Book Review: Purple Cane Road

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Purple Cane Road     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
James Lee Burke
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Dave Robicheaux # 11
Doubleday, Aug 2000, $24.95, 341 pp.

Iberia Parish homicide detective Dave Robicheaux, accompanied by private sleuth Clete Purcel, seeks a New Orleans pimp Zipper Chum on a capital case. When the duo catches up with Zipper in Baton Rouge, he tosses a verbal hand grenade at Dave involving the police officer’s missing mother. Zipper accuses cops on the take from the Giacanos mob of killing Mae Guillory (her maiden name), a whore, in the sixties.

Obsessed about what Zipper claims happened to his mother, Dave begins making inquiries into learning the truth, even at the cost of ignoring his family. Along the way, Dave begins to uncover new evidence on his “other” case that might free death row murderer Letty Labiche. However, as he makes progress on both cases, someone systemically kills his witnesses, making his mother’s investigation impossible and probably leaving Labiche for the electric chair. The psychopath jump starts Dave into action when he targets the cop’s daughter as one of his victims.

PURPLE CANE ROAD is the best Robicheaux tale to date and that is saying a lot since author James Lee Burke has two Edgars to his credit. The story line is crisp and exciting as expected from the novels in this series. However, this time the plot turns personal which allows the audience to see much of the inner sanctum of Dave’s soul. One of the great, perhaps the greatest mystery writer of the past decade, Mr. Burke scores on all cylinders with this taut thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner