Book Review Tuesday: Crooked River by Preston and Child

Posted on by

Warm and cozy window seat with cushions and a opened book, light through vintage shutters, rustic style home decor. Small cat on window seat, along with coffee cup by pillow, Words Book Review Tuesday superimposed over image

Happy Tuesday! If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know I’m a huge Preston and Child fan. I become giddy whenever they release a book and have waited a year for the newest Pendergast novel, Crooked River. My PenderPal, Marcia Meara, even convinced me to order an autographed copy of the hardcover, and I am so glad I did! Thank you, Marcia!

Of course, I also ordered the Kindle version to read. The other is for admiring. 🙂

And although I’m already in mourning that I’m going to have to wait another year for the next in the series, at least I can share my review of this fabulous book.

Preston and Child deliver another outstanding Pendergast tale, this time involving detached feet that wash up on a beach in Sanibel Island. Based on actual occurrences of this strange phenomenon happening in the Pacific Northwest, P&C have spun their own twisted explanation and moved the location to southern Florida. Pendergast, a special agent with the FBI, is unlike any other fictional detective I’ve encountered, which is why, nineteen books in, this series continues to deliver. He’s unbelievably brilliant, obscenely wealthy, and cool as ice, even in the worst of circumstances. The fact that he consistently ignores established procedure and can verbally vivisect someone without batting an eye only adds to his appeal. Watching him piece together and solve a crime is entertainment of the nth degree. Preston and Child have also given him an excellent cast of supporting characters, who filter in and out of the series through various books. Pendergast’s “ward,” Constance Greene gets to shine in Crooked River. Most of the time, Constance is prim and proper, but when needed, she becomes a skilled and lethal assailant as she proves in this book. I also love Agent Coldmoon, a Native American FBI agent Pendergast worked with in the last book. The contrasts between these two and how they interact is always fun. The book keeps you flipping pages with several divergent plot threads that converge for an explosive ending. Over the top, yes, but for sheer entertainment value, you can’t beat Preston and Child, and especially not Pendergast. Loved it!Crooked River
by Preston and Child

Preston and Child deliver another outstanding Pendergast tale, this time involving detached feet that wash up on a beach in Sanibel Island. Based on actual occurrences of this strange phenomenon happening in the Pacific Northwest, P&C have spun their own twisted explanation and moved the location to southern Florida.

Pendergast, a special agent with the FBI, is unlike any other fictional detective I’ve encountered, which is why, nineteen books in, this series continues to deliver. He’s unbelievably brilliant, obscenely wealthy, and cool as ice, even in the worst of circumstances. The fact that he consistently ignores established procedure and can verbally vivisect someone without batting an eye only adds to his appeal. Watching him piece together and solve a crime is entertainment of the nth degree. Preston and Child have also given him an excellent cast of supporting characters, who filter in and out of the series through various books. Pendergast’s “ward,” Constance Greene gets to shine in Crooked River. Most of the time, Constance is prim and proper, but when needed, she becomes a skilled and lethal assailant as she proves in this book.

I also love Agent Coldmoon, a Native American FBI agent Pendergast worked with in the last book. The contrasts between these two and how they interact is always fun. The book keeps you flipping pages with several divergent plot threads that converge for an explosive ending. Over the top, yes, but for sheer entertainment value, you can’t beat Preston and Child, and especially not Pendergast. 5 big, glittery stars!

Amazon Link
Genre: Thriller > Suspense > Crime Fiction
(Once again Amazon has some bizarre tags listed that don’t apply, so I listed my own above)

 

47 thoughts on “Book Review Tuesday: Crooked River by Preston and Child”

    • Joan, I’d be surprised if you didn’t love them. And I see Harmony is reading them now, as well as Jay Cudney. I just made another new friend, Kim, who is also a huge Pendergast fan. And then there’s Marcia, who is as addicted as I am, LOL.

      Like

      Reply ↓

  3. I am still tormenting myself by NOT reading this yet. It’s on my Kindle, ready to go, and I’m dying to see what it’s all about, but I have some other reading I need to do first. I don’t know how much longer I can last for my Pendergast fix, though. The man is SO addictive in his brilliantly weird, eccentric, and totally one-of-a-kind way! And now we have Harmony addicted, too. Yay!

