1130. Dixie City Jam

This is the first James Lee Burke that I have read, and there are many others before it and after it. I was given the book after a recommendation from a family member. Since, I have recently started reading more Crime Fiction, this was a natural fit for me. There a few things to note however about this book as you read my review of it. First, while this is a stand alone adventure of Detective Dave Robicheaux (I still don't know how to pronounce his last name), this is really the seventh book in a series of books with him as the main character. Second, the novel takes place in 1994, so if this puts you off, and you need something more current, this might not be your cup of tea. There is no mention of cell phones, and other modern contrivances. Finally, thirdly, and more importantly, this book is not for the faint of heart. I am not talking about violence or blood and guts. There is some violence, but compared to what we see on our TV screens today it is beyond mild. No, what I am talking about is the multi threaded, multi person character arc. This is something only a SERIOUS NOVEL can achieve, and only a serious writer can pull off. You see this in some of this year's better TV Crime or other Dramas: The Killing, Broadchurch, and The Bridge. If you don't have the ability to follow multiple story threads then this book is not for you.

If you do have the ability to follow multiple story threads, this book, after a short introduction from the past, finds Detective Dave Robicheaux trying to get his ex-partner Clete (Cletus) Parcel out of some trouble he got himself in with some local New Orleans (N.O.) mobsters. This is all set against the background of the search for a sunken Nazi sub. The sub was sunk off the Louisiana coast at the mouth of the Mississippi. Apparently, the Nazi's, back in the World War II days, heavily patrolled these waters as a lot of shipping left these shores bound for Europe. But, this ship may or may not have something in it to hide. And it's connection to Detective Robicheaux is as follows: when he was a teenager, diving off a shrimping boat, working summers on the coast, he had seen the wreck of the sunken sub. Years later, he saw it again at a different location, possibly a place where the sub would have drifted with time and tides. Dave Robicheaux now owns a bait and tackle shop along with a boat rental business. He was in one of his boats when he saw the sub for the second time.

There is a local New Orleans hotel entrepreneur who knows Dave's sub story and wants Dave to help him find the sub and raise it. He goes by the name of Hippo Brimstine. Hippo is Jewish. So, is this the reason he wants to raise a Nazi sub? Or is there a hidden reason? One of the mobsters in town also wants to give Dave money to get the location of the sub. But what is his interest? Was his family connected with Nazi's back in the 30s and 40s. Is it because he is Irish-Catholic? Is it some other reason?

Racial politics and race relations play a huge role in this story, as Dave Robicheaux is a "by the numbers" detective who does not break any rules, or does he? Yet, he does bend them to the extent of needing to achieve his goals. Especially when he and his family are threatened by Neo-Nazis and by other N.O. mobsters. Do they find the sub? Are the threats against Dave, his family and his friends countered? Answers are provided in time..... But something more important to consider.

There is a flavor and a smell to this Novel, and it's all Southern and it's all Louisiana and New Orleans. The prose grabs you and drags you in and does not let you go. When you start reading this book, you feel and breath and taste and smell everything. When Dave Robicheaux buys Po 'boy sandwiches, you smell them in the bag he's holding. When Dave's neighbor is burning his sugarcane fields, you smell it too. You feel the Palm fronds waving in the breeze, you sense the breeze off the Gulf, you experience every single sensation. THIS is a book to immerse yourself in. And this is writing to revel in.

James Lee Burke is a gem of writer and I am sad it took me so long to discover him. I have no problem recommending this book, or this writer, based on just this one book. Easily, a four star book.

1106. Gone Girl

Sometimes what we think of as a successful marriage is not, and sometimes when we think people are putting on appearances, they're doing just that. They are putting on a show to hide how they really feel inside. The voice inside might be crying, might be yelling obscenities or bloody murder towards a loved one or the whole world, but sometimes a calm person walks on by you, bathed in the thin veneer of nothingness. Is this person shallow? Or have we just crossed paths with a sociopath or worse, a psychopath? We have many examples in real life of seemingly normal people "snapping" and hurting those next to them, whether coworkers, fellow students or random people. But what makes people sociopaths? Art, and fiction in its many forms have tried over the years to explore this issue. Alfred Hitchcock was really successful in exploring it in some of his films, such as Psycho. Over the years, many writers have written some great and some not so great novels to investigate the issue, and explore it along with us. Into this space, comes Gillian Flynn, a former Entertainment Weekly reporter, writing her third published novel.

Considering that this is Gillian Flynn's third novel, and that both of her previous novels were successful commercially and with critics, there was little possibility this would be a flop, or a bad novel. The reality is that this novel has been on the best seller list for over 18 weeks, a remarkable achievement which suggests that people really like the book. But more importantly, it suggests that the book is successful in navigating the subjects it tries to explore.

The story begins simply enough when housewife Amy Dunne disappears in the middle of a warm summer morning (I believe it's the 4th of July weekend). It's also Nick and Amy Dunne's Anniversary. {ed: Why do so many people get married around the 4th of July?}  Nick returns home to find that Amy has disappeared and finds clues of a struggle. This is when he calls the police. Soon, two detectives arrive on the scene and the circus begins. Because you know or have seen or heard of cases like this on TV. After Amy's parents arrive, and the cops close in, secrets are revealed, and the tension builds as we, along with Nick, and everyone else, are marched forward to a dramatic precipice. The 24/7 climate of today's news and Internet culture takes cases like this and spins it out of control. There are TV pundits out there who would advocate for the missing wife, missing girl or boy, missing teenager, and have their picture on TV all the time, every night with guests who completely agree with her, prosecuting a case before an arrest is even made. This is an important factor in real life and Gillian Flynn incorporates it deftly into her book. Personally, I found it a bit distracting, but it does add to the characters' tension a bit, and in a way it provides a conduit of expression. Both Nick and Amy express themselves through how others perceive, so this is an important aspect of their personality.

I cannot give up any more of the plot and its twists and turns. It is very tense, and engaging. Is this a literary novel? Of course it's not. If you wanted a literary novel, you'd be reading "Crime and Punishment". I also would not recommend this book for anyone under age 21. Although it not a grisly novel, with blood and guts, and only mostly has a lot of language, it is very psychologically intense with a very mature subject. A well explored subject, but one that if someone who has not experienced certain aspects of life or is not familiar with them, would not be able to grasp what the book is saying. You can't ask a 16 year old girl to understand the give and take of marriage. Maybe she knows what goes on in a relationship at her age, but what makes a real, live, marriage work? The good and the bad? No. I am not saying a non-married person, a single person would not get this novel... Of course they would. But it gets some seasoning in life to really get it. A teenager would be completely lost in this book in my opinion.

And what about the sociopath, the psychopath? Who is the greatest among us? Is it the one who chooses to stay in an Epic Failure of a Marriage, an Epic Disaster of a Life, or the one that endures it all? Is this person a Hero instead? Does the book answer that question to your satisfaction? To me, it gives a voice to few things and makes me ponder some others in my own life. In other words, what else do you want from a great piece of fiction?

And easy 4.5 out 5 stars.