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Pendergast #4
Still Life with Crows
A small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground.
Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?
Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?
Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America's heartland.
No one is safe.
Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?
Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?
Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America's heartland.
No one is safe.
592 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2003
1341 people are currently reading
9281 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Preston
183 books13.5k followersDouglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two front teeth to his brother Richard's fist; and various broken bones, also incurred in dust-ups with Richard. (Richard went on to write The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, which tells you all you need to know about what it was like to grow up with him as a brother.)
As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.
After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.
In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.
Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.
Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...
As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.
After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.
In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.
Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.
Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,248 reviews
September 1, 2016
Why are you reading this review instead of a Pendergast book?
These books are soooooo damn good!
Suspenseful . . . mysterious . . . gory . . . terrifying . . .
Most books have just one or two chapters of suspenseful climax. The entire last third of this book had me on the edge of my seat.
If you like Michael Crichton and Dan Brown but are looking for something a bit more hardcore, look no further than Preston & Child. Do yourself a favor and start reading the Pendergast series!
These books are soooooo damn good!
Suspenseful . . . mysterious . . . gory . . . terrifying . . .
Most books have just one or two chapters of suspenseful climax. The entire last third of this book had me on the edge of my seat.
If you like Michael Crichton and Dan Brown but are looking for something a bit more hardcore, look no further than Preston & Child. Do yourself a favor and start reading the Pendergast series!
December 18, 2017
YES!! Another great addition in the Pendergast series!
I’m sure you can you tell I’m excited to do this review, right? You’ve got to understand that my enthusiasm for this book is also for the series. Almost all the books in this series are entertaining, fun and thrilling. The tension is just lights out.
The books are just so good! I mean, isn't that what we want when we read? To be entertained?
Thanks Terry for another great buddy read while we travel down Pendergast lane!
So, how does this book start? It starts in a small town in Kansas with rows of corn ready for harvest and a killer on the loose. I really thought the setting of Kansas would not work for me in this book and oh boy, I was wrong.
Let me paint a scene for you so you’ll get the idea.
You’re running and gasping through 12’ rows of corn in the darkest of night. Trying not to trip, you’re completely isolated and lost. There’s a killer racing behind you. You can hear their heavy footsteps as they pace you in the darkness while they scream "MuuuuuuUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!"
Yeah, corn can be frightening folks. Next time you eat some corn on the cob, make sure no one’s breathing loud next to you. o.O
Preston and Child are masters at scaring the shit out of you. Seriously, I hope this is on their tombstones when they die because it will be fitting.
I read horror books a lot and there were moments in this book that scared the living bejesus outta me.
In regards to my ridiculous and sporadic review, this book was great. And awesome. And I loved every damn, corn eatin' minute of it!
I’m sure you can you tell I’m excited to do this review, right? You’ve got to understand that my enthusiasm for this book is also for the series. Almost all the books in this series are entertaining, fun and thrilling. The tension is just lights out.
The books are just so good! I mean, isn't that what we want when we read? To be entertained?
Thanks Terry for another great buddy read while we travel down Pendergast lane!
So, how does this book start? It starts in a small town in Kansas with rows of corn ready for harvest and a killer on the loose. I really thought the setting of Kansas would not work for me in this book and oh boy, I was wrong.
Let me paint a scene for you so you’ll get the idea.
You’re running and gasping through 12’ rows of corn in the darkest of night. Trying not to trip, you’re completely isolated and lost. There’s a killer racing behind you. You can hear their heavy footsteps as they pace you in the darkness while they scream "MuuuuuuUUUUUUHHHHHHHH!!"
Yeah, corn can be frightening folks. Next time you eat some corn on the cob, make sure no one’s breathing loud next to you. o.O
Preston and Child are masters at scaring the shit out of you. Seriously, I hope this is on their tombstones when they die because it will be fitting.
I read horror books a lot and there were moments in this book that scared the living bejesus outta me.
In regards to my ridiculous and sporadic review, this book was great. And awesome. And I loved every damn, corn eatin' minute of it!
March 23, 2017
Corn.
Food metaphors have been the order of the day (pun intended) thus far in reviewing Messrs. Preston and Child’s Pendergast series (hot dog, anyone?), and so I’m compelled to continue that tradition, because if I don’t, I have absolutely no framing device for this review. For a Kansas-set book that takes place amidst acres and acres of oppressive and unrelenting corn fields, there could be no other choice (well, there are some other thematically appropriate foods I could select based on the plot, some of which involve boiling and sugaring, but they are considerably more unsavory, and I don’t want to offend those with delicate stomachs and/or those who have an aversion to the consumption of human flesh (philistines)).
Think of corn at its best—corn on the cob in the peak of summer, sweet and succulent, cooked, buttered, and salted to perfection—and you’ve got the best parts of Still Life with Crows: a stormy and Midwestern Gothic atmosphere, a taut and tense hunt for a particularly creepy killer, Pendergast doing Pendergastian things, and a supporting cast that feels more three-dimensional (or, at least two-dimensional) than most thrillers.
Think of corn at its worst—the overcooked, off-season stuff you got in your elementary cafeteria, or maybe creamed corn (I’m perfectly capable of masticating my own food, thank you very much, and don’t need someone to do it for me, regurgitate it into a tin can, and dump some poor facsimile of actual cream over the top of it to try to make it palatable)—and you’ve got the less stellar elements of the book: the occasional one-dimensional character, a killer whose abilities take far too much advantage of a reader’s freely given willing suspension of disbelief, and so…much…CORN.
Most of the book, though, is somewhere in the middle—think popcorn at the movie theatre, slathered in glowing orange butter-flavored nuclear waste faux food product: delicious, addictive, but maybe not as salubrious as would be optimal. Compared to its predecessors in the series, Crows lacks the same atmospheric ambiance (the corn fields of Kansas make for a much less interesting place to contemplate shady doings than a massive museum or a freakish cabinet of curiosities), breadth of danger (a few random killings in the midst of a lightly populated rural town doesn’t create the same sense of tension as serial killings in the middle of a thriving metropolis), and familiar cast of supporting characters (wither now, Bill Smithback?). But, I wholeheartedly applaud the authors for trying something different and finding a way to leverage their interest in and knowledge of Native American history (on display in Thunderhead as well) in the service of what is, on balance, an entertaining (and wonderfully macabre) yarn that features some truly pulse-pounding moments.
I’d probably rank this as my least favorite of the first four Pendergast books, but it was more than sufficiently entertaining to keep me going, so it’ll be onto the next book sometime later this year.
See you soon, Pendy.
Overall, we’ll call it 3.5 stars.
Food metaphors have been the order of the day (pun intended) thus far in reviewing Messrs. Preston and Child’s Pendergast series (hot dog, anyone?), and so I’m compelled to continue that tradition, because if I don’t, I have absolutely no framing device for this review. For a Kansas-set book that takes place amidst acres and acres of oppressive and unrelenting corn fields, there could be no other choice (well, there are some other thematically appropriate foods I could select based on the plot, some of which involve boiling and sugaring, but they are considerably more unsavory, and I don’t want to offend those with delicate stomachs and/or those who have an aversion to the consumption of human flesh (philistines)).
Think of corn at its best—corn on the cob in the peak of summer, sweet and succulent, cooked, buttered, and salted to perfection—and you’ve got the best parts of Still Life with Crows: a stormy and Midwestern Gothic atmosphere, a taut and tense hunt for a particularly creepy killer, Pendergast doing Pendergastian things, and a supporting cast that feels more three-dimensional (or, at least two-dimensional) than most thrillers.
Think of corn at its worst—the overcooked, off-season stuff you got in your elementary cafeteria, or maybe creamed corn (I’m perfectly capable of masticating my own food, thank you very much, and don’t need someone to do it for me, regurgitate it into a tin can, and dump some poor facsimile of actual cream over the top of it to try to make it palatable)—and you’ve got the less stellar elements of the book: the occasional one-dimensional character, a killer whose abilities take far too much advantage of a reader’s freely given willing suspension of disbelief, and so…much…CORN.
