James Lee Burke Popular Books
James Lee Burke Biography & Facts
James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards for Black Cherry Blues (1990) and Cimarron Rose (1998), and has also been presented with the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by Alec Baldwin (Heaven's Prisoners) and then Tommy Lee Jones (In the Electric Mist). Wirt Williams, reviewing Burke's first novel, Half of Paradise (1965), in the New York Times, compared his writing to Jean-Paul Sartre and Ernest Hemingway, but concluded "Mr. Burkes' literary forebear is Thomas Hardy."Burke's 1982 novel, Two for Texas, was made into a 1998 TV movie of the same name. Burke has also written five miscellaneous crime novels (including Two for Texas), two short-story collections, four books starring protagonist Texas attorney Billy Bob Holland, four books starring Billy Bob's cousin Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland, and two books starring Weldon Avery Holland, grandson of legendary Texas lawman Hackberry Holland. Biography Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but spent most of his childhood on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and University of Missouri, receiving Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English literature from the latter.He worked in a variety of jobs over the years, while books he had written were rejected, and books he had published went out of print. At various times, he worked as a truck driver for the U.S. Forest Service, as a newspaper reporter, as a social worker on Skid Row, Los Angeles, as a land surveyor in Colorado, in the Louisiana State unemployment system, and in the Job Corps in the Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky.He taught at the University of Missouri as a grad student, then at the University of Louisiana, the University of Montana, and Miami-Dade Community College, before settling in Wichita, Kansas to teach at Wichita State University in 1978. Personal life Burke and his wife Pearl, née Pai Chu, owned homes in Lolo, Montana and in New Iberia, Louisiana. They have four children, including Alafair Burke, a law professor and best-selling crime writer. Daughter Pamala Burke McDavid died in 2020. Extended family include cousins novelist Elizabeth Nell Dubus and author and actress DeLauné Michel. Bibliography Dave Robicheaux The Neon Rain (1987) Heaven's Prisoners (1988) Black Cherry Blues (1989) A Morning for Flamingos (1990) A Stained White Radiance (1992) In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (1993) Dixie City Jam (1994) Burning Angel (1995) Cadillac Jukebox (1996) Sunset Limited (1998) Purple Cane Road (2000) Jolie Blon's Bounce (2002) Last Car to Elysian Fields (2003) Crusader's Cross (2005) Pegasus Descending (2006) The Tin Roof Blowdown (2007) Swan Peak (2008) The Glass Rainbow (2010) Creole Belle (2012) Light of the World (2013) Robicheaux (2018) The New Iberia Blues (2019) A Private Cathedral (2020) Clete (2024)Billy Bob Holland Cimarron Rose (1997) Heartwood (1999) Bitterroot (2001) In the Moon of Red Ponies (2004)Hackberry Holland Lay Down My Sword and Shield (1971) Rain Gods (2009) Feast Day of Fools (2011)Holland Family Saga Wayfaring Stranger (2014) House of the Rising Sun (2015) The Jealous Kind (2016) Another Kind of Eden (2021) Every Cloak Rolled in Blood (2022)Miscellaneous Half of Paradise (1965) To The Bright and Shining Sun (1970) Two for Texas (1982) The Lost Get-Back Boogie (1986) White Doves at Morning (2002) Flags on the Bayou (2023)Short-story collections The Convict (1985) Jesus Out to Sea (2007) Harbor Lights (2024)Recognition 1988: Burke was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. Burke received the 2002 Louisiana Writer Award for his enduring contribution to the "literary intellectual heritage of Louisiana." The award was presented by the then-Lieutenant-Governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, on November 2, 2002, at a ceremony held at the inaugural Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge. Burke has been recognized three times by the Mystery Writers of America. 2009: Burke received the MWA's Grand Master Award. A mystery novelist rarely wins both an Edgar award and a Guggenheim fellowship. In 2024 he was named winner of the Crime Writers' Association of Britain's Diamond Dagger award for his outstanding lifetime's contribution to the crime and mystery fiction genre.References External links Official website "The Man Behind Dave Robicheaux", James Lee Burke talks about violence, writing, littering, alcoholism, liberalism, and bestsellers. Interview with James Lee Burke, Speaking of Mysteries TV Series (2001). Discover the James Lee Burke popular books. Find the top 100 most popular James Lee Burke books.
