Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Still Life with Crows (Pendergast #4)

4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 · rating details · 11,625 ratings · 589 reviews

Medicine Creek, Kansas, has been slowly dying for the last century. A small, quiet place, the primary occupation is still farming, Main Street is a stretch of old and dusty businesses, and the nearest mall is 200 miles away. In a town where nothing changes, the community is terrified after a series of grisly murders takes place. Even more alarming, the bodies are displayed...more

Audio Cassette, Abridged

Published by Time Warner AudioBooks (first published 2003)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 10, 2013 StoryTellerShannon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, thrillers

As usual high quality writing but some might feel the ending was a tad below the previous books. One always likes to have clues to the murderer before they're revealed and some might argue there were not enough but I thought there were enough once you got to a certain point in the novel. This tale takes us away from NYC to a hamlet sized town named Medicine Creek which is suffering from economic depression.

Things even get worse as locals are murdered in the cornfields amidst peculiar ritual pra...more

9 likes · like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Dirk Grobbelaar rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, books-i-own, horror, favorites

Revisited Review

On the back of my edition of 'Still Life With Crows' there is a blurb that states: These guys are masters at scaring the hell out of people. Turns out... they actually are.

In this case, it was certainly true. I'd been reading a slew of horror and suspense novels, and this one was certainly one of the scariest. Some other reviewers weren't too fond of the setting, but I loved it. I've always enjoyed 'Small Town Horror' settings. No, this isn't quite the same thing as 'Salem's Lot ...more

12 likes · like · see review

May 16, 2008 Jean rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You can't beat Preston and Child for macabre mystery genre. In this book we find Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast arriving mysteriously in Medicine Creek, Kansas. A nowhere town headed nowhere, until the Kansas State University takes an interest in the town as a site to test genetically altered corn.
Unfortunately a series of bizarre murders threatens that plan from ever becoming a reality. Agent Pendergast is in a race to prevent more murders while trying to keep from being run out of town by...more

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 16, 2008 Kirsten rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-pre-12-07, from-library, fiction

I have a little crush on Aloysius Pendergast, I do believe. He's a great character; very Sherlock Holmes-esque, but rather more bizarre -- he makes Sherlock Holmes seem like a normal guy.

Anyhoo, I really enjoyed this; I thought it was a lot better than Brimstone, which is the other Pendergast novel I've read (yes, I know I'm reading them all out of order); the secondary characters were fleshed out nicely, and there was a lot of good humor as the natives of a tiny Kansas town try to figure out wh...more

7 likes · like · see review

Dec 27, 2011 Kasia S. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The fourth book in the series has plenty of thrills, chills and surprises but the format changes from the usual Preston/Child way of tackling this saga. The backdrop of New York City is left behind, Special Agent Pendergast takes a small "vacation" which is only a cover up for tackling yet another gruesome case, this time taking place in remote town of Medicine Creek, Kansas. Quite a change from the mysterious urban setting we see Pendergast in, his usual friends and helpers are missing as well,...more The fourth book in the series has plenty of thrills, chills and surprises but the format changes from the usual Preston/Child way of tackling this saga. The backdrop of New York City is left behind, Special Agent Pendergast takes a small "vacation" which is only a cover up for tackling yet another gruesome case, this time taking place in remote town of Medicine Creek, Kansas. Quite a change from the mysterious urban setting we see Pendergast in, his usual friends and helpers are missing as well, replaced with a local named Carrie, a girl whom no one understands, no one other than Pendergast of course, and the two opposites seem more alike than different in the strange farm setting. Always having a keen nose for finding trouble, Pendergast sticks out like a sore thumb in the sea of farmers and town folk. Dressed in expensive hand made wool suits and shoes, always in black, the tall and wonderfully proper agent gets on the nerves of the local police force, almost magically always at the right time in the right place to find clues and bodies which never stop popping up. When it appears that a madman is on the loose and the killings are extremely weird and macabre, each death more bizarre than the last, it doesn't take long for Pendergast to notice that something out of the ordinary is going on. Is the devil in flesh visiting the small sleepy town or is it indeed a work of a man, somehow untraceable and invisible. The mystery was interesting but the way it was being solved was even more fun, Douglas and Preston do an excellent job of breathing life into simple pages filled with words, making it read like a movie.

Cornfields can be creepy, somehow movies and books always use them to the maximum for adding the element of mystery and confusion, the chases and surprises always lead to the fields where prey and the predator play. This novel does is it brilliantly, people go in and some never come out...

