Harbor Lights, James Lee Burke
Harbor Lights, James Lee Burke
4 Rating(s)
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
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Harbor Lights

Author: James Lee Burke

Narrator: Gary Furlong, Matt Pittenger, Michael David Axtell, Ali Andre Ali, Alan Carlson, Kaleo Griffith, Leon Nixon, Zac Aleman

Unabridged: 10 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/23/2024


Synopsis

A dynamic, gripping collection of short stories from “America’s best novelist” (The Denver Post), the New York Times bestselling James Lee Burke.

Harbor Lights is a story collection from one of the most popular and widely acclaimed icons of American fiction, featuring a never-before-published novella. These eight stories move from the marshlands on the Gulf of Mexico to the sweeping plains of Colorado to prisons, saloons, and trailer parks across the South, weaving together love, friendship, violence, survival, and revenge

A boy and his father watch a German submarine sink an oil tanker as evil forces in the disguise of federal agents try to ruin their family. A girl is beaten up outside a bar as her university-professor father navigates new love and threats from a group of neo-Nazis. A pair of undercover union organizers are hired to break colts for a Hollywood actor, whose “Western hero” façade hides darkness. An oil rig worker witnesses a horrific attack on a local village while on a job in South America and seeks justice through one final act of bravery.

With his nuanced characters, lyrical prose, and ability to write shocking violence in the most evocative settings, James Lee Burke’s singular skills are on display in this superb anthology. Harbor Lights unfolds in stories that crackle and reverberate as unexpected heroes emerge.

About James Lee Burke

American mystery author, James Lee Burke, was born in Houston, Texas, explaining why most of the lead characters in his novels are Texan. He has won two Edgar awards, which is a very rare experience, and is a bestselling author of two short story collections and over thirty novels. Burke is best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. His Edgar Awards were for Black Cherry and Cimarron Rose. Two of his series were made into screen plays with each movie having a-list actors playing the Robicheaux character (Alec Baldwin - Heaven's Prisoners, and Tommy Lee Jones- In the Electric Mist).

A writer must usually hold down other employment while they attempt to gain a degree of following readers. Burke's various jobs included.......truck driver, newspaper reporter, social worker, land surveyor, unemployment system employee, Job Corps worker, teacher, and finally, novelist.

Burke lives in Montana with his wife, Pearl, two daughters, and four grandchildren. His favorite advice was given by Irving Stone, when Burke was nineteen.......... "Never write a story to pay your gas bill......if you do, be assured your utilities will be turned off".


Reviews

Goodreads review by Andrew on January 15, 2024

Any new book published by James Lee Burke is an event worth celebrating. I really prefer his longer fiction, but a collection of short stories is still, for me, a satisfying feast. This collection features at least one story I’d read before (there may be others, but I’ve been reading his material fo......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 22, 2024

Harbor Lights in Murky Waters Four stars. I cannot believe I would give James Lee Burke anything less than five, but here it is. “Harbor Lights” is a collection of short stories by one of our greatest writers. I have read dozens of his books through the years and, even at 87, he shows no signs of slow......more

Goodreads review by Sam on October 11, 2023

Harbor Lights, which includes seven short stories and one novella, is the first collection of short fiction from James Lee Burke since 2007 when the author published a ten-story collection titled Jesus Out to Sea. Burke's stories, no matter their length, have always focused on the very real battle b......more

Goodreads review by Kasa on January 16, 2024

Each of these stories, many of which have appeared elsewhere, bears similarities to the full length novels of James Lee Burke. They are difficult, gritty and beautifully written. One is even a continuation of a previous novel. The reader may find themselves in the familiar territory of Bayou Teche,......more

Goodreads review by Abibliofob on November 08, 2021

Great short story from one of the best authors alive. Harbor Lights by James Lee Burke is set in 1942 where we get to follow Aaron Broussard possibly related to the Holland family. It's a really dark story but that is usually the case with Burkes writing. I have never been disapointed with his work.......more


Quotes

"Alan Carlson exquisitely conveys the violence and ethical dilemmas a professor faces when his daughter is attacked and the police do nothing. Gary Furlong captures a challenging father-and-son dynamic after they witness a tanker capsize. And Leon Nixon captivates when a professor and son are trapped in a rural town during a road trip."