Most of the book, though, is somewhere in the middle—think popcorn at the movie theatre, slathered in glowing orange butter-flavored nuclear waste faux food product: delicious, addictive, but maybe not as salubrious as would be optimal. Compared to its predecessors in the series, Crows lacks the same atmospheric ambiance (the corn fields of Kansas make for a much less interesting place to contemplate shady doings than a massive museum or a freakish cabinet of curiosities), breadth of danger (a few random killings in the midst of a lightly populated rural town doesn’t create the same sense of tension as serial killings in the middle of a thriving metropolis), and familiar cast of supporting characters (wither now, Bill Smithback?). But, I wholeheartedly applaud the authors for trying something different and finding a way to leverage their interest in and knowledge of Native American history (on display in Thunderhead as well) in the service of what is, on balance, an entertaining (and wonderfully macabre) yarn that features some truly pulse-pounding moments.
I’d probably rank this as my least favorite of the first four Pendergast books, but it was more than sufficiently entertaining to keep me going, so it’ll be onto the next book sometime later this year.
See you soon, Pendy.
Overall, we’ll call it 3.5 stars.
May 24, 2021
Pendergast is officially my favorite detective. He is absolutely peculiar beyond anything reasonable yet I love when he puts non-believers in their place. Preston & Child have created a uniquely appealing character that has an immense personality for readers to lock onto. Still Life with Crows is no exception... from his arrival in town and dealings with the sheriff to his temporary landlady's strange trust of his skills.
It starts out incredibly odd; what does the dead woman have to do with all the crows? Why is she staged in an eerie-looking death? What is up with all the corn metaphors? From there, it delves into the various supporting characters who live in the small Kansas town... those who have weird and dangerous habits, and those who try to stay under the radar. One of them is likely a killer, but how does it all fit together. When two more deaths occur, Pendergast appears stumped. His assistant, a teenage girl with a desperate desire to escape the town, offers a few clues... but she's got problems of her own with her mother's alcoholic tendencies.
As the truth is revealed about 80% into the book, we have the last fifth to save a character who's been kidnapped by the brutal killer. Like previous books, this one's got some sort of super-human strength. But in the past, the killer wasn't exactly human in every case; how about this time? Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat reading, and I will be picking up the next one which is a three-part trilogy in the middle of the series. Should be quite intriguing.
It starts out incredibly odd; what does the dead woman have to do with all the crows? Why is she staged in an eerie-looking death? What is up with all the corn metaphors? From there, it delves into the various supporting characters who live in the small Kansas town... those who have weird and dangerous habits, and those who try to stay under the radar. One of them is likely a killer, but how does it all fit together. When two more deaths occur, Pendergast appears stumped. His assistant, a teenage girl with a desperate desire to escape the town, offers a few clues... but she's got problems of her own with her mother's alcoholic tendencies.
As the truth is revealed about 80% into the book, we have the last fifth to save a character who's been kidnapped by the brutal killer. Like previous books, this one's got some sort of super-human strength. But in the past, the killer wasn't exactly human in every case; how about this time? Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat reading, and I will be picking up the next one which is a three-part trilogy in the middle of the series. Should be quite intriguing.
November 25, 2023
You can smell the farmland and hear the Kansas winds rustling through fields of corn as the erudite FBI agent with a touch of the supernatural about him, Pendergast, brings to the heartland his dark suit, 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, and seemingly endless knowledge of the strange and otherworldly.
Squeezed between The Cabinet of Curiosities and Brimstone, two of the best in the series, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child created another terrific novel that is part mystery, part thriller, and part horror story. Other than Relic/Reliquary and Dance of Death/Book of the Dead, which are best read in conjunction with each other, the series can basically be read as stand-alone novels. Readers who had, however, been following this intriguing series since the first one, had very high expectations because of the prior efforts. Fortunately those expectations are met in Still Life With Crows.
Pendergast is solo this time out, with only allusions to Wren, an ill-gotten inheritance, and his urgent need to return to New York connecting in any way to the incredible amount of history readers of the series know so well. Though I recommend reading from the beginning, Still Life With Crows makes an adequate introduction to the series because the focus here is mainly on Pendergast himself, who you need to know the most about to "get" the series.
Pendergast shows up in Kansas shortly after a ritual killing in a cornfield, and immediately we are immersed in a story as gripping as it is enjoyable. Though on vacation, Pendergast unofficially looks into a case with supernatural aspects dating back to a Cheyenne massacre by "ghost warriors" in the late nineteenth century. Immediately at odds with Sheriff Hazen, Pendergast investigates in his own unorthodox style — which includes something akin to remote viewing — as things become evermore gruesome on the Plains.
A new type of corn for which the town is competing in an effort to remain alive, and a serial killer unlike any Pendergast has encountered create urgency and tension. Humor abounds as well; albeit dark at times, but hilarious nonetheless. Pendergast enlists a blue-haired outcast named Corrie as his secretary. Scenes of her driving Pendergast around in her beat up Gremlin bring a smile to the reader's face. A deadly chase through caverns goes terribly wrong and gruesomely bloody, leading to an exciting and horrific conclusion. Like all the entries in this incredibly entertaining series, it is obvious some of the relationships will linger and spill over into other books.
Atmospheric, exciting, horrific, and with more character-driven humor than readers of a novel about dark and horrific crimes in America's heartland have any right to expect, this is a great read, and can be enjoyed even if you have not read any prior entries. However, this recommendation comes with a caveat. Still Life With Crows is a very unusual entry in the series (up to this point) in that all the characters readers had come to love, from Margo to D'Agosta, are nowhere to be found. Usually, at least a couple of the main planets orbiting the world of Pendergast are involved in the enthralling stories, if not all.
While I enjoyed this one a great deal, this eventually became the norm for the series and I stopped reading it. Unlike many, who complained about keeping track of so many characters and divergent things going on, this was one of the aspects I liked best about the series. As the cast was trimmed, possibly to accommodate those readers — and probably make the books less involved to write -- some characters seemed to disappear into the woodwork, others only occasionally making a cameo appearance. The series eventually lost some of that which I loved about it. There are several books before this happens, however, and I highly recommend this one. The final scene will remind readers with a knowledge of such things, of a weird menace pulp story. A great read!
Squeezed between The Cabinet of Curiosities and Brimstone, two of the best in the series, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child created another terrific novel that is part mystery, part thriller, and part horror story. Other than Relic/Reliquary and Dance of Death/Book of the Dead, which are best read in conjunction with each other, the series can basically be read as stand-alone novels. Readers who had, however, been following this intriguing series since the first one, had very high expectations because of the prior efforts. Fortunately those expectations are met in Still Life With Crows.
Pendergast is solo this time out, with only allusions to Wren, an ill-gotten inheritance, and his urgent need to return to New York connecting in any way to the incredible amount of history readers of the series know so well. Though I recommend reading from the beginning, Still Life With Crows makes an adequate introduction to the series because the focus here is mainly on Pendergast himself, who you need to know the most about to "get" the series.
Pendergast shows up in Kansas shortly after a ritual killing in a cornfield, and immediately we are immersed in a story as gripping as it is enjoyable. Though on vacation, Pendergast unofficially looks into a case with supernatural aspects dating back to a Cheyenne massacre by "ghost warriors" in the late nineteenth century. Immediately at odds with Sheriff Hazen, Pendergast investigates in his own unorthodox style — which includes something akin to remote viewing — as things become evermore gruesome on the Plains.
