Still Life With Crows

Rating:
Summary: Long Live Pendergast
Review: After reading several of the reviews, I feel compelled to join the fray. Firstly, if you haven't enjoyed Agent Pendergast before, then don't read this book. Secondly, if you're going to write a bad review, be sure you read the book first. Kansas State University is named more than 20 times and is not the same as Kansas University. Perhaps attention to detail is required to enjoy this novel.

This book was excellent, complete with full-fledged Pendergast charisma. The character of Corrie Swanson is intriguing and complex, another intelligent woman (young woman) to add to Preston and Child's previous works. Although I found the ending to be less sparkling than that of Cabinet of Curiosities, it was very interesting.

I grew up in Kansas, and I really enjoyed the description of the topography, attitude, and weather.

There are several teases about the goings-on at the house on Riverside in New York, as well as brief appearances by Wren. I actually hope his character stays in the shadows; it is very appealing and mysterious that way.

Preston and Child's greatest strenght is character development, and this piece is a showcase. In addition to Corrie and Pendergast, Preston and Child create the Sheriff. He is annoying and yet he has integrity. Even before the change-of-heart climax, note his reaction to his son's treatment of the jailed Corrie.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a Pendergast junkie!

Rating:
Summary: A fast paced ride with lots of thrills!
Review: I might be biased here since these are some of my favorite authors. That said, I thought the book was great. I did figure out the ending but it was a twist that I got lucky on. I loved that one of the characters is reading what I assume to be their next book, Beyond the Ice Limit! Maybe we even get a bit of a preview:-) Anyways, this is a great book for those who love crime/mystery/science fiction mixed together.

Rating:
Summary: Ahh, more Pendergast ;)
Review: I'm such a picky reader, really, that it's always a pleasure to find those rare authors who can keep me up reading all night. Many thanks to Preston & Child for those entertaining (and scary) nights.

I enjoy that the recent books have kept Pendergast as a player. He's a delightful treasure surrounded by the cops, scientists, and reporters who, while certainly readable, aren't anything I haven't seen before. That he's always the peripheral mysterious character rather than the protagonist (with the possible exception of CoC) really works well, and you don't mind that he's perhaps a little too good to identify with.

Now, on to Still Life with Crows. Great build-up, very gruesome, and I loved the whole creepy atmosphere of the claustrophobic corn fields. Like some of the other reviewers, I did not find the ending quite as satisfying as I wanted (a little mundane compared to other P&C novels), but it still had a nicely creepy touch, and, as usual, I was left wishing the next book in the series was already out. I'm just dying to find out what's going on back in New York.;)

Corrie is another cut-above-the-rest character, and I hope to see her again somewhere down the road. Good stuff fellows, keep them coming.

Rating:
Summary: don't eat a turkey sandwich while you're reading this book
Review: When the dying town of Medicine Creek, Kansas, is beset by a series of grisly murders, FBI Special Agent Pendergast shows up and enlists the aid of a young high school outcast as he delves into the town's secrets and solves the crimes.

This is the fourth book by the talented writing team of Preston and Child to feature Pendergast, and certain aspects of this thriller were great while others were not so hot. If you are a fan of Pendergast, then the big payoff here is that there is a lot more of him; no other recurring characters (like reporter Smithback) are here, except for a short cameo by a minor character from Cabinet of Curiosities. Just eccentric, wealthy, mysterious Pendergast.

Personally, I liked seeing more of this fascinating Holmesian detective, though it's still not clear who he is, what his family history has been or how/why he continues to work for the FBI. I thought the setting of a small Kansas town surrounded on all sides by 7-foot tall corn was unusual and very creepy, and the authors continue to create interesting and complex characters. I thought the ending chase was too long, however, the solution too easy, and the murders overly gross.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother with This One, Just Re-Read Relic
Review: I have to call Still Life With Crows a second rate effort by a first rate team. I have read all of the available books written by Mr. Preston and Mr. Child and found this one to be their poorest, most unbelievable, and least intelligent work yet. In the past, I have read and re-read their books - especially Relic, Ice Limit, and Reliquary. It was a struggle to finish this one. I hope that this "effort" is not a sign that their collaboration has run it's course.

In a nutshell, this story follows Special Agent Pendergast and local law enforecment personnel on a hunt for a "super human" serial murderer in rural Kansas. I won't give the story away, but after I read it, I realized that this story is slightly reminiscent of an X-files episode.

Just as an aside, the authors seemed to get a bit too self-centered in this book (at least for me) -often referencing a past book (Ice Limit), foreshadowing a likely upcoming collaboration that must be in the works (sequel to Cabinet), and straying too far from the formula that has lead to their sucess and that is demanded by their fans - technothriller.

Rating:
Summary: First 2/3s Of Book Is Very Exciting, Last 1/3 is Ludicrous!
Review: Overall I'd give a 3 1/2 star rating to Still Life With Crows. I have been a very big fan of Preston & Child's books, especially Relic, Reliquary and The Cabinet of Curiousities. Having read the first 2/3s of Still Life With Crows, I felt sure this was going to be another of their books worthy of a five star recommendation. Then came the last third! Aside from the chase being much too long and drawn it, which was causing me to lose interest, the ending was ridiculous, lidicrous and unbelievable. And to make matters worse, I guessed who the killer was too early on in the book. As to the principal character, Pendergast, whom I thought was great in The Cabinet Of Curiousities, the authors have made him a little too super-humanish in this book, which, at times, made me feel that it might be good for Preston & Child to "retire" him, at least for awhile. I don't think this is going to happen, however, at least until after the author's next joint effort, given the the few scenes involving Pendergast and Wren. It seems that their next book might be a sequel to The Cabinet Of Curiousities featuring Pendergast and Wren. All in all, Still Life With Crows isn't a BAD book (even with its very far-fetched ending). It's just that I felt disappointed based on the high standards I've come to expect from these two very talented authors.

