What an absorbing novel. I love everything - the characters and the scenic descriptions. Johnny American Horse was so interesting. ( )

Classic JLB set in western Montana. Over the top bad guys, a sympathetic anti-hero, and questionable authority figures and actions. Still has great descriptive paragraphs with cutting insights. ( )

I guess I jumped in to book 4 of a series. 2nd book I've read by same author. I'll revisit this author occasionally. ( )

Burke tells a story that, again includes relations with American Indians and corporations that set their own gains above ecological benefit. Neither the good guys nor the bad guys are always what they seem. Author's descriptive writing style sometimes gets in the way of a good story. ( )

This is definitely a 3 1/2 star read, and after a bit of deliberation I rounded the rating up.
I make no bones about being a James Lee Burke fan; in my view he is one of the best writers in the US, regardless of genre. But I find the Billy Bob Holland books slightly less to my taste than those featuring Dave Robicheaux, but I still want to read them and I always enjoy them.
This one is a bit tighter than earlier episodes, although there are still a lot of diversions into Native American Culture, and I find Billy Bob's conversations with his dead partner a little irritating. The dark side of most of the characters, even Billy Bob, is accentuated and there is a high level of violence.
What comes across strongly in this book is Holland and Burke's lack of faith in law enforcement generally and the government at all levels and the fact that the real villains are not only not prosecuted and punished, but very often actually prosper.


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