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    Heartwood
    Heartwood
    Heartwood
    Audiobook12 hours

    Heartwood

    Written by James Lee Burke

    Narrated by Alan Sklar

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Few writers in America today combine James Lee Burke's lush prose, cracking story lines, and tremendous sense of history and landscape. In Cimarron Rose, longtime fans of the Dave Robicheaux series found that the struggles of Texas defense attorney Billy Bob Holland show Burke at his best in exploring classic American themes -- the sometimes subtle, often violent strains between the haves and the have-nots; the collision of past and present; the inequities in the criminal justice system.
    Heartwood is a kind of tree that grows in layers. And as Billy Bob's grandfather once told him, you do well in life by keeping the roots in a clear stream and not letting anyone taint the water for you. But in Holland's dusty little hometown of Deaf Smith, in the hill country north of Austin, local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made a fortune running roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Billy Bob has problems with Deitrich and his shamelessly callous demeanor, but can't shake the legacy of his passion for Deitrich's "heartbreak-beautiful" wife, Peggy Jean.
    When Holland takes on the defense of Wilbur Pickett -- a man accused of stealing an heirloom and three hundred thousand dollars in bonds from Deitrich's office -- he finds himself up against not Earl's power and influence, but also a past Billy Bob can't will away. A wonderfully realized novel, rich in Texas atmosphere and lore, and a dazzling portrait of the deadly consequences of self-delusion, Heartwood could only have been written by James Lee Burke, a writer in expert command of his craft.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJun 26, 2012
    ISBN9781442355903
    Heartwood
    Author

    James Lee Burke

    James Lee Burke is a New York Times bestselling author, two-time winner of the Edgar Award, and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. He has authored forty novels and two short story collections. He lives in Missoula, Montana.

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    Reviews for Heartwood

    4/5

    156 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Another fine offering from James Lee Burke. His politics permeate his writing, but it's hard to be too bothered by a died-in-the-wool 60s style lefty. it's actually kind of endearing how he refuses to evolve in any way.
    • 2/5
      I usually like this author, but this is the second book of this series that I have tried and they are way too testosterone-intense for me. A really unpleasant reading experience.
    • 2/5
      Burke's writing is very colorful and very often descriptive of the scene to which he is describing in vivid and excruciating detail. The characters stand out, as does the plot. But, I just couldn't get into it -- despite reading/listening twice. I did finish, but I can't say that it sounded like anything. Most annoying: 30-60 seconds of slide guitar and dobro music in between each break in the story. Too many dreamy descriptions of shade, sun, trees, etc and time spent talking to Billy Bob's dead buds.
    • 4/5
      There are a lot of "bad" characters in this book, and I'm not sure there are any, really, that we feel sympathy for, other than Billy Bob himself... but even he isn't particularly sympathetic. I suspect we're supposed to like him, but he doesn't really do anything to "get justice"... he just goes along with the flow and the crimes end up resolved at the end. Could he have saved some of the characters? We'll never know... because it feels like he didn't really try.This doesn't mean I didn't like the book - I did like it quite a bit, but... I found it hard to keep watching as the bad behaviours escalated and nobody was really brought to justice. I guess the ending did almost fix this, but I'm not convinced Billy Bob had as much to do with any justice-giving as did fate. I did pick up the next book in the series right away though, so clearly I liked it well enough...
    • 4/5
      In Billy Bob Holland's dusty little hometown of Deaf Smith, Texas, local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made a fortune running roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Billy Bob has problems with Deitrich and his shamelessly callous demeanor, but can't shake the legacy of his passion for Deitrich's "heartbreak-beautiful" wife Peggy Jean. When Holland takes on the defense of Wilbur Pickett-a man accused of stealing an heirloom and three hundred thousand dollars in bonds from Deitrich's office.
    • 4/5
      I listened to this book which I downloaded for free from my library. I'm not as fond of this series by Burke as I am of his Dave Robicheaux books but since it looks like he might be doing Dave in I might have to settle for Billy Bob. Billy Bob is an ex-Texas Ranger who has become a small town lawyer. A client is charged with stealing bearer bonds from the husband of an old flame of Billy Bob's. Billy Bob's son is living in an old farmhouse and renting a trailer to the stepson of the old flame. You see how the old flame keeps popping up? Can Billy Bob resist starting things up with her? Only time and the ghost of his former partner can tell.
    • 3/5
      If anything, Deaf Smith TX is more violent and corrupt than Dave Robicheaux' county in Louisiana. Ending a little convoluted (but maybe I just lost attention). Burke's writing is fun as always.
    • 4/5
      The man can write. It almost doesn't matter what he writes about, he can write.