I enjoyed this installment because Agent Pendergast found himself in Kansas trying to solve a bizarre series of murders. ( )

You can smell the farmland and hear the Kansas winds rustling through fields of corn as the erudite FBI agent with a touch of the supernatural about him, Pendergast, brings to the heartland his dark suit, 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, and seemingly endless knowledge of the strange and otherworldly.

Squeezed between The Cabinet of Curiosities and Brimstone, two of the best in the series, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child created another terrific novel that is part mystery, part thriller, and part horror story. Other than Relic/Reliquary and Dance of Death/Book of the Dead, which are best read in conjunction with each other, the series can basically be read as stand-alone novels. Readers who had, however, been following this intriguing series since the first one, had very high expectations because of the prior efforts. Fortunately those expectations are met in Still Life With Crows.

Pendergast is solo this time out, with only allusions to Wren, an ill-gotten inheritance, and his urgent need to return to New York connecting in any way to the incredible amount of history readers of the series know so well. Though I recommend reading from the beginning, Still Life With Crows makes an adequate introduction to the series because the focus here is mainly on Pendergast himself, who you need to know the most about to "get" the series.

Pendergast shows up in Kansas shortly after a ritual killing in a cornfield, and immediately we are immersed in a story as gripping as it is enjoyable. Though on vacation, Pendergast unofficially looks into a case with supernatural aspects dating back to a Cheyenne massacre by "ghost warriors" in the late nineteenth century. Immediately at odds with Sheriff Hazen, Pendergast investigates in his own unorthodox style -- which includes something akin to remote viewing -- as things become evermore gruesome on the Plains.

A new type of corn for which the town is competing in an effort to remain alive, and a serial killer unlike any Pendergast has encountered create urgency and tension. Humor abounds as well; albeit dark at times, but hilarious nonetheless. Pendergast enlists a blue-haired outcast named Corrie as his secretary. Scenes of her driving Pendergast around in her beat up Gremlin bring a smile to the reader's face. A deadly chase through caverns goes terribly wrong and gruesomely bloody, leading to an exciting and horrific conclusion. Like all the entries in this incredibly entertaining series, it is obvious some of the relationships will linger and spill over into other books.

Atmospheric, exciting, horrific, and with more character-driven humor than readers of a novel about dark and horrific crimes in America's heartland have any right to expect, this is a great read, and can be enjoyed even if you have not read any prior entries. However, this recommendation comes with a caveat. Still Life With Crows is a very unusual entry in the series (up to this point) in that all the characters readers had come to love, from Margo to D'Agosta, are nowhere to be found. Usually, at least a couple of the main planets orbiting the world of Pendergast are involved in the enthralling stories, if not all.

While I enjoyed this one a great deal, this eventually became the norm for the series and I stopped reading it. Unlike many, who complained about keeping track of so many characters and divergent things going on, this was one of the aspects I liked best about the series. As the cast was trimmed, possibly to accommodate those readers -- and probably make the books less involved to write -- some characters seemed to disappear into the woodwork, others only occasionally making a cameo appearance. The series eventually lost some of that which I loved about it. There are several books before this happens, however, and I highly recommend this one. The final scene will remind readers with a knowledge of such things, of a pulp story of weird menace. A great read! ( )

I do quite enjoy Agent Pendergast, but there still seems to be something missing and I can't put my finger on it. Something is lacking, both in the character, and the books. Pendergast will never reach John Corey status to me, and the books, I don't think, will ever get a five star rating. Somehow the books lack a, how do I define it, umm, a quality that makes it so that I don't want to put the book down. Avid readers must know that feeling, when a book is so good, you can't stop reading, can't put it down...well these books don't bring out that feeling in me, and therefore, won't get that elusive fifth star.
As far as the book itself...It has its moments. Building up to the conclusion and learning the whodunnit, and the whys that they did it, along with the characters is always fun for me, and in this book, those moments didn't disappoint. I do hope Corrie is revisited in the upcoming books. Her story seems unfinished, as does the business with Wren, obviously, and the strange phone call to "the Mime". Really seems like they are working on two books at the same time, and throw tidbits about the next book into the current one. Seems strange to me, but I guess it keeps people reading.
All in all, I will continue the series, they contain just enough to keep me interested, with the hope of learning more about Agent Pendergast included, but that hope getting dashed book by book. Which is also why he will never join the ranks of my favorite characters. Oh well, on to Brimstone... ( )

There's a scene early in the book where a character is standing out in a clearing in a corn field around sunset that is described in such a was as to make me want to go there. The long sunset, the lightening bugs, the rich earthy smell... Living in San Francisco, I don't have that. And it's really the lightening bugs that spark my interest. Very well written and conceived. And I'm very much enjoying the evolution of Pendergast from a catalyst character to a major player. ( )

