James Lee Burke

Burke has won three Edgar Awards, and in 2009 was presented with the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

James Lee Burke studied at University of Missouri, University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Lamar High School. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is literary activity and detective literature. Places of work recorded in the authority are Missoula. Residence is recorded at New Iberia and Lolo. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship, Edgar Awards, Gumshoe Awards and Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.

• Born — 5 December 1936 • Birthplace — Houston, Texas, U.S. • Occupation — Writer, novelist • Education — University of Louisiana at Lafayette University of Missouri (BA, MA) • Children — 4 (including Alafair Burke) • Website — www.jamesleeburke.com/ James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by Alec Baldwin (Heaven's Prisoners) and then Tommy Lee Jones (In the Electric Mist). His 1986 novel The Lost Get-back Boogie was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Burke has won three Edgar Awards, and in 2009 was presented with the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but spent most of his childhood on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and University of Missouri, receiving Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English literature from the latter. He worked in a variety of jobs over the years, while books he had written were rejected, and books he had published went out of print. At various times, he worked as a truck driver for the U.S. Forest Service, as a newspaper reporter, as a social worker on Skid Row, Los Angeles, as a land surveyor in Colorado, in the Louisiana State unemployment system, and in the Job Corps in the Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky. He taught at the University of Missouri as a grad student, then at the University of Louisiana, the University of Montana, and Miami-Dade Community College, before settling in Wichita, Kansas to teach at Wichita State University in 1978.

Burke and his wife Pearl, née Pai Chu, owned homes in Lolo, Montana and in New Iberia, Louisiana. They have four children, including Alafair Burke, a law professor and best-selling crime writer. Daughter Pamala Burke McDavid died in 2020. Extended family include cousins novelist Elizabeth Nell Dubus and author and actress DeLauné Michel.

Burke's 1982 novel, Two for Texas, was made into a 1998 TV movie of the same name. The Robicheaux character has been portrayed twice on screen, first by Alec Baldwin in the 1996 film Heaven's Prisoners and then in 2009 by Tommy Lee Jones in the sequel In the Electric Mist.

• The Neon Rain (1987) • Heaven's Prisoners (1988) • Black Cherry Blues (1989) • A Morning for Flamingos (1990) • A Stained White Radiance (1992) • In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead (1993) • Dixie City Jam (1994) • Burning Angel (1995) • Cadillac Jukebox (1996) • Sunset Limited (1998) • Purple Cane Road (2000) • Jolie Blon's Bounce (2002) • Last Car to Elysian Fields (2003) • Crusader's Cross (2005) • Pegasus Descending (2006) • The Tin Roof Blowdown (2007) • Swan Peak (2008) • The Glass Rainbow (2010) • Creole Belle (2012) • Light of the World (2013) • Robicheaux (2018) • The New Iberia Blues (2019) • A Private Cathedral (2020) • Clete (2024) • The Hadacol Boogie (2026)

• Cimarron Rose (1997) • Heartwood (1999) • Bitterroot (2001) • In the Moon of Red Ponies (2004)

• Lay Down My Sword and Shield (1971) • Rain Gods (2009) • Feast Day of Fools (2011)

• Wayfaring Stranger (2014) • House of the Rising Sun (2015) • The Jealous Kind (2016) • Another Kind of Eden (2021) • Every Cloak Rolled in Blood (2022) • Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie (2025)

• Half of Paradise (1965) • To The Bright and Shining Sun (1970) • Two for Texas (1982) • The Lost Get-Back Boogie (1986) • White Doves at Morning (2002) • Flags on the Bayou (2023)

James Lee Burke is recorded as writer, novelist and journalist.

• The Convict (1985) • Jesus Out to Sea (2007) • Harbor Lights (2024)