Wonderful story

A long story of a wrongdoer father searching for his son and meeting plenty of resistance. Loved the book and the narrator is probably the best I have heard.

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not surprised at how good this is.

Don't hesitate, it's just great from the start. There isn't a bad book that these to have done and this is one of the best.

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Never mind the accents...

An almost unrelentingly dark story, dripping with evil characters and deeds. JLB's use of words and storytelling genius have few peers either side of the Atlantic. I guess that more than a few people will put off by the fact that this book rarely gives the reader, or listener, a break and, certainly, you have to be in the right frame of mind to go down the path this book creates.
My only gripe, and it's relatively minor, is that Will Patton cannot do foreign accents. At long last Dick Van Dyke has lost the title of 'worst cockney accent' - his attempt at English spoken by a French woman made me wince but even that could not compare to his Austrian accent; but no matter - otherwise he is a great reader.

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3 people found this helpful

James Lee Burke has a mastery of the English language that is second to none!

The authors grasp of the English language is phenomenal. It is like poetry. And Will Patton is the perfect narrator. His knowledge of the way people used to speak in the time period really makes a big difference. He knows how to pronounce certain words that give the book authenticity. His character voices are exceptional, except Arnold Beckman which needed work. Otherwise it's a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone. Will Patton really makes it. And the story is incredible. This is the second James Lee Burke novel narrated by Will Patton and I am about to download the next one.

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Not Burke's finest hour

I love James Lee Burke. I have read and listened to many of his books and enjoyed them greatly. But this? It is like he drew on all his flawed characters and distilled them to a concentrate. The tortured souls, the reckless alcoholic, the strong women, the abused women, the immorality, the destroyed families, the injustices... it goes on. I found some of it so contrived and over the top that I wondered what I was listening to. And the final straw was that, for the first time, I did not like or grudgingly admire the protagonist.
He has done much better, try the Robicheaux series, he has the balance right there.

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not so good

I'm a big fan of most of his books, but not this one. unlikeable characters in a bleak environment. it's not a patch on his robicheaux books.

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Ok

Not his finest work, but an enjoyable yarn.
I still look forward to my next journey accomponied by one of Mr Burke's audiobooks.

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In my humble opinion, not his best

I love James Lee Burke and his story telling. He is without any doubt a brilliant crafts man. His characters are always rich and deep. This story is no different but I just found the characters too bleak and evil. Will Patton is an excellent narrator and absolutely perfect for the character. Who else would Hackberry sound like?? I just feel that there was never a moment of hope. It just felt too depressing and I struggled to finish it.

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1 person found this helpful