''Pegasus Descending'' is a

crime novel 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 profession ...

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 ...

Plot summary

Dave Robicheaux, once an officer for 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 ...

and before that a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

who fought 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 ...

, ''Pegasus_Descending'',

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 2018, page 241: "The implications were not necessarily flattering. "I never shot anyone who didn't try to kill me first," I said, now defending a history of violence that went all the way back to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

". works as sheriff's deputy 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 ...

. When Trish Klein, a beautiful young woman, arrives to Louisiana, passing hundred-dollar bills in local casinos, Robicheaux knows there's going to be trouble. Twenty-five years earlier, while drunk in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, Robicheaux witnessed her father, fellow

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active Army, ground, Navy, naval, or Air force, air service in the South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed fo ...

Dallas Klein, executed by a group of cold-blooded robbers. Trish tries to bait Whitey Bruxal, the aging mobster responsible for Dallas's death. Meanwhile, Robicheaux investigates the apparent suicide of young co-ed Yvonne Darbonne. The two cases are linked. He and his longtime partner, former Marine and Vietnam vet, Clete Purcel try to prove it.

Release details

* 2006, USA,

, New York,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pegasus Descending 2006 American novels American detective novels