Rating:
Summary: Very dissapointed
Review: Seldom am I dissapointed in a recommended book, however, this book
was really weird. The author makes the characters not believable,
they are weird characters and you don't feel it's because of the story line.
The story itself at the end is not believable either.

Rating:
Summary: Still Life With Paycheck
Review: Rarely do I feel the need to come here and rip into a book like this, but, simply put, "Still Life With Crows" is pure hogwash.

The Relic, Reliquary, Cabinet of Curiosities, and, finally, Still Life With Crows, all share the same protagonist - FBI Agent Pendergast. A singularly absurd character. Rich beyond measure, cultured beyond belief, dressed implacably in a six thousand dollar suit, with rather expensive culinary tastes to boot. He is also blessed with the ability to mentally reconstruct crimes scenes, a kind of mental time travel.

The plot of SLWC revolves around the dying Kansas community of Medicine Creek. Reeling from cutbacks at the local turkey slaughterhouse, the town elders are trying to make the community attractive to the likes of Kansas University geneticists, who intend to test a new crop of genetically-altered corn in either Medicine Creek or the nearby town of Deeper.

Then a wave of murders and mutilations hit. First, a young woman searching for Indian relics is found murdered and posed with 40 or so dead crows in a nearby corn field. Soon, a dog and a famous scientist are also found in a similar fashion. Is this the work of a serial killer inspired by a local legend ("The Curse of the '45's") involving the massacre of militant white folk by angry Cheyenne Indians? Or is this a ploy to affect the decision being made about the crops of genetically altered corn?

In the middle of all this is Wonder Agent Pendergast and his 18-year-old assistant, Corrie.

I'm sorry, but this Pendergast character is simply laughable. He's a latter-day Sherlock Holmes, mildly flustered by all the activity at first, but is eventually the first individual with a firm grasp on all the facts. His smugness gets tiresome real darned quick.

Every cliched red-herring is on display here. The principled reporter on the heels of the story of his career. The local sheriff who wants the FBI off the case. The disaffected goth teenager who is actually smarter than anyone else around her. Not to mention the overly Luddite tone of the book itself, taking absurd stands on the topic of gene-altered crops and the like.

I generally enjoy the books of Childs and Preston, especially "The Ice Limit" and "Mount Dragon". This one, however, I'd recommend avoiding. Its simply too absurd and laughable for its own good.

Rating:
Summary: This sure doesn't seem like Kansas
Review: Preston and Child in their latest thriller, Still Life with Crows, use the rural farming town of Medicine Creek, Kansas as the locale for a bizarre inexplicable murder. This unexplainable killing lures Special FBI agent Pendergast, a previous protagonist in P & C novels, to the crime scene to attempt to unravel the mystery.

Medicine Creek is a decaying farming town of about 300 inhabitants surrounded by miles and miles of cornfields. The town is known for its unusual topography and legends surrounding its history. Within it's confines is a spectacular cavern system and 3 large Mounds which are thought to be the site of Indian burial grounds. Medicine Creek, in the late 1800's, was the home base of a marauding band of renegade ex-Confederate soldiers called the Forty Fives. They were responsible for pillaging and raping the villages of the local Cheyenne tribes. Legend has it that while camped at the Mounds the Forty Fives were massacred save for one survivor by a revenge seeking band of Cheyenne warriors that apparently appeared out of thin air. It was told that the leader of the Forty Fives cursed the ground of the massacre for all eternity.

Pendergast, the pale visaged platinum blonde haired epitome of Southern charm with unorthodox investigative methods is an expert on serial killings. When he views the crime scene, he is perplexed as to the modus operandi. Within short order other horrific crimes are commited with no apparent connection to the original murder. Pendergast enlists Corrie Swanson a purple haired high school outcast with low self esteem to serve as his chauffeur and assistant. Scorned by local authorities, Pendergast nevertheless painstakingly unearths random clues to help his solve the mystery. The ending is utterly fantastic and hard to figure as the novel proceeds.

Preston and Child probably deserve more of a four star review as Still Life with Crows is not quite as crisply wriiten as some of their previous offerings. However, being a major fan of their work, I have to add an extra star. I anxiously await their next novel.

Rating:
Summary: A Grisly, Terrifying Unveiling of Small Town America!
Review: A serial killer with no pattern is on the loose. Just when you think murder is as gruesome as it gets - the next murder with even grislier details is revealed.

Sheriff Dent Hazen gets a telephone call telling him that vultures are circling overhead. Irritated, he checks out the call and finds a perfect circle formed with cornstalks.

Inside that circle is a smaller circle of crows speared on antique Southern Cheyenne arrows. And in the center of that circle is a body. Thirty-two-year-old Sheila Swegg, the first of the victims, has had her lips, nose and ears removed.

Back in town, a dark stranger arrives by Greyhound bus. FBI Special Agent Pendergast, dressed in black, specializes in serial killers. Though he is looked upon as strange, he fits into Medicine Creek with its closets of secrets and legends. He rents a room from Winifred Kraus and hires a gothic teenager, Corrie, as his assistant.

Sheriff Hazen, Special Agent Pendergast and Corrie all come to the same place with their conclusions only to find further unspeakable horrors lurking just beneath the surface.

Still Life with Crows begins with description that at first feels rather long, but then suddenly the reader is immersed into the blistering hot cornfields of Kansas. You can feel the heat, the fear, as you try to outdistance the killer behind you, who is gaining ground.

The ending excitement is not a page long, but chapters, with each word building the reader's need to know. Anticipation grows and not until the very last page are all the questions answered.