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Dave Robicheaux #15
Pegasus Descending
A troubled young woman breezes into Detective Robicheaux's hometown of New Iberia, Louisiana. She happens to be the daughter of his friend -- a friend he witnessed gunned down in a bank robbery, a tragedy that forever changed Robicheaux's life.
The twists begin when Trish Klein -- the only offspring of Robicheaux's Vietnam-era buddy -- starts passing marked hundred-dollar bills in local casinos. Is she a good kid gone bad? A victim's child seeking revenge? A promiscuous beauty seducing everyone good within her grasp? And can Robicheaux make peace with his friend's murder in time to figure out how a local mobster fits into all the schemes and death? Will his life be whole again when it has been shattered by so much tragedy?
In Pegasus Descending, James Lee Burke explores psyches as much as evidence, and tries to make sense of human behavior as well as of his characters' crimes. Richly atmospheric, frightening in its sudden violence, and replete with the sort of puzzles only the best crime fiction creates, Burke's latest novel is an unforgettable roller coaster of passion, surprise, and regret.
Audio CD
First published July 18, 2006
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About the author
James Lee Burke
128 books4,225 followersJames Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. He has twice received the Edgar Award for Best Novel, for
Black Cherry Blues
in 1990 and
Cimarron Rose
in 1998.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
Burke was born in Houston, Texas, but grew up on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Missouri, receiving a BA and MA from the latter. He has worked at a wide variety of jobs over the years, including working in the oil industry, as a reporter, and as a social worker. He was Writer in Residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, succeeding his good friend and posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner John Kennedy Toole, and preceding Ernest Gaines in the position. Shortly before his move to Montana, he taught for several years in the Creative Writing program at Wichita State University in the 1980s.
Burke and his wife, Pearl, split their time between Lolo, Montana, and New Iberia, Louisiana. Their daughter, Alafair Burke, is also a mystery novelist.
The book that has influenced his life the most is the 1929 family tragedy "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner.
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November 6, 2023
BLUES NOIR
Il bayou Teche a New Iberia in una vecchia cartolina.
Dinosauri. Ecco come Cletus Purcell definisce se stesso e il suo migliore amico, Dave Robicheaux, al quale James Lee Burke ha dedicato almeno una ventina di romanzi.
Clete e Dave, detto Streak per via della frezza bianca su un lato (che Burke ci informa deriva da malnutrizione infantile), sono stati poliziotti insieme, fianco a fianco nella volante e per strada – prima ancora erano stati insieme in Vietnam, a combattere una guerra che non gli apparteneva: adesso Dave è ancora nel corpo di polizia, quella di New Iberia, non più quella di New Orleans – mentre Clete è un detective privato.
St Peter Cemetery a New Iberia, Louisiana.
Invece, credo che Burke definirebbe Dave e Clete cavalieri erranti, quelli del Medioevo, che credo siano spariti col Rinascimento. Ma più che a un donchisciotte, io penso che Burke guardi a delle figure umane più tragiche, filiazioni del teatro elisabettiano.
Robicheaux si trova a indagare su tre morti: una diciottenne di colore si è sparata in fronte, ma Dave crede che si tratti di omicidio; un vagabondo senza casa è la vittima di un vecchio incidente stradale, il cadavere emerge dall’acqua del canale dopo mesi e mesi, lo scheletro è ridotto al punto da essere soprannominato l’Uomo Crostaceo – incidente stradale con omissione di soccorso: ma anche in questo caso Dave subodora un delitto più grave; e poi c’è un altro ragazzo che finisce sfracellato da generosa scarica di pallettoni: questo terzo omicidio è più chiaro nella dinamica.
Bayou
Robicheaux è convinto che le tre morti siano collegate, ma non sa come, né perché, né chi c’è dietro.
A completare il quadro, e complicare le cose, c’è la bella giovane figlia di un vecchio amico che Dave ha visto uccidere, e non ha saputo difendere perché Dave in quel periodo era alcolizzato.
Un passato da alcolizzato, autodistruttivo – tuttora ogni tanto partecipa alle riunioni degli AA – la guerra in Vietnam – la morte violenta di sua madre e della sua prima moglie: ricordi che il passato ha trasformato in fantasmi.
St John Cathedral a Lafayette, Louisiana, città limitrofa a New Iberia.
Più che la ricca e complessa trama, che avvince e trascina, è comunque il mondo intorno che Burke rende indelebile. È l’atmosfera che sa creare, densa, tragica, e melmosa come i bayou. È la geografia, l’ambiente naturale e umano, sia rurale che urbano, che è un’entità viva, e plasma le creature che lo abitano, lascia un marchio indelebile, nel bene o nel male. Tendenzialmente, è più frequente il secondo caso.
Il cuore di Robicheaux batte sempre dalla parte degli ultimi, neri poveri omosessuali, tutti quelli che il denaro respinge ai gradini più bassi della scala sociale: non solo li rispetta, per proteggerli è disposto a rendere più elastica la rigida maglia della Legge.
In questo Pegasus Descending, le solite ricche descrizioni della natura, del paesaggio, del Golfo, del cielo acquistano una colorazione diversa e unica: il libro è uscito nel 2006, Burke lo stava finendo quando l’uragano Katrina si è abbattuto su New Orleans e quella parte di mondo: l’inquietante presenza di una minaccia che sta per arrivare dal cielo impregna ogni pagina.
Il bayou Teche a New Iberia in una vecchia cartolina.
Dinosauri. Ecco come Cletus Purcell definisce se stesso e il suo migliore amico, Dave Robicheaux, al quale James Lee Burke ha dedicato almeno una ventina di romanzi.
Clete e Dave, detto Streak per via della frezza bianca su un lato (che Burke ci informa deriva da malnutrizione infantile), sono stati poliziotti insieme, fianco a fianco nella volante e per strada – prima ancora erano stati insieme in Vietnam, a combattere una guerra che non gli apparteneva: adesso Dave è ancora nel corpo di polizia, quella di New Iberia, non più quella di New Orleans – mentre Clete è un detective privato.
St Peter Cemetery a New Iberia, Louisiana.
Invece, credo che Burke definirebbe Dave e Clete cavalieri erranti, quelli del Medioevo, che credo siano spariti col Rinascimento. Ma più che a un donchisciotte, io penso che Burke guardi a delle figure umane più tragiche, filiazioni del teatro elisabettiano.
Robicheaux si trova a indagare su tre morti: una diciottenne di colore si è sparata in fronte, ma Dave crede che si tratti di omicidio; un vagabondo senza casa è la vittima di un vecchio incidente stradale, il cadavere emerge dall’acqua del canale dopo mesi e mesi, lo scheletro è ridotto al punto da essere soprannominato l’Uomo Crostaceo – incidente stradale con omissione di soccorso: ma anche in questo caso Dave subodora un delitto più grave; e poi c’è un altro ragazzo che finisce sfracellato da generosa scarica di pallettoni: questo terzo omicidio è più chiaro nella dinamica.
Bayou
Robicheaux è convinto che le tre morti siano collegate, ma non sa come, né perché, né chi c’è dietro.
A completare il quadro, e complicare le cose, c’è la bella giovane figlia di un vecchio amico che Dave ha visto uccidere, e non ha saputo difendere perché Dave in quel periodo era alcolizzato.
Un passato da alcolizzato, autodistruttivo – tuttora ogni tanto partecipa alle riunioni degli AA – la guerra in Vietnam – la morte violenta di sua madre e della sua prima moglie: ricordi che il passato ha trasformato in fantasmi.
St John Cathedral a Lafayette, Louisiana, città limitrofa a New Iberia.
Più che la ricca e complessa trama, che avvince e trascina, è comunque il mondo intorno che Burke rende indelebile. È l’atmosfera che sa creare, densa, tragica, e melmosa come i bayou. È la geografia, l’ambiente naturale e umano, sia rurale che urbano, che è un’entità viva, e plasma le creature che lo abitano, lascia un marchio indelebile, nel bene o nel male. Tendenzialmente, è più frequente il secondo caso.
Il cuore di Robicheaux batte sempre dalla parte degli ultimi, neri poveri omosessuali, tutti quelli che il denaro respinge ai gradini più bassi della scala sociale: non solo li rispetta, per proteggerli è disposto a rendere più elastica la rigida maglia della Legge.
