Crusader's Cross

From singles 2

"The world was a good place, the early dawn announced by birdsong and blue shadows on the lawn and fog puffing off the bayou. Why let fear and suspicion invade the heart and lay claim on your life?"

Well, yes, I did say I was going to start at the beginning and follow Dave and Clete from (I presume) New Orleans, to New Iberia, to Montana. But, when I went to the library all I could find was 2005's "Crusader's Cross" - book number 14. And, since I was on a Burke high, I had to borrow it.

In "Crusader's Cross", Dave Robicheaux is ensconced in New Iberia. Katrina has yet to blow the house down and send Dave way up into the Rocky Mountains. That's cool with me. I'm entranced by the people and landscape of the Atchafalaya Basin. (I had the same response to Savannah after reading "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil".) But here, in Acadian Louisiana, I'd fit in by name, at least. No more funny mispronunciations.

Already, with only my second book, I'm realizing that my blog reviews may get to be repetitive. I like what I always like with Burke: his prose, his characters, the intertwining of multiple storylines. I also recognize that reading the series in sequence may result in me becoming tired of the "Murder She Wrote" quality of Dave or Clete being personally embroiled in the mystery. I was saying this to Kevin this morning. Then, I reconsidered. Dave and/or Clete are usually caught up in a tangential predicament created by the conjunction of their occupation and their flawed natures. It still might get old - if one reads 17 novels... but it isn't like being a writer whose friends, family, and friends of family keep dying around her. So, forget I said it.

The bottom line is I really enjoyed the book. I frustrated Kevin with it. He had to wait for me to finish a chapter - repeatedly. Fortunately, for him, the chapters are relatively short. In addition, Burke provided me with at least half a dozen words to bring back to work....though, by in large, they are not of an upbeat nature.

"Every Sunday, Clete picks me up in his Caddie and we fish for speckled trout out on West Cote Blanche Bay. Molly, Snuggs, Tripod, and I live on Bayou Teche and in the early-morning hours often see two pelicans sailing low over the water, their extended wings touched by the sunrise. For me, these are gifts enough."