I listened to a thirteen-CD edition of Still Life With Crows after already listening to a later book in the series. It says something about this mystery that, even though I already knew there would be two survivors of the climax, it was still harrowing listening. As for Pendergast's revelation in the last CD, I'd already guessed it much earlier in the book. ( )

http://pro-libertate.net/node/14 ( )

Good continuation of the Agent Pendergast series, but this one seems particularly violent. ( )

Still Life with Crows is another excellent Pendergast book. The story has a beginning, middle and end. It takes place in a very small town with a terrible secret--the ultimate in child abuse. Four stars were awarded to this book. It is highly recommended because it delivers a good story. ( )

I love several books in the Pendergast series. But, I think Still Lif with Crows is my personal favorite. It has an interesting and engrossing plot and best of it all we are introduced to Corrie Swanson, who besides Pendergast is my favorite character in the series! ( )

I love several books in the Pendergast series. But, I think Still Lif with Crows is my personal favorite. It has an interesting and engrossing plot and best of it all we are introduced to Corrie Swanson, who besides Pendergast is my favorite character in the series! ( )

Worth it for the last paragraph alone. Of course that won't make sense unless you read the whole thing. ( )

After I read the first book in a series by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston, titled “Relic”, it was instant love and I needed more! I discovered that there are 21 books in this series…SCORE! If I pace myself just right and read one per month, that is almost two years I will enjoy the feature character, Aloysius X. L. Pendergast, an FBI agent. Agent Pendergast is a smooth talking, highly intelligent, debonair Southern from New Orleans, who just happens to be quite wealthy, as well.

After finishing “Still Life with Crows”, the fourth book in the series and my favorite one so far, I want to plunge myself into the next, “Brimstone”. I’m not saying the other books lacked in anyway, each book does build onto the prior books and they just get better and better.

“Still Life with Crows” is supernatural, oddities, suspenseful, and downright scary at times...Pendergast perfection! ( )

Another good one! And a great ending!! ( )

A small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground.Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy? Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land? Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America’s heartland.

No one is safe.
My take: This is book number three of the Agent Pendergast series by authors Preston and Child. What I love about these books is the way the authors lead you on with supernatural hints and feints only to leave you with a completely scientific solution to the puzzle at the end. Still Life With Crows is one of my favorites so far. Solid A-. ( )

My very favorite Pendergast book ever. And Corrie is just so charming as well. ( )

Gruesome murders are occurring in a small Kansas town. The first victim is found scalped, mutilated and displayed in a cornfield surrounded by authentic Indian arrows. Each subsequent killing gets more bloody and bizarre. A strangely pale, soft spoken FBI agent appears to investigate the case. Local authorities don't like Agent Pendergast. He asks too many questions and points out their inadequacies. But, Pendergast, with his slow southern drawl and finicky eating habits, is an almost supernatural sleuth. If anyone can figure out what's happening in southern Kansas, it's Pendergast and his local goth teenager side-kick.

I love this series! Preston and Child's books are beautifully creepy! I grew up in Kansas. In the late summer, we used to wait til dark, wander out into the corn and have a blast trying to find our way out again, scaring the crap out of each other as we ran through the rows. The whole time I was reading this macabre story about something lurking out in the fields, I kept thinking about how freaking creepy it is to be lost out in the middle of row after row of corn. Definitely creepy as hell.

Pendergast reminds me of The Shadow, a character from old radio and movie serial fame. His almost supernatural appearance and detective skills make him almost as creepy a character as the monsters he investigates. There are 16 Agent Pendergast novels. Still Life With Crows is the fourth. Readers who enjoy creepy, supernatural thrillers will love this series!

It isn't completely necessary to read the series in order, but the story does refer back to some prior occurrences from the first 3 novels. I really recommend starting at the beginning and reading forward, but the references aren't major plot points. It would be possible to start with this book without reading the prior books.

For more information on the authors and their books, check out their website here.

( )

Contains Spoilers!!!