In questo Pegasus Descending, le solite ricche descrizioni della natura, del paesaggio, del Golfo, del cielo acquistano una colorazione diversa e unica: il libro è uscito nel 2006, Burke lo stava finendo quando l’uragano Katrina si è abbattuto su New Orleans e quella parte di mondo: l’inquietante presenza di una minaccia che sta per arrivare dal cielo impregna ogni pagina.
November 4, 2023
Harry Bosch's psychological baggage ain't got nothin' on Dave Robicheaux!
Twenty-five years ago, deep in his cups with a keg's worth of beer and accompanying chasers under his belt, an alcoholic Dave Robicheaux witnessed the gangland execution of his friend, Dallas Klein. Swearing off the sauce and finding a good woman who accepts and loves him for what he is, Robicheaux has spent the remainder of his life in recovery attempting to live down that unforgivable inability to stand and help his friend so long ago. What most rankles Robicheaux is that he is certain of the assassin's identity - Whitey Bruxal, a mobster with a lengthy well-documented gangland jacket - but, with no proof, he is unable to act on the knowledge!
Now, out of nowhere, Dallas Klein's daughter, Trish Klein appears in town. In a set-up remarkably similar to Baldacci's Camel Club story of Annabelle Conroy's vendetta against mobster Jerry Bagger (both were published in 2006 so it's hard to say who beat whom to that plot-line punch), it looks like she's gunning for revenge against her father's murderer. Of course, as with any police procedural or psychological thriller worth its salt, James Lee Burke has expertly upped the ante with multiple plot lines that weave in and out of one another throughout the novel - a young girl's suicide after a drunken fraternity debauch and a brutal gang rape; the hit-and-run death of an aging drifter that, on the evidence of the post-mortem, has much more sinister overtones; and the complex life of the local black dope dealer.
Although this is the apparently the 14th novel in which Burke has placed Robicheaux on center stage, this is the first time I've had the pleasure of sampling Burke's craftsmanship. And what an experience that was - his depiction of both the psychological mindscape and the physical landscape of a storm torn, poverty stricken Louisiana is outstanding. Any page opened at random will reveal Burke's masterful command of the language and his ability to create the most jarring and colourful metaphors and similes:
"The recycled air was like cigarette smoke that had been trapped for days in a refrigerator full of spoiled cheese."
On dealing with his own inner demons, for example:
"But the succubus I had tried to exorcise by marrying a woman of peace still held title to my soul. I saw the room distort and the faces of the people around me turn into Grecian masks, and I heard a sound in my ears like the steel tracks of armored vehicles wending their way across an unforgiving land."
The dialogue was creative, realistic, down to earth with a full, rich vocabulary of appropriate street lingo. The depth of characterization was wonderful (even though I was stepping into Robicheaux's world 13 novels after he was first created). The only "but" for me was the tortuous, almost Byzantine complexity of the plot. Don't let your attention drift or you may not find your way back.
I'll be hunting the second hand book stores for the Robicheaux canon starting from the beginning tomorrow.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Twenty-five years ago, deep in his cups with a keg's worth of beer and accompanying chasers under his belt, an alcoholic Dave Robicheaux witnessed the gangland execution of his friend, Dallas Klein. Swearing off the sauce and finding a good woman who accepts and loves him for what he is, Robicheaux has spent the remainder of his life in recovery attempting to live down that unforgivable inability to stand and help his friend so long ago. What most rankles Robicheaux is that he is certain of the assassin's identity - Whitey Bruxal, a mobster with a lengthy well-documented gangland jacket - but, with no proof, he is unable to act on the knowledge!
Now, out of nowhere, Dallas Klein's daughter, Trish Klein appears in town. In a set-up remarkably similar to Baldacci's Camel Club story of Annabelle Conroy's vendetta against mobster Jerry Bagger (both were published in 2006 so it's hard to say who beat whom to that plot-line punch), it looks like she's gunning for revenge against her father's murderer. Of course, as with any police procedural or psychological thriller worth its salt, James Lee Burke has expertly upped the ante with multiple plot lines that weave in and out of one another throughout the novel - a young girl's suicide after a drunken fraternity debauch and a brutal gang rape; the hit-and-run death of an aging drifter that, on the evidence of the post-mortem, has much more sinister overtones; and the complex life of the local black dope dealer.
Although this is the apparently the 14th novel in which Burke has placed Robicheaux on center stage, this is the first time I've had the pleasure of sampling Burke's craftsmanship. And what an experience that was - his depiction of both the psychological mindscape and the physical landscape of a storm torn, poverty stricken Louisiana is outstanding. Any page opened at random will reveal Burke's masterful command of the language and his ability to create the most jarring and colourful metaphors and similes:
"The recycled air was like cigarette smoke that had been trapped for days in a refrigerator full of spoiled cheese."
On dealing with his own inner demons, for example:
"But the succubus I had tried to exorcise by marrying a woman of peace still held title to my soul. I saw the room distort and the faces of the people around me turn into Grecian masks, and I heard a sound in my ears like the steel tracks of armored vehicles wending their way across an unforgiving land."
The dialogue was creative, realistic, down to earth with a full, rich vocabulary of appropriate street lingo. The depth of characterization was wonderful (even though I was stepping into Robicheaux's world 13 novels after he was first created). The only "but" for me was the tortuous, almost Byzantine complexity of the plot. Don't let your attention drift or you may not find your way back.
I'll be hunting the second hand book stores for the Robicheaux canon starting from the beginning tomorrow.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
April 18, 2009
I have a love/hate relationship with James Lee Burke. I continue to buy his books and then let them sit in my to-read queue for a long time. Then, needing a break from other genres, I sigh, pick up his latest Dave Robicheaux novel, blow off the dust, and am enthralled.
His writing is beautiful and dark; his characters are tortured and prone to self destruction; his crimes are personal and realistic. And the resolution to the stories, like life, does not always give you what you expect.
So, why do I dread reading these books and yet enjoy them so much when I do? I think it's because they're uncomfortable sometimes. They make me look at things that are not beautiful and take me places that are haunted by the memory of pain and loss. But, for all that, they're a beautiful slice of fiction. And I'm sure I'll dread the next one till I read it.
His writing is beautiful and dark; his characters are tortured and prone to self destruction; his crimes are personal and realistic. And the resolution to the stories, like life, does not always give you what you expect.
So, why do I dread reading these books and yet enjoy them so much when I do? I think it's because they're uncomfortable sometimes. They make me look at things that are not beautiful and take me places that are haunted by the memory of pain and loss. But, for all that, they're a beautiful slice of fiction. And I'm sure I'll dread the next one till I read it.
September 29, 2016
Once again in Pegasus Descending the past is never too far away and it's impact can be felt in the present day. At least in the world of Dave Robicheaux. Today he is sober and functioning but it was a different story twenty years ago. Back then he was still with the New Orleans Police Department and part of an exchange program with a training academy for police cadets in Dade County, Florida. When he wasn't teaching he was hanging out in a watering hole in Opa-Locka. He was "going steady with Jim Beam straight-up and a beer back". One of his drinking buddies was a fellow Vietnam vet named Dallas Klein. And then one day Dave's world came crashing down. Dallas was killed in a bank robbery that Dave witnessed but was too drunk to do anything about. He was unable to stop the bank robbery and he was unable to save his friend. People looked at him with scorn and pity.
Twenty years later Dave is sober and a detective with the New Iberia, Louisiana Sheriff Department and is called out to investigate when a woman starts passing marked $100 dollar bills. She is Trish Klein, the daughter of his old friend Dallas. She is not the only person from the past to show up in New Iberia. Whitey Bruxal, an organized crime figure to whom Dallas owed money, and one of his associates show up to help open a new casino. What is the connection between these people from Dave's past showing up in New Iberia? To keep things interesting there is also the apparent suicide of Yvonne Darbonne, a co-ed who apparently took part in a college frat party and the hit and run of a homeless man, nicknamed Crustacean Man. At first they would not appear to be related but as Dave investigates there are more deaths and Dave becomes convinced they are all related.
The question in this story seems to be whether Dave can make peace with the demons that have haunted him since he witnessed the murder of his friend. He has flaws but overall is a decent man. I have often seen James Lee Burke referred to as the "poet laureate of southern Louisiana". When you read a Dave Robicheaux story it is easy to see why. The characters and places come alive. They are vivid and rich. You become part of the story. You get to know the people, see the sunrise on the bayou, hear the rain on a tin roof, taste the unique foods. You become totally immersed.
