Bitterroot

James Lee Burke “Bitterroot,” Simon & Schuster, 2001, 

334 pp.

Author James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author of mysteries, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won an Edgar Award for Black Cherry Blues (1990) and Cimarron Rose (1998). He has also written seven crime novels, Bitterroot is one such novel.  I found the book well-written and entertaining, as far as fiction goes.  This is another book recommended by my friend Gerry.

The book is set in the Bitterroot valley of Montana.  Billy Bob Holland, former Texas Ranger is called and invited to visit his old friend Doc Voss.  Doc has alienated practically everyone in the community, including mining interests, a biker gang, a group of local white supremacists, and federal investigators.  Doc’s daughter is brutally raped by three of the bikers and those three are then murdered.  Doc is the main suspect so his visiting friend, who has become a lawyer after leaving the Rangers, is enlisted to help.  More murders follow.

To add more complexity, a character named Wyatt Dixon, a psychopathic ex-con, has followed Holland to Montana as Dixon holds Holland responsible for his sister’s death.  "[Wyatt Dixon] recycled pain, stored its memory, footnoted every instance of it in his life and the manner in which it had been visited upon him, then paid back his enemies and tormentors in ways they never foresaw."