Good writing, but I think this would be best enjoyed by readers who are well caught up with the series. It's not one that easy to just jump into.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this one and its more the fault of mis-marketing than the book itself. First, its way deep in a series so any call backs to earlier events went over my head and the main character especially felt flat because you were clearly supposed to already know a fair bit about him. Netgalley is notoriously bad about making clear when a book is part of a series, which continuously negatively impacts ARC reviews. Normally when I find out I've requested a book in a series, I'll read the earlier titles first....but 22 other books just to do an ARC seems a bit much.

Second, this book is not SF nor fantasy, as it was marked her on Netgalley - sure its got some creepy "is magic really real or is it something we don't understand?" aspects that a lot of crime books and shows use, ESPECIALLY when Louisiana is involved, but that doesn't make it fantasy. Nor does a little bit of time travel make a book SF.

I honestly didn't think this was a bad book, liked it enough from a writing standpoint to give the first in the series a shot, but I think the incorrect marketing of it really gave the new reader a bad taste.

This, the 23rd entry in the Dave Robo series, is an explosive though often obfuscating story, told partly in lyrical descriptions and partly in violent outbursts, and the rest is supernatural phenomenon that, though is clearly part of the narrative, is ultimately almost dissatisfying.

I had to stop and start multiple times while reading this story, and not just because the storylines are somewhat convoluted and a large list of characters come and go, but primarily because the so-called central story elements are only fleetingly hinted at, and then the reader is expected to take everything that ensues at its face value, on faith. Dave and his friend Clete are veritable forces of nature, but are easily sidetracked and often overwhelmed, and while they are resilient enough to see the story to its bitter and explosive end, they seem to be central only because they have the most real estate spent on them.

And then there's that insistent plea from literally everyone who keeps telling Dave and Clete - "You don't know what you're doing", or "You don't know what you're getting into". Sadly, I as a reader often was at a loss as to what they were doing and more importantly why were they doing any of it. Sure there are allusions to an unspeakable crime right there in the first chapter, but as the story progresses, it seems the crime is (yet) to be committed, then it is somehow done and undone, and then you find the actual crime is some sort of deal - never explained what the deal is, there is some centuries old family feud that's again never quite explained or shown, in fact quite the opposite - the s0-called deal is supposed to be between the feuding families (?).

By the end, there were only a few things I found good about the story: the ripe imagination of the author, his writing style, and the beautiful and haunting depiction of NOLA and surrounding regions. Overall, the characterizations are reasonably solid, and I daresay Dave must be good enough to have lasted 22 earlier books. I've read only a couple of his earlier stories, and seems this is chronologically set somewhere in the long past - not that it matters.

Clearly, just not to my taste.

This is a hard review to write. I feel like I was never fully immersed into the story because I kept trying to figure out what was going on. I’m not sure when the story took place, but based on other reviews, it looks like the timeline was around the time of Hurricane Katrina. I really wanted to be invested in the Johnny and Isolde storyline, but it didn’t seem to go anywhere. I wish there had been a more solid story with a less fantastical bad guy. I wish the characters were more entertaining. Overall, I just really struggled to find the plot, and I never recovered from that. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Schuster for the advanced review copy of this book!

I have been a fan of James Lee Burke since years and years ago, when I first was introduced to Burke’s brilliant Dave Robicheux novels by my father, a kindred spirit who also loves mystery and thriller / detective novels. This latest offering has everything I’ve come to expect from James Lee Burke: an atmospheric setting, flawed characters riddled with imperfections (sometimes to their detriment), and the elevated quality that takes it behind just another thriller or detective novel, into literary territory. I have read hundreds and hundreds of books at this point in my life, but Burke’s novels always make a lasting impression on me. The hubris of his character, their flawed nature, and his unerring ability to look at people not as they want to be viewed by others, but as they truly are - human, imperfect - will leave their mark on you. I’ll eagerly await James Lee Burke’s next novel, and so should you. 5/5 stars for me.

I've never been disappointed by James Lee Burke, and this one is no exception; however, you may want to hold onto your butts, folks. This one is a doozy. This was a great story, hard to handle at times... the subject matter and a few of the moments involving Clete had me holding my breath and shaking my head. Murder, horror, the supernatural, and a seemingly standard tale bout two rival families.

I loved the idea of an avenging angel with a ghost ship combined with the undiluted sense of rage Clete expresses and then needs to come to terms with as the story progresses. Dave's relationship with women is at the forefront in this story and it's s complicated and unapologetic as he is... which makes for some interesting reading.

If you haven't read this series before, I do recommend starting at the beginning... even though I've bounced around in the books I did realize I was missing quite a large chunk of backstory between the "Bobbsey Twins" and would find myself getting a little lost.

Highly recommend!

This was my first James Lee Burke so most of my problem with the story was a lack of backstory. In fact the book was mostly incomprehensible without it.

James Lee Burke is a master storyteller and a beautiful writer. Even though I lved the writing of this book I found the storyline to be a little more out there than normal. There have always been elements of the supernatural in the Robicheaux series, but this, I felt was gimmicky. Still, great prose though.

I enjoyed this book. For me, it was just the right mix of real and supernatural. Even though this is a long-running series revolving around the same character, I didn't feel like I was missing anything by having not read any of the other books in the series. It works as a stand alone novel. I'm now curious to go back and read some of the earlier books in this series.

Very well done!

Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell are exemplars of flawed good. And in this painful outing they become embroiled with some of the more, if not most evil families of Louisiana. The evil is both human in the chiefs of these families and their hired arms, and spiritual, seeming to have existed for centuries. In A Private Cathedral, Burke once again returns to the paranormal/supernatural element he has used before, often to call forth the ghosts of Confederate soldiers who fought in this area. Now he brings forth an apparent avenging “angel”.