A new type of corn for which the town is competing in an effort to remain alive, and a serial killer unlike any Pendergast has encountered create urgency and tension. Humor abounds as well; albeit dark at times, but hilarious nonetheless. Pendergast enlists a blue-haired outcast named Corrie as his secretary. Scenes of her driving Pendergast around in her beat up Gremlin bring a smile to the reader's face. A deadly chase through caverns goes terribly wrong and gruesomely bloody, leading to an exciting and horrific conclusion. Like all the entries in this incredibly entertaining series, it is obvious some of the relationships will linger and spill over into other books.
Atmospheric, exciting, horrific, and with more character-driven humor than readers of a novel about dark and horrific crimes in America's heartland have any right to expect, this is a great read, and can be enjoyed even if you have not read any prior entries. However, this recommendation comes with a caveat. Still Life With Crows is a very unusual entry in the series (up to this point) in that all the characters readers had come to love, from Margo to D'Agosta, are nowhere to be found. Usually, at least a couple of the main planets orbiting the world of Pendergast are involved in the enthralling stories, if not all.
While I enjoyed this one a great deal, this eventually became the norm for the series and I stopped reading it. Unlike many, who complained about keeping track of so many characters and divergent things going on, this was one of the aspects I liked best about the series. As the cast was trimmed, possibly to accommodate those readers — and probably make the books less involved to write -- some characters seemed to disappear into the woodwork, others only occasionally making a cameo appearance. The series eventually lost some of that which I loved about it. There are several books before this happens, however, and I highly recommend this one. The final scene will remind readers with a knowledge of such things, of a weird menace pulp story. A great read!
February 7, 2015
Revisited Review
On the back of my edition of 'Still Life With Crows' there is a blurb that states: These guys are masters at scaring the hell out of people. Turns out... they actually are.
In this case, it was certainly true. I'd been reading a slew of horror and suspense novels, and this one was certainly one of the scariest. Some other reviewers weren't too fond of the setting, but I loved it. I've always enjoyed 'Small Town Horror' settings. No, this isn't quite the same thing as 'Salem's Lot or Ghost Story, but neither does it pretend to be.
Agent Pendergast, the protagonist, has been around a while, so not too much page space is spent on fleshing out his character. While this book can certainly be read as a stand-alone novel, it is part of a series and it would only be fair to approach it with that fact in mind.
I found it a gripping read. It is extremely atmospheric and contains some of the creepiest corn field scenes you're ever likely to read. Is there such a thing as Terror Fiction? This would fit the bill quite nicely.
So, if you like hackle raising goodness that races along at breakneck speed through a dazzling twist or two, you'll likely enjoy this novel as much as I did. It's got corn fields, for crying out loud, what's not to like!?
Recommended
Added to Favourites
March 24, 2021
Is it possible to have another best in the series? It's so good that I want to cancel all my book requests so that I can read the next one then the next.
The feel in Still Life with Crows is like "True Detective" s.1 kind of creepiness. But methods of killing definitely top that of the TV show. Then there's Medicine Creek local history. Is the land cursed by local natives since 1860s? Or are there other motives for recent brutal killings?
Pendergast arrived at the crime scene alone with personal curiosity, then hired a local Goth troublemaker Corrie Swanson as apprentice. Sheriff Hazen & co, like any local law enforcement just seems to get in the way of the investigation, initially anyway.
This audio edition has spooky background music and Rene Auberjonois was marvelous. Loved it!
The feel in Still Life with Crows is like "True Detective" s.1 kind of creepiness. But methods of killing definitely top that of the TV show. Then there's Medicine Creek local history. Is the land cursed by local natives since 1860s? Or are there other motives for recent brutal killings?
Pendergast arrived at the crime scene alone with personal curiosity, then hired a local Goth troublemaker Corrie Swanson as apprentice. Sheriff Hazen & co, like any local law enforcement just seems to get in the way of the investigation, initially anyway.
This audio edition has spooky background music and Rene Auberjonois was marvelous. Loved it!
December 21, 2016
3.5 stars. Pendergast is a great character! This series can be pretty creepy actually and this one was no exception. The books make a good occasional read for when I've overdosed on one type of book (usually fantasy in my case)! These books are always suspenseful, not too demanding but also not too predictable.
January 18, 2021
”It had been set up almost like a scene in a play. A circular clearing had been made in the heart of the cornfield, the broken stalks carefully stacked to one side, leaving an area of dirt clods and stubble perhaps forty feet in diameter. Even in the terrible unreality of the moment, Haven found himself marveling at the geometrical precision with which the circle had been formed. At one end of the clearing stood a miniature forest of sharpened sticks, two to three feet high, pushed into the earth, their cruel-looking ends pointing upward. At the precise middle of the clearing stood a circle of dead crows spitted on stakes. Only they weren’t stakes but Indian arrows, each topped by a flaked point. There were at least a couple dozen of the birds, maybe more, their vacant eyes staring, yellow beaks pointing inward.
And in the center of the circle of crows lay the corpse of a woman.
At least Sheriff Hazen thought it was a woman: her lips, nose and ears were missing.”
Sheriff Hazen of Medicine Creek, Kansas, catches this case by a matter of twelve feet. Twelve and a half feet another direction and this case would have belonged to the Staties. This is the type of case that will either put him on the front page of every newspaper in Kansas and possibly beyond, or it will be the type of case that makes him out to be the small town, chaw chewing, white trash moron that everyone expects him to be.
This is not only Kansas but Southwest Kansas, the navel lint in a great expanse of nothing. I should know: I live here. Well, not in Medicine Creek, which is a fictional small town, but it is a town that relies on Dodge City and Garden City for most everything they need. I could have practically driven out there and solved this case myself, but I’m really glad I decided to leave it to Special Agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast because blood spray, eviscerations, and carved body parts make me queasy.
Medicine Creek is in competition with a town called Deeper for the KSU contract for a test field of a newfangled corn. Most of the corn grown around Medicine Creek is used for gasohol, which we usually refer to as ethanol. Our corn isn’t feeding the world as much as it is feeding our gas tanks. Personally, I think we should leave the growing of corn to the upper Midwest and grow more drought resistant crops, like wheat and hemp, but the boys in the laboratories have created a more drought resistant corn that has allowed it to grow with much less rainfall than when I was a kid. As one character put it in this novel, ”It wasn’t natural, to be surrounded by so much goddamn corn. It made people strange.” I don’t know about strange, but I can tell you there are few things that will play with your imagination more than being out in the middle of a corn field on a moonless night, especially one that has dry leaves and parched husks surrounding the ripened ears. A gentle breeze shuddering through the stalks will have your mind hearing the giggles of children of the corn, the rattle of a scarecrow scythe, and the rustling of terrifying creatures. And of course, your flashlight will first dim then wink out all together. To lend wings to your feet, you’ll start hearing...muuuuuhhhhh from something behind you, or is it in front of you?
Yeah, I’m glad Pendergast is in town to handle this one.
Like most small town people, the first thought that Sheriff Hazen has is that this can’t be a local killing people. It has to be someone from out of town. Pendergast is sure it has to be someone local. Pendergast irritates Hazen from the moment he steps off the bus in downtown, three whole blocks, Medicine Creek. He wears black, which unless you’re heading to a funeral, no one ever wears black in Southwest Kansas. I heard the same tired jokes every time I wore a black shirt to work...Johnny Cash just walked in folks. He is pale with disturbing eyes, but his ”voice redolent of mint julips, pralines, and cypress trees” betrays his New Orleans upbringing.
Pendergast further confounds the sheriff when he hires the resident troublemaker and black wearing goth, Corrie Swanson, to be his driver and confidant. Who knows what is actually going on in town better than teenagers?
With bodies continuing to show up, it soon becomes apparent that Medicine Creek is being terrorized by a serial killer...it's got to be some guy passing through, right? The MO of the killer is nonexistent. The profile is not of an organized or unorganized killer, but of something totally outside the realm of categorization. ”’The evil I’m talking about, most of the time it’s got an explanation. But some of the time’--he spat more tobacco juice, then leaned forward as if to impart a secret—‘some of the time, it just don’t.’”
