Book Description
Few writers in America today combine James Lee Burke's
lush prose, cracking story lines, and tremendous sense of
history and landscape. In Cimarron Rose, longtime fans
of the Dave Robicheaux series found that the struggles of
Texas defense attorney Billy Bob Holland show Burke at his
best in exploring classic American themes -- the sometimes
subtle, often violent strains between the haves and the
have-nots; the collision of past and present; the inequities
in the criminal justice system.
Heartwood is a kind of tree that grows in layers.
And as Billy Bob's grandfather once told him, you do well in
life by keeping the roots in a clear stream and not letting
anyone taint the water for you. But in Holland's dusty little
hometown of Deaf Smith, in the hill country north of Austin,
local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made a fortune running
roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Billy
Bob has problems with Deitrich and his shamelessly callous
demeanor, but can't shake the legacy of his passion for
Deitrich's "heartbreak-beautiful" wife, Peggy Jean.