Crimson Shore (Pendergast Book 15)

This is a review of a book that's been out a while. I know, what's the point. But I wanted to review all the books sequentially up to the up and coming City of Endless Night that's set to release this month. Ok, here we go...Constance Greene. She's the thorn in my side. Seriously. I've never rolled my eyes so hard as when I did with her scenes. Her action towards Pendergast smacks of desperation. Just...just stop. As I read Crimson Shore, I was hoping Diogenes would pop up and whisk her away to live happily ever after plotting evil plans of pure evil. I mean, she seems to have a thing for the men in the Pendergast line so... Good gravy, though, please not Proctor. And the waffling from Aloysius? Makes me want to slap the Southern right out of him. Sadly, that does no good because this is a book and he isn't real. If this subplot must continue, I may have to skip those parts. Business only, please. That's why I liked Holmes. Ok, my venting is over.I struggled with the first portion of this book, simply because I could see where they were going to write Constance and Pendergast. But the actual story, that of Exmouth and the murders, was a good read. Sure, I called the "bad guy" from the beginning, but then again, I've been able to do that since reading the first few Doyle stories. That doesn't detract from the enjoyment, at least for me. The history of the ship, it's contents and passengers was interesting. And the creature...it was like Still Life With Crows revisited, where Pendergast was like a fish out of water and the mysterious figure like the one in Still Life, except with Constance instead of Corrie. *sigh* I miss D'Agosta.The reason I enjoy these books has everything to do with the descriptive writing."A figure burst in [spoiler] leaping over the shattered remains of the door, moved so fast that he got in only a glancing blow to its shoulder as it blew past him, filling his nostrils with a sudden overwhelming stench. He turned around and drew back, [spoiler] let out a bloodcurdling scream, the flashlight dropping to the floor and plunging the room into gloom. At the same time there was a wet sound, like a water balloon bursting. [spoiler] the dark shape drop down to its knees and hunch over [spoiler], lying splayed on the Persian rug. He could hear the sodden sounds of mastication. With a roar he rushed over and swung the bat at the shape, but it rotated upward, two blunt hands rising to catch the bat; it was twisted out of his hands with horrific force; and then he felt a gigantic ripping jerk to his midriff, heard the sound of something wet and heavy hitting the ground, before he himself fell backward, screaming, into a bottomless pit of pain and horror."Grooooooossss.What does that say about me that I enjoy reading their books? They have a way of moving the action, pushing me to read faster and faster, matching the pace of the attacker. That's what I really like. In Still Life of Crows, I was on the edge of my seat, so much so that the ring of the doorbell caused me fall off the couch and drop my book. And it's got to say something about the authors that they can rile me up with certain characters, like Smithback and Constance, at the same time impressing me with Pendergast, D'Agosta, and Nora. So I won't give up on Pendergast (grumbles) even if they do decide to pair him with Constance. Lord, help them if they do. You recall the fan protests when Doyle killed off Holmes at Reichenbach Falls? Just sayin': Be warned Preston and Child!

This is a wonderful back to basics Pendergast adventure. After having his life saved by his friends, Pendergast takes an intriguing side job at an atmospheric, quaint, small Massachusetts town along with his enigmatic ward Constance. The theft of a wine supply leads to more than either bargained for. Town secrets and tales of witches arise to complicate matters. While one mystery in unearthed, another simmers.This is a great character piece that shows some exploration of Pendergast and Constance's changing relationship. She learns more about modern society. Needless to say, there are twists and turns. if you have been paying careful attention, you will see the clues leading to a revelation at the end. The ending is not what you expect either. I love the insights into Pendergast's personality as well as the evolution of Constance. Another fantastic book, though it ends on a cliffhanger that leads into the next one. Ready to dive into the Obsidian Chamber!

