Saturday, December 24, 2016

REVIEW: Still Life With Crows

Still Life with Crows
Authors: Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Gruesome murders are occurring in a small Kansas town. The first victim is found scalped, mutilated and displayed in a cornfield surrounded by authentic Indian arrows. Each subsequent killing gets more bloody and bizarre. A strangely pale, soft spoken FBI agent appears to investigate the case. Local authorities don't like Agent Pendergast. He asks too many questions and points out their inadequacies. But, Pendergast, with his slow southern drawl and finicky eating habits, is an almost supernatural sleuth. If anyone can figure out what's happening in southern Kansas, it's Pendergast and his local goth teenager side-kick.

I love this series! Preston and Child's books are beautifully creepy! I grew up in Kansas. In the late summer, we used to wait til dark, wander out into the corn and have a blast trying to find our way out again, scaring the crap out of each other as we ran through the rows. The whole time I was reading this macabre story about something lurking out in the fields, I kept thinking about how freaking creepy it is to be lost out in the middle of row after row of corn. Definitely creepy as hell.

Pendergast reminds me of The Shadow, a character from old radio and movie serial fame. His almost supernatural appearance and detective skills make him almost as creepy a character as the monsters he investigates. There are 16 Agent Pendergast novels. Still Life With Crows is the fourth. Readers who enjoy creepy, supernatural thrillers will love this series!

It isn't completely necessary to read the series in order, but the story does refer back to some prior occurrences from the first 3 novels. I really recommend starting at the beginning and reading forward, but the references aren't major plot points. It would be possible to start with this book without reading the prior books.

For more information on the authors and their books, check out their website here.




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