vocations, sometimes in near poverty as he raised his four kids and persevered with his writing.

‘The Neon Rain’ is the first in a long-standing series of crime books featuring Dave Robicheaux, one of my all-time favourite troubled investigators. Dave shares certain parallels with other incantations from the genre – notably, Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder, described in ‘The Sins of the Fathers’ review: both men are ex-coppers who have crossed the line into alcoholism. And both journey down their dark alleyways not for monetary gain as the primary motive, but because of a staunch moral code that demands for justice to be served.

But whereas Block’s books are short, sharp, concrete affairs, JLB’s are longer, more descriptive, with an evocation for the New Orleans landscape that is almost poetic at times, and which makes this distinctive setting a prevailing central character. Here’s

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“Clete” by James Lee Burke

As the legions of fans of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux series will no doubt readily attest, JLB knows how to write a good story.In that regard, Clete (Atlantic Monthly Press 2024) is no different as it’s a darn fine tale of friendship, danger, and despair. It has flashes of noir thriller and exposes the gritty, violent sides of New Orleans, complete with a diverse cast of characters which will keep readers guessing. In that sense, Clete is a classic JLB novel. Yet this time, something is different. Instead of being Robicheaux’s faithful sidekick, partner, and companion in adventure while Dave tells the story, this time Clete Purcel is the star, and he tells the story in his distinctive voice. Thus, in this twenty-fourth book in the Robicheaux series, readers get to dive into Clete’s deep and troubling thoughts in a way that is different and welcomed in the series.

Clete Purcel, like Dave Robicheaux, is world-weary, a Vietnam war veteran with a dark view of life, who burned too many bridges with the New Orleans police department where he