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A review by ladyheroj
Crimson Shore by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
3.0
I have found a cycle to my enjoyment of the Pendergast series. There will be some duds, usually just one but sometimes two in a row that will make me think "well, it can't go on forever," but then the authors will come up with a fascinating story arc that sucks me right back in. For example, loved the last one! This one, not so much.
The character of Pendergast works best when teamed up with his total opposite (so a normal person), like D'Agosta. God, I miss him! After the Botanic Gardens, I was excited to read more from Constance's POV. Yet the pairing of her and Pendergast, with no relief from their disdain for modern life, became grating. Yes, Constance, you need to stop wearing floor-length lace dresses when you're trying to be incognito. And in what world does an FBI agent not know what Google is? And, vague spoilers, a certain dynamic of their partnership towards the end is just...strange.
There was also a lot of telling. Constance would come back from investigating, and Pendergast will just be like "here's what I found out off-page." Huge leaps will be made from the tiniest of clues, all for the sake of speeding up the story. Which stinks, because the set-up was fairly interesting and almost felt like a return to form of the first couple Pendergast novels. But it felt like the whole novel was just the means to a end.
AND WHAT AN ENDING. Seems like Preston & Child have decided to stop teasing us! So the cycle is about to start anew with the next one, which I am anticipating loving.
The character of Pendergast works best when teamed up with his total opposite (so a normal person), like D'Agosta. God, I miss him! After the Botanic Gardens, I was excited to read more from Constance's POV. Yet the pairing of her and Pendergast, with no relief from their disdain for modern life, became grating. Yes, Constance, you need to stop wearing floor-length lace dresses when you're trying to be incognito. And in what world does an FBI agent not know what Google is? And, vague spoilers, a certain dynamic of their partnership towards the end is just...strange.
There was also a lot of telling. Constance would come back from investigating, and Pendergast will just be like "here's what I found out off-page." Huge leaps will be made from the tiniest of clues, all for the sake of speeding up the story. Which stinks, because the set-up was fairly interesting and almost felt like a return to form of the first couple Pendergast novels. But it felt like the whole novel was just the means to a end.
AND WHAT AN ENDING. Seems like Preston & Child have decided to stop teasing us! So the cycle is about to start anew with the next one, which I am anticipating loving.