Feast Day of Fools: A Novel

Written by James Lee Burke

Narrated by Will Patton

Winner of the 2012 Audie Award for Mystery

The critically acclaimed thirtieth entry from New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke, featuring Texas Sheriff Hackberry Holland in an epic tale that is equal parts thriller, Western, and literary masterpiece.

James Lee Burke returns to the Texas border town of his bestseller Rain Gods, where a serial killer presumed dead is very much alive…and where sheriff Hackberry Holland, now a widower, fights for survival—his own, and of the citizens he’s sworn to protect.

When alcoholic ex-boxer Danny Boy Lorca witnesses a man tortured to death in the desert, Hackberry’s investigation leads him to Anton Ling, a mysterious Chinese woman known for sheltering illegals. Ling denies any knowledge of the attack, but something in her aristocratic beauty seduces Hack into overlooking that she is as dangerous as the men she harbors. And when soulless Preacher Jack Collins reemerges, the cold-blooded killer may prove invaluable to Hackberry. This time, he and the Preacher have a common enemy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Sep 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781442344259

James Lee Burke

James Lee Burke is a New York Times bestselling author, two-time winner of the Edgar Award, and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction. He has authored forty novels and two short story collections. He lives in Missoula, Montana.

Reviews for Feast Day of Fools

[fhudnell-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a good thriller provided that you don't demand a high degree of plausibility in your books. The book has the largest collection of sick, twisted, violent men I think I've ever encountered in a book. Whole heaps of psychotic behavior were on display. I lost track of who mutilated/tortured/killed who and why. If you don't believe this book is over the top, one character gets crucified, another has his hand and foot amputated, another carries the mummified remains of his dead children around in a box and there's a lot more. In addition, there was the unlikely scenario of a young deputy with the hots for the elderly Sheriff Hackberry Holland. I guess the author is entitled to his fantasies. In spite of this book being over the top, it was entertaining. As usual, the language was lovely and the narration of the audiobook by Will Patton was perfect.

[ectopicbrain · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mr Burke makes small town life interesting. Great characters!

[buffalogr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The action is set on the Mexico border where 70-something Hackberry Holland is sheriff. The book has the largest collection of sick, twisted, violent men I think I've ever encountered in a book. Burke's books are instantly identifiable with their meditations on landscape and weather and reflections on the darker labyrinths of human morality. That makes them a hard listen, sometimes. Feast day of fools is the third in the Hackberry Holland trilogy. There were several times during the reading that I wanted to stop and just put it away but I kept on.

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

JLB is great as usual. Hack is not Robicheaux but he is OK. Great sense of place in SW Texas and the Mexican border region but it was a little much w Pam the deputy. The usual ultra bad guys and a caste of nefarious characters looking for redemption.

[kerns222 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Every character seeks redemption. All have nasty pasts that live on, haunting them. They have killed, napalmed, assinated, been humiliated, in Korea, Vietnam, and Latin America. And in US prisons. They shoot everyone (or flay or stab or behead).

And then there are the feds, pinpoints of indifferent destruction and ignorance of anything human.

Finally the victims peer out, weak, preyed upon, and close to faceless in this novel.

All are written in rich, flowing, drowning language.

With a nice description of Thompson submachine gun.

[idiotgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Audiobook. Texas and Hackberry first read. A good complex situation. Easy, fun read. Liked the audio version.

[johnwbeha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reading the afterword I was surprised to read James Lee Burke announcing that this is his best book - Sorry to disagree with the great writer, but "The Tin Roff Blowdown" and "In The Electric Mist With The Confederate Dead" stand head and shoulders above it in my view. It is still a great read, but I think it could have done with a bit more editorial control from the author, i.e. it rambles a bit. It is the best non Robicheaux series novel and the mysticism that sometimes haunts Burke's books runs through it. My very minor moan will not stop me reading Burke.

[ozzer_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The strengths of this novel are its many interesting characters and the setting. The novel is populated with some amazing people, all of whom seem to be battling with various demons. Most are extremely violent, sadistic and sociopathic. One’s initial reaction to them is to be repulsed, however Burke subtly redeems most of them in the end. The most appealing feature of the book, however, is the setting in the American Southwest. Obviously, Burke loves the area and repeatedly describes it with lyrical prose filled with evocative metaphors. The book’s weaknesses are its rather rambling plot—a characteristic of much of Burke’s writing—and its many extremely sadistic scenes—barely controlled rage also seems to be one of his common themes. Obviously, the violence is intended to appeal to what Burke believes to be his main following, but in the end its prevalence and extremity becomes numbing.

[drled_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Books by JLB can be very uneven as to plot quality. This one was better than the last few I've read. Preacher Collins makes a return appearance and alternately wrecks havoc and saves lives. Hackberry Holland still can't rid himself of his deamons and still doesn't interact well with others.

