Pegasus Descending

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2006 James Lee Burke. All rights reserved (P)2006 Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"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)

Terriffic Listen!!

One of James Lee Burke's best!!

I would rank it 1-2 with his "The Tin Roof Blowdown".

It's definitely a "can't put down" listen!!

A couple breaks Dave Robichaux gets are a bit far-fetched, but it doesn't distract from story.

Highly Recommended!

Floating in the current of JLB's mind...

This book was wonderful. James Lee Burke has the best way of weaving sights & sounds & smells together that you will wonder in your older yrs if your memories are books you have read or actual events that took place in your life.
Thank you for a wonderfull 12 hrs.

Tremendous Storytelling

It is hard to describe a story so well written and narration this tremendous. I was swallowed up and could not wait for each time that I slipped back into the tale. The narration was so amazing that I would like to listen to another book by this narrator to see if this story was just perfect for him or is he that good with any story. There were no extremes or excesses that are hard to believe. The caracters were real and their emotions were palpable. I am sorry it is over

Too much going on- got lost

The mastery of the Englush language is a bit overdone. Great narration, as Will Patton always does

A few things..

Firstly, I'm genuinely a fan of Mr. Burke's writing and also of Mr. Patton's skills as a narrator, so I make these comments as kindly as I can..
Mr. Patton, please take the time to learn how to pronounce words like beignet and pirogue, so my suspension of disbelief isn't bitch slapped, while I'm in the throes of enjoying your talents. Thank you :)
Mr. Burke, how is it possible that every person, civilian or otherwise, uses the same slang regardless of who or where they are? Most people have ways of speaking about things like "taking the bounce" that differ from each other, so it gives me pause when everyone says things exactly the same way. Also, not unlike wearing too much cologne, is the tiresome overuse of the Bobbsey Twins descriptor.. I love your writing, and those two characters, please don't make me roll my eyes. It distracts me from the narrative.
Lastly, the way you convey Dave's singular love for, and attention to, his wife is the way women anywhere would hope their men love them. Thank you for that. It's earthy and tenderly palpable. You are a very fine writer, i barely want to read anyone else.
Oh one last question, Is Trishklein one word or two? ;) Were you worried either Dave, or your readers would forget which Trish you were speaking of if Clete only referred to her by her first name only?

He can crank them out

Once again James Lee Burke has cranked out an entertaining, exciting new chapter in the Dave Robicheaux series. The reader performs wonderfully with great Cajun and 'yat accents. Can't wait for the next one.

Pegasus Rising

James Lee Burke is a writer non-pareil. He transports the reader to New Iberia, Louisiana and surrounds him with sultry weather, combustible characters, and cajun metaphors that keep the plot sizzling to the end. As he does in his other Robicheux mysteries, he drives Dave to do unforgiveable things, but manages to redeem him in the end.
The plot follows the other Burke stories where a rich, evil man secudes politicans, bamboozles the ignorant, hooks up with the mob, and doesn't care who he hurts, but it's just that they happen to be Dave's friends and Dave will always step over the line to help the wrongly accused even if it means his job.
Will Patton reads the story as if he were on the back porch of an old plantation sipping a mint julip; he makes it go down smooth and easy.
Pegasus may be descending, but Burke's star is still rising.

great accents! engaging story.

the characters are interesting and the author does a good job summarizing the investigation since the are a lot of side characters and cases that merge together.

Another great book by the great Jame Lee Burke

A great story about greed and good and evil. The good is flawed and human. The evil isn’t always pure evil. No one captures the feeling and life of Cajun country better than James Lee Burke and very few are his equal in detailing the frailty and strength of the human spirit. His command of the English language allows him to take a mystery novel and completely transcend the genre!

Love the Bayou

Will Patton is an amazing narrator. He takes a good story and make it remarkable. I can never get you much of Dave Robichaux or Will Patton.