For once the quotes on the cover got it right — “a riveting novel with broad sociological and biblical themes that evoke past American greats, such as Steinbeck and Cain” says the Lincoln Star Journal. I concur. This novel was what you’d get if you mixed Steinbeck, Harper Lee, and Greg Iles. Pretty high praise, but I was also quite surprised at the quality of the writing and my enjoyment of the story. This was my first book by James Lee Burke and it won’t be my last. It was a dense read — and a brutal one at times — but I loved how all of the characters were multidimensional, even the so-called “bad” characters like Krill and Jack Collins. That isn’t how “bad” characters are typically written and I so appreciated the change!

I've just started listening to this and, for all things holy, Will Patton could be reading a book of license plates and I think I'd give the book five stars. His voice is incredible and is perfect for the mesmerizing prose of Burke. It makes me want to catch every red light in town while I'm listening in my truckette.

I quite enjoyed the Rain Gods and was excited to read this book. Although I love heroes, this group of 4 people are a little over the top. Hack, his 2 deputies, and their dispatcher face Mexican gangsters, American criminals, RUSSIAN criminals (for heaven's sakes!!) and the U. S. Government (good grief) and come out on top. Actually, there isn't all that much action by the Sheriff and his group; it seems mostly the different factions killing each other off then whining to the Sheriff's department about it.

All in all, I found this story convoluted, unbelievable, and mostly boring. While I was able to finish it, I must admit that about a third into the book I started skimming the parts where everyone is suffering from angst.

On the plus side, the dialogue is very good, and the writing is excellent, just that there is too much of it! This book would have been much better if it were 100 pages shorter.

The writing was tremendous and I really enjoyed the characters. This is what James Lee Burke is really good at - capturing the scenery and mood of a place. It is a violent book however and a couple of the murders are really cruel and gory.

I won an advanced copy of this book.

I will not go into a summary as I feel that has already been done on many other reviews. I will say that I truly enjoyed this book. It was the first time I read James Lee Burke but not the last; I purchased another of his books just yesterday.

The author told a very well-paced story. I enjoyed how he not only switched point of view, but also was able to alter the voice to project each of the different characters. There were a lot of characters in this novel, most of who were 'bad guys', but not too many to keep up with. Also, he developed each of the characters so well. He even made me sympathetic to one of the villains and the 'good guys' weren't always so good.

There were many passages in the book that I would stop to reread. This author describes the landscape of Texas so well it's almost poetic.

This books was not one to devour in one night. Take your time. Enjoy the dialogue, prose, and conflicts this book provides. It will leave you thinking about quite a few aspects of humanity.

I won this in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. Thanks!

James Lee Burke has created an outstanding cast of characters in this story that takes place in the wastelands and small towns of the Texas-Mexico border area. Burke writes with an almost poetic narrative of the beauty and danger of the people and compares them quite well with the equally challenging and sometimes awe-inspiring landscape. The value of your life depends on who or what you run into on any given day.

Fans of "No Country for Old Men" should enjoy this book as well.

This book was a selection for our mystery book club.

I felt as if this qualifies as a novel more than as a mystery, even when looking at "mystery" as "solving a puzzle" and not necessarily as "solving a murder."

Once you learn the meaning behind Feast Day of Fools, the title becomes a perfect fit for the storyline.

I have not read a Hackberry Holland book before and enjoyed Burke's story and character development. At times, his lush language got in the way and distracted me, but I know many people rave about his use of language and allegory. I like a good story. Burke tells a good story. I could use less descriptors at times, but this is minor.

It helped to have a list of characters. They were plentiful and at times, the plot seemed like a Keystone Kops story, as everyone seemed to be hunting down everyone else.

There was violence and some of it was graphic. Again, it fit with the title of the book.

When I was nearing the end, I realized I could not go to bed until I finished the book. The body count started to ratchet up, and it seemed as if there might not be anyone left standing.

It might have been helpful to read the first two books in the series, especially because of one particular character from Rain Gods. To say more might constitute a spoiler.

Most people know James Lee Burke for his Dave Robicheaux series, but Hackberry Holland is definitely a memorable character and his stories deserve to be read.

Wow. I was not thinking I would enjoy this book. First time reading this author, and I came in at the middle of a detective series. I think I had gotten it at a garage sale for a buck, and it sat in my unread book pile for years. But I had to find a book set in my home state for a book challenge group, and this was the first in the pile for Texas, so voila.

It took me about two weeks to really bother with it - I didn't like the writing style, didn't think I liked the characters, looked at reading it a chapter at a time until I got it done chore type of thing. And then.... it clicked. Reading James Lee Burke is like watching Mad Men. The story is told in what isn't said. And I was hooked.

I mean, there is Texas desert, and FBI and Russian gangsters and evil drug cartels and freakin' Al Qaeda. Air America and Nicaragua drug running in the history. I don't even like kitchen sink style thrillers! But I loved this one. I'll be looking up more to read from this author.

there were about four too many "bad guy" groups running around in the desert all after the same guy. much of it was superfluous

This was a pleasant surprise. Not a happy book, but a fully engaging one. The story line was compelling (yet, alas, brutal), the characters were sufficiently compelling, the time(s) and place(s) interesting, and the prose was solid throughout and sublime, if not exquisite, in spots. As I (quickly) progressed through it, I was reminded of both No Country for Old Men (although, frankly, this is far more nuanced and, ultimately, gratifying) and Lonseome Dove (without being quite so epic in scale); neither is terribly similar, but I found the feel, the immersion, and the art comparable.

Reviewer's lament: The book was lent to me with a strong recommendation (fully deserved, in retrospect), but, frankly, no explanation - I must say I'm surprised Burke never crossed my radar screen previously - my only regret is that I didn't realize the book was part of a series (although, as I read, I had an inkling that might be the case). My guess is that I'll go back and read the first two at some point; or maybe I'll try the book(s) about the protagonist's cousin (if I've got that right)...