James Lee Burke Crusader’s Cross

Crusader's Cross

James Lee Burke

Simon & Schuster, Jul 2005, $25.95, 336 pp.

ISBN: 0743277198

In 1958, half brothers Jimmy and Dave Robicheaux work as doodlebugs putting down cable along the Texas-Louisiana shoreline. During an off day on Galveston Island, the siblings became stranded on a sandbar with a shark swimming nearby. Ida Durbin paddles out and rescues the guys, but refuses to provide any personnel information although Jimmy is attracted to her. When he learns she is a prostitute, he tries to take her away with him. When her pimp, Lou Kale intercedes, Jimmy overcomes him; however, Ida fails to meet him at the rendezvous point and the brothers never learn what happened to her.

The mystery is solved decades later when Troy Bordelon, lying in a hospital on life support after being stabbed several times during a brawl, tells Dave that he saw his uncle take Ida away with him. Dave was planning to ignore the clue until two redneck deputy sheriffs display interest in his meeting with Troy so he investigates not realizing that the New Orleans mob, a local sheriff's department, and the Chalons family want him stopped.

The latest Robicheaux thriller is the usual intense gritty tale starring an individual who at times seems he took one punch too many from George Foreman, but finds the inner strength to try to do what he feels is right. The storyline starts with an intriguing look back to Dave's pre Nam days while providing the foundation for the latter day mystery; a clever technique that showcases James Lee Burke's abilities to tell a coherent story. In both eras, readers obtain a close look at Dave and to a lesser degree Jimmy as Mr. Burke is in top form with this powerful suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner