It was supposed to be a
glorious vacation for detective Dave Robicheaux, Alafair, Molly, and their
friend Clete Purcell in the mountains of Montana. They are the guests of Albert
Hollister. Mr.Holllister is a retired English professor of considerable
reputation thanks also to his status as a novelist. His expansive property is
at the foot of the Bitterroot Mountains in western Montana and should be the
perfect spot for Dave and the others to recover from recent traumatic events.
Unfortunately, while it may
be paradise, evil and trouble are in the woods. The arrow that barely nicked Alafair’s
ear could have killed her. The only person in the immediate area she can find
and confront is a Mr. Wyatt Dixon of Fort Davis, Texas. Mr. Dixon clearly has
issues, but whether he fired the arrow is not clear so she enlists her father’s
help. When that does not work, they get local law enforcement involved in the
matter. That just makes things go from bad to worse.
Whether or not Mr. Dixon fired
the arrow, he is now on their radar as they are on his. Whether he is the one
lurking in the nearby cave writing strange religious sayings on the walls they
don't know. Whether he is responsible for other strange events, they don’t
know. Why they seemingly are targets they don't know. But, gradually over the
course of many weeks, pieces began to fall into place proving again that true evil
never really goes away.
As in earlier reads of this
series, author James Lee Burke once again ponders the idea of evil in the
world. Going far beyond the nature vs. nurture arguments, the evil that Mr. Burke
refers to is an evil from beyond humanity. It may take human form from time to
time in each generation but even when those humans are detected for what they
are and ultimately removed from the board, the evil that spawned them is still
out there waiting to come forth again.
Much of this book is spent
in the minds of various characters as they perceive people and events around
them. Some of these characters have experienced horrific things in their
childhood and subsequently in their lives and have learned to deal with that in
interesting ways. One such character is Gretchen, the daughter of Clete, who experienced
what can only be termed as horrific childhood abuse by multiple male figures in
her life and ultimately became a contract killer for the mob. She makes a return
appearance in this book and is again transforming herself--this time into a talented
film student and director.
Then there are other characters
who have basically become the people who did things to them. While they may
have a redeeming quality or two buried deep inside, they basically are
primarily evil in some way.
Then there are those who may
not be human who walk among us, live in our prisons, and receive intense and
almost worshipping media attention for their crimes. What they are and their power over this mortal
coil is just a small part of this very complicated book. The result is a 500
page plus read that ponders many topics in the state of the world today while
dealing with a complex mystery that stretches from Montana across several
states.
One gets a sense that this
is the final book of the series. If so, author James Lee Burke once again
delivers a compelling and very complicated read. If you prefer your characters
to be simple, the action fast and furious, and everything obvious, then
Mr.Burke's books are not for you. If you prefer mysteries that are complicated
with characters that are deeply complicated human beings, you are open to
philosophy in its many forms, and are comfortable reading on several layers at
the same time; Light of the World: A Dave Robicheaux Novel is another feast
for the mind and soul.
Light
of the World: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
James
Lee Burke
Simon
& Schuster
July
2013
ISBN#
978-1-4767-1076-1
560
Pages
Hardback
(also available in audio and e-book)
$27.99
Material
supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2013
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