I'd make this one three and a half stars, but I'll round up.I've been reading Preston and Child since the beginning, and have thoroughly enjoyed the ongoing adventures of Agent Pendergast. Crimson Shore is a competent, but not particularly revelatory addition to the series, and despite some high points, I find myself increasingly missing the ensemble cast of the earlier books.Crimson Shore sees Pendergast and his unstable ward Constance Greene in a small Massachusetts town, where they investigate a complex web of secrets and evidence. I will echo other readers in saying that the first two thirds of the book are solid, albeit certainly not the writers best work. The last third sadly falls short and feels hamfisted and tacked on to fulfill the monster of the week requirement. I would draw comparisons to Still Life With Crows, but the payoff is far less compelling, and the route we take to get there is deeply unsatisfying.Pendergast, as per usual, is suave, distant, and frequently irritating in the extreme. Despite some fantastic scenes where he tries to impose his own peculiar culinary sensibilities on the townsfolk, I find him an increasingly unlikable protagonist. Compared to the clever, eccentric, but ultimately human Pendergast who will sit down and explain his rationale to his compatriots in his early outings (see Relic, Reliquary, and so on), the superhuman capacity he has to know everything about every salient detail and compile them into a working theory that he refuses to explain is, I'm afraid to say, wearing thin. Without the grounding presence of a character like Vincent D'Agosta or Bill Smithback, Pengergast is given few opportunities for serious depth or development.Constance Greene appears here, and seems to be set to take the place of those aforementioned partners, and she has some wonderful moments as she tries to learn how to live in modern society, but she is sadly underutilized in this role, and she continues to teeter on the knife edge of rigid rationale (a la Pendergast) and traumatized insanity...just as she has in every book since her introduction. I really want to like Constance, but as with Pendergast, she is given scant opportunity for serious character development, and none of those opportunities are followed through in a permanent fashion. She and Pendergast seem stuck in stasis, which is a shame. Corrie Swanson gets a brief, derogatory lip service from her, which I was sorry to see. I would love to see a pairing of the two girls, as I think those characters have a lot to learn from one another.The ending of this book seems to set the series up for yet another outing in the 'Pendergast Trilogies' that Preston and Child are so fond of, and while I like the format, I do feel they need to commit to some serious shake-ups in the lineup and status quo. I have not felt that the books carry any real, lasting sense of peril since the death of Bill Smithback in Cemetery Dance, which enabled the writers to properly shock their audience. Without that sense of energy, we are left trying to care about throwaway characters who exist only as cattle for the plot, and the protagonists of the books, who seem immune to permanent damage.

This is book 15 (!!) in the Pendergast series. Pendergast is hired to investigate the theft of a valuable wine collection from the cellar of a stone sculptor. It appears after initial research, that the theft may be linked to a ship that disappeared off the coast near the house and potentially also to some historical black witch stories.The pace is fast, although it is about 2/3 through the book that a twist comes that brings out the true story that we have come to know with this series, of monsters and fantastical creatures linked to old magic and local mythology.

ＦＢＩペンダーガスト特別捜査官シリーズ第１５作。ボストンの郊外、Exmouseという小さな海辺の町に住む彫刻家Lakeがペンダーガストに依頼したのは、自宅のセラーが荒らされ、高級ワインが盗まれた件。高級なボルドーワインに目がないペンダーガストは、意外にも残されていた逸品のボトルを報酬としてもらうことを条件に、コンスタンスを連れて町までポルシェで乗り付け、犯人探しに乗り出す。ペンダーガストの入念な捜査により、荒らされたセラーで小さな、そして明らかにとても古い人骨が見つかる。この骨片から、窃盗犯が狙ったのは実はワインではなく、過去の恐ろしくもおぞましい惨劇にまつわる秘密だったことが明らかになるが・・・。そして、平穏だった町に殺人事件がおき始める。今回はニューイングランドの港町を舞台に、過去の惨劇、魔女狩りそして、「モンスター」と、またまたサービス精神旺盛な作品となっている。超常現象がまったくない謎解きの時もあれば、オカルトからモンスターまで、幅広いジャンルを取り入れているシリーズだが、今回はちょっと全体的にいつもより粗雑な感じが否めない。シリーズの大ファンの私だが、いつもとちょっと違う、乱暴で唐突なストーリー展開には少しがっかりした。それでもストーリーの面白さには満足。そして、またまたこのエンディング。早く早く次作を出してください。

This is pretty simple. If you like the Pendergast series, you will definitely like Crimson Shore. If you haven’t read any books in this series, this could be a decent starting point. This is the 15th book in the series, so you won’t know the whole back story, but you won’t feel lost as it reads as a standalone..Special Agent Pendergast is an FBI agent from New Orleans, but he is unlike any FBI agent you have ever run across. He is eccentric to say the least, but he has a fascinating strangeness about him he is very meticulous and sees things that other detectives miss.In Crimson Shore Pendergast works closely with his ward, Constance Greene. She plays a major role in the investigation, she is a good foil to Pendergast’s meticulousness, and an interesting character in her own right. One thing that you should realise before starting this book, is that there is a cliffhanger. Even though there is a cliffhanger, the main story does have a conclusion. So all in all Crimson Shore is another great read - I give it a solid 4 stars and a Big Thumbs Up! If you haven’t read Pendergast, what are you waiting for?.....

This is another great book in the Pendergast series. It kept your interest right to the very end with lots of twists and turns. Just when you thought you had solved it another twist came. The end was very different and hopefully it won't be too long before another book in this series comes out.

Pendergast has changed locations for this book. Its just as scary with a twist at the end. Can't wait to read the next one in the series (See my review of this series on "Brimstone" ...)