In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead

James Lee Burke's creation, Dave Robicheaux, is a perfect Everyman. He struggles with demons - his own, and those of others. He is an excellently flawed man, a man of great strengths, towering weaknesses, and deep melancholy: his humanity bleeds from evgery page.
In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead gives us a better, and deeper, insight into Burke's Everyman. The story purports to be a mystery / thriller, and is designated as such by Amazon. It is, of course, much more, and much less, than that. The mystery is satisfying, of course. Mr. Burke doesn't know how to write a bad mystery. But it's a side-bar to what the book really is: a series of character studies. There's Robicheaux, of course. The story is told in the first person, so the reader is swept into his psyche from the first page. There's Bootsie and Alafair, the people closest to Robicheaux - and the people he often feels are the furthest from him. There's Clete Purcell, his psychotic, sweaty, shambling drunken hulk of a partner. There are the figures from his past, who return to haunt him. And there is, of course, the ghost of the Confederate General with whome Robicheaux confers, and exposes not only himself, but the entire landscape of characters.
Speaking of which - the Louisiana landscape is as much a character as any of the others. The dust, the heat, the colours, the odours, the taste of the land play as large a part as any human in the book.
Mr Burke has been writing the best prose in popular American fiction for the past ten years, if not longer. He has always been a superb writer, making every word perform well above its potential. And in this book, In the Electric Mist With Confederate Dead, he has written one of his finest works.

If you are unfamiliar with this author, this book would be an interesting introduction to the Dave Robicheaux novels by Burke. Burke writes with all five senses in mind. The descriptions of the Southern Louisiana will make you thirst for a sweet tea. The plot revolves around a possible serial murderer of young girls. It also involves the mafia infiltrating his locale through a Hollywood movie making event. The two may be connected. When Dave Robicheaux begins to see Confederate soldiers, and has conversations with them, you wonder, was it Dave Robicheaux' car accident, was it alcohol, or has Mr. Burke opted for a science fantasy turn of events. (No, it is not the latter!) This was an extremely well done novel, not his best of the Dave Robicheaux novels, but still very good. If you haven't read other of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels, anytime is a good time to start. If you enjoy Southern Detective/Police mysteries, these will not dissapoint you.

I don't understand how these novels keep selling. Dave Robicheaux has got to be one of the worst main characters in a mystery novel that I've ever encountered. The man is about as interesting as a bowl of rice, and he spends more time drinking lemonade, waxing poetic about society and commenting on the coolness of the air than solving mysteries. I've read a lot of different mystery writers, and their detectives all have something in common: they are all very assertive when they're trying to solve the mystery. Robicheaux is the only one I've ever read that actually seems not to care one way or the other. Whenever someone comes to him with information that might help his case, he avoids them and makes a lame excuse why he can't see them. And the other characters worship the ground he walks on, even though he is never anything but coarse, rude, and inhospitable to them, especially if they need his help. He is completely unsympathetic towards friends of his that are drunks, even though he was a lush himself. You can only take so much of a guy who tries to feel superior to everyone around him by condescending to them and acting like they just crawled out of his toilet bowl.

I was amused at the reader above who ripped Burke for "waxing on" about a natural setting. Uh, that's a consistent theme of good writers - the ability to describe their surroundings in an original, compelling manner. In my opinion Burke is one of the great writers of our time. Too many folks nowadays are content to read uninspiring books bereft of moving language. Mystifies me.

Bottom line: If you want to read a series of books that feature fantastic writing, engaging characters, sparkling dialogue and a likeable but very human protagonist, read Burke's Robicheaux series - you'll find yourself reading a number of excerpts again and again, marvelling at his masterful style. If you want to prattle on at the water cooler about a yawn-inducing "best-seller" that doesn't contain a single memorable piece of writing, go waste your money on the "best-selling", formulaic tripe spewed by the likes of Sparks, Crichton, Grisham, Clancy, etc...or just watch some MTV for an equal measure of empty, immediate gratification.

There are two strong aspects of James Lee Burke's series about Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux that make them unique and memorable: the lush description that absolutely puts the reader in the locale and the recurrance of 'mystic' elements - images in dreams etc - that give the plots a mythic, larger than life, stature. In this book, I think, both elements are overplayed just a bit too much. One longs for more story and less atmosphere, and the materialization of Confederate 'ghosts' that impinge on the outcome of the plot strains credulity severly.
I enjoy this series, even when it is over the top as is sometimes the case. There is nothing else quite like it in contemporary crime fiction. But every now and then I wish that Burke would reign himself in. He seems to get seduced by his own words and carried away to a place that the reader cannot always follow. Of course, when he is on the mark, no one can touch him for description and atmosphere. In the case of this book, I just wanted more story - and more flesh and blood.