Best Seller James Lee Burke Books of 2024
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Lay Down My Sword and Shield
James Lee BurkeVintage James Lee Burke: The first novel introducing the memorable Texas sheriff Hackberry Holland, coming of age against the backdrop of the civil rights era in a sultry border to...
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Difficult Lives Hitching Rides
James SallisJames Sallis's (Drive) seminal biographical essays on crime fiction pioneers Jim Thompson, David Goodis, and Chester Himes restored to print and joined by a handpicked collection o...
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James Lee Burke
Laurence W. MazzenoJames Lee Burke is an acclaimed writer of crime novels in which protagonists battle lowlife thugs who commit violent crimes and corporate executives who exploit the powerless. He i...
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Guide to Looking After Your Property
Jeff HowellFor 10 years Jeff Howell has been answering readers' queries about property through his very popular 'Ask Jeff' column in the Sunday Telegraph. This book, in userfriendly Question ...
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Instinct
Ben KayHidden in a remote corner of the South American jungle is a clandestine research facility known simply as MEROS. Here, working in laboratories buried a thousand feet underground, m...
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A Private Cathedral
James Lee BurkeAfter finding himself caught up in one of Louisiana’s oldest and bloodiest family rivalries, Detective Dave Robicheaux must battle the most terrifying adversary he has ever encount...
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Purple Cane Road
James Lee BurkeDave Robicheaux has spent his life confronting the ageold adage that the sins of the father pass onto the son. But what has his mother’s legacy left him? Dead to him since youth, M...
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The Cinderella Murder
Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair BurkeIn this collaboration between “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark and bestselling author Alafair Burke, “the snappy pace, layered characters, and many plot surprises will keep r...
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Blood Game
David LyonsLouisiana Federal District Judge Jock Boucher returns in the second installment of this intriguing new thriller series by David Lyons.LOUISIANA FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE JOCK BOUCHER ...
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Presidio
Randy Kennedy“Fluent, mordant, authentic, propulsive…wonderfully lit from within” (Lee Child, The New York Times Book Review), this critically acclaimed, stunningly mature literary debut is the...
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Scrublands
Chris HammerIn this searing, “indisputable pageturner” (Associated Press), a town’s dark secrets come to light in the aftermath of a young priest’s unthinkable last actin the vein of The Dry a...
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Cheatgrass
Bart PaulThe followup to Under Tower Peak is another taut, fastmoving thriller that builds to an explosive, actionfilled conclusion.Under Tower Peak was acclaimed by the Wall Street Journal...
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Pegasus Descending
James Lee BurkeDave Robicheaux is back in a dangerous mystery that involves stolen money, gritty casinos, and a beautiful girl with connections to his past.When a nice young woman named Trish Kle...
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Trail of the Fallen
Bart PaulA suspensefilled western noir thriller set in California's Sierra mountainsfor readers of Craig Johnson and C. J. Box.Tommy Smith, former sniper and Army combat veteran, wants noth...
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House of the Rising Sun
James Lee BurkeBestselling author James Lee Burke’s “stunning” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) masterpiece is the story of a father and son separated by war, circumstance, and a race for the ...
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David Copperfield
Charles DickensNow a major film directed by Armando Iannucci, starring Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Ben Whishaw'The greatest achievement of the greatest of all novelis...
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Light of the World
James Lee BurkeDave Robicheaux battles the most diabolical villain he has ever faced in this atmospheric thriller. Sadist and serial killer Asa Surrette narrowly escaped the death penalty for the...
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The Adventure of the Six Napoleons and Other Cases
Arthur Conan DoyleThe Penguin English Library editionMany readers would claim that The Adventure of the Copper Beeches or The Man with the Twisted Lip was their favourite Sherlock Holmes story but ...
