Creole Belle

Back to old wonderful greatness

I wasn't wild about Glass Rainbow - the last James Lee Burke (especially the - gulp! - ending), but in Creole Belle, he's found the sweet spot again. Beautiful language and imagery, all told in Will Patton's honeyed, southern voice. Excellent!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Very enjoyable listen

Where does Creole Belle rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is the second James Lee Burke I have read and was not disappointed. I loved the characters and the story keeps you hooked. This would be in my to 20 audio books.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Clete is my favourite character. He has had a hard life but still fills it with action and has such a big heart.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Thorough enjoyment

I read my first James Lee Burke book seven years ago and this afternoon I finished listening to Creole Belle. I have enjoyed every moment of this Detective Dave Robicheaux story. Like all the others it contains plenty of action, tremendous descriptive passages,actual facts involving the area around New Orleans and the central characters who become so well known to the reader. As Clete, Dave's special friend, would say "Creole Belle is, like all the others, "copacetic".

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

America's greatest crime writer---gets even better

Creole Belle, what to say other than the perfectly written crime caper with everything from the finest characterisations of Dave,Cletus and a cast of criminals you can not only hear but see, to a story line that covers everything from long lost children turned by time and surroundings to adversaries , to

the horrors of the Gestapo death camps and the ultimate despoiling of James Lee Burke's beloved Louisiana.by greed and evil. This author has always been my favourite, how does he continue to get better.?

A story that grips you from the very first paragraph to the last sentance.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Robicheaux and Purcell take on the world.

What made the experience of listening to Creole Belle the most enjoyable?

Will Patton's reading is the stand out reason that this production is so good. Each character is easily recognizable and his world weary reading of Dave Robicheaux is a treat!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Creole Belle?

The final shoot out, was a very tense affair.

What does Will Patton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

You always have a characters voice in your head as you read and Will Patton's voice seems (to me) to be spot on. I'm not American but Patton's accents seem to be the real deal. He his a name that will make me choose a book, if I see he's the narrator I'll seriously consider the purchase. Is work with Stephen King as been spot on.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

In times when we're finding out that the great and the good are neither, its good to have a brave, noble and honourable man lake Dave Robicheaux to root for.

Any additional comments?

Its been awhile since I've read James Lee Burke but he's a writer that I'll be glad to refamiliarize myself with, through my Audible membership.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautifully crafted

A superbly written novel with some beautiful descriptive passages. If Lee Burke wrote in a more 'literary' genre he could have received more acclaim than he has.



The narration is very good and the voice and characterisation suit the location of the book very well.



Pretty decent story too!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Didn't want it to end.

JLB has once again painted a vivid picture of cajun life in the deep south. Dave Robicheaux, recovering from the incidents from the end of "Glass Rainbow" (another worthwhile listen), works through a missing person case, though just as every other case there's much more than meets the eye. This is a hefty book, 3 download parts and more than 18 hours of listening, but that should not be in any way off-putting, - quite the opposite. Will Patten's vocal skill (Audie winner) helps to bring the richness alive. An excellent partnership.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautifully written, fabulous narration.

James Lee Burke writes so evocatively you can smell the Bayou and the rain. Great story, that for me is best told by this narrator who clearly knows the rhythms of Louisiana and the cadence of the language. His voice is perfect for describing the tradegies of the State and what appears to be a kind of endless decay and moral decline. But with Dave Robicheaux and Cleet Purcell on the job there is always hope for a better future!! Loved it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Strong storyline, but quite grim

I worry that for me stories longer than circa 12 hours to tell start to ramble somewhat. This was one that could have been trimmed a little. The reading was excellent, but the storyline quite grim from the outset. Not the sort of story that puts a smile on your face.

Great listen !

This book seemed quite complex at the beginning, and I struggled to keep all the characters separate, but as the story evolved the main ‘villains’ and also ‘goodies’ came very much clearer.
As with all JLB books it was fast moving with a gripping ending.