Twenty years later Dave is sober and a detective with the New Iberia, Louisiana Sheriff Department and is called out to investigate when a woman starts passing marked $100 dollar bills. She is Trish Klein, the daughter of his old friend Dallas. She is not the only person from the past to show up in New Iberia. Whitey Bruxal, an organized crime figure to whom Dallas owed money, and one of his associates show up to help open a new casino. What is the connection between these people from Dave's past showing up in New Iberia? To keep things interesting there is also the apparent suicide of Yvonne Darbonne, a co-ed who apparently took part in a college frat party and the hit and run of a homeless man, nicknamed Crustacean Man. At first they would not appear to be related but as Dave investigates there are more deaths and Dave becomes convinced they are all related.
The question in this story seems to be whether Dave can make peace with the demons that have haunted him since he witnessed the murder of his friend. He has flaws but overall is a decent man. I have often seen James Lee Burke referred to as the "poet laureate of southern Louisiana". When you read a Dave Robicheaux story it is easy to see why. The characters and places come alive. They are vivid and rich. You become part of the story. You get to know the people, see the sunrise on the bayou, hear the rain on a tin roof, taste the unique foods. You become totally immersed.
November 28, 2010
James Lee Burke is one of the most talented writers out there. His descriptions of Louisiana are so evocative I feel like I'm sitting on the bayou with Dave Robicheaux. These are dark books, sometimes frighteningly so, but I always come back to them and I'm always sorry when the story ends. I'm listening to this one on audio and the reader is so perfect, it adds a great deal to the prose.
December 13, 2025
Man, fifteen books in and I'm still in love with this series! 💗
Dave catches the case of a young coed found with a single bullet hole through her forehead. She was beautiful, bright, gentle, and didn't drink or do drugs. As unlikely as it seems, there's gunpowder residue on her hands that indicate she did the deed herself. What on earth would drive a centered young woman to such an act?
Well, the most likely suspects include a group of young men she attended college with - one in particular she may have begun to see romantically. Thing is, Tony's as sweet and gentle as she was, so things just aren't adding up. Meanwhile, Tony's friends and their fathers start looking rather suspicious - if not for Yvonne's murder, then perhaps for other nefarious deeds past and present.
Meanwhile, another twentysomething woman enters the story. Dave served with her father in Vietnam, and in the great mystery that is life, Dave once found himself in the right place/wrong time to save him from evil men, but he had not been sober enough to do it. Years later, he still carries the guilt and tries to make up for it by looking out for Dallas' daughter. Clete, meanwhile, gets mixed up with her - but just who is the bad influence upon whom in that relationship?
We had a close call with Tripod, but thankfully, the little guy is still with us. Alafair is still MIA from these books since she left for college a few novels ago. Molly continues to be Dave's rock and my favorite of all his wives. Sheriff Helen Soileau, a very admirable character, struggles daily with whether to look out for Dave or fire him.
Next up: The Tin Roof Blowdown. I'm especially excited for that one because Hurricane Katrina is central to the story!
Dave catches the case of a young coed found with a single bullet hole through her forehead. She was beautiful, bright, gentle, and didn't drink or do drugs. As unlikely as it seems, there's gunpowder residue on her hands that indicate she did the deed herself. What on earth would drive a centered young woman to such an act?
Well, the most likely suspects include a group of young men she attended college with - one in particular she may have begun to see romantically. Thing is, Tony's as sweet and gentle as she was, so things just aren't adding up. Meanwhile, Tony's friends and their fathers start looking rather suspicious - if not for Yvonne's murder, then perhaps for other nefarious deeds past and present.
Meanwhile, another twentysomething woman enters the story. Dave served with her father in Vietnam, and in the great mystery that is life, Dave once found himself in the right place/wrong time to save him from evil men, but he had not been sober enough to do it. Years later, he still carries the guilt and tries to make up for it by looking out for Dallas' daughter. Clete, meanwhile, gets mixed up with her - but just who is the bad influence upon whom in that relationship?
We had a close call with Tripod, but thankfully, the little guy is still with us. Alafair is still MIA from these books since she left for college a few novels ago. Molly continues to be Dave's rock and my favorite of all his wives. Sheriff Helen Soileau, a very admirable character, struggles daily with whether to look out for Dave or fire him.
Nobody ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
He had learned in Vietnam there were three groups of people who got you killed—pencil pushers, amateurs, and idealists.
There may be room in government service for the altruist and the iconoclast, but I have yet to see one who was not treated as an oddity at best and at worst an object of suspicion and fear.
If age brings either wisdom or answers to ancient questions, it has made an exception for me.
Next up: The Tin Roof Blowdown. I'm especially excited for that one because Hurricane Katrina is central to the story!
December 5, 2012
My first and only James Burke novel before this one was: RAIN GODS. And, I remember it being very dark and dreary, quite like reading McCarthy. However, Burke seems to give the reader some sort of redemption in his endings. And, this is what I most remember about that book.
PEGASUS DESCENDING is my first Robicheaux novel. And, holy crap, where the hell did this character come from. Full, three dimensional charismatic badass. This character is like a mixture of Vaschs' Burke, and Parker's Spenser. And, with listening to the audio version done by Will Patton this book had me at the edge of my seat.
Robicheaux is told to investigate a woman who is passing around marked $100 bills at the local casino. When it's found out that the girl in question is the daughter of his best friend. The same best friend that he saw killed in an armed car robbery, he comes to realize that the past, and the present are mingled together. And, more important, Robicheaux might get a second chance at redemption, or even better: revenge.
Great characters, and a plot that just rolls along and then suddenly BAMM! Everything goes at breakneck speed until its stunning climax.
Brillant.
Recommend? Hell yes. (and I'll never look at a pot of gumbo the same way again!)
4-1/2 stars
PEGASUS DESCENDING is my first Robicheaux novel. And, holy crap, where the hell did this character come from. Full, three dimensional charismatic badass. This character is like a mixture of Vaschs' Burke, and Parker's Spenser. And, with listening to the audio version done by Will Patton this book had me at the edge of my seat.
Robicheaux is told to investigate a woman who is passing around marked $100 bills at the local casino. When it's found out that the girl in question is the daughter of his best friend. The same best friend that he saw killed in an armed car robbery, he comes to realize that the past, and the present are mingled together. And, more important, Robicheaux might get a second chance at redemption, or even better: revenge.
Great characters, and a plot that just rolls along and then suddenly BAMM! Everything goes at breakneck speed until its stunning climax.
Brillant.
Recommend? Hell yes. (and I'll never look at a pot of gumbo the same way again!)
4-1/2 stars
September 15, 2013
PROTAGONIST: Dave Robicheaux
SETTING: New Orleans
SERIES: #15 of 15
RATING: 4.5
Dave Robicheaux has always been a man haunted by his past, and never more so than in PEGASUS DESCENDING. More than 20 years after the fact, he is still experiencing strong guilt about not preventing the murder of a good friend, Dallas Klein, who was mowed down by mob types. Dave witnessed the event, but was unable to do anything about it because he was completely drunk at the time. When Klein's daughter shows up almost at his doorstep, the guilt comes back in full force. Trish Klein appears to be a chip off the old block; she's passing stolen hundred dollar bills and has strong connections to some of the local gambling joints. Surprisingly, she establishes an even stronger connection with Dave's best friend, Clete Purcel, who against all odds, seems to have fallen completely in love with the much younger Trish.
Trish is just a side note for the main case that Robicheaux is investigating, the suicide of a young woman named Yvonne Darbonne. Although Yvonne seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, she was associating with a fast crowd. Her autopsy shows indications of a gang rape; although she was not known to be a drinker or drug user, her system also shows evidence of both. The more Dave digs into things, the closer he comes to indicting some of the more powerful movers and shakers in the area and putting himself and his loved ones in danger. And sometimes the source of that danger is Dave himself. These aren't the only cases that Dave is working on. There's the murder of a young man with connections, likely by a surly young black man who has more redeeming characteristics than almost anyone else that Dave interacts with, in spite of his declivity toward evil. Even the case of the hit-and-run death of a homeless man is not so clearcut as it first seems.
It's tempting when trying to describe Burke's books to fall back on a thesaurus of adjectives for "exceptional", "evocative" and "lyrical". Suffice it to say that Burke is probably the master of descriptive writing. At various points in the book, the reader is forced to sit back and relish the way that he puts words on the page. Whether he is describing a setting or the motivations of one of the characters, his prose sings. But never fear, if that sounds too heavy—Burke also includes humorous elements that help lighten up the darkness. In this book, it's the appearance of a klutzy FBI agent named Betsy Mossbacher, straight from Chugwater, Wyoming, who befuddles Dave with her frankness and annoys the heck out of his boss, on whose carpet she tracks her cow-patty defiled boots.