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Conversation avec James Lee Burke
Pauline Guéna & Guillaume BinetQuand Richard Ford ouvrit la porte, le vent du nord faisait tinter les grelots de glace dans les arbres du Maine et la mer rugissait dans la tempête.Sur les murs de son studio de S...
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Eagle Trap
Geoffrey ArcherRevenge is not a possibility, but a certainty.He was head of an international drugs ring, a kidnapper and a ruthless killer. One night British Sea Harriers reduced his Beirut headq...
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The Doll Princess
Tom BennWinner of the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year AwardIt's Manchester, July 1996, the month after the IRA bomb, and the Evening News is carrying reports of two ...
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Judgment Calls
Alafair BurkeIn Judgment Calls, a seemingly simple assault case spirals into a complex web of violence and deception in this bold debut thriller from Alafair Burke.Deputy District Attorney Sama...
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A Secret Place
Patricia RainsfordGina Brennan is on the run from a lot of things ... Especially prison. She and two cellmates have escaped and it looks like they're nearly home free. That's until wealthy solicitor...
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The Neon Rain
James Lee BurkeFrom New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke comes his definitive, mustread first title in his famous Dectective David Robicheaux series.New Orleans Detective Dave Robich...
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Robicheaux
James Lee BurkeJames Lee Burke’s most beloved character, Dave Robicheaux, returns in this New York Times bestselling mystery set in the towns and backwoods of Louisiana: an “enthralling yet grim ...
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The Rule of Law
John LescroartAttorney Dismas Hardy is called to defend the least likely suspect of his career: his longtime, trusted assistant who is suddenly being charged as an accessory to murder in this in...
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Jesus Out to Sea
James Lee BurkeINCLUDES THE STORY “WINTER LIGHT,” THE BASIS FOR THE FILM GOD’S COUNTRY STARRING THANDIWE NEWTONOne of the country’s mostacclaimed and popular novelists offers a selection of ten ...
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The New Iberia Blues
James Lee BurkeNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERNamed one of the best crime novels of 2019 by The New York Times Book Review.The shocking death of a young woman leads Detective Dave Robicheaux into the d...
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See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
Bart Paul"Mr. Paul, a veteran rancher as well as an author, writes fine action scenes, and his descriptions of nature and animals can seem just as thrilling." Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal...
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Last Car to Elysian Fields
James Lee BurkeSheriff Dave Robicheaux returns to New Orleans to investigate the beating of a controversial Catholic priest and murder of three teenage girls in this intense, atmospheric entry in...
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Die Braut
Anita Terpstra»Vier Frauen werden vermisst. Mein Mann weiß, wo sie sind.«Als Mackenzie Walker und Matt Ayers heiraten, reagiert ihr Umfeld mit Unverständnis. Warum geht eine junge Frau die Ehe m...
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Sunset Limited
James Lee Burke“One of the best novels of the year from one of the very best writers at work today.”Rocky Mountain NewsThe townspeople of New Iberia, Louisiana, didn’t crucify Megan Flynn’s fathe...
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Under Tower Peak
Bart PaulThis tautly written debut thriller was named one of the 10 Best Mysteries of 2013 by the Wall Street Journal.After two tours as a sniper in Iraq, Tommy Smith has returned to his fo...
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A Stained White Radiance
James Lee BurkeDetective Dave Robicheaux travels to the mountains of Montana to help his best friend and unearths a larger plot that threatens them both.Oil speculator Weldon Sonnier is the patri...
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Creole Belle
James Lee BurkeDave Robicheaux investigates the disappearance of a young Creole woman, while an oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico threatens to destroy the cherished beauty of the Louisiana b...
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Intimate Enemies
Juliet HastingsThere's something sexy about detectives and it's time crime novels admitted it. Crime & Passion novels are fastpaced murder mysteries in the British tradition but the detecti...
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If You Were Here
Alafair BurkeFrom New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke comes a suspenseful, tightly plotted story of friendship, lies, and betrayal.Journalist McKenna Jordan is chasing the late...