So what the hell are they chasing?
This is one of the more gruesome entries in the series, but also the most compelling since the first one, Relic. I also find it interesting to read about the perceptions of writers who may have never set foot in Southwest Kansas writing about this area. Small towns are pretty much the same all over the United States with the same narrow-minded prejudices against anyone who doesn’t conform. Corrie Swanson is the perfect example of the type of kids who are driven out of small communities. The wall of loneliness and harassment that's imposed upon them by their peers is inescapable. Like Corrie, kids are trapped in a place where they are not only deemed different but undesirable. Pendergast knows better than anyone the perils of being seen as a nonconformist. As an adult, he has made an art form out of being different. Just his mere existence makes people uncomfortable. He is far from the buttoned-down FBI agent we are used to seeing in movies, and though he has made his share of enemies within the organisation, his closure rate on difficult cases keeps him from being booted from the Bureau. I really enjoy the relationship that is formed between Corrie and Pendergast. He represents a lifeline of the expanded opportunities that await her once she shakes off the dust of Medicine Creek.
This series is so fun, and there are so many more of them for me to read. Truly a plethora of riches.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
And in the center of the circle of crows lay the corpse of a woman.
At least Sheriff Hazen thought it was a woman: her lips, nose and ears were missing.”
Sheriff Hazen of Medicine Creek, Kansas, catches this case by a matter of twelve feet. Twelve and a half feet another direction and this case would have belonged to the Staties. This is the type of case that will either put him on the front page of every newspaper in Kansas and possibly beyond, or it will be the type of case that makes him out to be the small town, chaw chewing, white trash moron that everyone expects him to be.
This is not only Kansas but Southwest Kansas, the navel lint in a great expanse of nothing. I should know: I live here. Well, not in Medicine Creek, which is a fictional small town, but it is a town that relies on Dodge City and Garden City for most everything they need. I could have practically driven out there and solved this case myself, but I’m really glad I decided to leave it to Special Agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast because blood spray, eviscerations, and carved body parts make me queasy.
Medicine Creek is in competition with a town called Deeper for the KSU contract for a test field of a newfangled corn. Most of the corn grown around Medicine Creek is used for gasohol, which we usually refer to as ethanol. Our corn isn’t feeding the world as much as it is feeding our gas tanks. Personally, I think we should leave the growing of corn to the upper Midwest and grow more drought resistant crops, like wheat and hemp, but the boys in the laboratories have created a more drought resistant corn that has allowed it to grow with much less rainfall than when I was a kid. As one character put it in this novel, ”It wasn’t natural, to be surrounded by so much goddamn corn. It made people strange.” I don’t know about strange, but I can tell you there are few things that will play with your imagination more than being out in the middle of a corn field on a moonless night, especially one that has dry leaves and parched husks surrounding the ripened ears. A gentle breeze shuddering through the stalks will have your mind hearing the giggles of children of the corn, the rattle of a scarecrow scythe, and the rustling of terrifying creatures. And of course, your flashlight will first dim then wink out all together. To lend wings to your feet, you’ll start hearing...muuuuuhhhhh from something behind you, or is it in front of you?
Yeah, I’m glad Pendergast is in town to handle this one.
Like most small town people, the first thought that Sheriff Hazen has is that this can’t be a local killing people. It has to be someone from out of town. Pendergast is sure it has to be someone local. Pendergast irritates Hazen from the moment he steps off the bus in downtown, three whole blocks, Medicine Creek. He wears black, which unless you’re heading to a funeral, no one ever wears black in Southwest Kansas. I heard the same tired jokes every time I wore a black shirt to work...Johnny Cash just walked in folks. He is pale with disturbing eyes, but his ”voice redolent of mint julips, pralines, and cypress trees” betrays his New Orleans upbringing.
Pendergast further confounds the sheriff when he hires the resident troublemaker and black wearing goth, Corrie Swanson, to be his driver and confidant. Who knows what is actually going on in town better than teenagers?
With bodies continuing to show up, it soon becomes apparent that Medicine Creek is being terrorized by a serial killer...it's got to be some guy passing through, right? The MO of the killer is nonexistent. The profile is not of an organized or unorganized killer, but of something totally outside the realm of categorization. ”’The evil I’m talking about, most of the time it’s got an explanation. But some of the time’--he spat more tobacco juice, then leaned forward as if to impart a secret—‘some of the time, it just don’t.’”
So what the hell are they chasing?
This is one of the more gruesome entries in the series, but also the most compelling since the first one, Relic. I also find it interesting to read about the perceptions of writers who may have never set foot in Southwest Kansas writing about this area. Small towns are pretty much the same all over the United States with the same narrow-minded prejudices against anyone who doesn’t conform. Corrie Swanson is the perfect example of the type of kids who are driven out of small communities. The wall of loneliness and harassment that's imposed upon them by their peers is inescapable. Like Corrie, kids are trapped in a place where they are not only deemed different but undesirable. Pendergast knows better than anyone the perils of being seen as a nonconformist. As an adult, he has made an art form out of being different. Just his mere existence makes people uncomfortable. He is far from the buttoned-down FBI agent we are used to seeing in movies, and though he has made his share of enemies within the organisation, his closure rate on difficult cases keeps him from being booted from the Bureau. I really enjoy the relationship that is formed between Corrie and Pendergast. He represents a lifeline of the expanded opportunities that await her once she shakes off the dust of Medicine Creek.
This series is so fun, and there are so many more of them for me to read. Truly a plethora of riches.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
January 15, 2019
I am officially addicted to Pendergast. So much so that I didn't even feel like writing this quick review and want to jump straight into Brimstone (Book 5). The Pendergast series has so far been highly entertaining and full of creepy and chilling suspense. It is just what I wanted for the month of October without going full-blown horror.
The character of Pendergast continues to intrigue and delight me to no end. I love how his refined eccentricity throws everyone he encounters out of their comfort zone. So learned, competent and just so strange, he exudes a certain charm which I find very alluring. He still does not many point-of-view chapters, which probably adds to the whole mysterious persona. And if even the cool city-slickers in New York can be unnerved by Pendergast, just imagine what it will do to a small corn farm community in Kansas.
While not as deeply atmospheric as the scenes in New York's museums, underground tunnels and cabinet of curiosities, the cornfields of Kansas can still conjure up some spine-chilling images. The main characters in the little town of Medicine Creek are well fleshed out and are less annoying than the some of those we've met in the city that never sleeps. Finally, we do not have that most infuriating incompetent cop cliche that was present in the last three instalments.
As for the conclusion of this book, the climactic scenes were slightly less suspenseful than the previous volumes. Notwithstanding, the final revelation of the plot was really quite sad, but at the same time disturbing as hell and chilled me to the bone. Again, not wholly unpredictable but it is still one great ride that is hard to put down.
The character of Pendergast continues to intrigue and delight me to no end. I love how his refined eccentricity throws everyone he encounters out of their comfort zone. So learned, competent and just so strange, he exudes a certain charm which I find very alluring. He still does not many point-of-view chapters, which probably adds to the whole mysterious persona. And if even the cool city-slickers in New York can be unnerved by Pendergast, just imagine what it will do to a small corn farm community in Kansas.
While not as deeply atmospheric as the scenes in New York's museums, underground tunnels and cabinet of curiosities, the cornfields of Kansas can still conjure up some spine-chilling images. The main characters in the little town of Medicine Creek are well fleshed out and are less annoying than the some of those we've met in the city that never sleeps. Finally, we do not have that most infuriating incompetent cop cliche that was present in the last three instalments.