Dave Robicheaux is the epitome of the flawed hero, ever fighting his own demons while championing those who aren't able to fight for themselves. His failures and his successes for himself and for others plus the sheer magnificence of Burke's writing are what make this series one of the most loved by mystery readers. It's rare to find an author who is able to deliver the complete package in the way that Burke does—realistic characters who grow and change from book to book, well-crafted dialog, complex plots that are believable and play out logically and settings that are lushly drawn. And PEGASUS DESCENDING is James Lee Burke at his best, which means pure joy for fans of this series.
SETTING: New Orleans
SERIES: #15 of 15
RATING: 4.5
Dave Robicheaux has always been a man haunted by his past, and never more so than in PEGASUS DESCENDING. More than 20 years after the fact, he is still experiencing strong guilt about not preventing the murder of a good friend, Dallas Klein, who was mowed down by mob types. Dave witnessed the event, but was unable to do anything about it because he was completely drunk at the time. When Klein's daughter shows up almost at his doorstep, the guilt comes back in full force. Trish Klein appears to be a chip off the old block; she's passing stolen hundred dollar bills and has strong connections to some of the local gambling joints. Surprisingly, she establishes an even stronger connection with Dave's best friend, Clete Purcel, who against all odds, seems to have fallen completely in love with the much younger Trish.
Trish is just a side note for the main case that Robicheaux is investigating, the suicide of a young woman named Yvonne Darbonne. Although Yvonne seemed to have a good head on her shoulders, she was associating with a fast crowd. Her autopsy shows indications of a gang rape; although she was not known to be a drinker or drug user, her system also shows evidence of both. The more Dave digs into things, the closer he comes to indicting some of the more powerful movers and shakers in the area and putting himself and his loved ones in danger. And sometimes the source of that danger is Dave himself. These aren't the only cases that Dave is working on. There's the murder of a young man with connections, likely by a surly young black man who has more redeeming characteristics than almost anyone else that Dave interacts with, in spite of his declivity toward evil. Even the case of the hit-and-run death of a homeless man is not so clearcut as it first seems.
It's tempting when trying to describe Burke's books to fall back on a thesaurus of adjectives for "exceptional", "evocative" and "lyrical". Suffice it to say that Burke is probably the master of descriptive writing. At various points in the book, the reader is forced to sit back and relish the way that he puts words on the page. Whether he is describing a setting or the motivations of one of the characters, his prose sings. But never fear, if that sounds too heavy—Burke also includes humorous elements that help lighten up the darkness. In this book, it's the appearance of a klutzy FBI agent named Betsy Mossbacher, straight from Chugwater, Wyoming, who befuddles Dave with her frankness and annoys the heck out of his boss, on whose carpet she tracks her cow-patty defiled boots.
Dave Robicheaux is the epitome of the flawed hero, ever fighting his own demons while championing those who aren't able to fight for themselves. His failures and his successes for himself and for others plus the sheer magnificence of Burke's writing are what make this series one of the most loved by mystery readers. It's rare to find an author who is able to deliver the complete package in the way that Burke does—realistic characters who grow and change from book to book, well-crafted dialog, complex plots that are believable and play out logically and settings that are lushly drawn. And PEGASUS DESCENDING is James Lee Burke at his best, which means pure joy for fans of this series.
July 19, 2019
The series' two best runs were from books #2-#4 and #9-#11. The first one resulted in the top Edgar award, the second one the Golden Dagger. The rest of the series including Pegasus Descending stays pretty good but is essentially riffing off the same ideas and material that most Burke fans would know inside out by now. The themes of racism and classism being institutionalised, societal rot that grows with each passing day, the system's fondness for going for the lowest hanging fruit when it comes to prosecuting criminals and lastly a good man's (Robicheaux) battle for his soul.
Burke has written variations of this narrative before and will probably write it again. But it's written with enough skill and verve that the reskinning was not a major issue for me. The more I read Burke, the more I am convinced he is one of the best writers working today irrespective of genres. His writing provides a confession's catharsis as well as possesses an iconoclast's indignation. It is as raw as it is regal, both honest and heartbreaking, alternatively meditative and mesmerizing. Plus for the hard-boiled fans its insults are most imaginative; it never gets old seeing two fifty year olds threaten to kill each other while still referring to each other as SIR!!
The plot has a sexual assault victim's questionable suicide, a hit and run murder mystery, couple more murders, an amateur heist team and a larger assortment of various lowlifes. So still fewer subplots compared to some other novels in the series! It is more compact than its immediate predecessor Robicheaux #14 which had a serial killer subplot forgotten for long parts. Most pieces come together organically and satisfyingly but the structure itself is very repetitive. I wish Burke would show some innovation on this front.
Robicheaux's latest wife Molly is the most underdeveloped character in the ensemble and feels exactly like his last wife. Clete Purcell's romantic subplots don't fare well either but his setpieces of large scale devastation continue to get more and more impressive. This time look out for the Clete's latest innovation in waterboarding.
The best part of the series even after 15 books is Robicheaux. He is almost never written as a traditional hero. Modern crime protagonists mainly come in two sizes - the righteous man who will weed out every last injustice with little regard for personal cost and the cynical world weary man who means well but realizes compromises are a necessity. (Think Connelly's Harry Bosch and Block's Matt Scudder as popular examples for the two different schools) However when Robicheaux behaves in a mould that would fit the first stereotype, other characters call him out for his sanctimonious, holier than thou judgment calls. When Robicheaux relents and lets his worst impulses take over, Burke is not afraid to dwell on the hypocrisy, shame and guilt that his protagonist faces for becoming as vile and violent as people he stands against. So Robicheaux is always introspective and tortured, it makes for a fascinating character. A man who means well but can't always trust his own judgment.
Burke is not content shining a light on the darkest part of the human soul, he insists on dragging the reader through his protagonist's personal hells. It is not always fun and too heavy for some but I love it. Rating - 4/5.
Burke has written variations of this narrative before and will probably write it again. But it's written with enough skill and verve that the reskinning was not a major issue for me. The more I read Burke, the more I am convinced he is one of the best writers working today irrespective of genres. His writing provides a confession's catharsis as well as possesses an iconoclast's indignation. It is as raw as it is regal, both honest and heartbreaking, alternatively meditative and mesmerizing. Plus for the hard-boiled fans its insults are most imaginative; it never gets old seeing two fifty year olds threaten to kill each other while still referring to each other as SIR!!
The plot has a sexual assault victim's questionable suicide, a hit and run murder mystery, couple more murders, an amateur heist team and a larger assortment of various lowlifes. So still fewer subplots compared to some other novels in the series! It is more compact than its immediate predecessor Robicheaux #14 which had a serial killer subplot forgotten for long parts. Most pieces come together organically and satisfyingly but the structure itself is very repetitive. I wish Burke would show some innovation on this front.
Robicheaux's latest wife Molly is the most underdeveloped character in the ensemble and feels exactly like his last wife. Clete Purcell's romantic subplots don't fare well either but his setpieces of large scale devastation continue to get more and more impressive. This time look out for the Clete's latest innovation in waterboarding.
The best part of the series even after 15 books is Robicheaux. He is almost never written as a traditional hero. Modern crime protagonists mainly come in two sizes - the righteous man who will weed out every last injustice with little regard for personal cost and the cynical world weary man who means well but realizes compromises are a necessity. (Think Connelly's Harry Bosch and Block's Matt Scudder as popular examples for the two different schools) However when Robicheaux behaves in a mould that would fit the first stereotype, other characters call him out for his sanctimonious, holier than thou judgment calls. When Robicheaux relents and lets his worst impulses take over, Burke is not afraid to dwell on the hypocrisy, shame and guilt that his protagonist faces for becoming as vile and violent as people he stands against. So Robicheaux is always introspective and tortured, it makes for a fascinating character. A man who means well but can't always trust his own judgment.
Burke is not content shining a light on the darkest part of the human soul, he insists on dragging the reader through his protagonist's personal hells. It is not always fun and too heavy for some but I love it. Rating - 4/5.
May 12, 2022
OK, that was a fun (albeit tense and complicated) ride. Definitely one of my favorites (and, for me, much better, more engaging than the last few I'd consumed).
