The Jealous Kind

June 20, 2016
Raging teenage hormones, gangster violence, class warfare, and a pink Cadillac stuffed with cash and gold bars set up Burke’s latest novel, a mystery set in Houston, Tex., in 1952. Burke has a hit with this dark, atmospheric story of teenagers trying to make it through high school without getting killed by Mafia hitmen, low-life thugs, and greasers with oily ducktails and switchblade knives. Seventeen-year-old Aaron bumbles into a steamy teenage romance with Valerie Epstein, angering Grady, her rich country-club ex-boyfriend, who vows jealous revenge. With his prankster best pal, Saber, Aaron unwittingly steps into a messy world of violence that escalates to involve parents, punks, and the police. Beatings, arson, and a murder ramp up the tension as the boys are framed and futilely declare their innocence. Then Grady’s pink Caddie full of money and gold is stolen and the Mafia steps in. They think it’s their money, they want it back, and they believe Aaron and Saber have it. Burke portrays Houston as rife with crime, complete with a corrupt police force, and the boys have little hope of surviving this cesspool. Fortunately, they have good parents, an honest detective, and a savvy prostitute to back them up. Agent: Philip Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency.

James Lee Burke's exquisite story about a teenager caught up in a 1950s class war, narrated by Will Patton, grabs listeners from the get-go. His portrayal of the novel's young narrator, Aaron Holland Broussard, is fully believable, particularly as Patton drops listeners right onto the back of Original Sin, a notorious bull that Broussard rides in the rodeo. On a deeper level, Patton's compassion resonates as the boy struggles to prevent his best friend from self-destructing. From Burke's dialogue, Patton extracts not only the Houston setting but also its distinctive social groups and their complex network of relationships. At times, Patton uses a breathy effect that, while dramatic, contradicts Broussard's character and jolts the listener out of the plot. But, overall, this is a stellar production, not to be missed. J.F. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine