
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 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.
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©2006 James Lee Burke. All rights reserved; (P)2006 Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.
"The novel is steeped in complex personality studies, lyrical prose, and richly drawn depictions of Mr. Burke's beloved bayou country." (The New York Times)
"With peerless naturalistic descriptions and lush, metaphysical imagery, Burke creates another challenging morality play for his flawed, everyman hero." (Publishers Weekly)
"Everything that makes this series so compelling - the elegiac, seductively lyrical prose; the complex character of Robicheaux; the lovingly evoked bayou setting - is here in abundance....The fact remains that no serious reader of hard-boiled fiction should ever miss a moment of Dave Robicheaux in action." (Booklist)
Louisiana Sheriff's Deputy Dave Robicheaux is still guilt-ridden for having failed to save Dallas Klein's life in Florida twenty-five years earlier. When Dallas's daughter appears, grown-up and gorgeous, and shows an interest in Dave's best friend, hard-drinking, down-at-the-heels Clete Purcel, Dave becomes suspicious of her motives. Cons, scams, racial prejudice, dubious sexuality, drugs, and death take the lead in this fourteenth Robicheaux psychological suspense. Will Patton's honeyed Louisiana drawl lures listeners into Robicheaux's angst. Patton's sweet talk creates some of the most sinister, clever women around, and he's chilling as some of the iciest villains in popular fiction. James Lee Burke's subtle character insights, gritty descriptions, and intricate plotting combine with Patton's seductive performance to leave listeners longing for more. (c) AudioFile 2007
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