Sure, on the one hand, it's more of the same.... Largely true to form, it's Robicheaux and his merry-and-pathological-and-psychotic-and damaged band engaging in seemingly never-ending mayhem sprinkled with lyricism and languid observation, and, ultimately, sure ... it's just another solid installment in the Robicheaux story arc....
Like most of the JLB's and Robicheauxs I've read, it's first and foremost a compelling yarn in which the pages turned easily, enlivened by a sufficient number of twists and turns complicated things (arriving from every conceivable direction), and the end arrives (with plenty of momentum and cruises to conclude) in a gratifying rush.... But, overall, for this one (mores so than some), I bought in early and the momentum kept me engaged throughout - and I didn't want to put it down (or go to sleep, etc.)....
At this point, I've read at least 20 JLB novels, and I don't expect to stop anytime soon. Alas, I've consumed all of the JLB's I had in my to-read pile (although I almost never read them consecutively, I do tend to buy a few at at time and keep one or more in the pile for when I'm looking for a safe/reliable choice). If I continue to ration, I expect I'm still a few (or at least a couple) of years away from catching up to the author on Robicheaux...
Sure, on the one hand, it's more of the same.... Largely true to form, it's Robicheaux and his merry-and-pathological-and-psychotic-and damaged band engaging in seemingly never-ending mayhem sprinkled with lyricism and languid observation, and, ultimately, sure ... it's just another solid installment in the Robicheaux story arc....
Like most of the JLB's and Robicheauxs I've read, it's first and foremost a compelling yarn in which the pages turned easily, enlivened by a sufficient number of twists and turns complicated things (arriving from every conceivable direction), and the end arrives (with plenty of momentum and cruises to conclude) in a gratifying rush.... But, overall, for this one (mores so than some), I bought in early and the momentum kept me engaged throughout - and I didn't want to put it down (or go to sleep, etc.)....
At this point, I've read at least 20 JLB novels, and I don't expect to stop anytime soon. Alas, I've consumed all of the JLB's I had in my to-read pile (although I almost never read them consecutively, I do tend to buy a few at at time and keep one or more in the pile for when I'm looking for a safe/reliable choice). If I continue to ration, I expect I'm still a few (or at least a couple) of years away from catching up to the author on Robicheaux...
January 1, 2015
“Pegasus”, no original “Pegasus Descending”, editado em 2006, é o décimo quinto livro da série protagonizada pelo detective Dave Robicheaux, escrito pelo norte-americano James Lee Burke.
O cenário da narrativa de “Pegasus” mantém-se na pequena cidade de New Iberia, no sul do Louisiana, na zona do “bayou” (pequenos “braços” ou afluentes do rio Mississipi, numa rede navegável de milhares de quilómetros, infestado de crocodilos, mosquitos e outros insectos voadores) e de áreas pantanosas, fustigada por furacões e tempestades tropicais.
O detective Dave Robicheaux continua a sua caminhada para a redenção, para a fuga ao alcoolismo e ao “delirium tremens”, dominado pelos seus “fantasmas” e por actos reprováveis que lhe ensombram o sono e os sonhos.
Há cerca de vinte e cinco anos, na zona de Opa-Locka, em Miami, na Florida, Robicheaux presenciou – em estado de embriaguez - a morte do seu amigo Dallas Klein, um ex-herói na guerra do Camboja, um jogador e apostador compulsivo, enredado num assalto a uma carrinha de valores - num assassinato a sangue-frio executado por uma quadrilha organizada.
Agora encontra em New Iberia a jovem Trish Klein, a linda filha de Dallas, a “passar” notas de 100 dólares, roubadas de um casino.
Depois há três mortes que se entrelaçam – o atropelamento do Homem-crustáceo, o “suicídio” da jovem Yvonne Darbonne e o assassinato de Tony Lujan. Três casos que são apenas um único caso, que se desenvolvem no mundo corrupto do jogo e dos casinos, em famílias “mafiosas” de relacionamentos ambíguos e complexos, onde as ambições políticas têm um papel determinante na evolução da narrativa.
Dave Robicheaux é uma personagem fascinante, um herói falhado, que luta permanente com os seus demónios e os seus fracassos, mas que mantém intacta as suas motivações, por vezes exercidas de uma forma violenta, cruel mas sem revelar nenhum comportamento sádico.
James Lee Burke é um escritor “completo” – introduz-nos excelentes e singulares personagens, com descrições realistas e cinematográficas, com diálogos originais e intensos; interligando as várias subtramas e tramas da narrativa, num conjunto complexo de relacionamentos humanos entre as diferentes personagens, que mantêm comportamentos desprezíveis, revelando a fragilidade do relacionamento humano, com destaque para a perpetuação dos conflitos raciais, a corrupção política e económica.
“Pegasus” é um livro “noir”, com uma escrita sensual e sombria, com um humor expressivo e original – imperdível.
“Nessa noite sonhei com cavalos a galoparem num vasto cercado poeirento, silenciosamente, os músculos ondulando como cordas oleadas. À distância, prados e colinas verdejantes suavemente encurvadas e um ribeiro de margens ladeadas por choupos. Na manada havia cavalos…, as bocas escorrendo saliva, a respiração colectiva intensa como o batimento de tambores índios. O céu era rasgado por raios de tempestade, o ar cortante com a promessa de chuva. Mas não havia água dentro do cercado, apenas calor, nuvens de poeira e estrume.” (Págs. 93 e 94)
“Molly (a ex-freira, mulher de Dave Robicheaux) mexia-se, ainda a dormir, a anca arredondada por baixo do lençol, o traseiro quente a roçar em mim. Passava os dedos no seu cabelo, descia-os pelos ombros, pelas costas e ao longo da curva da cintura. Beijava-lhe o pneu da cintura e os dois sinais vermelhos por baixo do umbigo. Beijava-lhe os seios, a barriga, os lábios e os olhos, depois puxava-a para mim, enterrando o meu rosto no aroma espesso do seu cabelo.
Quando fazíamos amor ela fazia-o sem restrições, reservas ou ressentimentos ocultos por causa de um comentário torto ou ofensa imaginária. A bondade e o sorriso de Molly seguiam-na para a cama, e de manhã a pele dela tinha o cheiro quente como as flores do jardim. No azul-escuro da madrugada escutava a sua respiração ritmada no meu ouvido…” (Págs. 176 e 177)
“Frequentemente, numa investigação de um crime violento que tenha sido o culminar de toda uma vida de desejo de vingança e de provocar sofrimento, o que as pessoas não nos dizem é o mais importante do que aquilo que dizem. Vítimas de violação querem ver arrancadas as unhas dos violadores. Mesmo depois de o culpado estar morto, familiares das vítimas de homicídio, seja qual for a sua crença religiosa, passam uma vida inteira a debater-se com a fúria e a vontade de se vingarem, como se o fantasma do assassino se tivesse alojado nos seus lares.” (Pá. 333)
Dave Robicheaux tenta desvendar os crimes: “A chave para tudo isto brilhava fugazmente na periferia da minha visão, como um fragmento de memória de um sonho que permanece de manhã, ao despertar. Estava unida a um pormenor insignificante, uma referência oblíqua que eu tinha ignorado, uma diminuta prova física que era como um grão de areia numa praia. Mas o quê?” (Pág. 346)
O cenário da narrativa de “Pegasus” mantém-se na pequena cidade de New Iberia, no sul do Louisiana, na zona do “bayou” (pequenos “braços” ou afluentes do rio Mississipi, numa rede navegável de milhares de quilómetros, infestado de crocodilos, mosquitos e outros insectos voadores) e de áreas pantanosas, fustigada por furacões e tempestades tropicais.
O detective Dave Robicheaux continua a sua caminhada para a redenção, para a fuga ao alcoolismo e ao “delirium tremens”, dominado pelos seus “fantasmas” e por actos reprováveis que lhe ensombram o sono e os sonhos.
Há cerca de vinte e cinco anos, na zona de Opa-Locka, em Miami, na Florida, Robicheaux presenciou – em estado de embriaguez - a morte do seu amigo Dallas Klein, um ex-herói na guerra do Camboja, um jogador e apostador compulsivo, enredado num assalto a uma carrinha de valores - num assassinato a sangue-frio executado por uma quadrilha organizada.
Agora encontra em New Iberia a jovem Trish Klein, a linda filha de Dallas, a “passar” notas de 100 dólares, roubadas de um casino.
