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From Publishers Weekly
This latest Preston and Child thriller, even in abbreviated form, offers gore galore, mutilations, bizarre ritual murders, an obstreperous sheriff, a young woman in jeopardy, a town consumed by terror and a spooky local legend-in short, an abundance of traditional suspense novel ingredients. Compensating for this apparent lack of imagination is the thriller's remarkable hero, Special Agent Pendergast, who's on leave from the FBI. This somewhat ethereal, cerebral specialist in macabre murders is a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Mulder of The X-Files, but with his courtly Southern manner and combat expertise, he's very much his own man. Narrator Auberjonois, a familiar stage and screen presence, uses an appropriately silky accent and a playfully sarcastic tone for Pendergast. Auberjonois is equally successful with the other characters, especially the hard-headed but good-hearted Sheriff Dent Hazen, who emerges as a Wilfred Brimley minus the bluster; 18-year-old town rebel Corrie Swanson; and the killer, whose method of communication would challenge any vocal interpreter. Equally important, Auberjonois narrates the tale with the sort of mesmerizing intensity that can, and does, turn a fairly familiar yarn into a scary campfire chillfest.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
The authors of such hits as Relic (1992) and The Cabinet of Curiosities [BKL Je 1 & 15 02] bring back Special Agent Pendergast, the FBI man whose slightly archaic dialogue, unique mode of dress, and seemingly endless array of esoteric facts make him a fascinating lead character. This time out Pendergast is in Medicine Creek, Kansas, a small town that appears to be home to its very own serial killer. The novel begins with a gruesome murder, after which we're introduced to wily Sheriff Dent Hazen, a man who doesn't take kindly to out-of-towners investigating crimes on his turf. Just as we're getting to know Hazen, the pace kicks into high gear, with more bodies and a full-tilt investigation. As usual, Preston and Child deftly mix the real and the surreal, creating an atmosphere in which everything, for reasons we can't quite nail down, seems a tad off-kilter. Call it creeping paranoia, perhaps, or the dreadful certainty that something awful is about to happen. Whatever you call it, it's a recipe for success. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Bother with This One, Just Re-Read Relic,
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This review is from: Still Life with Crows (Hardcover)
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.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
RIVETING PAGE TURNER !! ANOTHER GREAT OFFERING!,
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This review is from: Still Life with Crows (Mass Market Paperback)
What a great follow-up to Cabinet of Curiosities. I hesitated to get this one as I understood it had Pendergast but none of the other wonderful characters. As soon as I got into it, which only took a few pages, I was delightfully enthralled with yet another unique set of characters. As well as being entertaining Preston & Child always manage to inform you in each one of their books and you come away knowing lots of interesting things about societies, birds, etc. In this case, cornfields play an important role and I must say I'll never look at a cornfield the same way again!Pendergast is as elusive and engaging as ever and I loved the girl as well. Would highly recommend to all Pendergast fans.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hey! That's Steven King's cornfield!,
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This review is from: Still Life with Crows (Mass Market Paperback)
Even though Steven King did it first with Children of the Corn, P&C (Preston and Child) have managed to find their own way to turn an innocent cornfield into a blood spattered battlefield leading to all nine circles of Hell. Make no mistake, "He Who Walks Behind the Corn" is still out there - but this time it's Still Life with Corn.Unfortunately character descriptions in this novel were repetitive and uninspired, which I guess is okay if you're too busy flipping pages to care who's who (happens in the last quarter of any P&C), but it's darned unsatisfying if you were hoping for a little more insight into Special Agent Pendergast. In Still Life with Crows all you really find out about Pendergast is that people in farming communities find him odd. In fact he totally creeps them out. They can't help telling themselves, in their heads, over and over again, how creepy he looks and acts. In fact it gets so that you start wondering if maybe they're right. You ask yourself: How would I feel about a skinny silver eyed dude who insists on wearing black in the full heat of summer and still manages to have a cool dry handshake? Why, I'd think he had malfunctioning sweat glands, that's what. Ew. Maybe that's more gross than creepy. But you see what I mean. To see Pendergast through the eyes of gentle farm folk is to see a man who could very well be a creep. Still, an interesting thing about this novel is how the mighty Pendergast is taken down a notch by these humble farm folk, who, in spite of having been stereotyped to within an inch of their white trash lives, still manage to answer the question 'Where is the murderer hiding?' before Pendergast can, even with all his money, experience, and creepily big brain complete with time-travel functionality. All in all I'd classify this novel as a decent commuter read. It doesn't matter if you can't remember who's who (commuting demands novels that can be read in 20 minute increments); the action blows away that otherwise exasperating need for character development. And while this particular novel is a bit more horror than mystery, it makes for a nice textural change if you've just burned your way through all the others in the series (which I happen to be doing, and in no particular order, just to keep things interesting).
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