Gavin’s Reviews > Pendergast: The Beginning > Status Update

I'm not seeing this as an origin story at all. I've yet to read any of the other books, but Pendergast is fully in control here. He's running rings around senior police and constantly making convenient assumptions that are incredibly close to the truth.

And I'm having a great time with it. The mystery is certainly intriguing and has my attention.

I'm really enjoying the fast paced, punchy writing and the story certainly has me intrigued. My only real issue is that Pendergast appears to be a little too good at what he does. I guess there's still time for him to mess things up but so far he's been annoyingly brilliant. There's also a moment of convenient plotting that irked me. Not book breaking but it felt a cheap way to get the characters from a to b.

I'm really enjoying this. The book is working for me as a first time Pendergast reader, although I'm sure there have been several winks to knowing, experienced, readers.

Pendergast is working for me as a character as is his 'mentor' Chambers. I'm particularly invested in this serial killer storyline. Very intriguing.

After 118 pages, I've read enough to commit to the Pendergast book series.

This is the first book in my Pendergast readthrough.

57 pages in and there's been a superbly written piece of misdirection. There's also been a line so cheesy, it made me laugh. It was an absolute pearler.

I'm really enjoying this so far. Fast paced, punchy, featuring a character the authors obviously love.