What I can say about a writer duo that pumps out a new novel about twice a year now. It's expected quality. All the trappings are there and all the characters you expect make their entrance in their expected ways. Sure, it all works and it's a page turner. You read it in about two days and as such it's value for entertainment. Still, I wish they would slow down and put more depth into their writing. Because we know they can. ( )

Another fun adventure in this series. And agent Coldmoon is in it as well.
Great series ( )

In Crooked River, the authors have fully and wonderfully recapped another of Pendergast’s cases via conversations with Agent Pendergast. Solving the “crime” is another great achievement of the agent, helped along by his partner Coldmoon (what??? A PARTNER???!) and of course by his beloved Constance. I hope to see agent Coldmoon’s name pop up in future cases that Pendergast solves. ( )

This is the 19th book I've read in the series. I've been a fan. Quality has been a bit uneven lately, but I've continued to read them. This may be the last one, though. It was grotesque. A secret group develops a drug that causes victims to chop off their own foot. Crazy ex-military men, mad scientists, crazy experiments, sacrificial victims - no thanks. The new narrator, Jefferson Mays, does a good job; not an easy task following René Auberjonois ( )

FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast is one of my favorite law enforcement characters in fiction. I really like his weirdness and unconventional methods of investigation. “Crooked River” was an enjoyable continuation of the Pendergast series and pairs him up once again with Agent Coldmoon, who was introduced in the previous novel “Verses for the Dead.”

In “Crooked River” Pendergast investigates a mysterious and grisly case where a number of severed feet still in their shoes wash up on the shore of Captiva Island in Florida. With the help of the local chief of police, Agent Coldmoon, and Pendergast’s ward Constance Greene, Pendergast finds himself getting deeply involved in the case while butting heads with the Coast Guard, which has theories of their own as to what had happened.

Although I found the severed foot case only mildly interesting, I enjoyed following Pendergast, Coldmoon, and Constance as they investigated. The pace of the book picked up quite a bit in the last 75 or so pages as Preston and Child packed in the action - an unexpected but welcome development, as the authors do not typically include extended action-packed sequences.

Overall, this was an entertaining book, if not 100% in the spirit of typical Pendergast. The end of the book has a clear lead-in to he next novel “Bloodless.” I look forward to reading that one, too. ( )