What a fascinating, well-researched study of the human psyche this novel is! Being extremely interested in what makes people who/what they are, I was held literally spell-bound by this novel. (I listened to the audio book, which was read by Rene Auberjonois, the actor. )

Being I have a quite vivid imagination, this storyline was not difficult to follow at all. In fact, after finishing the audiobook this afternoon, while walking my dog, I had an imagining of what the two novelists who wrote this novel might have said to each other, maybe over coffee one day. I wondered if maybe one of them had picked up an old children's book of nursery rhymes, and read one of two of them out loud.... And then exclaimed at the violence that is what we think now-a-days, to be found therein these old, well-known rhymes. And maybe, one of them wondered, what if someone, while a child, thought these nursery rhymes were more of an.... instruction manual, on how to act...? Maybe, in some way to please the loving mother, from whom he/she gets little attention from? But then the other author might have exclaimed that this would only be possible, if the child in question had no moral compass what-so-ever; no idea of the difference between right from wrong- and no teachings. And since we, as children, are shown by example what is right, and what is wrong, maybe this poor child had no one to show him, and only the bare minimum of support at all..... The other author would exclaim, with a snort of some kind, that this child would have had to have been brought up in a hole in the ground.... Maybe this is how the basic storyline of this novel started out. Yeah, I have a weird mind, I admit it. (And I don't care.)

Even though I have had issues with listening to audiobooks before this one, I had no problem at all, with 'Still life With Crows'. Auberjonois is utterly perfect for the reading of this audiobook. There are many, many characters in this novel, but Auberjonois had no problems giving each and every character a different voice, with their own affectations, And cadence. I started this audiobook last evening, and didn't want to stop listening when it was time for bed. As soon as I was able to, I went back to it, greedy for more...It was as satisfying as being read to by your parents. Auberjonois warms to the subject matter at hand quick easily and quickly, and proceeds to take you down a twisted and scary rabbit hole.

At the beginning of this novel, I did wonder for a very short while, how it was that Agent Pedergast seems to find himself in just the right place, at just the right time. He literally got off a greyhound bus, while the sheriff of this back-water town of just over 300 , was giving a sound byte to the press about the very first killing. But soon this tiny issue, and any others I might have had about the plausibility of this happening, no one knowing it had happened, or was happening, and the end scene just drift away in a cloud of folksy charm and mounting suspense. I knew who the killer was by around half-way, to two-thirds through the book, I knew who the killer was related to at the same time, and yet somehow, I could not wait to figure out, and hear how it was all wrapped up in the end. The penultimate scene in the caverns was quite the feat of timing and surprise, and the ending, -My God, what an ending!! The ending, with the old and well-known nursery rhymes being read out loud was chilling. My mouth was literally hanging open, and all I could think of was, 'Oh my God.....'.

The story itself is nearly impossible to put down. The murders are quite frightening, the plotting ingenious...and when I discovered the reasoning behind it all, I was very creeped out. There are many amazing scenes, including one at a turkey plant that will change the way you see the food that arrives at your table. This duo really knows how to tell a story, adding in many elements to take it from a simple detective tale to a full blown experience.

Well done, Preston and Child's!!! It's not often that happens. And Rene Auberjonois' voice rendition of Special Agent Pendergast is quickly becoming my favorite. Well done, and highly recommended. ( )

A mutilated, ritually-displayed, corpse found in a cornfield draws the series protagonist, Agent Pendergast to Medicine Creek, Kansas or how the locals like to call their town, Medicine Crick. Pendergast's intrusion into Sheriff Hazen's county is not welcomed; however, he believes that he can't prevent the FBI agent's investigation. Another thorn in his side is the fact Pendergast has hired an adolescent misfit to transport him around the town and to provide information about the history of the town and its residents. When additional murders occur, Pendergast begins to wonder if the murders could be related to an old curse associated with the ancient Indian burial mounds located near town.

The audiobook I listened to was produced well. Scott Brick was skilled in narrating this book; he effectively juggled the many characters, male and female, of this book. His voice added to the suspense of this novel. I hope that he narrates the other novels. ( )

Pendergast is a terrific character. Preston and Child are terrific writers. The entire concept is right in my wheelhouse when I'm looking for an X-Files fix and I'm not in the mood to rewatch some Mulder and Scully. This is another solid entry in the series and is as good or better than those that came before. As such, it made me bump up the next one to a spot closer to the top of the TBR pile. ( )

Another great read in the Pendergast series. While some of these books aren't always a 5-star read, they're still incredibly enjoyable and I always find myself looking to grab the next one of the series at Barnes & Noble when it gets released each year. Hats off to Pendergast and all of his investigations. ( )

Started slow, but oh what a finish!! Another great Pendergast tale! ( )

Love Agent Pendergast. Superb research behind the entertaining plot. Epilogue capped it off nicely. Would recommend to anyone in search of a classic investigator amid real life circumstances with a sick twist. ( )

Another good novel with Agent Pendergast...one of their early ones which certainly get alot better as you move through the series. ( )

It was absolutely awesome to read another book featuring Agent Pendergast. He is just such a phenomenal main character and the authors really maintain his personality throughout the story (and series). I recall that the previous book in the series, Cabinet of Curiosities, was not one of my favorites. However, this novel really made me remember why I loved this series so much. The story here was gripping and violent and just plain amazing. Every character that was a part of this novel was fantastically drawn and the tensions between everyone was ridiculously good! I was secretly hoping that there would be some kind of supernatural angle to it all, but that was not to be. I still enjoyed the conclusions that the authors came to for this book, as it was successful in tying all loose ends. If you are looking for a good mystery/thriller series with a unique protagonist, then this one is a must!

