Dave Robicheaux (pronounced "ROW-bih-show") is a fictional character in a series of

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

s by American

crime writer Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

James Lee Burke James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author, best known for his Dave Robicheaux series. He has won Edgar Awards for his novels ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990), ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and ''Flags on the Bayou'' (2024). He has ...

. He first appeared in '' The Neon Rain'' (1987).

Biography

A former homicide detective in the

New Orleans Police Department The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Orleans Parish, while the city itself is div ...

, Robicheaux, lives in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (; ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette, and forms part of ...

, and works as a detective for the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office. He is a recovering alcoholic whose demons stem from his service as a U.S. Army lieutenant in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and his impoverished, difficult childhood in rural Louisiana. His mother abandoned the family and was later murdered, and his father died in an oil rig explosion. He still experiences periods of major depressive disorder and nightmares, which are only exacerbated by the murder of his wife Annie Ballard, a social worker. He married a mobster's widow, Bootsie, a

lupus Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...

sufferer, and adopted an El Salvadoran orphan Alafair (the namesake of Burke's own daughter), after he saves her from the wreckage of an

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

. After Bootsie's death, he marries Molly, a former nun. He was married before the book series started, to a woman named Nicole. His best friend—a violent, alcoholic ex-police officer, private investigator, and bail bondsman—is Cletus Purcel. Robicheaux is 54 years old according to the introduction to the

Recorded Books Recorded Books is an audiobook imprint of RBMedia, a publishing company with operations in countries globally. Recorded Books was formerly an independent audiobook company before being purchased and re-organized under RBMedia, where it is now an ...

CD edition of ''Black Cherry Blues'' (the third book in the series, published in 1989), but on the third track of the audiobook, Robicheaux describes himself as being 49 years old.

Novels

#'' The Neon Rain'' (1987) #'' Heaven's Prisoners'' (1988) #''Black Cherry Blues'' (1989) #''A Morning for Flamingos'' (1990) #''A Stained White Radiance'' (1992) #''In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead'' (1993) #''Dixie City Jam'' (1994) #''Burning Angel'' (1995) #''Cadillac Jukebox'' (1996) #''Sunset Limited'' (1998) #'' Purple Cane Road'' (2000) #''Jolie Blon's Bounce'' (2002) #''Last Car to Elysian Fields'' (2003) #''Crusader's Cross'' (2005) #''

Pegasus Descending ''Pegasus Descending'' is a crime novel by James Lee Burke. Plot summary Dave Robicheaux, once an officer for the New Orleans Police Department and before that a U.S. Army infantry lieutenant who fought in the Vietnam War,James Lee Burke, ''Pe ...

'' (2006) #'' The Tin Roof Blowdown'' (2007) #''Swan Peak'' (2008) #''The Glass Rainbow'' (2010) #''Creole Belle'' (2012) #''Light of the World'' (2013) #''Robicheaux'' (2018) #''The New Iberia Blues'' (2019) #''A Private Cathedral'' (2020) #Clete (2024)

Appearances in movies

Robicheaux is played by

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...

in '' Heaven's Prisoners'' and by

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...

in ''

In the Electric Mist ''In the Electric Mist'' (French title: ''Dans la brume électrique'') is a 2009 French/American mystery drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier, and written by Jerzy Kromolowski and Mary Olson-Kromolowski based on the novel ''In the Electric M ...

''.

References

Characters in mystery novel series Fictional alcohol abusers Fictional American detectives Fictional American police detectives Fictional Cajuns Fictional characters from New Orleans Fictional military lieutenants Fictional private investigators Fictional United States Army personnel Fictional Vietnam War veterans Literary characters introduced in 1987 {{novel-char-stub