[stevealdous · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sheriff Hackberry Holland is a splendid creation and this is his third outing. Burke invests heavily in his characters in a tale of absolution and redemption. All the villains have some form of internal turmoil, which is captured through Burke's detailed exploration of their psyches and whilst the book may be deliberately paced because of this it is an engrossing read right up to the explosive finale.

[adpaton · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is Burke’s 30th book and the third to feature Sheriff Hackberry Holland, who manages his small Texas border town with a kindly iron grip: despite being in his 80s, Hack is physically daunting and attractive to women – especially his much younger deputy, Pam Tibbs. When a man is tortured to death in the badlands, Holland begins an investigation that reunites him with the serial murderer Preacher Jack Collins, introduces him to Anton Ling, a devoutly Catholic Chinese beauty with a dangerous past who assists illegal immigrants, and several other really nasty villains.Burke fans complain that Sheriff Hack is simply an older version of Dave Robicheaux transported to a Texas setting – but what a setting it is! Intricately plotted and beautifully described, Feast Day of Fools is a feast indeed.

[everfresh1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I haven't read first two Hackberry Holland novels and maybe that affected my perception. I found it the weakest novel of James Lee Burke I read. Where should I start... Too crowded - too many characters. Like it was mentioned in other review sheriff Holland is around eighty, which doesn't make sense. Temple Dowling character is totally unrealistic - he owns the company that sells drones to US government., and, then in his free time, goes himself after one of his former employees? I can go on and on.

[bohemiangirl35 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story is a continuation of Rain Gods, featuring Texas Sheriff Hackberry Hollins, Deputy Pam Tibbs and Preacher Jack Collins . Preacher Jack Collins is a religious killer who thinks he has a conscience and moral standards.Rain Gods was the first James Lee Burke novel that I listened to, and I loved it. Burke's writing style is unique, and I love the way he pulls words together. Even though people don't generally speak the way his characters do, it works. Although Hackberry Hollins is pretty much a twin of Dave Robicheaux, Burke's Louisiana sheriff, the formula works for me. Yes, the bad guys make stupid mistakes, but not so many that it got on my nerves. And the one liners are hilarious! I laughed most of the way through the book, just like I did with the first one.I really enjoyed this novel, especially since I read it right after two books that I did not like. :)

[mikedraper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In rugged southern Texas, by the Mexico border, Danny Boy Lorca, former boxer and alcoholic, witnesses a brutal murder.Sheriff Hackberry Holland had been notified that a federal employee had been abducted. When Lorca tells him and his deputy, Pam Tibbs, about the murder, Holland wants to follow up.Danny mentions that one man escaped and he heard the leader referred to as Krill, they also mentioned La Magdalena, aks, Anton Ling, a free spirited Chinese woman who sheltered illegal immigrants.The reader learns that Krill had been hired to find the missing federal employee, Noie Barnum who is said to have information about the Preditor program. Krill wants to sell Barnum to Al Qaeda.The characters are bound together in their passionate struggle to survive in the merciless desert area. Holland takes charge and his size and age has led to comparisons to John Wayne in True Grit.The problems I had with this novel begin with Holland who talks about being a prisoner in the Korean War which ended in 1953. That would make him approximately eighty and it is difficult to imagine someone of that age accomplishing the physical things that he does in this story or to imagine the much younger Pam Tibbs, having romantic feelings for him.I also feel that Dave Robicheaux has been transplanted to Texas and renamed Holland. Both men are widowers, both attend Mass, dislike the government and authority figures, and both criticize people who swear in their presence.Dispite these issues, the story is a wonderful read and I recommend it for the entertainment, the colorful characters and the exciting climax.

[wildbill_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the latest book by James Lee Burke. Burke is one of my favorite authors and I have written numerous rave reviews about his books. Unfortunately this will not be one of them. The combination of high expectations and a pallid performance equal a letdown, which is how I felt about this book. Thinking about why I realized that starting with the characters there was just too much repetition from previous books. It seems like 3/4 of the characters have appeared in previous books. Preacher Jack Collins is back from [Rain Gods] and has a larger role than he did in that book. His clashes with Holland lack the emotional impact they carried before. The other major villain is a psychotic Russian who reaches a new high in cruelty in the murder of a wanna be preacher. His mercenary thugs make rookie mistakes in aid of the plot as they allow prisoners to retain makeshift weapons. Anton Ling and Krill are the only major new characters and they seem made up from of bits and pieces of characters from the past.Instead of being caught up in fast paced action I put this book down twice and finished it mostly out of curiosity. The Texas scenery does not lend itself to the beautiful descriptive language I usually expect from Burke and he is unable to make the lightning crackle with the same edge that leaves a whiff of ionized air hanging in the sky. This does not mean that I will not reread my favorites from the Dave Robicheaux series. I do not think I will reread this book. I can only give two and one-half stars and hope Burke's next book is much better.

