Specify Books Toward Bitterroot (Billy Bob Holland #3)
| Original Title: | Bitterroot |
| ISBN: | 0743411439 (ISBN13: 9780743411431) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Billy Bob Holland #3, Holland Family (Hackberry, Billy Bob, and Saga) #4 |
James Lee Burke
Paperback | Pages: 480 pages Rating: 3.96 | 3131 Users | 144 Reviews
Describe Containing Books Bitterroot (Billy Bob Holland #3)
| Title | : | Bitterroot (Billy Bob Holland #3) |
| Author | : | James Lee Burke |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 480 pages |
| Published | : | May 1st 2002 by Pocket Books (first published June 12th 2001) |
| Categories | : | Mystery. Fiction. Crime. Thriller |
Narrative In Favor Of Books Bitterroot (Billy Bob Holland #3)
The Barnes & Noble ReviewEx-Texas Ranger Billy Bob Holland makes his third appearance (after Heartwood and the Edgar Award-winning Cimarron Rose ) in James Lee Burke's dark, sorrowful, appropriately titled new novel, Bitterroot. This time out, Burke takes Holland out of the familiar environs of Deaf Smith, Texas, and moves him to Montana, where he becomes enmeshed in an interlocking series of brutal -- and brutalizing -- events.
Ostensibly, Bill Bob Has come to Montana for an extended fishing vacation with long-time friend Tobin "Doc" Voss, a widowed Vietnam vet and a man of strong, if contradictory, principles. Voss, an impassioned environmentalist, has lobbied publicly against the incursions of a local mining corporation and has made some powerful enemies, a fact that becomes clear when a trio of drug-addled bikers are sent to rape and terrorize his teenaged daughter, Maisey. In the aftermath of that rape, the leader of the bikers is found burned to death in his bed. Doc, of course, emerges as the primary suspect, and finds himself arrested for premeditated murder.
Billy Bob Holland's subsequent investigation begins with Maisey's rape and moves steadily outward, encompassing pedophilia, organized crime, right-wing extremism, and virtually every possible combination of personal and institutional corruption, all of which stand in stark contrast to the pristine, vulnerable beauty of the Montana landscape. Participants in this grim complex of narratives include an alcoholic mystery novelist, an embittered federal agent, a psychopathic ex-con with a very personal agenda, an undercover informant with a hidden motive for murder, and a local physician who has lost both her husband and son, and whose life has collapsed beneath her insupportable grief.
At the center of all this is Billy Bob Holland himself, a fundamentally decent man who is literally haunted by a specter from his past, and who must constantly confront his "abiding anger" and his extreme capacity for violence.
Like Dave Robichaux, Burke's other series hero, he is both a witness to and participant in the moral crises of the age. In Bitterroot, his urgent, eloquent narrative voice is as compelling as ever, lending depth and credibility to this disturbing, beautifully crafted book. (Bill Sheehan)
Bill Sheehan reviews horror, suspense, and science fiction for Cemetery Dance, The New York Review of Science Fiction, and other publications. His book-length critical study of the fiction of Peter Straub, At the Foot of the Story Tree, has been published by Subterranean Press (www.subterraneanpress.com).
Rating Containing Books Bitterroot (Billy Bob Holland #3)
Ratings: 3.96 From 3131 Users | 144 ReviewsWrite-Up Containing Books Bitterroot (Billy Bob Holland #3)
#3 in the Billy Bob Holland series.Billy Bob Holland series - Texas attorney Billy Bob Holland, travels to big sky country for some fishing with Doc Voss, a friend who's relocated to Montana's Bitterroot Valley after his wife's death. Doc has made some powerful enemies in his campaign against a mining venture he believes would harm the economy and the pristine countryside. The stakes rise when his teenage daughter is raped in her bedroom. The rapists could be any of the white supremacists whoThis book is James Lee Burke at his best. The characters are flawed and multi-layered and the settings are vivid and realistic. I personally prefer the Robicheaux series to the Holland, but Billy Bob is more endearing in this book than in the previous two of the series.Burke provides compelling characters, warts and all, that readers love but sometimes dislike. His insight into the human condition resonates throughout all his novels and this is one of his better ones.
If it werent so brutal, Bitterroot would be a great promo for Montana! Solid and engaging.
In the interest of reading up on my region, I finally got around to reading a book set ... well, in my region. Bitterroot happens to be both the first book by James Lee Burke and the first book of fiction set in Montana that I have read. Or at least, that I remember reading. And boy, did I pick a doozy. A coworker told me several weeks ago that if I was going to read James Lee Burke, I should start with Bitterroot--and not because it was fun to read or even his best book, but because (in her
This book is more than a mystery, as it further explores the character of its protagonist, Billy Bob Holland. Billy Bob is basically a good man, but prone to violence. He is sometime hard to like, but also hard to dislike. I have read James Lee Burke for years and have always liked his books because of/despite his characters. As I get older I find the violence in the books more disturbing, but also realistic.
Whats not to like about James Lee Burke. Like C.J. Box go-to authors when youre not ready to tackle a heavy non-fiction Burkes stories are always fascinating reads, each sentence carved in stone, demanding your attention. A preeminent western writer, Burkes a wonderful story teller, and this earlier work (2001, Montana) is fun to compare to his latest thrillers. If you want a fast, suspenseful, and well-written book one where you can hang your hat on the wooden pegs in Burkes mind pick up
Admitting that I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. just because I wanted to find out what would happen next probably gives you an idea of how I feel about this enthralling book.Compelling and engaging characters, exciting and plausible stories, and the ongoing analysis of everyone's motives by the flawed Billy Bob Holland keeps the plot moving and your interest high. This is the third in a series of books about this character and I plan to go back and read the first two and then find the rest and devour
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