The Writer's Almanac from Tuesday, December 5, 2006 Things You Didn't Put On Your Resumé by Joyce Sutphen. ORIGINAL AUDIO - 2006 ORIGINAL TEXT - 2006 It's the birthday of novelist James Lee Burke, born in Houston, Texas (1936). He's best known for his series of detective novels featuring Dave Robicheaux, an ex-New Orleans policeman, Vietnam veteran, and recovering alcoholic. Burke's novels have been compared to those by master crime novelists like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
To read James Lee Burke's novels set in Louisiana is like being there. I can both see and smell the places he takes us to as I turn the pages. When I am asked to recommend a mystery writer, Burke is at the top of the list.
To read James Lee Burke's novels set in Louisiana is like being there. I can both see and smell the places he takes us to as I turn the pages. When I am asked to recommend a mystery writer, Burke is at the top of the list.