Pegasus Descending (2006)

In Pegasus Descending, his 15th book starring detective Dave Robicheaux, James Lee Burke continues to write lushly about southern Louisiana. Still a recovering alcoholic in New Iberia, Robicheaux runs into the daughter of an old drinking pal — whose murder he failed to prevent since he was royally soused at the time — seeking revenge on her father's killers. With mythically named characters galore (Bellerophon, Monarch, Prospect), subplots that come together more coherently than in previous Robicheaux novels, and evocative descriptions of bayou life, Burke's beautifully constructed American setting manages to remain as foreign as the farthest tropical villages.