For more reviews, visit: www.veereading.wordpress.com ( )

I followed Hazen through the twists and turns of the cavern. He was moving fast, pausing only briefly to reconnoiter at intersections, never bothering to conceal the noisy sounds of his passage. I relied on his protection as he was the only one with a twelve-gauge. His knuckles were white, fingers resting against the dual triggers.

I dreaded following him.

We passed by another arrangement of tiny crystals and dead cave animals set near a rock ledge. Hazen assumed it was the work of a psychopath, the cave being the setting to practice his craziness before going topside to do it to real people. I had my suspicions, but kept them to myself. My heart raced as I knew Hazen's reckless actions would lead to his inevitable death. He was out to kill whoever it was responsible for the recent murders.

I knew he was lost. There was such a confusing welter of footprints that Hazen wasn’t sure what trail he was following anymore, or even if it was fresh. He's anger was rising. it would get him into trouble. Rash decisions never ended well. I cringed as he charged his way up the debris slope, head down, shotgun pointed ahead. He came out into a soaring vertical space. Overhead, feathery crystals hung on long ropes of limestone, swaying slightly in an underground current of air. Passageways wandered off in all directions. He scanned the ground, fighting to get his breathing and his emotions under control; found what looked like a fresh track; and began following it again, threading his way through a maze of tunnels.

Slow down, Hazen! I kept thinking.

After a few minutes we both realized something was wrong. The tunnel had curved back on itself somehow. He ended up right back where he’d started. He tried another tunnel, only to find that the same thing happened.

After returning to the chamber yet a third time, he stopped, raised his shotgun, and fired. The blast rocked the room, and feathery crystals tinkled gently down on all sides like giant broken snowflakes.

Idiot! Was he trying to get himself killed?

He screamed. “I’m here, come show your face, freak!”

He fired a second time, and a third, screaming obscenities into the darkness.

The only answers that came back were the echoes of the blasts, rolling insanely through the honeycomb of chambers, again and again.

The magazine was empty. Breathing raggedly, Hazen reloaded. This wasn’t helping, hollering and shooting like this. Just find him. Find him. Find him.

He plunged down yet another passageway. This one looked different: a long, glossy tunnel of limestone, little pools of water dotted with cave pearls. At least he had escaped the merry-go-round of endless returning passageways. He could no longer remember where he had been or where he was going. He simply plunged on.

And then, off to one side, he saw a dark, hulking figure.

Eeck! Shoot, shoot, SHOOT!

It was the merest glimpse, just a shadow flitting across his goggles; but it was enough. He spun, dropped to one knee, and fired—long practice at the range paying off—and the figure dropped, tumbling to the ground with a crash.

Hazen followed immediately with a second shot. Then he scuttled forward, ready to pump out the final round.

He stared down, the red glow of the night-vision goggles revealing not a dead body but a lumpy stalagmite, cut in half by his gun, lying shattered on the cave floor. He resisted the impulse to curse, to kick the shattered pieces away. Slowly and calmly, he raised the shotgun and continued down the echoing tunnel. He came to a fork, another fork, and then he paused.

Bad idea, Hazen. You're leaving your back open to attack. Run man, get out of there!

He saw movement ahead, heard a faint sound.

He moved forward more carefully now, gun at the ready. He swung around a rocky corner, dropped to his knee, and covered the empty tunnel ahead; and in doing so he never did see the dark shape that approached swiftly out of the shadows behind him until he felt the sudden blow to the side of his head, the brutal wrenching twist, but by then it was too late and black night was already rushing forward to embrace him and he didn’t have enough air left in his lungs to make any sound at all.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

I screamed, fell off the couch. The book went flying into the air until it landed face down, pages bent from the fall. On the floor, I blinked. It took me a moment, several moments, to get my bearings. I'm...home? I'm not in the cave. I smiled sheepishly to the empty room. I'm safe. It's just a story. I'm fine.

[DOORBELL RINGS AGAIN]

Flashes of the shadowy figure come forefront to my mind. My heart skips a beat. Scrambling to my feet, I peer through the window and let out the breath I had been holding. It's only UPS.

As I take one step at a time to the door, I glance back at my discarded copy of Still Life With Crows.

"Stupid book," I grumble, though secretly it was a blast. ( )