Depois há três mortes que se entrelaçam – o atropelamento do Homem-crustáceo, o “suicídio” da jovem Yvonne Darbonne e o assassinato de Tony Lujan. Três casos que são apenas um único caso, que se desenvolvem no mundo corrupto do jogo e dos casinos, em famílias “mafiosas” de relacionamentos ambíguos e complexos, onde as ambições políticas têm um papel determinante na evolução da narrativa.
Dave Robicheaux é uma personagem fascinante, um herói falhado, que luta permanente com os seus demónios e os seus fracassos, mas que mantém intacta as suas motivações, por vezes exercidas de uma forma violenta, cruel mas sem revelar nenhum comportamento sádico.
James Lee Burke é um escritor “completo” – introduz-nos excelentes e singulares personagens, com descrições realistas e cinematográficas, com diálogos originais e intensos; interligando as várias subtramas e tramas da narrativa, num conjunto complexo de relacionamentos humanos entre as diferentes personagens, que mantêm comportamentos desprezíveis, revelando a fragilidade do relacionamento humano, com destaque para a perpetuação dos conflitos raciais, a corrupção política e económica.
“Pegasus” é um livro “noir”, com uma escrita sensual e sombria, com um humor expressivo e original – imperdível.
“Nessa noite sonhei com cavalos a galoparem num vasto cercado poeirento, silenciosamente, os músculos ondulando como cordas oleadas. À distância, prados e colinas verdejantes suavemente encurvadas e um ribeiro de margens ladeadas por choupos. Na manada havia cavalos…, as bocas escorrendo saliva, a respiração colectiva intensa como o batimento de tambores índios. O céu era rasgado por raios de tempestade, o ar cortante com a promessa de chuva. Mas não havia água dentro do cercado, apenas calor, nuvens de poeira e estrume.” (Págs. 93 e 94)
“Molly (a ex-freira, mulher de Dave Robicheaux) mexia-se, ainda a dormir, a anca arredondada por baixo do lençol, o traseiro quente a roçar em mim. Passava os dedos no seu cabelo, descia-os pelos ombros, pelas costas e ao longo da curva da cintura. Beijava-lhe o pneu da cintura e os dois sinais vermelhos por baixo do umbigo. Beijava-lhe os seios, a barriga, os lábios e os olhos, depois puxava-a para mim, enterrando o meu rosto no aroma espesso do seu cabelo.
Quando fazíamos amor ela fazia-o sem restrições, reservas ou ressentimentos ocultos por causa de um comentário torto ou ofensa imaginária. A bondade e o sorriso de Molly seguiam-na para a cama, e de manhã a pele dela tinha o cheiro quente como as flores do jardim. No azul-escuro da madrugada escutava a sua respiração ritmada no meu ouvido…” (Págs. 176 e 177)
“Frequentemente, numa investigação de um crime violento que tenha sido o culminar de toda uma vida de desejo de vingança e de provocar sofrimento, o que as pessoas não nos dizem é o mais importante do que aquilo que dizem. Vítimas de violação querem ver arrancadas as unhas dos violadores. Mesmo depois de o culpado estar morto, familiares das vítimas de homicídio, seja qual for a sua crença religiosa, passam uma vida inteira a debater-se com a fúria e a vontade de se vingarem, como se o fantasma do assassino se tivesse alojado nos seus lares.” (Pá. 333)
Dave Robicheaux tenta desvendar os crimes: “A chave para tudo isto brilhava fugazmente na periferia da minha visão, como um fragmento de memória de um sonho que permanece de manhã, ao despertar. Estava unida a um pormenor insignificante, uma referência oblíqua que eu tinha ignorado, uma diminuta prova física que era como um grão de areia numa praia. Mas o quê?” (Pág. 346)
January 3, 2025
This series just gets better and better. If you’re reading this but you’ve never read a Robicheaux book then you need to rectify that this year. It’s literary crime set in Louisiana, where the past is romanticised but remains relevant. As is always the case, whether we acknowledge it or not.
I can’t relate to how James Lee Burke writes these stories, or thinks of these characters, I really can’t. Perhaps it’s the fact he’s spent almost 90 years living among them. In almost every book he spends the first 100 pages or so creating new characters from Dave Robicheaux’s past and present. Then our hero will take issue with with one of them while trying to solve a crime, whose victim is usually one of the poor unfortunates that litter the southern landscape. Dave will beat someone up and then regret it and his old friend Clete will raise some well meaning hell. It all gradually escalates towards a thrilling, edge of the seat finale. I swear every book is like that, yet I can never predict what will happen.
I could happily just read all these books in a row, but I’m being strict with myself. The next book in the series, the Tin Roof Blowdown, is the one that won the awards. But it beats me why James Lee Burke didn’t receive more recognition before that point. His books are still massively under read. So come on people, get on it!
I can’t relate to how James Lee Burke writes these stories, or thinks of these characters, I really can’t. Perhaps it’s the fact he’s spent almost 90 years living among them. In almost every book he spends the first 100 pages or so creating new characters from Dave Robicheaux’s past and present. Then our hero will take issue with with one of them while trying to solve a crime, whose victim is usually one of the poor unfortunates that litter the southern landscape. Dave will beat someone up and then regret it and his old friend Clete will raise some well meaning hell. It all gradually escalates towards a thrilling, edge of the seat finale. I swear every book is like that, yet I can never predict what will happen.
I could happily just read all these books in a row, but I’m being strict with myself. The next book in the series, the Tin Roof Blowdown, is the one that won the awards. But it beats me why James Lee Burke didn’t receive more recognition before that point. His books are still massively under read. So come on people, get on it!
April 18, 2020
I found an older JLB book that I had not read yet. As usual, a great story.
July 22, 2025
The 15th Detective Dave Robicheaux novel. Great book. A review with a little more detail to follow in the future.
June 11, 2013
This is not a stellar Robicheaux outing. The case felt murky and dirty in ways that made me cringe from time to time, as well as utter a loud "ick" as I was reading. I feel like I need a shower after reading this. The hidden homosexual urges and extreme violence against women (well, to be fair, not all of the women were defenseless) were, I thought, overwrought. I still love Dave and his relationships with Helen, Clete, and Molly, but I didn't come away from this novel with much other than frustration as Dave continues to battle his alcohol and violence demons and Clete does one stupid thing after another and they both continue to maintain their nobility while committing extra-legal activities right and left. I always enjoy watching Dave unravel the case through his dreams and endless interviews as he rubs everyone the wrong way all the time. But this one will not stick with me past this review, I think.
April 10, 2017
(2nd read/listen) Gritty......from start to finish. Classic James Lee Burke style with Dave & Clete keeping the mayhem in order in lovely yet suspect New Iberia. All of the rich elements are shining in this dialogue......which makes this author one of a kind. Seriously, give a listen to any JLB audiobooks narrated by Will Patton...this man is Dave Robicheaux & Clete Purcell.
Louisiana, with the exception of New Orleans would go unnoticed without this irrepressible author's retelling of it's history and blending of historical fiction, there's no question.
Third time's a charm....
Louisiana, with the exception of New Orleans would go unnoticed without this irrepressible author's retelling of it's history and blending of historical fiction, there's no question.
Third time's a charm....
November 24, 2018
I miss Dave’s camp and boat rental business, Alafair and Bootsie. I still haven’t warmed up to his new wife, Molly or his move to town. This was not one of my favorites in the series. There was a little bit too much mob, drugs, racists, and violence. Fortunately, Dave & Clete haven’t changed a bit. And the book still has beautiful descriptions of Louisiana. I’ll hope for better in the next book, The Tin Roof Blowdown. This book ended very suddenly and it was obvious that Burke was setting up for Hurricane Katrina in the next installment.
November 27, 2017
Pegasus Descending
With every book that I read in this series James Lee Burke just gets better and better. He writes like a poet. I really believe that he is one of the greatest writers around today.
With every book that I read in this series James Lee Burke just gets better and better. He writes like a poet. I really believe that he is one of the greatest writers around today.
June 12, 2017
An absolute perfect match of novelist and narrator is James Lee Burke and Will Patton!
December 13, 2025
New Isola Detective Robicheaux is the primary investigator responding to an apparent suicide, a young woman who held the gun that killed her, with drugs in her system and with a seedy background. After interviewing the father and looking through her diary, however, he can't imagine this woman would kill herself and he presses the issue.
