Verses for the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Verses for the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is the 18th Agent Pendergast novel and finds him paired with the thing he hates most: a partner. After a shakeup in the New York FBI office, a new director, Pickett, feels that Pendergast needs to be reined in and feels a hand-picked partner who will remind him of proper procedures is the way to go and may result in fewer of the suspects in Pendergast’s cases winding up dead. He assigns them to a grisly murder in Miami, where a young woman’s throat was cut and her heart removed. The heart was displayed on the grave of a suicide victim who died eleven years prior. A note and part of a poem are also left behind, signed by Mister Brokenhearts.

Pendergast’s believes that the key to solving the murder lies in the past with the girl who committed suicide. His new boss, Pickett, objects and is startled when Pendergast’s new partner, Agent Coldmoon, sides with Pendergast. While pursuing that lead, another girl ends up murdered with her heart cut out and placed on the grave of another suicide victim with another note from Mister Brokenhearts.

Pendergast is convinced the suicides are the key, even though the women appear to have no connection and their deaths were ruled suicide. Exhumations and autopsies follow as Pendergast pursues the narrowest of threads with the greatest of intuition. A talented and ambitious coroner is recruited to the cause while Pendergast and Coldmoon traipse up and down the east coast before winding up back in Miami and eventually in the swamps of Florida where Pendergast finds himself literally up to his ass in alligators. It is once again up to Pendergast to outwit a killer in a thrilling climax. The odds are stacked against him, but Pendergast is nothing if not resilient.

Pendergast is one of the best fictional detectives ever created, alongside Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe, Hercule Poirot and others. Preston and Child pair him with some fine supporting characters such as Agent Coldmoon and Dr. Fauchet, the coroner who I sincerely hope finds her way into future books. Coldmoon initially appears stoic but adds depth and humanity as the story progresses and we learn about his reasons for joining the FBI, his ambitions, and his love for tarry black coffee that no one else can seem to stand. Mister Brokenhearts is also a complicated villain whose own story unfolds in fascinating fashion.

This Pendergast novel lacks some of the supernatural elements that occur in earlier books in the series. It is also less dependent on some of the backstory that has built up around Pendergast over the course of 18 books which serves to make this book a more approachable entry point for new fans. This is one of the best series entries in a few years and proves that there is plenty of life left in this series. Highly recommended for new and old fans alike.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

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