In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead James Lee Burke Hyperion Publishers Copyright 1993
Of all Burke's novel featuring Dave Robicheaux, this is my favorite - a perfect balance of dialogue, action and luscious description. Written in the first person of the flawed hero, Burke limits the perspective and forces us into a raw intimacy with the main character at times uncomfortable but always compelling. The dialogue is written in dialect when necessary - and Burke gets away with it. He has the gift that reflects the sensuous character of the southern Louisiana setting and never seems trite or overdone-just natural.
I developed a sinere affection for Robicheaux as he fought his own demons and remained true to his values in the face of powerful exterior and interior forces. His voice aches with with the sadness of resignation, yet his melancholic descriptions and thoughts never totally surrender to those demons. Each time I thought I had had just about enough of his wallowing, he picked himself up by his boostraps and smashed his fist into somebody's sleazy jaw- always well deserved.
From the bayou to the city, the complex plot lines weaves a sultry thread throughout the book looping around the many characters of both locales, then pulling the knot ever so slowly.
An intriguing concept that glimmers within the plot are communications with a dead Confederate soldier that blur the line between myth and reality. Questions asked but unanswered. Are they buried memories or messages from beyond the pale?
Burke intertwines so many elements in this novel -a poetic eye, profound insights, raw violence, gripping action and of course, the ability of his 20th century Lancelot to eke out a victory in spite of his human frailities.
A great read.

If you know already know the writings of J.L.B., then I need say no more.

If you don't, but have a decent vocabulary and think you might enjoy some action packed stories with a sense of melancholy, a violent (yet literary and well meaning) narrator, and tales of vicious crimes, punishment(and usually, revenge of some sort), set amidst the the jails and mean steets of New Orleans, and the bayous,rivers and small towns of South Lousiana, buy "The Neon Rain", and start at the beginning.The narrators best friend (in most of the books) is one of the most unforgettable and enjoyable "alter-egos" in history.

Tragedy, love, friendship, murder, mayhem, as well as unforgettable dialogue and characters, make James Lee Burke one of my favorite fiction authors of all time.

In The Electric Mist with Confederate Dead is the 6th Dave Robicheaux mystery by James Lee Burke. While most of this book is first rate, I think Burke got bogged down with the plot. There was a little too much going on, including a sub-plot in a different dimension.

In Confederate Dead, New Iberia is a happening place. Julie Balboni, a local boy turned mob boss, returns to town. A major Hollywood production company is filming a Civil War epic, and Balboni is part owner. The Teamsters are also involved with the filming, which makes for very strange bedfellows. While the Chamber of Commerce is happy to have so much money being pumped into New Iberia, the sheriff's department is nervous with Balboni's presence. Soon, the bodies of two prostitutes turn up, brutally murdered. And the skeleton of a man still in chains and killed in 1957 is found by the star of the movie, Elrod Sykes. All of these cases are quite a bit for Robicheaux (a New Iberia sheriff's deputy) to juggle at one time, and he is convinced that they're all somehow related. He also ends up "babysitting" Elrod Sykes, as Elrod struggles with alcoholism (a malady that Robicheaux knows all too well).

One aspect that worked very well in Confederate Dead was the addition of a "partner" for Robicheaux, FBI agent Rosie Gomez. The sheriff calls in the FBI to assist with the murdered prostitutes. Gomez quickly earns the respect of Robicheaux. When Robicheaux is framed and his own department hang him out to dry, Gomez picks up the slack. She also learns some important lessons from Robicheaux-especially that it's sometimes necessary to operate outside the normal boundaries of law enforcement to be successful.

But I have to admit that I didn't quite grasp the sub-plot with the Confederate dead. Robicheaux starts seeing visions of Confederate soldiers who were camped in New Iberia, and he has numerous conversations with Confederate general, John Bell Hood, about the cases he's working on and about the war. While some of it worked well, I thought it got hokey at the end and a bit over the top.

Despite this criticism, Burke is one of the best mystery writers today and Confederate Dead is an enjoyable work.

This is the first of Burke's books that I read - and what drew me was the title! While browsing one day, I spotted "In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead". Good grief - any author who would think up such a title had to be an 'original'. The book lived up to expectations. It was intriguing, original with an almost poetic turn of phrase. I mean - this guy is good. Don't be turned off by the esoteric words in this review - Burke knows how to grab you by the throat! A good read!

This is the tenth of the Dave Robicheaux books I have read. Although James Lee Burke has set high standards with the other Robicheaux books this one is his best by far, I think. It is not only a ripping tale that involves the usual cast of sociopaths, colorful Louisiana characters, and other petty miscreants, it is also a meditation on the New South, how it differs from the Old South, and where it remains the same -- for good or ill.

Some have criticized Burke for his incorporation into the story of Dave Robicheaux's visions of Confederate General John Bell Hood but I disagree. I though this device was useful in demonstrating how the South has changed and it also allowed a fascinating examination of "The Late Unfortunateness, The War Between the States," more commonly known to most of us as the Civil War. To his credit, Burke limits Dave's "visions" to having been caused by LSD poisoning and a blow to the head -- maybe.

As is always the case in one of Burke's books the prose is luminously beautiful and evokes vivid images of South Louisiana Cajun Country. Burke also harrowingly describes the day-to-day struggle of an alcoholic to stay sober. "In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead" is an uncommonly fine example of noir fiction.