It seemed to me that the characters in the book were "dumber than dust"! This characteristic lead to a very dry story!! The FBI agent did help & so did Scott Brick --- BUT IT JUST WAS not ENOUGH!

I really hate to write anything so negative...but I just cannot stand listening to Scott Brick. His sing/song patronizing voice is like fingernails on a blackboard. He has a nice voice, but the inflections are just antagonizing...I simply cannot listen to him. I plan to return all of the books I have purchased that he narrates...thank goodness for this new return policy. I felt like it was such a waste of money. Sorry for the strong negative review...

Preston and Childs can write, and Scott Brick can narrate, but this is not the best work of any of them. The book starts out on a pretty topical theme: the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in a very rural cornfield in Medicine Creek ("Crick"), Kansas. FBI agent Pendergast is an interesting if somewhat contrived protagonist. This is the first book I have read in this series, and I am not sure I'll read another. The book quickly devolves into a series of ghastly murders by a large being which truly recalls The Thing, and whose vocabulary consists entirely of the utterance, "Muh." The murders become more and more ornate. There is competition between Medicine Crick and the neighboring town, Dieper, of which it might be said, be careful what you wish for. Both are dying towns, hoping that the experimental cornfield will happily stimulate their withering economies. Then the authors throw in a mysterious, reclusive scientist in a tumble-down mansion in New York City, a completely unnecessary and unrelated plot device. There are a few chuckles along the way, but one wishes for "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein." (Lord, that does date me, doesn't it?) The book actually ends up being a kind of still life itself. If you are interested in the best of these guys, The Ice Limit is it, by a large distance. The authors actually mention that book twice in the text of this one, as if acknowledging the vast superiority of their finest work. Read that one.

This is another great one with Pendergast as the main character that sets things straight.
Exciting and never a dull moment. Recommend this to anyone who is a Preston & Child fan. As always the characters are well developed and connect together with style.

I dislike abridged books. Resulting from that I have been reduced to reading the Pendergast series out of order, shameful really. The release of this book leaves only two Pendergast novels remaining still abridged, "The Cabinet of Curiosities" and "Brimstone". Do try to rectify this situation soon Audible. I can't decided if I prefer Brick or Auberjonois , really either is more than satisfactory. Like any Pengergast novel you will not be disappointed by this volume, and the price what more could one want.

Yes. I am reading the whole series. As with series, some of the novels are very good, some passable and other fall very short. I felt that this one fell very short. The suspense of the plot was inordinately stretched at the front of the book and the inevitable chase scene was too long. During the last third of the novel, I had already guessed what the connections were and the final wound up was done in the epilog.

So far I like the series starting with Relic. But the first two book were much better than this one. Crows did leave a few questions open and I am hoping the this is not the decline of the series.

I should have known better but I love Preston and Child. Why did they ever let Scott Brick get a hold of this book? I thought I'd give it a shot even though I could never finish one book narrated by that man. But no...I didn't last more than 15 minutes as that familiar sarcastic way of speaking and making every single sentence sound as if he's delivering a line from a Shakespeare play! That's it for me folks. If I see Brick's name on any book from now on I'll simply pass it by.

Agent Pendergast is a paragon in virtually every respect, and nearly all the people he interacts with are blundering fools. Still he is kind to these lesser beings, treating them with a gracious noblesse oblige. He even mentors the one worthy, though generally clueless, character the authors provide as a modern day Watson, slightly humanizing a central character whose smarmy aloofness we would find insufferable if we met him at work.

The plot belongs in a specimen jar, a grotesquerie which has everything in common with many other twisted horror specimens but which is completely devoid of any elements we can actually relate to and therefore lacks the power to do anything but jump out and startle us. And, as in most horror films, since we have never been given reasons to care about any but the central characters, there is really no suspense or terror. All the rest are fodder in the tedious munch toward the inevitable regurgitation.

Unfortunately, Scott Brick's repetitive and increasingly histrionic vocal patterns succeed only in underscoring the silliness of the writing. This is definitely not his best work.

I realize that this series is beloved by a huge audience, and I freely admit that the entire genre of horror tends to leave me cold while my friends shiver in their seats. In some essential way, I just don't "get it." So take the review with more than a single grain of salt. But if it sounds like something you might have thought yourself on occasion after reading the latest vampire thriller or international super agent fare, you may want to consider before using your credit.

This is a great listen. Classic Pendergast. It reminds me of some of the previous books with him at the NY museum. Great excitement and great adventure. DeGost is not in this one which is a bummer but Pendergast is great. Narration is amazing as always.

Scott Brick IS FBI Agent Penderghast. As I listen to all my audible books in the car, I found my self making extra trips, driving around the block or sitting in the parking lot just to listen to what was going to happen next. Can't wait to find the next one!

The suspense is gripping -- with the tonal inflections and acents of the different characters -- brilliant.

Be afraid of the dark -- very afraid.