[texasbooklover · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

By James Lee Burke Simon & Schuster 463 pgs978-1-4516-4311-4Rating - Read This!James Lee Burke is one of my top five authors. By my best accounting he has written 31 books. He is probably best known for the Dave Robicheaux novels that follow the life and times of a deputy sheriff in New Iberia, Louisiana. One of these novels, The Lost Get-Back Boogie, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.Mr. Burke has a gift for description that defies description so I won’t try. I’ll just say that you can feel the humidity of the Louisiana Gulf coast on your skin, smell the drowsy summer bougainvillea and taste the craw fish jambalaya. Please everybody try this guy and if you don’t like him I’ll send you a dollar.Feast Day of Fools is a Hackberry Holland novel. Mr. Holland is the sheriff in a rural southwest Texas county situated in the Chihuahuan desert, somewhere in the Big Bend region. As it happens, I live in West Texas and will vouch for the stark beauty of this land, dramatic vistas in every direction, 6,000-foot mountain peaks, deep canyons revealing a geological story of eons, fuchsia prickly pear blossoms, the lazy Rio Grande known as the Rio Bravo south of the border. Mexico is a pervasive presence, impossible to separate the people or the land here. Mr. Burke takes that raw material and spins a poem. Back to the story. It begins with the grisly murder of an escaped kidnap victim from Mexico by a scary psychopath known as Krill. This murder is witnessed by an alcoholic Indian by the name of Danny Boy Lorca who believes he has ecstatic visions of his ancestors. And we are off! Sheriff Holland and his deputy Pam Tibbs begin an investigation that will, before it’s over, involve a Russian terrorist, a Chinese woman with a reputation for miracles, a sociopath called Preacher who if I tried to describe you wouldn’t believe me, a guy with a head for physics harboring a secret that very likely could get him killed, and a mobster looking for the guy with the secret. The theme here is absolution and aren't we all searching for that?I read everything Mr. Burke writes. I would read a book by this author that was just description. His dialogue is spare and true to his characters. My only quibbles with this book are that it was a tad long, I think it could have been edited down some. There’s one character, another preacher, that I don’t entirely understand his function in the story. My other beef is that the plot is so circuitous that I got confused trying to keep all the characters straight in my poor brain and how they were related. Other than that I am a very big fan. Read it!

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such interesting characters and a wonderful way with words. Different threads and twists to the story that all come together in a convergence for the ending. Not sure what to make of Preacher Jack, really a rather unique villain, a psychopath and killer with super intelligence and his own code of honor. Enjoyed this book immensely.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First I would like to say I have read all of James Lee Burke's books, and obviously enjoy the Authors writing very much. No other writer can describe atmosphere and the surroundings like this author. That being said I felt that this may well be Mr. Burke’s swan song. The Dave Robicheaux series became stale towards the end, as I felt we had been there and done that before. So I hope the Glass Rainbow was the last in the series. Feast Day of Fools also suffers from being repetitive, only in this case it is repetitive throughout the book. The lead character Hackberry Holland is an older version of Dave Robicheaux, but their ideals are the same, which I believe are also those of the author. The government, FBI, Military, and war are always bad. The problem with these convictions is that they don't hold up when facing reality. Hackberry Holland is so predictable in the way he behaves throughout the book that it detracts from the story. The villains in this book are many, with "the Preacher" being the best. He is a combination of so many levels of evil, and rage, yet also has a very interesting view of morality. I hope that Mr. Burke will not continue with this series or the Dave Robicheaux series, so that we the reader, will be able to focus on his outstanding talent as a writer, throughout his long career. The Author is entitled to his beliefs and opinions regarding how the world is and who is responsible for all of its evil, I just wish he would chose to put it in his memoirs or in a book of nonfiction, rather than in to this series of books. This book takes many current headlines, wrap them around government conspiracies, Leftist viewpoints, which not even Oliver Stone has landed upon, and creates a book that from another author would be acceptable. From someone as remarkable James Lee Burke this is not how I want to remember his work.

[earthwind_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Borderland epic of Texas, Mexico, immigration, oppressed people, corrupt officials, terrorists, psychopaths, religion, goodness, governments, war effects, surveillance, drones, zealots, extreme violence. Whoa. I forgot. This is fiction.

[tasker_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Being a James Lee Burke fan, it pains me to say that his latest novel seemed to be something I have read before. Please don’t get me wrong – the book was entertaining and I didn’t wind up counting how many pages to the end like I so often do with other books. I enjoyed its dialogue, pace and characters particularly “The Preacher” - I could read a book about him alone. However, after reading, I found myself comparing Hackberry Holland and Dave Robicheaux, Pam Tibbs and Clete Purcell.