Pegasus Descending (2006) (edit title/settings)

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

• Dave Robicheaux: The author’s recurring homicide detective. He once worked for the New Orleans Police Department, but is currently a deputy sheriff in New Iberia, Louisiana. He is a Vietnam War veteran, and suffers from war demons and alcoholism. His first wife was murdered. His current wife, Bootsie, suffers from lupus.
• Clete Purcel: Dave Robicheaux’s best friend. Helps him out in difficult situations

Quotes edit see section history

• “"A lie is an act of theft. It steals people's faith and makes them resent themselves."”

• “"If age bring either wisdom or answers to ancient questions, it has made an exception for me."”

• “"I don't dwell on the great mysteries anymore... I live in a place where Confederate soldiers in ragged uniforms hover on the edge of one's vision, becoming from the mist, calling us back into the the past, reminding us that the myths of winged horses and Grecian warriors was fashioned in our collective souls, that our story is one of ancient gods and peoples, inseparable from our own. I think it is not bad to be a player against a backdrop like that."”

  Dave Robicheaux

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• But as William Faulkner said, and as I was about to learn, the past is not only still with us, the past is not even the past.

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• “Crane said few of us are nouns. Most of us are adverbs. No tragedy is orchestrated by one individual. An event we blame ourselves for may have been years in the making and may have much more to do with others than ourselves. Without recognition of that fact, we never acquire any wisdom about anything.

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• “We’re the sum total of what we’ve done and where we’ve been.

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• that there is no possession more valuable than a sober sunrise, and any drunk who demands more out of life than that will probably not have it.

  Highlighted by 15 Kindle customers

• I wished life consisted of just taking care of animals, the earth, and one’s family and friends. In fact, that’s what it should be. But it’s not, and the explanation for that fact is not one I have ever been able to provide.

  Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers

• “‘Nobody ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public.’ Know who said that?” “No, but please tell us,” Helen said. Lonnie gave her a look. “That great American sociologist P. T. Barnum.”

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• All drunks, particularly those who grew up in alcoholic homes, have that same sense of angst and trepidation, one that has no explainable origins. The fear is not necessarily self-centered, either. It’s like watching someone point a revolver at his temple while he cocks and dry-fires the mechanism, over and over again, until the cylinder rotates a loaded chamber into firing position.

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• “You lied to me. A lie is an act of theft. It steals people’s faith and makes them resent themselves.

  Highlighted by 11 Kindle customers

• SOME PEOPLE IN A.A. say coincidence is your Higher Power acting anonymously.

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• If age brings either wisdom or answers to ancient questions, it has made an exception for me.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• New Iberia, Louisiana: Small town not far from New Orleans, where Dave Robicheaux is a police detective.

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Crusader's Cross, and followed by The Tin Roof Blowdown.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. James Lee Burke (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Duncan Lawrie Dagger (Finalist, 2007)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3552.U723 P44 2006
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Authors, A-Z › ( B ) › Burke, James Lee
• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Mystery
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Wikipedia Article on Dave Robicheaux: Once an officer for the New Orleans police department, Robicheaux constantly breaches the ethical code over the course of just about every case he works on - seemingly without consequence - and currently pursues cases in New Iberia, Louisiana as sheriff's deputy. He is a recovering alcoholic whose demons stem from his service in the Vietnam War 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.

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history