James Lee Burke The Lost Get-Back Boogie

The Lost Get-Back Boogie

James Lee Burke

Pocket, Mar 2006, $9.99

ISBN: 1416517065

Korean War veteran turned country-and-western musician Iry Paret spent a couple of years in Angola for manslaughter. He survived prison by staying on lethal alert, knowing that the guards and the inmates are dangerous to anyone who depends only on hope, prayer, or drugs. Upon his release, Iry heads to New Orleans where he plans to play the honky tonk and drown his life with alcohol.

However, the haze of drink does not keep Iry from feeling depressed. He concludes he needs to leave Louisiana if he is to get back his lost boogie. He treks to Milltown, Montana, near Missoula, where his jazz playing former cell mate Buddy Riordan's father Frank owns a ranch by the Bitterroot River. Once there, he observes Buddy is always on LSD, while Frank wars with the local pulp mill that is polluting the area. However, Iry finds himself attracted to Buddy's slightly overweight estranged wife, Beth, who wants both men to go straight, drop the drugs and booze, and stay out of Frank's war. Iry can do two out of three, but feels obligated to be at Frank's side as David's sidekick against the Goliath lumber companies.

This is a reprint of a terrific early James Lee Burke thriller that brings to life the 1960's through mostly the downtrodden Iry. Frank, Buddy, and Beth are fabulous support characters who enable the audience to understand what motivates the lead protagonist. With the backdrop of development vs. environment debate before Nixon established EPA, fans obtain a fabulous thriller wondering which side the antihero will join.