I have read many novels by the great James Lee Burke. I have read most, if not all, of his remarkable Dave Robicheaux mystery and suspense stories. So I come to this review as a big fan of the writings of Burke. So I was excited to read his latest Robicheaux story entitled “Clete.” This story is written in the 1st person voice of Robicheaux’s best friend, and borderline crazy man, Clete Purcell. First the good news: James Lee Burke continues to put together beautiful phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters. His writing elevates his books from “detective fiction” to “literature.” I find myself rereading sentences regularly just to slow myself down and enjoy the prose, whether his descriptions of Louisiana countryside or the grimness of tough urban New Orleans streets. His tales are at their fundamental best concerning the good versus evil in men (and women) and often within the same character.
The puzzling part of “Clete” is his penchant in recent years to add a supernatural element to his stories. Threaded amongst some violent episodes about bad people selling nasty drugs we are introduced to Joan of Arc conjured up by Clete (or is she?) where Joan plays a critical part in the plot…and at the most critical moments. I just don’t know why Mr. Burke goes there. Do I enjoy this mystical moments? Yes I do. However, in hindsight, I tend to think that this plot device should either be eliminated altogether or just used with a light touch. Far be it from an avid reader without any writing talent to be critical of a great author’s writing choices. I would love to hear what others conclude after he/she finish reading “Clete.”
Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read “Clete” and I am glad James Lee Burke continues to publish instead of resting on his laurels.

I am a great fan of James Lee Burke, and the David Robicheaux series in particular, however, lately he has been dipping more into the surreal, confusing the issue with more and more other worldly elements. In this first outing in which Clete is the major character, after a strong beginning,the story dissolved for me. It does, however contain, some of works trademark evocative writing, which, as always is a pleasure to read. He does manage to speak with a different voice and point of view.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Monthly Press for allowing me to preview, yet another solid novel by James Lee Burke.

Clete Purcel has always been one of my favorite characters who seems to shine in small spotlights throughout the Dave Robicheaux universe. He finally gets his due in this novel by one of the greatest writers of our time.

A decorated war veteran and former homicide detective, Clete Purcel has a huge heart even though he has had his issues. Clete and Dave unwrap a conspiracy in an area of Louisiana that is beautifully described by Burke. Clete is a complex man. He will do what needs to be done especially when defending those who can’t stand up for themselves.

I truly hope we see another novel through Clete’s eyes. Great read!

I'll be honest, I had a hard time following this book. I got about 33% through and had to put it down. I like James Lee Burke, but this one wasn't for me...

I finally discovered James Lee Burke in 1990, some four books into his Dave Robicheaux series, when my favorite bookseller of all time put a copy of The Neon Rain in my hands and said "you have to take this one home with you." Thirty-four years later I've enjoyed almost forty of Burke's novels, including all twenty-four Robicheaux books, and I'm thrilled that Burke is still adding to the series. But the series addition I've been itching for for a while now is one featuring Clete Purcell, Dave's soulmate, and I finally got it.

Clete Purcell has shared most of his life's experiences with Dave Robicheaux. The two had each other's backs in Vietnam, then again as frustrated New Orleans Police Department cops, and have continued to watch over each other now that Dave is a sheriff's detective for New Iberia Parish and Clete is working as a New Iberia private detective. If one of them is in trouble, the other can be counted on to show up with guns blazing - and this time around, Clete is going to need all the firepower he can get.

Trouble has a way of finding people like Clete Purcell even if it has to find his Cadillac convertible first. Shortly after picking the Caddy up from a local car wash, Clete wakes up to find four thugs systematically taking the car apart. What they are looking for he hasn't a clue, but Clete does have a good idea about who might have stashed something in the car without his permission. Clete's grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and if there's anything he hates more than fentanyl, it's the people who deal it. So it's a red hot Clete Purcell who returns to the car wash to get some answers.

But it won't be that simple because before Clete even gets started a pretty young woman calling herself Clara Bow asks him to investigate her evil ex-husband. Clara pushes all the right buttons. She's exactly the type of woman Clete can never resist rescuing, even when it puts his own life in danger, so now things are certain to get a lot more complicated for Clete Purcell and Dave Robicheaux. If they don't figure this thing out quickly, it is not only Southwest Louisiana that's in trouble - the rest of the world will pay a heavy price.

James Lee Burke paints a dark picture when it comes to good vs. evil, and he pretty much always has. When it comes to portraying evilness, Burke doesn't blink - but he saves his best writing for flawed white knights like Clete and Dave. Burke believes that a few good men willing to stop evil in its tracks no matter the personal cost can impact the world for centuries to come. Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell are two of those good men.

