Clete

A Dave Robicheaux Novel

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

In the latest installment in his famous Detective Dave Robicheaux series, New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke brings Dave’s partner and friend Clete Purcel to the forefront for the first time as Clete and Dave attempt to stop ruthless smugglers of a dangerous new drug.

Clete Purcel—private investigator, ex-member of the New Orleans Police Department, and war veteran with a hard shell and just a few soft spots—is Dave Robicheaux’s longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past. When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only to return to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade from Mexican cartels to Louisiana, it feels personal—his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and his fists curl when he thinks of the dealers who sold it.

Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow, a woman with a dark past hires Clete as a detective to investigate her scheming, slippery ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who seems to lurk around every corner. Clete is experiencing shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questioning Clara’s ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed his car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could’ve imagined.

Gripping, violent, yet interlaced with Clete’s humor and consistent drive to protect those he loves, Clete brings a fresh perspective to a truly iconic series. James Lee Burke proves yet again that he is the “heavyweight champ” and “great American novelist whose work, taken individually or as a whole, is unsurpassed” (Michael Connelly).

©2024 James Lee Burke (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

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Please Sir, I want some more. I love all the writings of Burk. His prose are poetry, and stories captivating. He always leaves me awaiting his next release.

Outstanding Performance by Will Patton!!

I absolutely loved it! James Lee Burke is one of the best writers on this planet!

Joan of Ark

Loved the whole thing. Much better than that Cloak story. Hated that. Burke is a great writer.

Another great James Lee Burke story

Love the characters, and Will Patton is maybe the narrator ever. Give it listen. You won’t regret it.

Entertaining PI story

This was my first novel by James Burke. I listened to it based on a recommendation from Bill O’Reilly.

It was a fun story to hear. The literary style was engaging. I will listen to more of this series.

Clete: good for seasoning but not the main course

I've listened to a number of the Robicheaux novels on Audible and I've always thought Clete Purcell's "sidekick" role was one of the high points. I may have even said "give us more Clete" in some reviews.

In this book, though, I think Burke went overboard. It's like a chef who thinks their roast needs a bit more seasoning slicing off a tiny piece of meat and dumping a bottle of pepper on it. Completely changes the flavor. That's what happened here, in my view. To make things worse, the story and supporting characters (of which Dave Robicheaux is one, rather than being in the main role) are a bit weaker than the previous few novels. I found it really difficult to gauge what time period this story happens in - Clete frequently refers to his time in Vietnam and acts like he's still a young man in this story, so that puts it in the 80's or 90's sometime. But there are cell phones and other modern conveniences so Clete must be in his 60's or even 70's. So it was hard to figure why he acts like he does. Dave appears only occasionally and strangely there's no mention at all of what's happening with Alafair.

Patten does a nice job of narration but it's all in Clete's voice, which is usually the "seasoning" on the roast. A bit too much in this case. Give us more Robicheaux ;-)

Outstanding… Gritty… Realism…

Great story, one of my favorite Characters in this series… Narration Exceptional … A legacy of James Burke’s writings… looking forward to more… Dave n Clete, the Bobsy Twins.!

Great story

Vivid imagery with a story that captivates. Love hearing Clete express himself. And he is a man.

Great Narrator

I guess that a man who has been shot over half a dozen times, hit on the head multiple times, and otherwise injured too many times to count can be excused for experiencing psychoneurotic episodes. But having conversations with Jean d’Arc is just a little too much. Not my favorite Burke novel.

First JLB I've heard without the word "skillet!"

James Lee Burke is my favorite writer, hands-down, and I was so excited for this book. I have listened to every book in this series and almost everything else he has written. And while I don't think it's the best of the series, it's still excellent, colorful, and worth a listen.

Getting to spend so much time with Clete is a rare treat, but I have to agree with one reviewer who said that the voice sounded more like Dave than Clete himself. I only point this out becuase we've gotten to know Clete so well in all the other books, so it stood out a bit. Regardless, Dave and Clete are two sides of the same brilliant coin, and they complete each other. It was fun getting to hear Clete's take on how Dave needs protecting, Instead of the other way around, as we always hear in the other books.

I think this could have been a richer experience. Still though, we get a lot of insight and new perspective into the best character in a series that is packed with outstanding characters. And at the end, we even see a new side of him that we haven't seen before. It was also funny to hear Jl.B indirectly poke fun at himself as the writer of Flags On The Bayou (which is outstanding if you haven't read it/listened to it).

Will Patton, as always, hits it out of the park. I could listen to that man read the phonebook.