The Lost Get-Back Boogie: My Favorite James Lee Burke Novel

Categories: Mystery & Suspense , Rediscoveries , Staff Picks , Fiction

Sometimes it’s hard to plunge in and start reading a prolific author.  You feel as though you’ll never catch up.  So if the thought of tackling James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux mysteries is a little intimidating, or if you’d like a change of pace from the steamy, haunted Louisiana delta setting of that famous series, try The Lost Get-Back Boogie, a stand-alone suspense novel Burke published in 1986.  You’ll get the gorgeously lyrical writing, the gritty realism, and the inescapable violence, all set against a big Montana landscape.

Iry Paret is out on parole after serving two years for manslaughter (a barroom fight that got out of hand) and is finding it impossible to settle down quietly in his home parish.  With his guitar, his pickup, and an open case of beer, he takes off for Montana, where a former fellow prisoner, Buddy Riordan, has offered him a job on a ranch. 

But trouble follows Iry there, too. 

Buddy’s father is fighting to close a polluting pulp mill, and since the mill is the biggest local employer, feeling against the Riordans runs high.  In spite of his wish for a quiet life, keeping his parole, Iry finds himself drawn into the conflict as the violence escalates. 

Complicating his loyalty to his friend and his admiration for the older Riordan’s stubborn principles is Iry’s growing attraction to Buddy’s ex, Beth.  It’s all a mess, and it inevitably gets messier.

This is a terrific book, lyrical in its evocation of the beautiful Montana countryside and harshly realistic in its portrayal of flawed but well-meaning characters who never have a chance against the violence surrounding them.  And (not to give too much away) there’s a precarious hint of peace and redemption amidst the tragedy.