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)

it's a Pendergast story. What's not to like!

True to the story, the authors give us fans more stellar Pendergast.
But with a surprise, edge of our reading glasses, ending.

Great writing brilliantly read and performed

Wonderfully gripping and gothic tale crafted by Douglas and Child, this novel leads the reader through many twists and turns. A harrowing and engaging storyline weaves this way and that until it’s final astonishing conclusion. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. This is expertly read and performed by Rene Auberjonois, each character distinct and easily discernable.

Five stars – Yes it is that good!

There is nothing still about this book. From the beginning to the last word, you are taken on a well-crafted ride. What is happening out in the cornfields? Is it a real menace or something supernatural? The perfect setting for the perfect mystery. The narrator, Rene Auberjonois, was the ideal choice to lay the scene. His experience as an actor brought the characters to life. Through him, you are transported in the middle of miles of corn with something staking whatever finds. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s fast past tail is capped off by a double barrel shot gun of an ending…bravo!

Awesome!

This book was amazing. This is the second book I have "read" (listenend to) by these authors together and I am hooked. I am going to keep reading.

Enjoyable

This story line kept me entertained for part of my New York drive. Very good narrative and background music.

Still Life with Crows

This was my first time reading anything by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child...but it made me hungry for more!! What an amazingly clever ending!

Best Pendergast novel

Though I loved the Relic this is by far and away the best pendergast novel. Creepy and such a great listen. Rene does the best Pendergast by the way.

Great, even if abridged

This is one second favorite Pendergast novel only behind Cabinet of Curiosities. It's a very suspenseful and entertaining book. And it's also the first book to have Pendergast as the real main character. Rene Auberjonois a perfect job of narration, as always. I wonder why they don't have an unabridged version of Cabinet, Crows and Brimstone, the amount of details left out of the stories are astounding. But that said, it's still a great book,, highly recommended!!!

Short but sweet Pendergast book

Very good book well worth the credit.The narrator is excellent as usual. This is a nice tie in to future novels.

Very captivating

Every chapter was full of detailed excitement, though a bit gruesome. These authors paint pictures with words. I not only listened, but in my minds eye saw everything.