"Keeps reader's interest at a high level"
Without official sanctioning, FBI Special Agent Pendergast
arrives in Medicine Creek, Kansas to investigate a serial
killer leaving behind eerie signatures to include a
mutilated corpse inside a circle of crows "nailed" to
stakes. The elegant Pendergast seems like a polished apple
among cornstalks as his urbane lifestyle clearly sticks out
in this rural community. He hires as his chauffeur and overall local guide rebel
without a cause teenage girl Corrie Swanson, who also
sticks out in the middle of the cornfields. Additional
murders occur and Pendergast, using the Bhutanese
meditation technique Chongg Ran, links them to a nineteenth
century Indian massacre of outlaws. As the local law
enforcement resent Pendergast's interference on the case,
the killer abducts Corrie forcing Pendergast to follow into
the cat's cave to try to rescue his local escort before she
becomes the latest victim. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's tale is fun though
STILL LIFE WITH CROWS seems like a weaker than usual
entry. Pendergast is like a debonair modernized cross
between Holmes and Flint with Corrie being
his "Watsonette". The story line is crisp, but the killer
seems unacceptable once Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs
reveal the identity of the culprit. Fans of the series
will appreciate the latest tale, but newcomers will be
better suited to try previous works like THE CABINET OF
CURIOSITIES to obtain the full rich flavor of the tea. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 28, 2003
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