Still Life with Crows

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Medicine Creek, Kansas. In a town where nothing changes, where Main Street is a two-block stretch of old and dusty businesses, a ghastly murder has taken place. The unknown victim has been placed in a small clearing in a sea of corn, mutilated and arranged in an elaborate tableau. Within twenty-four hours the sheriff is assuring a flood of reporters and tense residents that this is an isolated death - until Special Agent Pendergast arrives in the stifling August heat to declare it the work of a serial killer.

Soon neighbors begin to disappear - only to reappear as the lifeless centerpieces of unspeakable displays. Convulsed with terror, the townsfolk whisper of the legendary Curse of the Forty-fives. No one is safe from a killer who stalks his prey in the blackness of night...and whose grotesque crimes are revealed by circling buzzards under the cruel summer sun.

With the help of Corrie Swanson, an eighteen-year-old misfit, Pendergast unearths the secrets of this isolated town - from the dark histories of its inhabitants to the darker mysteries hidden in the endless cornfields. And ultimately, as he unravels the local curse and the truth of Medicine Creek's greatest enigma, the Ghost Warrior Massacre of 1865, Pendergast comes face-to-face with the unimaginable evil that lies at the heart of this small town.

©2003 Splendide Mendax, Inc. and Lincoln Child (P)2003 Time Warner AudioBooks. A division of AOL Time Warner Book Group.

Critic reviews

"The Preston-Child team scores another big winner, perfect for the summer; highly recommended¿" (Library Journal)
"Yummy beach reading." (Kirkus Reviews)

Very Entertaining 10/10

I found this book even more entertaining than "Cabinet of Curiosities". The narator Rene Auberjonois is excellent and the addition of music made the experience even better. 10 out of 10 for this one

Great audio book!!

This is the first book I've listened by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and I am very impressed. This kept me up late listening 2 nights in a row and loved every minute of it. Most of the time I fall a sleep after a couple of hours but I could not stop listening. The story is mysterious and creepy and the narriator is very easy on the ears. I look forward to listening or reading more of agent Pendergast.

Intriguing story

I enjoyed the story overall. It was enough suspense to keep it interesting throughout the entire narration. The only thing that I found was a bit lame was the Interlude music which I found a bit strange and overdramatic. But the story was interesting, and the narrator did a fairly good job of producing multiple characters.

My favorite!

This is my absolute favorite of the Pendergast books! I listen to it over and over again.

Rene Auberjonois is the best Pendergast and his other characters are spot on. The story moves swiftly and keeps you guessing till the last few minutes. For people unfamiliar with the Pendergast series, you can jump in any where; the books don't need to be listened to in order and this is a great place to start!!

Great except for the @#$% music.

This whole series is incredible. Preston and Child continue to create strange, weird circumstances and lots of suspense. Pendergast is a marvelous character. The only reason I didn't rate this book higher is that whoever produced it insisted on adding loud, tinny music periodically through the whole thing. The music frequently overwhelms Rene Auberjonois' skilled and entertaining reading. The producer apparently felt that the reading audience was too stupid to recognize a suspenseful situation, so they announce it and make it hard to follow. The final insult is that the music is juvenile and just plain bad. I will continue to get this series because I like the stories, but I will also continue wincing every time the loud, shrill music goes off in my ear.

Nice use of music every so often

I heard a lot of glowing reviews about this book so I picked it up. I did like the use of music during some scenes in this book which was interesting and added some flavor to it. Besides that I would say that the mystery is mostly not there. The characters are interesting but don't really go anywhere. I was hoping for some kind of super interesting ending but instead I found the ordinary.

Awesome story!

Engaging and super suspenseful! The narration and dramatic affects had me on the edge of my seat! This narrator did an excellent job of creating voices unique to each character. It really felt like there were multiple people voicing the parts.

Good Suspense

Really 4 and one-half stars. First, Rene Auberjonois, is a great reader. Second,. the story uses a scary cornfield setting very well. Finally the mystery of why the corpses looked the way they did is revealed very cleverly.

Solid, but unspectacular

A bit of a disappointment, from the expectations that Pendergast saga had led me to expect. Linear, with cookie cutter characters. It is readable/listenable, but not one that is going to be memorable.

Excellent little try at early Pendergast!

I actually loved this story for what it is. And from Pendergast's entrance, I didn't put it down!