Jefferson Mays gives a sensationally entertaining performance of this latest entry in Preston and Child’s Pendergast mystery series. Mays’s dry cultured elocution perfectly represents Pendergast’s personality, which seems appropriate even when the story is following Pendergast’s new partner, Agent Coldmoon, off on some tangent, or his ward, Candace, with her valises full of cash and her elegant but peculiarly vintage wardrobe, as everyone tries to figure out what’s up with the scores of amputated feet washing up on the shores of Captiva Island in Florida. The real tour de force in Mays’s performance is his utter attention and commitment to the plot. He is your perfect partner in suspending disbelief, the open sesame to the pleasures of this kind of high-voltage blam-pow adventure. Kudos. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
12/23/2019
When more than a hundred shoes containing severed human feet wash ashore on Florida’s Sanibel Island in Preston and Child’s exciting 19th Pendergast novel (after 2018’s Verses for the Dead), eccentric FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast, who’s vacationing in nearby Fort Myers with his ward, Constance Greene, joins the investigation. The arrogant Coast Guard commander in charge is sure the shoes belong to convicts executed at a Cuban prison, but Pendergast thinks otherwise and enlists the aid of oceanographer Pamela Gladstone to analyze currents in the Gulf of Mexico to determine their source. The stakes rise as it becomes clear that a mole within the investigation is tipping off those responsible for the crime. Pendergast and Gladstone wind up captured by some nasty villains, and a handful of Pendergast’s friends, including the resourceful Constance, must rush to the rescue in an extended, nail-biting climax. After a string of so-so entries in this bestselling series, Preston and Child have returned to the quality storytelling they’re known for. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. (Feb.)
Praise for CROOKED RIVER
"Exciting. Nail-biting. Quality storytelling."—Publishers Weekly
"[An] action-filled adventure [...] There is plenty of suspense, and the action gets bloody. Great storytelling, a quirky hero, and a quirkier plot make this a winner for adventure fans."—Kirkus
"Preston and Child know how to craft compelling stories that are both baffling and surprising. The cast of characters feels authentic and moves the story forward in unexpected ways.... the authors are masters of the procedural with a gothic flair."—Associated Press
"[Pendergast] still remains the most charming, intelligent, cool, and creepy agent ever written...Read this. As fast as possible. Preston & Child have once again created the unimaginable and you just can't miss it!"—Suspense Magazine
"Agent Pendergast is back and better than ever."—The Real Book Spy
"Red herrings and dead ends abound in this especially intricately plotted entry in the Pendergast series, which is also noteworthy (as usual) for its finely drawn characters and its writing style, which overlays contemporary storytelling with a light ornate flavoring."—Booklist
"The best mystery series going today. Preston and Child display a true masters' touch. This is riveting reading entertainment of the highest order."—Providence Journal
"Fast moving and [...] tense. . . Crooked River is another great entry in this series. Preston and Child keep them coming, don't they've"—New York Journal of Books
"Crooked River by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child combines a sinister global threat, a mystery suing modern medical science, and a powerful, sadistic antagonist. Who better than to combat these but unorthodox FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast...This compelling story moves forward in unexpected ways. Readers will enjoy going on a journey with Pendergast and company."—Crimespree
"CROOKED RIVER is worth the price of admission, and Preston & Child find themselves with another surefire hit on their hands."—Bookreporter
"An incredible adventure."—NJ.com
Praise for VERSES FOR THE DEAD
"Multifaceted and complex. Legendary. Working together, Preston and Child are masters at crafting a story that goes beyond a simple mystery or thriller. . . Readers unfamiliar with Pendergast will find this novel a fantastic launch point. He's a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, and the story reads like classic literature."—Associated Press
"Doug Preston and Lincoln Child's master detective A.X.L. Pendergast is every bit the modern equivalent of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. And his investigative skills have never been sharper than in the altogether brilliant Verses for the Dead. . . A throwback to classic crime fiction while maintaining a sharp, postmodern edge."—Providence Journal
01/17/2020
Sanibel and Captiva Islands on the Florida Gulf Coast are known for their beauty and the abundance of beautiful seashells that wash up on the pristine beaches. When nearly 100 severed feet clad in identical shoes begin washing up on the beaches, the FBI calls in Special Agent Pendergast. A joint task force is quickly gathered, with the Coast Guard in charge. The case is fraught with infighting and jurisdictional conflicts. Pendergast quietly conducts his own investigation but realizes too late that there is a mole in the task force passing information to the bad guys, placing Pendergast and his colleagues, including junior agent Coldmoon, in danger. The authors remain true to their established characters, but the development of the peripheral characters is a little flat and stereotypical. VERDICT Preston and Child's latest could be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. Recommended for mystery readers who enjoy bizarre twists.—Cynde Suite, Bartow Cty. Lib. Syst., Adairsville, GA
★ 2020-01-13
FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast finds evil afoot in his latest action-filled adventure (Verses for the Dead, 2018, etc.).
Imagine Florida beachcombers' shock when they discover a shoe with a severed foot inside. Soon they see dozens more feet, all in identical shoes, bobbing toward the beach. Police and FBI ultimately count more than a hundred of them washing up on Sanibel and Captiva Islands' tranquil shores. Pendergast teams up with the junior Special Agent Armstrong Coldmoon to investigate this strange phenomenon. Oceanographers use a supercomputer to analyze Gulf currents and attempt to determine where the feet entered the ocean. Were they dumped off a ship or an island? Does each one represent a homicide? Analysts examine chemical residues and pollen, even the angle of each foot's amputation, but the puzzle defies all explanation. Attention focuses on Cuba, where "something terrible was happening" in front of a coastal prison, and on China, the apparent source of the shoes. The clever plot is "a most baffling case indeed" for the brilliant Pendergast, but it's the type of problem he thrives on. He's hardly a stereotypical FBI agent, given for example his lemon-colored silk suit, his Panama hat, and his legendary insistence on working alone—until now. Pendergast rarely blinks—perhaps, someone surmises, he's part reptile. But equally odd is Constance Greene, his "extraordinarily beautiful," smart, and sarcastic young "ward" who has "eyes that had seen everything and, as a result, were surprised by nothing." Coldmoon is more down to earth: part Lakota, part Italian, and "every inch a Fed." Add in murderous drug dealers, an intrepid newspaper reporter, coyotes crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and a pissed-off wannabe graphic novelist, and you have a thoroughly entertaining cast of characters. There is plenty of suspense, and the action gets bloody.
Great storytelling, a quirky hero, and a quirkier plot make this a winner for adventure fans.