As for the conclusion of this book, the climactic scenes were slightly less suspenseful than the previous volumes. Notwithstanding, the final revelation of the plot was really quite sad, but at the same time disturbing as hell and chilled me to the bone. Again, not wholly unpredictable but it is still one great ride that is hard to put down.
June 20, 2025
Noooo ... don't go into the cornfield! Nooooo!
What do you get when you combine the supercilious fastidiousness and overbearing punctiliousness of Hercule Poirot; the intensity, pure logic and deductive power of Sherlock Holmes; the austerity, speed, focus, lightning reflexes, innate strength and eastern mysticism of Kwai Chang Caine with the wealth and desire for secretive philanthropy of Michael Anthony, The Millionaire? Well, this IS a review of Still Life With Crows, so you don't get any extra points for guessing that the answer is FBI Special Agent Pendergast! But it will give you an overview of a character that I reckon to be one of the most interesting, eccentric and curious sleuths ever created in fiction!
The wheels are certainly still firmly attached to the truck with Still Life With Crows and they're in no danger of falling off yet! But the Lincoln/Child truck has certainly turned a corner, changed direction and moved out of a thriller genre more firmly based in reality into something that is perhaps better labeled as pure horror or even fantasy horror!
Pendergast makes an ex officio visit to Medicine Creek, Kansas, to investigate a bizarre series of ritual killings that seem somehow related to the town legend of the Curse of the Forty-Fives - the eerie story of the 1865 massacre of a group of cowboys by the Indians they were hunting who stole into camp out of nowhere and disappeared just as completely. The tension throughout the story is palpable as the killer strikes again and again. You'll read page after page with wide eyes, breath tightly held and a crawling set of goose bumps as even a corn field is turned into a very, very nasty place to be. But the fact is, after all is said and done, the frenzied page turning ends with the realization that the "creature" revealed to be the insane culprit is not resolved. Preternatural speed, strength and agility, for example, are simply evoked but never really explained.
With this, the fourth Pendergast outing, Preston and Child are proving themselves to be true masters of character development. Sheriff Dent Hazen evolves from a red neck "Boss Hawg" style comedic stereotype mid-west bully into a man of true courage, compassion and strength who is clearly devastated about his failures as a father. Corrie Swanson, a spiteful 18 year old rebel goth is taken under Pendergast's wing as his "assistant" and shown to be a bright, intelligent motivated young lady dealing with the demons of a miserable home life and her mother's alcoholism. This off-the-wall relationship is so engagingly painted with such loving detail that we can only cross our fingers and hope desperately that we're destined to see more of Corrie Swanson in future novels.
In passing, we're also treated to some very interesting discussion on the convoluted science, emotions and politics of the relationship between big business, farmers and genetically modified crops.
Not Lincoln and Child's best, but I reckon you'll still be flipping the pages wildly through to a magnificent surprise ending in the final paragraph!
Paul Weiss
What do you get when you combine the supercilious fastidiousness and overbearing punctiliousness of Hercule Poirot; the intensity, pure logic and deductive power of Sherlock Holmes; the austerity, speed, focus, lightning reflexes, innate strength and eastern mysticism of Kwai Chang Caine with the wealth and desire for secretive philanthropy of Michael Anthony, The Millionaire? Well, this IS a review of Still Life With Crows, so you don't get any extra points for guessing that the answer is FBI Special Agent Pendergast! But it will give you an overview of a character that I reckon to be one of the most interesting, eccentric and curious sleuths ever created in fiction!
The wheels are certainly still firmly attached to the truck with Still Life With Crows and they're in no danger of falling off yet! But the Lincoln/Child truck has certainly turned a corner, changed direction and moved out of a thriller genre more firmly based in reality into something that is perhaps better labeled as pure horror or even fantasy horror!
Pendergast makes an ex officio visit to Medicine Creek, Kansas, to investigate a bizarre series of ritual killings that seem somehow related to the town legend of the Curse of the Forty-Fives - the eerie story of the 1865 massacre of a group of cowboys by the Indians they were hunting who stole into camp out of nowhere and disappeared just as completely. The tension throughout the story is palpable as the killer strikes again and again. You'll read page after page with wide eyes, breath tightly held and a crawling set of goose bumps as even a corn field is turned into a very, very nasty place to be. But the fact is, after all is said and done, the frenzied page turning ends with the realization that the "creature" revealed to be the insane culprit is not resolved. Preternatural speed, strength and agility, for example, are simply evoked but never really explained.
With this, the fourth Pendergast outing, Preston and Child are proving themselves to be true masters of character development. Sheriff Dent Hazen evolves from a red neck "Boss Hawg" style comedic stereotype mid-west bully into a man of true courage, compassion and strength who is clearly devastated about his failures as a father. Corrie Swanson, a spiteful 18 year old rebel goth is taken under Pendergast's wing as his "assistant" and shown to be a bright, intelligent motivated young lady dealing with the demons of a miserable home life and her mother's alcoholism. This off-the-wall relationship is so engagingly painted with such loving detail that we can only cross our fingers and hope desperately that we're destined to see more of Corrie Swanson in future novels.
In passing, we're also treated to some very interesting discussion on the convoluted science, emotions and politics of the relationship between big business, farmers and genetically modified crops.
Not Lincoln and Child's best, but I reckon you'll still be flipping the pages wildly through to a magnificent surprise ending in the final paragraph!
Paul Weiss
November 10, 2016
I love several books in the Pendergast series. But, I think Still Lif with Crows is my personal favorite. It has an interesting and engrossing plot and best of it all we are introduced to Corrie Swanson, who besides Pendergast is my favorite character in the series!
August 1, 2022
"Because truth is the safest lie."
I'm in love - this book has now pushed itself to the top of the line of the first four novels from the talented team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
Pendergast actually leaves New York and travels to a small, dying town that's covered in cornfields and old Indian Legend. When the dust settles, it's clear they have a demented killer at hand. At first the sheriff blames an outsider, but it soon become apparent it's someone nearer to them than that...the only question that seems to remain for Pendergast to solve, is the monster even human?
While New York and its impressive museum provided a playground of fascinating riddles and exploration options, I was ready for a breather and break from the big city. This small town with it's backward appeal was the perfect solution. Hopefully it's not just me who thinks of the creepiness from Children of the Corn whenever cornfields are involved. They're used effectively in a lot of horror movies and scenes for good reason. I loved the mystery of this story,but the setting makes it impressive with the fragile and uptight innkeeper Pendergast stays with, the greasy spoon Pendergast shocks by making a steak tartar (ew, but probably wise decision considering the food options.) There's also the town's side story of trying to become the choice of genetically engineered corn. This brings up research to ponder later when the book is closed.
Pendergast is kind of the James Bond of the FBI. Although I could do without the weird laying down and solving crimes scene where he almost supernaturally travels in the past (what is that?), the quiet mannered and effective detective is still addictive. Corrie as his assistant was a nice touch since the purple haired sidekick proved to be intriguing and fun (loved the ending with her). The crime is not solved merely by chance, but by visiting town residents and settling deep into the history of the place, from an aged Indian massacre, town politics and hidden mine systems. The killings are definitely brutal, and like Pendergast I couldn't find rhyme or reason on the solution. The ending was a delight because it shows something hidden under all our noses the entire time, a twisted twist for sure that made the book even closer to achieving perfection.
Even the sheriff's office proves more interesting than you'd first thing. At first I was ready to hate the overbearing sheriff with his brutish ways and sympathize with the simple Tad, but it grew even more complex than this one-dimensional plot trope, coming okay at the end.
Definitely my favorite of the first four, Still Life with Crows is creative with its story-line, keeps you guessing, has plenty of tense moments, dishes out a perfect ending, and features plenty of Pendergast. Throw in the creepy small town setting and some well-done side characters, and call me a serious fan of this book. Unlike The Cabinet of Curiosities, the generous page count is warranted with this one.
