Margins
Black Cherry Blues book cover
Black Cherry Blues
1989
First Published
4.16
Average Rating
368
Number of Pages

Part of Series

BACK IN THE UNDERWORLD HE TRIED TO LEAVE BEHIND Haunted by the memory of his wife's murder and his father's untimely death, ex-New Orleans cop Dave Robicheaux spends his days in a fish-and-tackle business. But when an old friend makes a surprise appearance, Robicheaux finds himself thrust back into the violent world of Mafia goons and wily federal agents. From the Louisiana bayou to Montana's tribal lands, Robicheaux is running from the bottle, a homicide rap, a professional killer and the demons of his past. Rich with fascinating characters and dramatic plot twists, the audio debut of James Lee Burke and his Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux recalls the best of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe—tough, complex and thoroughly entertaining.

Avg Rating
4.16
Number of Ratings
16,580
5 STARS
40%
4 STARS
41%
3 STARS
16%
2 STARS
2%
1 STARS
1%
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Author

James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke
Author · 51 books

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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