Preston & Child

I’m trying to stick to my schedule of one review avery two weeks, but I get stidetracked and start reading ahead! I had planned to write a review of The Dukan Diet, but my dearest husband finished Cold Vengeance [finally!] and I knew I had to read it before I did anything else. Luckily I was almost finished with Still Life for Crows and could jump right in.

I have read every single Preston & Child book, [wow, that sounds kinda stalker-creepy, doesn’t it?] and Still Life for Crows was the first book I have wanted to not finish reading. The only saving graces in this book were [of course] Special Agent Pendergast, whom I adore, and Corrie, a new character who steals the whole she-bang.   

I try not to put any kind of spoilers in these reviews, so I’m going to keep my critique general.  First, contrary to many horror movies, books and tv shows, scary can exist without gore, and when grisly, gory parts are necessary, it is best when largely left to the imagination. Suffice to say, I did not read about 6 pages to quiet the heavings of my stomach.  Some things I just can’t bear to have in my consciousness.  Second, it was never explained exactly why Pendergast was in that god-forsaken Kansas town to begin with! Third, and most importantly, the ending stunk! I was left with the feeling of what the hell did I just waste my time on? And that’s NO way to feel after reading a Pendergast novel.   

So, to recap…Still Life with Crows is a book to read if you are a die-hard Pendergast fan, but pretty much a waste of trees in my opinion [aside from Corrie, who they could have introduced some other way].



"Before you emark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves" ~ Confucious



Now to the good stuff…Cold Vengeance! I read this book in just a few hours.  It’s short – just 356 pages, but it is chock-full of revelations.  After Fever Dream, Pendergast is in a state of shock and rage and is determined to find the truth about Helen’s murder.  I was impressed at how deftly the story threads were woven and delighted at the inclusion of both Constance and Corrie in the storyline.  D’Agosta could have been featured more, I think, but I believe that Preston & Child did not want to prolong that part of the story, which I thought was the only mistake in the whole book. Yes, we have been waiting years to know about Helen, but we also deserved to have Pendergast’s emotional state more thoroughly described.  He is a complex character and his thought process in some ways, IS the story. 

Other than that, I was pleased with the book and the continuing mystery.  I believe that the story will only get better!  If you haven’t read any of Preston/Child books, let me recommed Relic as your introduction to the Pendergast world. 

City of Thieves

               I have a confession to make.  I am a coward.  And I don’t mean that I’m afraid of bedbugs or the dark [even though I am, a little].  I mean cowardice in a big way.  As in I would not be the person standing in front of a tank or staging a sit-in or charging into a burning building.  It’s one thing to survive an event, it’s quite another to willingly step into what you know is dangerous. 

As the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 nears, I find myself thinking of that day.  I remember my

feeling of horror as I watched the carnage.  It was not just for the people in harm’s way, but also, a little, for myself.  Because even though I sat with my family, safe in my own home, I was terrified.  What kind of  mentality must people have that they commit such acts?  What kind of anger, fear, courage or adrenaline made the victims jump out of burning buildings or rush a hijacker? I mourn for all those touched by 9/11, even small people like myself – those of us who learned that day the truth of their inner hearts.  And that is one reason why, after I turned the last page of City of Thieves, tears slid slowly down my cheeks.  

                During World War II, the Nazis invaded Russia and surrounded the city of Leningrad.  The city’s population in June 1941 was 2.5 million people.  For 900 days, the Nazis kept the city under siege (from September 1941 to 1944).  The official death toll for the entire siege is 632,000, but some believe that a truer estimate of loss from death, disease and flight is closer to 1.5 million people – approximately 60% of the population. (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/siege_of_leningrad.htm)

“In June of 1941, before the Germans came, we thought we were poor.  But June seemed like paradise by winter.”  This is the setting of City of Thieves.  It is a story of a war, of nations, of a people.  And of youth, survival, desperation, friendship and love.  Of courage.

            At first, it seems a memoir about the struggle for survival under supremely harsh circumstances, but like a light flurry turning to a heavy snowfall, you slowly come to realize the impressive and vivid weight of truth in this story.  What I mean is that it’s not just the beauty of the narrative, the unceasing flow of the perfect words, the dialogue, the bareness of emotions; it’s the feeling of absolute genuineness that accompanies each and every sentence. 

In some novels, it’s the historical background that lends legitimacy to the words, but in this, it is the people [I hesitate to even call them characters, they are so much more].   The most powerful stories, I think, are the ones that brush the truth we hold closest inside of us.  When you read City of Thieves, be prepared for Lev’s and Kolya’s journey also becoming your journey; one that will reveal as much about your own fears, hates, lusts and confusion as theirs.  When it ends you may feel, as I did, a little lost, a little stunned and a tiny bit envious.