Longtime readers of the Dave Robicheaux series will especially enjoy Clete because they get to experience Dave through the eyes of the man who knows him best. As powerful as this story is, I still could not help but chuckle when I realized that each of the men sees the other as the craziest and most dangerous of the pair. They both believe that the other has to be protected from himself and his urges - and both of them are correct. What a team.

Whilst I didn't dislike this book, it just wasn't for me. I was hoping to come across Clete and found myself in a new world, however, it became quite clear that the book was more of a spin-off of the successful Dave Robicheaux series, with Dave himself playing a very prominent role in the book.

The two already had a clear dynamic and I felt that by not reading Dave's series, for which Burke is best known, I was missing out on a lot, I also found Clete himself to be a bit of a rambler, not ever really getting to the point and often leading the reader down rabbit holes of what i perceived to be random, off-topic thoughts.

The reason I gave the book 3 stars is because I think this is a good book if you like Burke's work and are already acquainted with both Clete and Dave. I cannot mark the author down for this being a new world to me, that would be unfair. I also liked the Bayou/New Orleans setting, so that deserved praise too.

But if you are looking for a new series, or a one-off novel, my honest advice is to start with Burke's early work, as opposed to beginning with Clete.

James Lee Burke does it again. I’m a huge fan of the Dave Robicheaux series and love most of the characters featured in the novels. One of my favourite is Clete Purcell, Dave’s buddy who lends his name to the title of the novel.

The plot as is usual with James Lee Burke’s novels is fairly straightforward and the writing is taut. Clete has his home broken into and is assaulted by three men who ransack his beloved Cadillac looking for something that he believes is drugs. He ropes in his friend Dave Robicheaux into helping him track down the perps. Investigating this break-in leads Dave and Clete into a conspiracy which features antisemites, drug runners and general no gooders who are neck deep in human trafficking and other serious stuff. The mystery and plot are good, but not one of Burke’s best. There’s a supernatural element to the plot which I don’t think does much for the book.
Despite that, this is a breezy and easy read and one that fans of Burke will not want to miss.

The incredible James Lee Burke takes the opportunity to take us into the mind and perspective of Clete Purcel, one of the Bobbsey Twins, partner and friend of NOPD's Dave Robicheaux, prepare yourself to be walking into his blurred and hallucinative realities. Clete carries the trauma of the Vietnam War, of horrors that cannot be unseen, a ex-cop with a chequered past that has taken its toll and made him many enemies, now a PI doing his best to right wrongs in the 1990s. Having picked up his caddy from Eddy Durbin, with his ominous brother, Andy, only to wake up and find his caddy being systematically wrecked in the search for misplaced dangerous drugs. Filled with dark premonitions of terrors to come, and weighed down by depression, Clete investigates with Dave.

The damaged and flawed Clete has seen what fentanyl did to his grand-niece, fuelling his hatred of drug dealers, and this particular drug threatens unprecedented levels of societal destruction. What surprises, given all that he has undergone, is that Clete retains his heart and soul, he will do all that he can to save and protect others, those he loves and those regarded as disposable, as can be seen when he rescues the drug addicted Chen, committing to helping her and Gracie Lamar. Everyone close to him is in grave danger, as the number of dead bodies start to rise, and he takes on Clara Bow, wife of Ponzi scheme scammer, Lauren, as a client, seeing Joan of Arc, where as he puts it 'Reality felt like a wet tissue in my hands', as he carries a picture of a Jewish mother and her children in his wallet.

The author brings Louisiana vibrantly alive, the richly described landscape and bayous, heaven on earth, paradise teeming with its serpents, its racism and corruption, political and individual, and its destructive hurricanes, where its history in intertwined with the present. He skilfully draws attention to how people have deliberately been kept poor and scared, leaving them open to be manipulated by the unscrupulous powerful and wealthy. Clete, along with Dave, refuses to bend to these forces, willing to do whatever is necessary, even to die, to address the racism, misogyny, and the violence and brutality of the ever evolving drug trade, lamenting the lives of the innocents that it takes. A superb addition to an amazing series, where we finally get a valuable and informed glimpse into the complex Clete, what has shaped him, who he is, and where he is coming from. I highly recommend this to fans, new and old, of the Robicheaux series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Another great novel by one of America’s finest and most prestigious living authors today. I had avoided reading him in the past because my husband always cautioned me that his works are from a dark and gritty point of view. Since my husband has passed I felt reading this as an homage to my husband. James Lee Burke made me interested from the very beginning of this novel. The novel was centered in the dark side of NOLA and it surrounding areas during the 1990’s Yes, this was every bit as good as you would expect. I ravaged the novel it was so unbelievably exemplary.! Not my genre but I will be seeking out James Lee Burke’s’ next novel. You should seek this one out when it will be published on June 11, 2024. You will find it to be the best thing you read all year, because it is one that stays on your mind. It will be published June 11, 2024. Thanks to #NetGalley, #AtlanticMonthlyPress, and #JamesLeeBurke #Clete for the opportunity to read an early e-copy of an uncorrected proof.