I'm in love - this book has now pushed itself to the top of the line of the first four novels from the talented team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
Pendergast actually leaves New York and travels to a small, dying town that's covered in cornfields and old Indian Legend. When the dust settles, it's clear they have a demented killer at hand. At first the sheriff blames an outsider, but it soon become apparent it's someone nearer to them than that...the only question that seems to remain for Pendergast to solve, is the monster even human?
While New York and its impressive museum provided a playground of fascinating riddles and exploration options, I was ready for a breather and break from the big city. This small town with it's backward appeal was the perfect solution. Hopefully it's not just me who thinks of the creepiness from Children of the Corn whenever cornfields are involved. They're used effectively in a lot of horror movies and scenes for good reason. I loved the mystery of this story,but the setting makes it impressive with the fragile and uptight innkeeper Pendergast stays with, the greasy spoon Pendergast shocks by making a steak tartar (ew, but probably wise decision considering the food options.) There's also the town's side story of trying to become the choice of genetically engineered corn. This brings up research to ponder later when the book is closed.
Pendergast is kind of the James Bond of the FBI. Although I could do without the weird laying down and solving crimes scene where he almost supernaturally travels in the past (what is that?), the quiet mannered and effective detective is still addictive. Corrie as his assistant was a nice touch since the purple haired sidekick proved to be intriguing and fun (loved the ending with her). The crime is not solved merely by chance, but by visiting town residents and settling deep into the history of the place, from an aged Indian massacre, town politics and hidden mine systems. The killings are definitely brutal, and like Pendergast I couldn't find rhyme or reason on the solution. The ending was a delight because it shows something hidden under all our noses the entire time, a twisted twist for sure that made the book even closer to achieving perfection.
Even the sheriff's office proves more interesting than you'd first thing. At first I was ready to hate the overbearing sheriff with his brutish ways and sympathize with the simple Tad, but it grew even more complex than this one-dimensional plot trope, coming okay at the end.
Definitely my favorite of the first four, Still Life with Crows is creative with its story-line, keeps you guessing, has plenty of tense moments, dishes out a perfect ending, and features plenty of Pendergast. Throw in the creepy small town setting and some well-done side characters, and call me a serious fan of this book. Unlike The Cabinet of Curiosities, the generous page count is warranted with this one.
October 17, 2015
Agent Pendergast shows up again at an unusual place....mostly due to his interest in esoteric murders. The elasticity of his relationship with the FBI is a continual topic of conversation among those who know him.
I enjoyed this book also (it's the source of one of my favorite quotes, especially if you can imagine it in Pendergast'a New Orleans accent. When asked why he always wears black he responds "I am partial to the color". Okay I said it was one of MY favorite quotes.) The weirdness of the events carries on the feeling of the books so far. I am a little disappointed in the way it gets tied up. But on the whole it doesn't really take away from the book.
By the way the reason I like the quote is that most of my clothes are black or at least dark. I to am "partial to the color".
I enjoyed this book also (it's the source of one of my favorite quotes, especially if you can imagine it in Pendergast'a New Orleans accent. When asked why he always wears black he responds "I am partial to the color". Okay I said it was one of MY favorite quotes.) The weirdness of the events carries on the feeling of the books so far. I am a little disappointed in the way it gets tied up. But on the whole it doesn't really take away from the book.
By the way the reason I like the quote is that most of my clothes are black or at least dark. I to am "partial to the color".
February 18, 2020
Wow!! I can’t believe how suspenseful and frightening this book was! I had to finish it ASAP as I knew I’d never be able to sleep.
This is another series that I’ve been meaning to continue- so glad I finally did!
Special Agent Pendergast is an FBI agent, who definitely thinks outside the box. He has his peculiarities, of course, but he is such a memorable character. I look forward to continue to follow him as he delves into more cases.
If you love solid suspenseful mysteries, that are well written and well plotted, start reading this series!!
A question for all the Pendergast fans- I started this series with A Cabinet of Curiosities. I never read the first two- Relic and Reliquary- should I go back to those two or just continue in order from now? Please help me decide!!
This is another series that I’ve been meaning to continue- so glad I finally did!
Special Agent Pendergast is an FBI agent, who definitely thinks outside the box. He has his peculiarities, of course, but he is such a memorable character. I look forward to continue to follow him as he delves into more cases.
If you love solid suspenseful mysteries, that are well written and well plotted, start reading this series!!
A question for all the Pendergast fans- I started this series with A Cabinet of Curiosities. I never read the first two- Relic and Reliquary- should I go back to those two or just continue in order from now? Please help me decide!!
April 15, 2018
Another terrific installment in the Pendergast series by Preston and Child. It's evidence of a great mystery book when I'm left wondering all the way to the end exactly what is going on, even to the point of getting the biggest revelation in the final pages. I think the setting painted by the authors in this book is perfect for this storyline, as creepy and awe-inspiring as it is. I look forward to the next book in the series, as well as the other Preston/Child books. Thanks again to Ginger and Matthew for the great insights and fun comments, and a great overall experience! And truly, I will never think of Thanksgiving, or eating corn-on-the-cob the same again...
February 9, 2018
There are books that once you start reading it is sooo hard to put it down, this 4th installment of the Pendergast series is one of those books. This book tells of a series of deaths that are gruesome as they come and Pendergast on vacation in a little town in central USA is very curious about the situation and invites himself.
Pendergast as always works very wel when it highlights some curious bit of Americana, in this case the disappearing towns in the great expanse of the United states. Towns that disappear because there just is no work and no money to earn and big cooperations take over the farms into one giant farm.
Also highlighted is the bloody history of this particular town when it comes to taking land of the Natives inhabitants whose revenge does play a major role in the story. This story would also have made an amazing X-files episode.
As always Pendergast tales do entertain and are very well written, for the fans this is the one that brought us Corrie Swanson. I have read this one before as there is a paperback in my collection that looks read. On the basis of a replacement by the Hardcover I revisited the book again. And I am so glad I did. The book fires on all cilinders and is so difficult to lay down. I finished it at 4.30 am and had to get up at 7.30 am for another day in the salt-mines (aka work).
As always the work of Preston & Child is a bloody good read. I am sorry for you if you never sampled their material. Do hasten to correct that.
Pendergast as always works very wel when it highlights some curious bit of Americana, in this case the disappearing towns in the great expanse of the United states. Towns that disappear because there just is no work and no money to earn and big cooperations take over the farms into one giant farm.
Also highlighted is the bloody history of this particular town when it comes to taking land of the Natives inhabitants whose revenge does play a major role in the story. This story would also have made an amazing X-files episode.
As always Pendergast tales do entertain and are very well written, for the fans this is the one that brought us Corrie Swanson. I have read this one before as there is a paperback in my collection that looks read. On the basis of a replacement by the Hardcover I revisited the book again. And I am so glad I did. The book fires on all cilinders and is so difficult to lay down. I finished it at 4.30 am and had to get up at 7.30 am for another day in the salt-mines (aka work).
As always the work of Preston & Child is a bloody good read. I am sorry for you if you never sampled their material. Do hasten to correct that.
July 22, 2024
An Excellent Book!!!
Story 10/5
Narration 5/5
Still Life with Crows (Pendergast Series, Book 4), by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is a masterpiece!
I really liked this story!
I found the description of the small town in Kansas so realistic.
All the characters were perfectly developed and the plot was captivating.
The story is impeccable, with perfect balance in every aspect. There is humor, action, suspense, gruesome murders, mysteries and tragedy.
At the end, I even shed a tear, but not for the dead, even if what happened to them was totally unfair and tragic, but for this innocent soul.
I highly recommend this very good book.
Story 10/5
Narration 5/5
Still Life with Crows (Pendergast Series, Book 4), by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is a masterpiece!
I really liked this story!
I found the description of the small town in Kansas so realistic.
