Pegasus Descending

James Lee Burke stands alone in the crime world. Superlatives escape me. He is the titan of the genre. I rate him along with Cormac McCarthy as the greatest of living writers. Pegasus Descending was gratefully received here. Like another reviewer, I was recommended Burke (by my father) and immediately devoured everything he'd written to date. In this book, I noticed a sadness creeping in (more so than usual in Burke's books ie. for the state of humanity and its iniquities, its ill treatment of the downtrodden and disenfranchised). The sadness I speak of seems to emanate from the inevitable decline age brings to the 'Bobbsey Twins from Homicide". A decline that Burke seems to be preparing his readership for. It will be a sad day indeed when he finally wraps Robicheaux for good, and I'm sure he will do so. I only hope we get a couple more. I actually wept at a passage in this book where Dave is interacting with Helen Solieau, now the sheriff. The man writes his heart out. Katrina as an imminent Act of God will probably change the Robicheaux series significantly. This may be the catalyst Burke takes to farewell the territory of his characters. Just contemplating this makes me feel morbid. To the recently initiated, read everything this man has written!

Burke has reached perfection in his Robicheaux series with this book. It has every element needed to create a solid story. This time, Burke takes his beautiful writing and wraps it around a storyline that not only vividly flows, but contemplatively pulls together in the end. The difference between this book and the average suspense novel is Burke's lyrical writing and thrilling, quirky storylines and characters. I felt like breaking into song after I finished it, it's that good. Bravo, Burke!

James Lee Burke has had a long and splendid career as a writer. Many writers with his body of work and credentials would be slowing down. Not Burke. Jim Burke keeps getting better. Readers of the last book in this series, CRUSADER's CROSS will recall that in that book Dave Robicheaux hooked up with a nun. In this book they are married and she serves as a sort of moral compass for a man who really needs one. There are crimes to investigate. A suicide, or was it murder? A death by hit and run driver, or was it murder? And that vintage Burke signature crime from the past, bubbling up like swamp gas, the execution style slaying of Dave's pal years ago in Miami. Dave saw the killing but he was too drunk to do anything. Now sober, Dave is trying to keep his sidekick Clete from drinking himself to death. While Clete seems destined for mayhem it is actually Dave who is wrestling with demons. He is so filled with rage he nearly beats a man to death. Of course, that man tried to poison Dave's pet raccoon so most animal lovers would concur that killing that creep would be justifiable homicide. Burke conjures up atmospheres as dark as a hurricane blowing in. The weather is a metaphor for Dave's anger. Dave and Clete are classically flawed heroes. Think Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Reading James Lee Burke is as comfortable as that favorite sweater or that pair of slippers you can't throw away. Each new book is such a pleasure. I hope he keeps writing for many more years to come.

Last summer, I discovered James Lee Burke and ended up reading all 14 Dave Robicheaux mysteries in quick succession. Thank goodness Burke just came out with Pegasus Descending as it's been a long 8 months without a fix. Dave Robicheaux is still a detective, working for the Iberia Sheriff's Department. The year is 2005 and three unsolved deaths are on Robicheaux's plate. First, a young co-ed getting ready for college is found with a gunshot wound to her head. It looks like a suicide, and the detective can't figure out why this apparently happy, well-adjusted girl would have taken too many drugs, had sex with more than a few men and then shot herself. The skeletal remains of a homeless man (nicknamed Crustacean Man) are found in a drainage ditch and seem to have sat there for 12 months. His injuries are not consistent with a hit and run. And a college student, Tony Lujan, is killed with a shotgun. Robicheaux suspects that all three deaths are related, but can't find the pieces that will tie this puzzle together. He keeps coming back to the same names: Bellerophon Lujan and Whitey Bruxal, two men who have mob ties and are in the casino business. Unfortunately, the politically ambitious DA, Lonnie Marceaux, wants to pin the crimes on a small-tine black drug dealer, Monarch Little. How Pegasus Descending plays out is riveting and I was completely surprised at the end. Many of Burke's characters that we have grown to know and love are back. Cletus Purcell is always there for Robicheaux and is always good for a few belly laughs. Robicheaux seems a little more grounded with his new wife, the former nun Molly Boyle. The women in Robicheaux's past tended to be victim-types. So it's refreshing for Robicheaux to have two strong women in his corner, wife Molly and Sheriff Helen Soileau. There is a new female FBI agent in town who provides some comic relief. Betsy Mossbacher gets the nickname Calamity Jane when she backs into a sheriff's cruiser her first day in town. Robicheaux can't decide whether Homeland Security has drained the FBI of their "first team" or maybe she's being punished. But despite the humor, there is always an underlying blackness in Burke's books whether it is caused by Robicheaux's battle with alcoholism, lost opportunities, senseless deaths, and with Pegasus Descending, the looming specter of Hurricane Katrina. Many writers of mystery series run out of energy, ideas, characters, etc. once they've been at it for awhile. Luckily for his readers, Burke is still at the top of his game in Pegasus Descending.

It just wouldn't be July or August without a Burke crafted Dave Robicheaux novel. In Pegasus Descending Burke treats us once again with a gritty, humid, and atmospheric thriller that is sure to satisfy all of Burkes loyal readers. I've said this before but I'll say it again, James Lee Burke is one of the finest descriptive writers alive today. He can describe a humid summer day in the pages of his book and you'll have to wipe your brow because of the sweat gathering there. The scenes and smells he describes will fill your senses. That and his cast of characters, including former Marine Clete Purcell makes each new book like a visit home. Dave Robicheaux is a survivor of too much of a good thing. Long off the bottle he is still paying for his affair with alcohol and as another reviewer said, the past is never far away. Trish Klein, a young scam artist, turns out to be the daughter of Robicheaux's best friend and fellow Nam vet Dallas Klein. Robicheaux witnessed Dallas' execution style murder years before but was too blasted to intervene. Fast forward to now and young Trish has disappeared after ripping off a local mobster. Burke has a love affair with NOLA. It will be interesting to see if he eventually incorporates Katrina into a future novel. Pegasus is a must read for all Burke fans.