The Neon Rain (Dave Robicheaux, #1) by James Lee Burke Published by Recorded Books, Amereon Limited on September 15th 1987
Genres: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Pages: 275
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0848833090
ASIN: B0028TY1GU
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"NEW YORK TIMES" BESTSELLING AUTHOR JAMES LEE BURKE THE NEON RAIN
Detective Dave Robicheaux has fought too many battles: in Vietnam, with killers and hustlers, with police brass, and with the bottle. Lost without his wife's love, Robicheaux's haunted soul mirrors the intensity and dusky mystery of New Orleans' French Quarter -- the place he calls home, and the place that nearly destroys him when he becomes involved in the case of a young prostitute whose body is found in a bayou. Thrust into the world of drug lords and arms smugglers, Robicheaux must face down a subterranean criminal world and come to terms with his own bruised heart in order to survive.
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#DaveRobicheaux #FirstInSeries #JamesLeeBurke #NOLA #WillPatton @JamesLeeBurke @recordedbooks
This week’s post is going to involve one of my favorite things to do and that is to act as a temptress trying to lure readers into another series. Why do I enjoy this role so much? First of all, I get to share books I’ve enjoyed, but the main thing that keeps me doing it is the fascinating things I learn while doing research about the books, the authors, and the narrators. The Neon Rain is First in Series for a group of books that has been around for awhile. Originally published in 1987, it is the 6th novel written by author James Lee Burke and the one that introduced readers to Dave Robicheaux, a hero who is so complex and so flawed he could easily be one of us. He is not a beautiful, sexy bad boy with women falling at his feet, but a man who is tormented by the events of his past as well as an ever-present addiction problem. The setting includes New Orleans and the French Quarter which always add color and atmosphere to a story, but it is Dave Robicheaux’s character that makes this series work. He is a man with an indomitable spirit who will break your heart with his courage and his refusal to give up on the world he lives in.
Listeners may remember the narrator Will Patton who is known for his role as Coach Bill Yoast in the film Remember the Titans. He has recorded over 20 titles by James Lee Burke including many of the Dave Robicheaux books. Born in the city of my own birth, Charleston, South Carolina, Patton’s voice is perfect for reading the Lousiana-born Robicheaux and for taking listeners deep into the bewitching Bayou country as seen through the pen of a master storyteller. When a narrator can actually make you feel the author’s words, the audiobook is magic! Here is a special treat, compliments of YouTube, as the author speaks about Mr. Patton’s performance of his work.
The Neon Rain is just the first installment in Dave’s story with the most recent offering being Light of the World. If you are looking for romantic suspense, this book and the series itself may not be for you. Our man Dave has been through Hell and lived (barely) to tell about it, but if you are a sucker for many-faceted characters and haunting descriptive passages, then allow me to lure you into this gripping series.
About James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for Black Cherry Blues in 1990 and Cimarron Rose in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner.
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