Rain Gods Book

4.5★
"We decry violence all the time in this country, but look at our history. We were born in a violent revolution, and we've been in wars ever since. We're not a pacific people." James Lee Burke
From a goodreads review: "Fuck me. Burke is such a goddamn badass."

If that language offends, you probably do not want to read these books. In this one Hackberry is an aging sheriff with a bad back, nursing sobriety, and he's still a badass. Plus, our author is an equal opportunity writer and his women are also badass. Be very careful around them if they've been in or near the kitchen. The villains are as bad as it gets in the worst possible way. We're talking Quentin Tarantino bad. While Hackberry is confronting a slime ball named Ouzel (that name) he "thought he could detect an odor that was reminiscent of a violated grave or the stench given off by an incinerator in which dead animals were burned." Definitely skull and crossbones tattoo-on-their-forehead-bad.

Burke's trademark prose sings out like a siren song reeling you in. It's like he's serenading you with poetry. If he was away at the ranch without you and you called and asked "Then what happened Jimmy?" he'd say something like "Then the sun broke above the crest of the hills and the entire countryside looked soaked in blood, the arroyos deep in shadow, the cones of dead volcanoes stark and biscuit-colored against the sky. I could smell the pinion trees, wet sea, woodsmoke, cattle in the pastures, and creek water that had melted from the snow. I could smell the way the country probably was when it was only a dream in the mind of God." (Jesus Out to Sea).

Any other author would have a hard time having his way with me in this dark matter (even if I'm drinking a badass Zinfandel). It's really hard to describe the fascination and appreciation if you've never read his books. It's complicated. Read one and you'll discover your own badassness. There are multiple Holland Family stories which I'm reading out of order and it matters not. "Bartender, bring me the bottle and a club soda with lime for the sheriff here." Then I just might be ready to go get my first tattoo, one for each of his books I read. Grownup badass girl scout badges. But not on my forehead.