Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I am going to break my rule of posting only the first in a series for this week’s review. There’s a reason I am going rogue…this is actually the first book I read in the Pendergast series, A co-worker at the Library in 2003 recommended it to me and I went in blindly, having no idea what it was about (I just knew I always loved everything she recommended to me! – Thanks, L!). The lack of knowledge about who Pendergast was and what it was about made it more suspenseful and creepy…if you’re ever going to start a series part way through, I recommend this is the one to try!

The book takes place in Medicine Creek, Kansas, a dusty, middle-of-nowhere small town. An unknown victim is found in a cornfield (is anything creepier than a cornfield?), arranged in an elaborate tableau. Reporters descend on the town and the sheriff reassures everyone it was an isolated killing. That is, until Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast (isn’t this the best name?!) arrives on the scene and tells everyone it’s the act of a serial killer.

Neighbors begin to disappear and reappear in lifeless tableaus as townspeople whisper about a legendary Curse of the Forty-fives. Special Agent Pendergast enlists the help of an eighteen-year-old local, Corrie Swanson, to uncover the truth about the evil lurking in this heartland town.

This is one of my favorite suspenseful novels and was my favorite in the Pendergast series. The imagery of his arrival in this cornfield surrounded town is forever imprinted in my mind. His interactions with his local young town misfit assistant are classic Pendergast and one of my favorite interpersonal relationships in the series. This book checked all the boxes for a good spooky tale: suspense, quirky characters, small town, legends AND cornfields!

If you want to start in the beginning of this series (I won’t judge too harshly :-)), check out Relic at https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx….

But, if you are willing to join me in going rogue, check out Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child at the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…).