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)

Amazing story and narrator, from one who has little comfort in stories from the Deep South. English BA, psychologist. If souther

I was reticent to listen to this book. I don't care for prison movies or stories about the south. But the reviews were good, and I am running slim on books to listen to.
After hearing the narrator on the sample , I knew I would be comfortable with someone who could actually speak the language of the story.
At times the names did get confusing. But, this was of no matter against the story. Dave's wife could have had more of a role. She is the beginning of a great character. I will look look forward to listening to more stories in this series.
Give it a good try, it is more than worth it. Luckily , with Audible you have nothing to lose. I am usually a Mitch rapp, Davenport , flowers.....demille fan, along with all the others that fit in. This was similar, but so much richer. Made me want to go back to places I thought I would never attempt to see. It also brought a tear at the need. It's the only book that done that and only one that made me laugh out loud. (That was a different book.)

sultry and atmospheric

Will Patton is a fabulous reader who makes all the characters and the setting come alive. Clete, Helen, Dave and Molly seem like people I''ve met. I can almost feel the humidity and smell the dust. I read and enjoyed James Lee Burke before I started listening to his books. But his books almost demand to be heard. Bravo!

Excellent read.

Like all JLB novels, I loved every part of it. I am addicted to Dave and Clete. On to the second reading of the entire series.

It's a Shame

The story is quite entertaining. But, the reader embarrased me to death. I've downloaded more than 150 audiobooks in the last few years and this is the only time I have been so disappointed in a narrator. 30 years as an petroleum landman, mostly in South Louisiana, means I have actually verbally dealt with a hundreds of people from the very towns of New Iberia, Lafayette, Thibeadeau, Morgan City, New Orleans, and they have a wonderful full bodied accent that sounds absoutely nothing like this lame excuse for a reader. If you can't do the accent, just please, speak plain english, use Scott Brick, or find new voices. Don't ruin another good book with a bad narrator.

The best Burke yet

This is the best written and best narrated book is this whole web site. I have read every Burke book that was written and I have loved Will Patton reading and Cajun accent since "Jolie Blond Bounce" . Excellent

More left wing rhetoric than usual

Well written and performed as always. However i found it more politically partisan than any of Burke’s other books in the series - white privilege/guilt, anti-capitalist,
global warming, “social justice,” etc. I endured it simply to find out who killed who.

A must listen

If you've done any listening at all, you know that a narrator can make or break a book. The combination of James Lee Burke's writing and Will Patton's narrating a Dave Robicheaux story is on a par with Dean Koontz and David Aaron Baker's rendition of the Odd Thomas books. The narrator makes the book come alive. I've listened to The Tin Roof Blowdown and Crusader's Cross, and both are worth a re-listen, but this is Burke at his best. Audible has some other Dave Robicheaux books but I probably won't listen to them because they have a different narrator. This is not a criticism of the narrator, but Will Patton is the embodiment of the New Iberia detective. I never have trouble identifying the character speaking because of the many voices Patton uses. His Louisiana accent gives a marvelous flavor to this very well written book. Burke's wonderful descriptive phrases are generously scattered throughout the book. I bought the book for my wife to read and she enjoyed it as much as I did (she prefers reading, go figure). I would give this book more than five stars if I could.

Burke's Best

Narration is excellent. The characters come alive & it is difficult to stop listening.

An OK, but ODD "detective" piece

I gave this 4 stars, but 3.5 would have been more accurate. Interesting plot, well paced, but the two main protagonists were difficult for me to embrace. The constant reminders of how these two tough guys are damaged & capable of extreme violence, while gentle and vulnerable to manipulative woman, just made them seem silly. So much pain, so much angst, so many regrets.....come on guys, buck up and solve the mystery.

Also they weren't necessarily clever, they just toughed it out. Perhaps these Robicheaux novels are better suited to men, who are more likely to relate to the whole complex, conflicted guy thing.

I would have prefered more plot and less introspection.

A perfect read

Though the author of multiple books, James Lee Burke avoids the Stuart Woods/James Patterson syndrome of rushing through the dialog and forgetting the narrative. Burke rewards the reader with lush descriptions of environment and emotion, and characters rich with history, attitude and depth. His stories, this one in particular, are not formulaic and manage to surprise and amuse.

With all due respect to Scott Brick (my favorite reader), who has become typecast and slightly weary in his "smart, young and sarcastic rebel with a righteous cause" roles, this could be the best read book I ever listened to. Will Patton injects an energy and attitude that’s the perfect complement to Burke’s writing. His different character voices are amazingly distinct, almost to the point where you listen hard to make sure it’s not a different reader. Where others are “reading,” Patton is “acting” and “projecting” like a Broadway star, and it comes across marvelously.

If you listen to pass the time and prefer a fast moving story, you probably won’t like this one. If you enjoy and appreciate the art of writing, and want to savor the experience of a commanding read, give it a shot.