A genuinely exceptional instalment of the Robicheaux series, narrated for the first time by Clete… we don’t learn a great deal more about Clete as a result- testament to how well his character has been drawn in previous episodes. What I particularly liked about this book was seeing the supernatural element more clearly twinned to the human in a way which didn’t require too much willing suspension of disbelief. That said the burden of evil as expressed through human actions weighs even more heavily for that. It feels like the author finds darkness outweighing hope. Is there one last book in this series? It feels like there might be and that perhaps it will be the last. If so, im hoping that ‘hope’ is more prevalent if only because the author is such an incredibly accurate mirror of what is going on in society and politics that for it to be otherwise would be very scary indeed.

I have also posted this review on goodreads and thanks for the opportunity to read and review it

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

James Lee Burke is likely the greatest living American author of our time. I look forward to new titles in the Dave Robicheaux series whenever they are published. This latest chapter in the series, has sidekick Clete Purcel narrating the "haps" of this duo. While the different perspective & deeper dive into Clete's character were a good change of pace....I missed the tale being told from Dave's perspective.
Burke's evocative prose still shines through using Clete's voice! Definitely a worthy installment in the saga and I can't wait for the next Robicheaux novel!

Description
In the latest installment in his famous Detective Dave Robicheaux series, New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke brings Dave’s partner and friend Clete Purcel to the forefront for the first time as Clete and Dave attempt to stop ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug

Clete Purcel – private investigator, ex-member of the New Orleans Police Department, and war veteran with a hard shell and just a few soft spots – is Dave Robicheaux’s longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past. When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only to return to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade from Mexican cartels to Louisiana, it feels personal – his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and his fists curl when he thinks of the dealers who sold it.

Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow, a woman with a dark past hires Clete as a detective to investigate her scheming, slippery ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who seems to lurk around every corner. Clete is experiencing shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questioning Clara’s ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed his car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could’ve imagined.

Gripping, violent, yet interlaced with Clete’s humor and consistent drive to protect those he loves, Clete brings a fresh perspective to a truly iconic series. James Lee Burke proves yet again that he is the “heavyweight champ” and “great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed” (Michael Connelly).

it is about time that Clete Purcel, so often the supporting act received his moment in the sun and this book does him proud!

It is a complex and interwoven story that ranges from topic to topic but it all comes together well - eventually -and draws the reader in.

It was illuminating to discover more about the man and it was a really worthwhile journey of discovery.

It was about time that James Lee Burke threw us another curveball to keep fans of the Dave Robicheaux series on their toes. Turns out it was as simple as letting the voice of Dave's rambling, giant-sized and giant-hearted "podjo" Clete Purcel take center stage as narrator.

Clete, for lack of a better phrase, is chaotic good, and it's reflected in the freewheeling, tangent-filled way he tells one of the more peculiar stories in the Robicheaux catalog: A bizarre alliance of peckerwood Neo-Nazis, rich fascists and psychotic opportunists is raising hell in NOLA and a mysterious hallucinogen, the illicit fentanyl trade, an unpredictable ex-cop turned assassin named Gracie Lamar, a phantom that may be Joan of Arc (seriously) and a femme fatale named Clara Bow are also involved. (Yep, Clara Bow. Because obviously a Clete-led story is gonna be chock full of movie references.)

As with quite a few of the later Robicheaux novels, the plot specifics are...pretty hazy. And that's OK. (Burke is capable of airtight plotting, he just seems less interested in it of late.) The point of CLETE is for its titular protagonist to tell you who he is in his words, and they differ significantly from Robicheaux's perspective of the man. By his own telling he's both more mercurial and more impassioned than you would think from only getting Dave's perspective for the last 23 novels.

Clete's mile a minute storytelling style does lead to some continuity errors, or at the very least confusing moments. He says this story takes place in the late 1990s, but at that time fentanyl was not in wide circulation as a street drug. It certainly existed and I'm sure someone was selling it illegally, but Burke is usually very precise with timing when he brings in real-life incidents. Also, at one point Clete is mulling over Dave's unfortunate marital history and somehow jumps ahead to noting the death of Molly Robicheaux, who, if this is the late 90s, Dave hasn't yet met. (Earlier in the story it does seem like Clete is writing this all down at a later date, but if you blink, you might miss that detail and be thoroughly confused).

These are small gripes about a book that was largely quite a good read, as Burke typically is. Hopefully there will be at least a few more.