All the characters were perfectly developed and the plot was captivating.
The story is impeccable, with perfect balance in every aspect. There is humor, action, suspense, gruesome murders, mysteries and tragedy.
At the end, I even shed a tear, but not for the dead, even if what happened to them was totally unfair and tragic, but for this innocent soul.
I highly recommend this very good book.
January 18, 2019
Deliciously creepy tale with corn fields and caves and someone who can pull off limbs with his bare hands. Also, who doesn't appreciate a killer with such an artistic bent? Body parts, Indian artefacts, and dead crows in a macabre tableau. The Tate modern would be all over it.
Safe to say that I'm pretty into the question that is Agent Pendergast by now. His dark family secrets, his first name (still unrevealed), the black suit, his vast intelligence, and the occasional flashes of humour. I'd love to meet him, except all the murderous shit that goes down whenever he's around makes him seriously dangerous to know.
Up next Brimstone....
Safe to say that I'm pretty into the question that is Agent Pendergast by now. His dark family secrets, his first name (still unrevealed), the black suit, his vast intelligence, and the occasional flashes of humour. I'd love to meet him, except all the murderous shit that goes down whenever he's around makes him seriously dangerous to know.
Up next Brimstone....
February 19, 2018
I guess I should have expected it. After three great books, the law of averages finally caught up with Agent Pendergast.
While this book is still much better than most of the dross out there, this is easily the weakest so far due to two reasons. The first being the over-reliance on the memory palace (this was ok in The Cabinet of Curiosities) because in this book it acts as a deux ex machina. The second is the trite resolution (no spoilers). This book has excellent writing and characterization going for it along one of the coolest names ever but that is not enough for me to overlook the previous points.
So, Still Life with Crows is good but not great.
I have more reviews at my blog
While this book is still much better than most of the dross out there, this is easily the weakest so far due to two reasons. The first being the over-reliance on the memory palace (this was ok in The Cabinet of Curiosities) because in this book it acts as a deux ex machina. The second is the trite resolution (no spoilers). This book has excellent writing and characterization going for it along one of the coolest names ever but that is not enough for me to overlook the previous points.
So, Still Life with Crows is good but not great.
I have more reviews at my blog
February 1, 2018
This was a red hot, horrifying read! A murder mystery with the feel of a genuine horror, slasher flick.
Scenes unfold at a relentless pace and chills fly at you like bullets. Not very predictable either. I didn't see the revelation coming until the moment before Pendergast did the big tell-all. Eerie prose that keeps you guessing and captivated.
The whole thing with the antagonist was just plain freaky. Also, I'll never think of cornfields the same way again.
Scenes unfold at a relentless pace and chills fly at you like bullets. Not very predictable either. I didn't see the revelation coming until the moment before Pendergast did the big tell-all. Eerie prose that keeps you guessing and captivated.
The whole thing with the antagonist was just plain freaky. Also, I'll never think of cornfields the same way again.
October 25, 2019
Cuarto libro ya de la saga Pendergast y, nuevamente, título muy disfrutado. Se confirma ya como una saga muy adictiva y con un personaje principal que gana en carisma en cada libro. El agente del FBI Pendergast se luce en esta aventura más que en ninguna de las leídas hasta la fecha, recordando mucho a un Sherlock Holmes más misterioso y a ratos más excéntrico que el detective creado por Conan Doyle.
En esta ocasión la acción se desarrolla en Medicine Creek, un pueblo en mitad de la nada del Medio Oeste de los Estados Unidos, concretamente del estado de Kansas. Es el típico lugar donde nunca ocurre nada, los campos de maíz y los cuervos van más allá de donde alcanza la vista y no hay más muestras de civilización en kilómetros a la redonda; el matadero de pavos, antaño gran proveedor de empleos, está de capa caída; la gente se marcha cuando tiene la mínima ocasión. Hasta que un soleado y agobiante día de agosto, aparece en pleno maizal el cadáver de una mujer desconocida. La escena del crimen indica que puede ser un asesinato ritual y, además, contiene elementos que recuerdan a una antigua leyenda oscura que acompaña a Medicine Creek desde hace más de un siglo. El agente Pendergast aparece casi por arte de magia en el pueblo para investigar este caso tan interesante.
Es una novela muy adictiva de principio a fin; la acción comienza en seguida y ya no se puede parar de leer. Los capítulos son cortos, lo que le aporta agilidad y te hace caer en la trampa de "un capitulito más", y cuando te das cuenta has leído doce. Hay personajes nuevos, un tanto clásicos en su forma pero muy atractivos; muchos misterios, muchos peligros. Y aunque hacia mitad del libro ya olía qué estaba pasando y pillé la solución de pleno, igualmente he disfrutado muchísimo con esta lectura. Tanto es así que las últimas cien páginas las leí del tirón, perdiendo en el proceso cinco años de vista, por lo menos XD Pero valió la pena.
Quiero destacar también como punto positivo la ambientación de esta novela. Las tres anteriores se habían desarrollado en Nueva York y, de repente, esta nos traslada a un pueblo olvidado de la América profunda. El contraste con los anteriores libros es muy fuerte y resulta muy interesante ver a Pendergast desenvolverse en un ambiente que no es el suyo. Además, todo está muy bien construido: la sensación de calor, el polvo y los restos de farfolla que se desprenden de los maizales y llenan los pulmones de los habitantes, la sensación de claustrofobia entre los altísimos tallos de maíz... Por no decir que tiene lugares y momentos que me han recordado a novelas de Stephen King y Lovecraft. ¡Genial!
Ha sido una lectura conjunta con Arlenne Gilbert y Silvia y lo que nos hemos reído no está escrito.
En esta ocasión la acción se desarrolla en Medicine Creek, un pueblo en mitad de la nada del Medio Oeste de los Estados Unidos, concretamente del estado de Kansas. Es el típico lugar donde nunca ocurre nada, los campos de maíz y los cuervos van más allá de donde alcanza la vista y no hay más muestras de civilización en kilómetros a la redonda; el matadero de pavos, antaño gran proveedor de empleos, está de capa caída; la gente se marcha cuando tiene la mínima ocasión. Hasta que un soleado y agobiante día de agosto, aparece en pleno maizal el cadáver de una mujer desconocida. La escena del crimen indica que puede ser un asesinato ritual y, además, contiene elementos que recuerdan a una antigua leyenda oscura que acompaña a Medicine Creek desde hace más de un siglo. El agente Pendergast aparece casi por arte de magia en el pueblo para investigar este caso tan interesante.
Es una novela muy adictiva de principio a fin; la acción comienza en seguida y ya no se puede parar de leer. Los capítulos son cortos, lo que le aporta agilidad y te hace caer en la trampa de "un capitulito más", y cuando te das cuenta has leído doce. Hay personajes nuevos, un tanto clásicos en su forma pero muy atractivos; muchos misterios, muchos peligros. Y aunque hacia mitad del libro ya olía qué estaba pasando y pillé la solución de pleno, igualmente he disfrutado muchísimo con esta lectura. Tanto es así que las últimas cien páginas las leí del tirón, perdiendo en el proceso cinco años de vista, por lo menos XD Pero valió la pena.
Quiero destacar también como punto positivo la ambientación de esta novela. Las tres anteriores se habían desarrollado en Nueva York y, de repente, esta nos traslada a un pueblo olvidado de la América profunda. El contraste con los anteriores libros es muy fuerte y resulta muy interesante ver a Pendergast desenvolverse en un ambiente que no es el suyo. Además, todo está muy bien construido: la sensación de calor, el polvo y los restos de farfolla que se desprenden de los maizales y llenan los pulmones de los habitantes, la sensación de claustrofobia entre los altísimos tallos de maíz... Por no decir que tiene lugares y momentos que me han recordado a novelas de Stephen King y Lovecraft. ¡Genial!