At the same time, there are some marked bills reintroduced to circulation that call his attention to a bank robbery that he witnessed two decades prior and that ended in the death of a friend. This one is a federal case so he doesn't have a professional obligation but when his friend Clete passes time with the dead friend's daughter, he can't help but push his way into things to perhaps right some personal regrets.
"Pegasus Descending" (2006) is a good murder mystery but suffers from having some repetitive threads bog down the investigation; I kept reading Dave getting into it with the DA, Dave getting into it with the ME, Dave's boss getting into it with the DA, Dave threatening the various suspects, and always making "smart" last word comments and walking off like they're characters in a bad TV drama.
One example, Dave talking to an old lady: "I was drunk for many years, Mrs. Lujan. But I finally learned everybody has to pay his tab. Good luck to you. The Garden of Gethsemane is a tough gig." Oh, please. Dave spends this whole 350-page novel trying to reconcile righteousness with humility and then throws that punch as a last word on an old lady in a wheelchair he doesn't like. Yes, she's a piece of work, but so are all of these suspects. The number of times this kind of sequence happens, it just gets old and toothless.
And of course there's a money-hungry televangelist lurking around somehow involved in this mess. Wow. Shocking.
An unspeakable event central to the narrative is a horrible act committed by a fraternity of all-white rich kids and I'm sure it was because of the Duke lacrosse team incident around that time. I detest spoiled rich jerks, too, but this narrative came across as only half-true in light of the fact the accuser in the real-life 2006 Duke lacrosse case was lying. With that, "Pegasus" carries a sense of unbelievability even though it is a fiction tale. Not fair to the story, perhaps, but that's how I took it.
There are also a number of spelling errors in my hardcover copy.
Verdict: Getting my thoughts down above, it reads pretty bad, lol. I did want to know who committed all these murders, though, so while I was unimpressed with the manner in which Burke built this one, it still carries that colorfully dark and smart soul of a detective trying to find truth and justice for those who are taken advantage of, and has a smart ending. I couldn't put this one down. I'll call it a 2.5 and will round up.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
At the same time, there are some marked bills reintroduced to circulation that call his attention to a bank robbery that he witnessed two decades prior and that ended in the death of a friend. This one is a federal case so he doesn't have a professional obligation but when his friend Clete passes time with the dead friend's daughter, he can't help but push his way into things to perhaps right some personal regrets.
"Pegasus Descending" (2006) is a good murder mystery but suffers from having some repetitive threads bog down the investigation; I kept reading Dave getting into it with the DA, Dave getting into it with the ME, Dave's boss getting into it with the DA, Dave threatening the various suspects, and always making "smart" last word comments and walking off like they're characters in a bad TV drama.
One example, Dave talking to an old lady: "I was drunk for many years, Mrs. Lujan. But I finally learned everybody has to pay his tab. Good luck to you. The Garden of Gethsemane is a tough gig." Oh, please. Dave spends this whole 350-page novel trying to reconcile righteousness with humility and then throws that punch as a last word on an old lady in a wheelchair he doesn't like. Yes, she's a piece of work, but so are all of these suspects. The number of times this kind of sequence happens, it just gets old and toothless.
And of course there's a money-hungry televangelist lurking around somehow involved in this mess. Wow. Shocking.
An unspeakable event central to the narrative is a horrible act committed by a fraternity of all-white rich kids and I'm sure it was because of the Duke lacrosse team incident around that time. I detest spoiled rich jerks, too, but this narrative came across as only half-true in light of the fact the accuser in the real-life 2006 Duke lacrosse case was lying. With that, "Pegasus" carries a sense of unbelievability even though it is a fiction tale. Not fair to the story, perhaps, but that's how I took it.
There are also a number of spelling errors in my hardcover copy.
Verdict: Getting my thoughts down above, it reads pretty bad, lol. I did want to know who committed all these murders, though, so while I was unimpressed with the manner in which Burke built this one, it still carries that colorfully dark and smart soul of a detective trying to find truth and justice for those who are taken advantage of, and has a smart ending. I couldn't put this one down. I'll call it a 2.5 and will round up.
Jeff's Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R
January 25, 2020
I listened to this audiobook. James Lee Burke is a master of eloquent descriptions. Beautiful prose juxtaposed with abject violence and depravity. I am drawn to these books featuring Dave Robicheaux in Deep South Louisiana. Will Patton is the perfect narrator of the audio version. This book begins with Trish Klein blowing into town from Florida and she is passing $100 bills marked with dye. She is a grifter, the daughter of Dallas Klein, who 25 years ago was killed in an armored car robbery. Dave knew Dallas, and actually witnessed him being gunned down. Dave, now an investigator with the New Iberia sheriff’s department is looking at a cold case of a homeless vagrant who seems to be the victim of a hit and run. Then college coed Yvonne Darbonne, full of drugs and with evidence of multiple sexual partners, is found shot in the face, apparently a suicide. We follow Dave as he figures out how the stories of the man hit by a car, the dead coed, and the grifter from Florida are tied together. The cases reveal a crime boss from Florida named Whitey Bruxal killed Dallas Klein. Now Whitey is in Louisiana and Trish is here to bring him down. Whitey’s son is implicated, along with the coed’s boyfriend, in both the death of the homeless man and the death of the coed. Dave’s best friend Clete becomes involved with the grifter. It is complicated, bloody, and violent. The characters that inhabit Dave Robicheaux’s world are often violent, self centered, and without the ability to feel empathy. It is a world of crime and street punishment. Dave fights his inner demons, and sometimes loses the battle. This is a very good book.
November 19, 2020
At times I think I've read too many of James Lee Burke's novels. His characters are at times too violent and too out of control. And those are the protagonists not the villains. Pegasus Descending is the 15th Dave Robicheaux story. Robicheaux is an alcoholic who is working hard on his recovery and attends AA meetings and Mass regularly. But he still struggles with demons from childhood, Army service in Vietnam and his years as a New Orleans police officer. In Pegasus Descending there are too many crimes , including murders, to enumerate. Set in the time just before Hurricane Katrina in 2006 casinos in Louisiana have introduced new crimes and criminals. A college freshman woman shoots herself after being gang raped in a fraternity house. Or is it suicide. The son of a wealthy criminal is shot to death and a drug dealer suspected of the crime. But is that a frame. Burke captures the flavor of Louisiana, though I have never been there to confirm that. Someday perhaps.
April 21, 2025
Pegasus Descending by James Lee Burke is the 15th book of the Dave Robicheaux mystery series set in contemporary Louisiana. Dave lives in New Iberia with his latest wife Molly (an ex-nun he met and saved in an earlier book; be sure to read this series in order, to appreciate Dave's complex and tormented personality).
Dave is currently sober and working as a detective again, for police chief Helen. He has seemingly unrelated crimes to investigate: suicide by a teenage girl, acts of violence and racism among gang thugs, fraternity brutality, a fence for stolen goods. When he learns the identity of a young woman passing marked bills at casinos, he is overcome with guilt from his alcoholic past: while in NOPD uniform and on duty, he had been far too drunk to prevent her father, a fellow Vietnam vet, from being gunned down in a bank robbery. To add to his misery, Dave now fears for his best friend and former detective partner, Clete Purcell, who has fallen in love with the young woman (despite being a generation older).
On a daily basis, Dave wades through a swamp (pun intended) of gritty, seedy reality: vicious, senseless violence committed by worthless lowlifes. Dave believes in redemption, loyalty, justice; he and Clete get results, by whatever means it takes (usually not approved by society).
A huge cast of characters commit a wide variety of crimes and harbor many secrets throughout. I couldn't keep track of exactly how they were interrelated, but no matter, the overall plot was clear. Dave finds out how all of the crimes tie together, uncovers the dirty secrets and uses them to best advantage, eventually solves the crimes and by the way saves his partner. The journey itself is the gem here: Dave's introspective musings on Louisiana, its geography and history, and on humanity.
I love the series - will read them all - but Dave's struggles are far from light entertainment. This outing is consistently darker than many others. Dave doesn't face as evil and direct a menace as in previous books, but the never-ending gritty violence among criminals is depressing.
The afterword sets the stage for Dave's next challenge: The Tin Roof Blowdown, obviously the disastrous hurricane in New Orleans.