Just finished reading an advance copy of James Lee Burke's #Clete #NetGalley , the latest in his Dave Robicheaux series. The novel, narrated by Dave's long-time best friend, Clete Purcell, is a great read and gives new dimension to both characters. Highly recommend if you are a fan of Mr. Burke.

A popular author with a popular character…red herrings and secrets…mystery and intrigue…realistic characters keep this story moving quickly to a surprise ending. Enjoy. Thanks Netgalley

Call it 4.5 stars. Brilliant and beautiful, but a touch too much woo woo for me. I wasn't sure I was going to read anymore in the Robicheaux series. The last entry seemed to be violence in place of depth. Plus the fact that Dave and Clete are way too old now.

But Clete lured me in because 1. focusing on Clete gave Burke a new voice, and, 2. it takes place sometime in the past. Clete and Dave learn of a new death-dealing drug that is about to be loosed on New Orleans. Joan of Arc makes multiple appearances. Highly recommended.

This book features Clete as the story teller and Dave as a secondary character. There are some dark aspects but also some glimpses of kindness. The book is set in the Louisiana bayou and I felt like I was there from the authors descriptions. This is a dark book that will draw you in. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This book unlike other books in this series has Clete as the narrator and Dave as the secondary character. It is excellent, It is dark, dirty and nasty but there is always an element of kindness and decency that overpowers the evil. Highly recommended.

I finished reading this book some days ago, and ever since I’ve been ruminating on what I think of it. To start with, it’s fair to say that JLB has long been the writer who excites me and drags me into a story to a greater extent than any other. his descriptions of place and people are, I believe, peerless. His tales are about good versus evil, though even the good people in his books have significant flaws. The bad are as grim and malevolently violent as any I’ve come across in literature or film. It’s this clash, this sublime contest, that I’ve found totally compelling for thirty years or more. But in recent years, Burke has started to introduce paranormal elements increasingly, his characters having visions of events and of people that make no sense in everyday life. It’s this trend in his writing that gives me pause.

The author’s Dave Robicheaux novels are probably my favourites, set mainly in Southern Louisiana settings that Burke describes so brilliantly and with such personal loving. Robicheaux, a sometimes lawman, is usually accompanied by his best friend and ex-partner in the NOPD, Clete Purcell. Dave can sometimes lose it and snap into acts of extreme violence, but Clete takes this to another level: one minute, creating mayhem and the next cracking wise with a comment that has me laughing out loud. To date, these books have focused on events as seen through the eyes of Robicheaux, but this time it’s through Clete that we watch events unfold. To me, this was like looking at the world through tinted lenses: things look as they always did, but at the same time, they seem different. It was intriguing to see the world through the eyes of Purcell for the first time and to obtain insight into his inner thoughts on life and also on Dave.

The story itself takes us back quite a few years. At this point, Clete was a private investigator based in New Orleans, and Dave was a police officer working out of New Iberia. Clete has a bad experience shortly after having his car returned from a car wash owned by an old friend. He wakes in the night to find a bunch of men stripping down his lovingly restored Cadillac. A violent exchange ensues, with Clete winding up on the wrong end of a beating. It seems that the men were looking for a stash of super-charged Fentanyl that had been planted in Clete’s car by mistake. Dave is soon on the scene, and the pair attempt to track down those responsible with a view to dispensing their own form of justice.

So far, so good. But then Clete begins to receive visits from a historical figure from 15th century France, who seems intent on passing him messages. The meanings are often obscure, and it’s at this point that I started to struggle with a meandering narrative, which sometimes bordered on incomprehensible. Are these visions a result of the beating Clete took? It’s not clear. But as the story plays out it’s fair to say that the plotline doesn’t really function without these interventions. Such elements have occasionally surfaced in even Burke's early books, but they’re much more prevalent of late. I’m not sure why this is. It’s been suggested to me that it’s a result of Burke’s age (he’s 87 years old) and therefore facing what are most likely the last years of his life. This might be so, and perhaps I’ll understand this more as I make my way steadily to the same place.

As a piece of writing it’s first class, and the book is well worth reading to experience the superb way JLB is able to put sentences together in a way I think no other writer can. But as a story it’s flawed, difficult to follow, and fairly predictable in how it’s going to end. However, it’s Dave and Clete, and I’d happily open a new book every day to read another adventure featuring this pair.

James Lee Burke has always been one of my most favorite authors. The yearly release of his newest novel is always a much anticipated event. This newest novel is no exception.

While never having visited New Orleans and the bayou towns he writes about, James Lee Burke’s prose is so well done and prolific, that I feel I’ve actually been there.

I feel that he is this generation’s Hemingway. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and especially James Lee Burke for allowing me to read this advanced copy. It was truly a pleasure.