As always when Dave and Clete are joined in a cause, there is violence. Dave is also challenged by his personal devil, alcohol, constantly. His wives are both deceased and daughter is on the West coast so his supports are slim. But he and Clete continue to try to champion “right” even when that concept becomes difficult to identify. I will leave other major plot points to the book’s description.

As always with a James Lee Burke novel, the prose is wonderful. While parts can be brutal, they are reflecting the evil that exists. I continue to recommend this series with the caveat that some do not want violence in their reading, which I understand.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

i really enjoyed reading this, I enjoyed the Dave Robicheaux series and this was a great entry in the series. The mystery was well done and I enjoyed the characters.

So somehow, I discovered this series at book 23 and how the heck did I miss this???

This book was everything – seriously, it was just about the most perfect read ever.

It was dark and mysterious, a wonderful mix of noir and supernatural, and had that wonderfully gritty crime feel mixed with eloquence. Highly reminiscent of John Connolly’s Charlie Parker books, but with a voice and feel all its own.

This is the book that made me read when I should have been sleeping. It’s the book that made me late for work. And it’s the book that I had to keep reading when lunch was over because I was just 8% from the end.

I have to read books 1-22 now. I may be late to the party, but I’m so glad I finally found it!

Five perfect stars.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

I have loved this series for years. This installment did not disappoint. The author’s characters are so raw and realistic, flaws and all. The writing style is very atmospheric and I found myself actually in the pages of the story. I highly recommend.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a phantasmagoric fever dream of a book, quite different from the rest of the Dave Robicheaux canon. Particularly violent, with scattered allusions to Homer, Tristan and Iseult, and the medieval courtly love tradition. My full-length review will appear in October in The Washington Independent Review of Books (www. WIRoBokks.com).

I really enjoyed the first few books in this series. However this one just didn't do it for me. There was no real action, nothing thrilling that happened. All I could tell is that Dave was after Italians for some trafficking ring. I hate to rate it so low because I do love this character and setting for the book. Sadly it just was not for me.

“But everyone has a private cathedral that he earns, a special place to which he returns when the world is too much late and soon, and loss and despair come with the rising of the sun.”

I've never read any of the Dave Robicheaux series before and had no idea what to expect. And now I have no idea how to describe it. The story is dark, trippy, funny at times, violent - kind of detective noir with a supernatural element. I didn't feel lost in spite of this being my first book read in the series - the characters were well defined and I didn't feel like I was missing things.

There were a lot of characters in the book, and a few really stood out to me. I liked Clete with his homicidal, yet justified rages. And I loved Father Julian. Also, I have to say this cover is really cool!

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the book. It is always a pleasure to check out a new author and series!

A Private Cathedral is the 23rd Dave Robicheaux novel by James Lee Burke. Released 11th Aug 2020 by Simon & Schuster, it's 384 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
The first thing that struck me whilst reading this book was the vividly eloquent prose. The author is one of a handful of writers living or dead who can reasonably be compared to Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, and their peers. It really is that good. The second thing which struck me was the over the top casual violence. There's physical violence aplenty, people getting jumped on, stomped on, stabbed, stapled, and otherwise mutilated. There's spiritual violence in abundance, substance abuse, racism, actual honest would-be nazis (I refuse to capitalize the word), soul crushing despair and some cameos from the supernatural realm. The whole is a synergistic voodoo soup of the Human Condition. It's also more than a nod to Shakespeare and from anyone else would be a pathetic travesty, but this author just about manages to carry it off.

For readers who are familiar with the series and/or the author, this is more of what you love best about his work. For readers who are unfamiliar, the book works moderately well as a standalone; the author is adept enough at his craft to supply the necessary backstory without spoon feeding or info-dumping. Extreme graphic violence and language warnings apply. For "read alike" fans, this will appeal to fans of Hap & Leonard (though there's more comedy with H&L than you'll find here), Travis McGee (lots more violence, though), Spenser (more violent and with more graphic language).

Gorgeously lush bayou gothic with a slight paranormal horror element. Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I love the cover, but have no idea what is going on here.
It seems like I started this book in the middle and characters aren't so much introduced, as just thrown at you with no explanation. There is a lot of graphic violence also.
- I can't finish this, sorry.

This counts as the eighth book I have read from the Robicheaux series and each has been an adventure for me in that it takes me into a dark world of crime hard to reconcile with the times we live in. The criminals of Burke's imagination are a diabolical lot and in this mix of evil men it requires a little extra punch of the supernatural to assist Robicheaux and his pal Clete. Robicheaux once again signs on with the police, and there is certainly plenty of crime to deal with.
The appearance of a time traveling superman may sound a bit ridiculous, but this creative addition to the list of characters helped relieve the tension granting the reader a sliver of hope that our main men may survive what they are subjected to in this violence filled tale.
This book has something for everyone and this author continues to rock it.

Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie are talented rock and roll musicians. And most importantly they are in love. But - there is always a but - (1) the Shondells and the Balangies are longtime bitter rivals in the New Iberia Louisiana criminal underworld and (2) Isolde is to be sent to Johnny's Uncle as a sex slave. Johnny and Isolde have run away.
Enter Dave Robicheau. He wants to know why. Isolde was traded to the rival family. Along the way Dave "interacts" with Isolde's mother and her father's mistress. This is not a good idea as Balangie is a very jealous and very well connected man.
He hires a hitman. Not the typical hitman - this one travels on a ghost ship and causes terrifying hallucinations.
Dave and his partner, Clete Purcel, battle crime, personal madness and horror as they attempt to thwart evil.
James Lee Burke has this haunting tale of good versus evil in his usual extraordinary prose. This is an intriguing read.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. #NetGalley #APrivateCathedral