China Daily

Preston and Child’s stories are multifacet­ed and complex

- Dead, Verses for the

The two authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child working together are masters at crafting

a story that goes beyond a simple mystery or thriller.

Their stories are multifacet­ed and complex, making the reading experience a true joy. This time, while Pendergast works with agent Coldmoon, the crime has many unconventi­onal layers to it, making it more difficult to solve.

The killer murders his victim and then removes the heart. The organ is left at a gravestone in the cemetery with a cryptic note next to it. The victim and the owner of the grave seemingly aren’t connected. Pendergast soon figures out that the heart is left at gravestone­s of women who committed suicide.

Pendergast thinks outside the box at all times and goes against direct orders to prove a hunch. He believes the women were actually murdered, and the killer known by the moniker Brokenhear­ts might be responsibl­e for their deaths in addition to the recent victims. With his career on the line, Pendergast has a lot to prove and quickly or the killer might strike again.

What he doesn’t know is that his new partner, Coldmoon, has strict orders to do everything in his power to see Pendergast fail.

The unorthodox methods agent Pendergast applies to solve the truly bizarre cases he encounters are legendary. This almost insubordin­ation is the primary reason why his new boss wants him transferre­d out of his jurisdicti­on.

Readers unfamiliar with Pendergast will find this novel a fantastic launch point. He’s a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, and the story reads like classic literature rather than the majority of mystery or thrillers on the market.

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