Dave is currently sober and working as a detective again, for police chief Helen. He has seemingly unrelated crimes to investigate: suicide by a teenage girl, acts of violence and racism among gang thugs, fraternity brutality, a fence for stolen goods. When he learns the identity of a young woman passing marked bills at casinos, he is overcome with guilt from his alcoholic past: while in NOPD uniform and on duty, he had been far too drunk to prevent her father, a fellow Vietnam vet, from being gunned down in a bank robbery. To add to his misery, Dave now fears for his best friend and former detective partner, Clete Purcell, who has fallen in love with the young woman (despite being a generation older).
On a daily basis, Dave wades through a swamp (pun intended) of gritty, seedy reality: vicious, senseless violence committed by worthless lowlifes. Dave believes in redemption, loyalty, justice; he and Clete get results, by whatever means it takes (usually not approved by society).
A huge cast of characters commit a wide variety of crimes and harbor many secrets throughout. I couldn't keep track of exactly how they were interrelated, but no matter, the overall plot was clear. Dave finds out how all of the crimes tie together, uncovers the dirty secrets and uses them to best advantage, eventually solves the crimes and by the way saves his partner. The journey itself is the gem here: Dave's introspective musings on Louisiana, its geography and history, and on humanity.
I love the series - will read them all - but Dave's struggles are far from light entertainment. This outing is consistently darker than many others. Dave doesn't face as evil and direct a menace as in previous books, but the never-ending gritty violence among criminals is depressing.
The afterword sets the stage for Dave's next challenge: The Tin Roof Blowdown, obviously the disastrous hurricane in New Orleans.
November 23, 2008
James Lee Burke is an American treasure. As the author of thrillers in different locations and times: Louisiana, Texas and Montana, he has the knack of making both the characters and the scenery come alive even if he's writing an historical novel.
His most well-known works are the Dave Robicheaux novels about a troubled but highly ethical Vietnam veteran, ex-alcoholic, ex New Orleans PD detective and survivor. "Pegasus Descending" continues Robicheaux's story with a great plot that takes the entire book to unravel.
Peppered with the kind of unforgettable characters that inhabit Burke's novels, this one goes the limit with a black gang-banger, a Miami syndicate boss and his totally unappealing body-guards as well as his brutal fraternity boy son, a local hard-case criminal and his insane wife and conflicted son, the Cajun father of a dead daughter who may or may not have killed herself, the daughter of a man Robicheaux saw murdered, a politically motivated conscienceless DA, Clete Purcell, Robicheaux's self -destructive partner, Helen Soileau. his boss and local police chief and his latest wife, Molly, an ex-nun. What a bunch.
In the tradition of Dashiell Hammet, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald and John D. MacDonald, Burke has given us another gritty hard-boiled character with a sense of right and wrong that transcends the justice system.
His non-Robicheaux books are also memorable for their protagonists whether they are ex-Texas Rangers, Confederate soldiers or tough minded lawyers.
If you haven't discovered Robicheaux, you are missing an enduring, literate, near-great author.
His most well-known works are the Dave Robicheaux novels about a troubled but highly ethical Vietnam veteran, ex-alcoholic, ex New Orleans PD detective and survivor. "Pegasus Descending" continues Robicheaux's story with a great plot that takes the entire book to unravel.
Peppered with the kind of unforgettable characters that inhabit Burke's novels, this one goes the limit with a black gang-banger, a Miami syndicate boss and his totally unappealing body-guards as well as his brutal fraternity boy son, a local hard-case criminal and his insane wife and conflicted son, the Cajun father of a dead daughter who may or may not have killed herself, the daughter of a man Robicheaux saw murdered, a politically motivated conscienceless DA, Clete Purcell, Robicheaux's self -destructive partner, Helen Soileau. his boss and local police chief and his latest wife, Molly, an ex-nun. What a bunch.
In the tradition of Dashiell Hammet, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald and John D. MacDonald, Burke has given us another gritty hard-boiled character with a sense of right and wrong that transcends the justice system.
His non-Robicheaux books are also memorable for their protagonists whether they are ex-Texas Rangers, Confederate soldiers or tough minded lawyers.
If you haven't discovered Robicheaux, you are missing an enduring, literate, near-great author.
December 26, 2012
Pegasus Descending is a continuation of the Dave Robicheaux novels, and there-in lies the trouble.
Burke is best at descriptive flights, and the word-smithing he puts into describing Louisiana. He is second best at describing the culture and the complex relationships of the old, deep South, particularly this French flavored South. He has less luck with plot - his protagonist seems must less clued in than most law enforcement people should be, and the surprises in the book seem to be as large a jump for the protagonist as for the reader.
Burke is a gifted writer in this genre, but here he has allowed a strong level of self indulgence - 250 pages of crime conflict is turned into 487 pages of pretension, with long discourses and interior monologues that deal with such arcane topics as Vietnam rage, the judicial process, the psychology of Southern frat boys, the basic humanity of wife beaters, and the implicit innocence of illiterate drug dealers. Burke has allowed the Marlboro Man idea of a personal code, and his long love for this particular character, to carry him into self-indulgence. Time to retire Dave Robicheaux.
Characterization: B
Plot: C
Dialogue: A
Craft: A, and D
Language: B
Burke is best at descriptive flights, and the word-smithing he puts into describing Louisiana. He is second best at describing the culture and the complex relationships of the old, deep South, particularly this French flavored South. He has less luck with plot - his protagonist seems must less clued in than most law enforcement people should be, and the surprises in the book seem to be as large a jump for the protagonist as for the reader.
Burke is a gifted writer in this genre, but here he has allowed a strong level of self indulgence - 250 pages of crime conflict is turned into 487 pages of pretension, with long discourses and interior monologues that deal with such arcane topics as Vietnam rage, the judicial process, the psychology of Southern frat boys, the basic humanity of wife beaters, and the implicit innocence of illiterate drug dealers. Burke has allowed the Marlboro Man idea of a personal code, and his long love for this particular character, to carry him into self-indulgence. Time to retire Dave Robicheaux.
Characterization: B
Plot: C
Dialogue: A
Craft: A, and D
Language: B
December 13, 2015
This story was very well written but it's the type that I don't typically like to read very often. This one is grittier than my usual fare and all the characters are the hardboiled, world weary type. This series can get depressing in long settings despite how well it is written. That being said this book featured many great characters and despite how intricately all of them are woven together I was always able to keep everyone and their motives straight which is impressive. There were a few good twists and it is definitely a good police procedural. I do find that the author rambles quite a bit going off dramatic tangents about life and death and good and evil. This is interesting sometimes but after a while you just want them to get back to the plot. This a good book but don't read it if you're already having a bad day.
May 24, 2020
Crack a Dr. Pepper and get ready for a good ole down south, back bayou country story with your favorite ex-alcoholic veteran cop, Dave Robicheaux. This one's typical Dave, acting out against the bad guys and an arrogant District Attorney at the same time.
His sidekick, Cletus Purcel, adds action, drama, and suspense, keeping Dave on his toes while trying to look out for him and his own family, which includes a three-legged racoon called Tripod.
There's enough murder, mayhem, and built-up suspense, with a couple plot twists to keep you flipping pages in this one.
I couldn't even finish the last James Lee Burke novel I read, probably because it lacked Robicheaux.
His sidekick, Cletus Purcel, adds action, drama, and suspense, keeping Dave on his toes while trying to look out for him and his own family, which includes a three-legged racoon called Tripod.
There's enough murder, mayhem, and built-up suspense, with a couple plot twists to keep you flipping pages in this one.
I couldn't even finish the last James Lee Burke novel I read, probably because it lacked Robicheaux.
September 29, 2016
I love This writer has an excellent alliterative style and an eye for excellent prose. The lead character is a recovering alcoholic who saw his friend killed while committing a robbery. A number of situations in the story arise from this incident. A suicide causes murder and in intense investigation. There are intense conversations based on race in Louisiana. There are surprises that made me go hmm... Excellent read.
December 26, 2016
Detective Dave Robicheaux conducts three major investigations at once. A hit and run victim is found in a drainage canal. A racial conflict at a fast food joint leads to a dead body in warfare between a black gang and the mob. Robicheaux's drunken past comes to roost in New Iberia as the daughter of a deceased friend appears to be robbing banks and casinos drawing the attention of the FBI. A good read of the New South.
April 25, 2019
I have read most of the Robicheaux novels and this, I think, is one of the best. James Lee Burke's ability to describe a scene is astonishing. Although his characters are made from rough and stern stuff from a Cajun society, their feelings and motivations are Shakespearian and displayed in an entertaining manner. Burke paints a scene like few can causing the reader to close the book for a second to meditate on what they have just read.
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