Books
Wayfaring Stranger

by James Lee Burke
Simon & Schuster, July 2014, $27.99

Hearing the name James Lee Burke instantly brings his Dave Robicheaux series to mind. But in Wayfaring Stranger, Burke takes his readers on a non-Robicheaux journey.

It’s 1934 and Weldon Avery Holland is 16 years old. He’s living with his mother and his grandfather Hackberry Holland (the protagonist in his own Burke series) when he happens upon Bonnie and Clyde. That memory follows him into World War II where he rescues his sergeant, Herschel Pine, and then Rosita Lowenstein, whom he and Pine find buried beneath a pile of corpses. Once back in Texas after the war, Holland (who is now married to Lowenstein) and Pine form a partnership in the cutthroat oil business. Oil is booming and everyone wants their share—or more. Soon Holland, who is honorable and trustworthy, finds himself crosswise of people who are not. When these same folks decide the route to Holland’s cooperation in their dirty deals is through Lowenstein, they threaten her reputation and her life. But Holland will do anything to keep the woman he loves safe.

Burke, a two-time Edgar winner and a Pulitzer nominee, was raised in East Texas and has gone back to his roots with this book, a sprawling saga that seamlessly melds the 1930s, the WWII era, and the early days of the Texas oil boom. His knowledge of the times and the East Texas oil fields comes through clearly. But it’s his characters—some good, some evil—who shine: Roy Wiseheart, a WWII Marine aviator who caused his squadron leader’s death while looking for fame; Linda Gail, Pine’s wife who, by a quirk of fate, becomes Hollywood royalty; and a cop named Hubert Timmons Stakely, evil personified, who not only assaults Lowenstein, but decides Holland should die. Another winning outing for Burke.

Sharon Magee

A sprawling saga that covers 1930s, the WWII era, and the early days of the Texas oil boom through the adventures of its winning protagonist.

Teri Duerr
3702
Burke
July 2014
wayfaring-stranger
27.99
Simon & Schuster