Regular readers will know that I am a fan of the Aloysius Pendergast series. I really enjoy the ‘X-files’ nature of the early novels. The more recent novels are less supernatural and psychic, but there is still a delicious blend of weirdness mixed in with the crime and detection story. This novel is part of a sequence, something that these authors have done very successfully in the past. This time the Pendergast is drawn into an investigation of his wife’s death, where he discovered in the previous book that all was not as it seemed.
Having discovered that his wife was murdered in Fever Dream Pendergast heads off to trap the man he thinks committed the crime. Before he leaves he asks his friend D’Agosta to look after his NYC property and his ward. After all he was seriously injured at the climax of the last book. But all too quickly Pendergast discovers that all is not as it seems and everything and everyone has a secret.
This is a very convoluted story. It will make little or no sense if you haven’t read the rest of the series. In fact, I actually had just finished the Diogenes sequence from the series when this book arrived, so I will admit that the various storylines have become a little muddled. But then these books were never intended to be literature. Preston and Child are doing very well out of writing books for entertainment. And believe me, if you don’t mind the weird and wonderful, you will be entertained by the whole series.
If you want my suggestion, I suggest that you try to lay your hands on the whole Pendergast series and spend a few days relaxed and reading. You won’t be disappointed.