Ha sido una lectura conjunta con Arlenne Gilbert y Silvia y lo que nos hemos reído no está escrito.
January 3, 2019
The book that introduces one of the most annoying secondary characters of all time-Corey Swanson
Lord I dread the next several books because of her. I love this series; Pendergast is all that, but please never bring her back.
The book is a steady stream of murder and mutilation. Of course Pendergast plays his Special Agent card throughout causing much conflict with the local law enforcement. But I think what makes this particular book book so singular in the series is the last five minutes of the ending-the big reveal, the “come to Jesus” moment. Well worth the wait!
Lord I dread the next several books because of her. I love this series; Pendergast is all that, but please never bring her back.
The book is a steady stream of murder and mutilation. Of course Pendergast plays his Special Agent card throughout causing much conflict with the local law enforcement. But I think what makes this particular book book so singular in the series is the last five minutes of the ending-the big reveal, the “come to Jesus” moment. Well worth the wait!
April 15, 2020
4.5 stars. It's been 5 years since I read The Cabinet of Curiosities but I hadn't forgotten one thing about Special Agent Pendergast. And the weird, invariably horrible crimes he ends up investigating definitely held true here.
These authors are masters at hooking the reader into the story and holding you there til the very end. So far, every book is this series has been fairly long and this one went for 564 pages, and not for single moment did it drag. The crimes are gory, the deaths stunningly brutal and the action at the culmination of the hunt for the killer was terrifying. One of the most shocking things for me was how sad I was at the end.
I'm absolutely looking forward to the next one!
These authors are masters at hooking the reader into the story and holding you there til the very end. So far, every book is this series has been fairly long and this one went for 564 pages, and not for single moment did it drag. The crimes are gory, the deaths stunningly brutal and the action at the culmination of the hunt for the killer was terrifying. One of the most shocking things for me was how sad I was at the end.
I'm absolutely looking forward to the next one!
June 24, 2022
The first time I did a combo of listening and reading a book and have to say it made it a very enjoyable experience. The characters were well written (a bit stereotypical at times). I am finding with the Pendergast books there is a VERY LONG intro into the facts and laying out of the clues to the crimes and the history of where it took place. This is part of the charm of the writing but also a bit drawn out at times. An interesting premise when all is solved, and the last few pages are a must.
July 23, 2017
This was spookier and scarier than its predecessors. Didn't think that was probable.
3.75 stars
December 27, 2011
The fourth book in the series has plenty of thrills, chills and surprises but the format changes from the usual Preston/Child way of tackling this saga. The backdrop of New York City is left behind, Special Agent Pendergast takes a small "vacation" which is only a cover up for tackling yet another gruesome case, this time taking place in remote town of Medicine Creek, Kansas. Quite a change from the mysterious urban setting we see Pendergast in, his usual friends and helpers are missing as well, replaced with a local named Carrie, a girl whom no one understands, no one other than Pendergast of course, and the two opposites seem more alike than different in the strange farm setting. Always having a keen nose for finding trouble, Pendergast sticks out like a sore thumb in the sea of farmers and town folk. Dressed in expensive hand made wool suits and shoes, always in black, the tall and wonderfully proper agent gets on the nerves of the local police force, almost magically always at the right time in the right place to find clues and bodies which never stop popping up. When it appears that a madman is on the loose and the killings are extremely weird and macabre, each death more bizarre than the last, it doesn't take long for Pendergast to notice that something out of the ordinary is going on. Is the devil in flesh visiting the small sleepy town or is it indeed a work of a man, somehow untraceable and invisible. The mystery was interesting but the way it was being solved was even more fun, Douglas and Preston do an excellent job of breathing life into simple pages filled with words, making it read like a movie.
Cornfields can be creepy, somehow movies and books always use them to the maximum for adding the element of mystery and confusion, the chases and surprises always lead to the fields where prey and the predator play. This novel does is it brilliantly, people go in and some never come out...
What I love about this series, other than Pendergast who is a fantastic and mesmerizing character, is that the reader never knows if something supernatural is going on or if life in the story is really that weird and bizarre. Monsters, ghosts, demons, they are all possible here but sometimes it's the human evil that makes the deeds appear form out of this world. Best part is reading on and finding out which will take place in the novel and these are juicy and wonderful and always a delight to read. The only negative thing about this book was the length, somehow about a hundred pages before the end I was craving the conclusion and one part of the story kept going on and on, driving me crazy, but other than that I loved the book and will always think of it fondly.
Cornfields can be creepy, somehow movies and books always use them to the maximum for adding the element of mystery and confusion, the chases and surprises always lead to the fields where prey and the predator play. This novel does is it brilliantly, people go in and some never come out...
What I love about this series, other than Pendergast who is a fantastic and mesmerizing character, is that the reader never knows if something supernatural is going on or if life in the story is really that weird and bizarre. Monsters, ghosts, demons, they are all possible here but sometimes it's the human evil that makes the deeds appear form out of this world. Best part is reading on and finding out which will take place in the novel and these are juicy and wonderful and always a delight to read. The only negative thing about this book was the length, somehow about a hundred pages before the end I was craving the conclusion and one part of the story kept going on and on, driving me crazy, but other than that I loved the book and will always think of it fondly.
May 10, 2013
As usual high quality writing but some might feel the ending was a tad below the previous books. One always likes to have clues to the murderer before they're revealed and some might argue there were not enough but I thought there were enough once you got to a certain point in the novel. This tale takes us away from NYC to a hamlet sized town named Medicine Creek which is suffering from economic depression.
Things even get worse as locals are murdered in the cornfields amidst peculiar ritual practices. Pendergast is there in fine form but most of the other active characters are new yet compelling. One of the real strengths of this novel is the focus upon the sweltering heat amidst the cornfields (you truly get a feel for the setting) and the small town folk values as their community spins out of control.
Contrary to what others have said in their reviews I found the cave finale to be fantastic and the points of view on the various locals was awesome.
CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B plus; SETTING: A minus to A; STORY/PLOTTING: B plus; WHEN READ: January to March 2011 (revised review Jan 2013); MY GRADE: B plus to A minus.
Things even get worse as locals are murdered in the cornfields amidst peculiar ritual practices. Pendergast is there in fine form but most of the other active characters are new yet compelling. One of the real strengths of this novel is the focus upon the sweltering heat amidst the cornfields (you truly get a feel for the setting) and the small town folk values as their community spins out of control.
Contrary to what others have said in their reviews I found the cave finale to be fantastic and the points of view on the various locals was awesome.
CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B plus; SETTING: A minus to A; STORY/PLOTTING: B plus; WHEN READ: January to March 2011 (revised review Jan 2013); MY GRADE: B plus to A minus.
September 9, 2020
The 4th book in the Pendergast series. Mysterious and intriguing.
March 1, 2020
I really enjoyed this one, so much more than the last one.
Like another reviewer said, Preston & Child held out to the very end to reveal the why of the crime.
Maybe I liked this one so much because Pendergast was on vacation, or maybe I liked it so much because I liked his assistant so much, as I am sure many of us do. Preston & Child did a real good job of telling the story of an abused teenager who was bullied by her peers and was going to make it out of her small town.
As I was listening to this story I was reminded of several by Stephen King including Under the Dome, and The Tommyknockers due to the small town setting.
Since only a few comment on my reviews, I'll leave it at that.
Like another reviewer said, Preston & Child held out to the very end to reveal the why of the crime.
Maybe I liked this one so much because Pendergast was on vacation, or maybe I liked it so much because I liked his assistant so much, as I am sure many of us do. Preston & Child did a real good job of telling the story of an abused teenager who was bullied by her peers and was going to make it out of her small town.
As I was listening to this story I was reminded of several by Stephen King including Under the Dome, and The Tommyknockers due to the small town setting.
Since only a few comment on my reviews, I'll leave it at that.
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