    Great review, Mae, and I love my autographed copy. So glad you love yours, as well. BTW, NONE of my print books are for reading. They are all works of art for display, only. I read exclusively on my Kindle because a) easier on my eyes when I control the font size, and b) don’t like breaking the spines of my precious books. I do have a special shelf for my signed books, though, and my collection is growing. OCD about books? You bet! 😀 ❤

    Sharing your review so others may join in our mutual admiration for A. X. L. Pendergast. 😀 ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • I do read my print books, but usually only paperbacks. My hardbacks I try to keep pristine, and the Pendergast novels are STRICTLY for show. I will probably be ordering signed copies from here on out, LOL.

      When you finally open your Kindle on Crooked River, savor it. I tried, but it just didn’t work. I had to devour it and now it’s all over 😦

      I’m hoping for a new Nora Kelly book to tide me over until the next Pendergast release in 2021. Just typing that makes me want to sob.

      I’m so thrilled Harmony is on board with this series, and Jay, too. The more the merrier!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

      • When my kids got candy in their Christmas stocking, my son would gobble it all up by the end of the day. My daughter would keep hers for days and days, and not even taste it. When I asked her why she didn’t eat her candy treat, she said, “Because if I do, then it’s GONE.” 😀 So there we are, Mae. For now, I still have the pleasure of knowing Crooked River is awaiting me. ❤ But once I start on Page 1 it will all be gone in a few hours, and I'll have a whole 'nuther year to wait! 😦 Aren't we book lovers crazy souls? 😀

        I'll read any books they put out, but honestly, I just wish they'd keep working on Pendergast. Maybe forever. I'd start the whole series over again in the meantime if I wasn't so far behind on other things I want to read. 😀 And yes, glad Jay and Harmony are about to be hooked, as well. (Little do they know. 😉 )

        Liked by 1 person

      • I was actually thinking of reading it over again, too, but like you said—I’m so behind on reading as it is. Still….I may sneak some of my favorite AXL books in every now and then.

        I can fully understand your daughter’s thought process. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Sounds like a great read, Mae. I remember the washed-up feet in the NW. There have actually been 15 of them! Ewww. l I haven’t read any P&C books, but they sound good, and I can see why you enjoy them. 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • I love reading, but P&C are at the top of my auto-buy list, so I go a little nuts when they release a book, especially in the Pendergast series. I’m reading about a book a week now, which is actually a slow down for me. I always say any reading, no matter your speed, is time well spent!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

    • I’m a huge P&C, and especially, a Pendergast fan, so I don’t think I could DISLIKE a book they released. Some in the P series are better than others, (I have a list of personal favorites), but I consider them all good. I especially liked Constance’s role this time around and Pendergast, as always, is superb 🙂

      Like

      Reply ↓

  10. I love your reviews, and this book sounds especially good. Detached feet actually washed on shore in the Pacific Northwest? Ugh. I’d hate to find one of those when I was walking the beach. Did authorities find where they were coming from?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • I would completely freak to find something like that. The way my mind works, I’d immediately think shark attack!

      I don’t know that any definitive answer has been found, but one of the theories relates to drowning victims and suicides. Apparently when bodies deteriorate, the feet often separate from the body after soaking in salt water.The buoyancy of say, a running shoe, causes them to float, where they’re caught up in currents and washed ashore. So bizarre!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

  13. I haven’t tried their books yet, but I might need to read this one. Those feet ARE freaky. They’re all left feet found in sneakers. The authorities say it’s mostly suicides, but that’s quite the coincidence!
    I wrote about them in The Beast Within. I just hope I never run into one on our beaches!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • I think it’s cool you’ve used this phenomenon in your own book, Jacquie. It’s definitely very freaky and a situation well worth exploring in fiction. I love the beach and would totally freak if I discovered a severed foot in that peaceful location!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

I love comments, so please scribble a thought or two!

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.