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 reas ...

s by American

crime writer True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

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 ''Black Cherry Blues'' (1990) and ''Cimarron Rose'' (1998), and has also been presented with the Grand Master ...

. He first appeared in ''

The Neon Rain ''The Neon Rain'' is a crime novel by James Lee Burke, the first in a series featuring the fictional detective Dave Robicheaux. Plot summary While fishing on a back country bayou, New Orleans Police Department officer Dave Robicheaux finds a body ...

'' (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. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts. The NOPD has a ...

, Robicheaux lives in

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and 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, L ...

, 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 (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

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, technically known as 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. Comm ...

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

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

. After Bootsie's death, he marries Molly, a former nun. He was also married to a fourth woman, Nicole, before the book series start. His best friend is violent, alcoholic, ex-police officer, private investigator, and bail bondsman Cletus Purcel. Robicheaux is described as 54 years old in 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 in the third track of the audiobook, Robicheaux describes himself as 49 years old. In the fourth audio track, Robicheaux introduces Dixie Lee Pugh, "my freshman roommate at Southwest Louisiana Institute in 1956," which would put his birth year around 1938 if he enrolled when he was 18.

Novels

#''

'' (1987) #''

Heaven's Prisoners ''Heaven's Prisoners'' is a 1996 American dramatic crime thriller film directed by Phil Joanou and starring Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Mary Stuart Masterson, Teri Hatcher and Eric Roberts. It is based on a Dave Robicheaux homonymous novel by Jam ...

'' (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 ''Purple Cane Road'' is a crime novel by James Lee Burke. Plot summary Dave Robicheaux, former officer for the New Orleans Police Department and before that a U.S. Army infantry lieutenant who fought in the Vietnam War, works as sheriff's depu ...

'' (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, ''Peg ...

'' (2006) #''

The Tin Roof Blowdown ''The Tin Roof Blowdown'' ( 2007) is a crime novel by American author James Lee Burke. Synopsis 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, ...

'' (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)

Appearances in movies

Robicheaux is played by

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

in ''

'' and by

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...

in ''

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

''.

References

Characters in mystery novel series Fictional alcohol abusers Fictional American police officers 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