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| Pegasus Descending: A Dave Robicheaux Novel (Dave Robicheaux) | 
 enlarge | Author: James Lee Burke
Publisher: Pocket Star
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $7.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  105 reviews
Sales Rank: 53843
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 1416513450
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781416513452
ASIN: 1416513450
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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Product Description
When a nice young woman named Trish Klein blows into Louisiana passing hundred-dollar bills in local casinos, detective Dave Robicheaux senses a storm bearing down on his new life of contentment....Twenty-five years ago, lost in a drunken haze in Florida, Robicheaux was too far gone to save his friend and fellow 'Nam vet Dallas Klein, murdered in cold blood for gambling debts. Now, the arrival of Dallas's daughter opens a door locked long ago, and extracting her motives points Robicheaux to the suicide of a local "good girl" pulled into a vortex of power, sex, and death. It's Robicheaux's most personally painful case -- a roller coaster of passion, surprise, and regret -- and it may be his deadliest.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 100 more reviews...
 At the top of his game... July 28, 2006
29 out of 31 found this review helpful
Last summer, I discovered James Lee Burke and ended up reading all 14 Dave Robicheaux mysteries in quick succession. Thank goodness Burke just came out with Pegasus Descending as it's been a long 8 months without a fix.
Dave Robicheaux is still a detective, working for the Iberia Sheriff's Department. The year is 2005 and three unsolved deaths are on Robicheaux's plate. First, a young co-ed getting ready for college is found with a gunshot wound to her head. It looks like a suicide, and the detective can't figure out why this apparently happy, well-adjusted girl would have taken too many drugs, had sex with more than a few men and then shot herself. The skeletal remains of a homeless man (nicknamed Crustacean Man) are found in a drainage ditch and seem to have sat there for 12 months. His injuries are not consistent with a hit and run. And a college student, Tony Lujan, is killed with a shotgun. Robicheaux suspects that all three deaths are related, but can't find the pieces that will tie this puzzle together. He keeps coming back to the same names: Bellerophon Lujan and Whitey Bruxal, two men who have mob ties and are in the casino business. Unfortunately, the politically ambitious DA, Lonnie Marceaux, wants to pin the crimes on a small-tine black drug dealer, Monarch Little. How Pegasus Descending plays out is riveting and I was completely surprised at the end.
Many of Burke's characters that we have grown to know and love are back. Cletus Purcell is always there for Robicheaux and is always good for a few belly laughs. Robicheaux seems a little more grounded with his new wife, the former nun Molly Boyle. The women in Robicheaux's past tended to be victim-types. So it's refreshing for Robicheaux to have two strong women in his corner, wife Molly and Sheriff Helen Soileau. There is a new female FBI agent in town who provides some comic relief. Betsy Mossbacher gets the nickname Calamity Jane when she backs into a sheriff's cruiser her first day in town. Robicheaux can't decide whether Homeland Security has drained the FBI of their "first team" or maybe she's being punished. But despite the humor, there is always an underlying blackness in Burke's books whether it is caused by Robicheaux's battle with alcoholism, lost opportunities, senseless deaths, and with Pegasus Descending, the looming specter of Hurricane Katrina.
Many writers of mystery series run out of energy, ideas, characters, etc. once they've been at it for awhile. Luckily for his readers, Burke is still at the top of his game in Pegasus Descending.
Pegasus is wet with atmosphere and a good read. July 19, 2006
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
It just wouldn't be July or August without a Burke crafted Dave Robicheaux novel. In Pegasus Descending Burke treats us once again with a gritty, humid, and atmospheric thriller that is sure to satisfy all of Burkes loyal readers. I've said this before but I'll say it again, James Lee Burke is one of the finest descriptive writers alive today. He can describe a humid summer day in the pages of his book and you'll have to wipe your brow because of the sweat gathering there. The scenes and smells he describes will fill your senses. That and his cast of characters, including former Marine Clete Purcell makes each new book like a visit home.
Dave Robicheaux is a survivor of too much of a good thing. Long off the bottle he is still paying for his affair with alcohol and as another reviewer said, the past is never far away. Trish Klein, a young scam artist, turns out to be the daughter of Robicheaux's best friend and fellow Nam vet Dallas Klein. Robicheaux witnessed Dallas' execution style murder years before but was too blasted to intervene. Fast forward to now and young Trish has disappeared after ripping off a local mobster.
Burke has a love affair with NOLA. It will be interesting to see if he eventually incorporates Katrina into a future novel.
Pegasus is a must read for all Burke fans.
Pegasus Descending soars! October 6, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Burke has reached perfection in his Robicheaux series with this book. It has every element needed to create a solid story. This time, Burke takes his beautiful writing and wraps it around a storyline that not only vividly flows, but contemplatively pulls together in the end. The difference between this book and the average suspense novel is Burke's lyrical writing and thrilling, quirky storylines and characters. I felt like breaking into song after I finished it, it's that good. Bravo, Burke!
 Very Odd July 30, 2006
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
Burke is one of my favourite living writers. His plots are complex, characters interesting, and settings vivid. But, this book does not compare with any of his others. The plot is rushed and characters are left flat and undeveloped. Poor Molly, Dave's latest wife, is given only peripheral attention and treated with the same brush Burke has painted most of Dave's other partners. The conclusion of the book is almost as convenient as waking up only to discover it was only a dream. It has usually been a treat to go into summer with a Burke book to read, but this was a shocker. Even the editing of this book was horrible. Simple spelling errors creeping into many chapters, plots not fleshed out and characters left on the page without significant purpose.
I'm wondering what's going on with Burke and his publisher that this book would be put on the shelves in this state. The publisher should be taking better care of such a significant author.
Master story teller! July 21, 2006
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
As most of you who read my reviews know, I have very eclectic tastes--Everything from trash to classics. I could never review everything I read, but I was looking through my reviews the other day and saw I had never reviewed a James Lee Burke Novel and he is one of my favorites! So here it is. When it comes to describing a scene or a character Burke is one of the masters. His books are as much about place as plot (though the plots are always wonderfully conceived!). And his Dave Robicheaux novels usually find him at the top of his game. I have never been to the south but I feel like I have been deep fried in southern culture and place after reading one of his books. Robicheaux is a surviving alcoholic, off the bottle for years now but still shadowed by his past. Trish Klein is a friend's daughter who has disappeared after ripping off a local mobster. Years ago Robicheaux watched as Trish's father--and Dave's best friend--was murdered. Robicheaux was too drunk to prevent the killing, and carrying this guilt he must now try and save the daughter. As usual this is a complex and layered story with great characters, and like real life, answers do not come easily.
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