What I love about this series, other than Pendergast who is a fantastic and mesmerizing character, is that the reader never knows if something supernatural is going on or if life in the story is really that weird and bizarre. Monsters, ghosts, demons, they are all possible here but sometimes it's the human evil that makes the deeds appear form out of this world. Best part is reading on and finding out which will take place in the novel and these are juicy and wonderful and always a delight to read. The only negative thing about this book was the length, somehow about a hundred pages before the end I was craving the conclusion and one part of the story kept going on and on, driving me crazy, but other than that I loved the book and will always think of it fondly. (less)

4 likes · like · see review

Feb 26, 2013 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, suspense, mystery

As with all my guilty pleasures, my enjoyment of the fun things outweighs the irritation caused by the guilty bits. In the cases of Pendergast novels, the guilty bits are the wild implausibilities in both setting and some of the characters.

The delicious yummy things in this novel included:

The corn. I have no idea why, but I loved the setting the middle of all that corn. There was one particularly good quote about it too: "It wasn't natural, to be surrounded by so much goddamned corn. It made peo...more As with all my guilty pleasures, my enjoyment of the fun things outweighs the irritation caused by the guilty bits. In the cases of Pendergast novels, the guilty bits are the wild implausibilities in both setting and some of the characters.

The delicious yummy things in this novel included:

The corn. I have no idea why, but I loved the setting the middle of all that corn. There was one particularly good quote about it too: "It wasn't natural, to be surrounded by so much goddamned corn. It made people strange."

I liked Corrie. I thought she was nicely characterized. She falls into the outcast-orphan trope, but it isn't overdone and I like the personal changes she undergoes through the story. They are believable and positive.

I wanted to like Hazen. He started out strong as a no-nonsense sheriff who had plenty of common sense and drive, but he deteriorated into too much of a stereotypical roadblock that was only there to foil Pendergast.

I always like Pendergast. He might be a little to perfect, but I just can't help myself.

And the caves were cool, insofar as the mysteries they contained, what they represented, and ... well, I just think caves are cool. But... but but but... The last 30% of the novel was 80% too long. I confess to skimming most of the chapters in which (view spoiler)

My other grouse about the caves is that it was SO easy to run around in. They're chasing each other thither and yon, running along paths and down tunnels and across beautiful, flat floors. Um, excuse me? Have any of you ever been in an actual cave? Caves, as a rule, are not easy to get around in. They floors are covered with boulders, broken rocks, and rubble IF there even are floors. Much more often, all you have is sloping walls joining together, steep slabs of broken sedimentary rocks, and a mess. You don't go down into a cave with tennis shoes and a flashlight, you go with full climbing gear and headlamps. (view spoiler)

So that's all I'll grouse about. I liked the resolution of the mystery. A fun romp. I'll keep reading them. :)(less)

like · see review

Feb 19, 2013 Marie Loughin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, mystery

I always find the Pendergast novels entertaining. The plots are kind of, well, stupid, if you think about them too hard. But the fantastic Pendergast can rescue even the most predictable, hole-ridden plot from disaster. Between Pendergast, other colorful characters, and action, I seem to find enough amusement keep coming back for more of these books.

That said, I found aspects of Still Life with Crows irritating. Somehow it seems everyone in small town Kansas is stupid (except for one teenage gir...more

like · see review

Nov 27, 2012 Alice rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, ulisseia, polícial

Confesso que já sentia falta de ler um bom policial por isso quando vi na fnac a mais recente aventura de Pendergast não resisti. Li o livro e tempo recorde e digo-vos que foi uma compra que valeu bem a pena.

Para quem não conhece o personagem principal, posso adiantar que, a par da Miss Marple de Agatha Christie, é o meu "detective" predilecto. É um muito pouco convencional agente especial do FBI que possui uma inteligência e uma intuição fora do normal e cuja imagem de marca é o seu imaculado e...more Confesso que já sentia falta de ler um bom policial por isso quando vi na fnac a mais recente aventura de Pendergast não resisti. Li o livro e tempo recorde e digo-vos que foi uma compra que valeu bem a pena.

Para quem não conhece o personagem principal, posso adiantar que, a par da Miss Marple de Agatha Christie, é o meu "detective" predilecto. É um muito pouco convencional agente especial do FBI que possui uma inteligência e uma intuição fora do normal e cuja imagem de marca é o seu imaculado e super engomado fato preto que contrasta com a sua pele alva e o seu cabelo quase branco.
Nesta aventura encontramos Pendergast em Medicine Creck, uma pequena cidade do Kansas onde, de um momento para o outro, têm lugar hediondos assassinatos. Com a ajuda de Corrie Swanson, uma jovem gótica e completamente desajustada da sociedade conservadora em que vive, o agente especial vai fazer tudo o que está ao seu alcance para pôr fim a esta vaga de crime.

Os pontos fortes deste livro são o bom humor que os autores conseguem imprimir à narrativa; a personagem feminina, Corrie, que é, na minha opinião, a melhor e mais improvável companhia que os autores alguma vez poderiam ter encontrado para Pendergast; e a descrição não apenas da cidade e dos seu habitantes (que nos dá uma ideia muito real do que é a vida numa pequena comunidade em que todos se conhecem e sabem a vida uns dos outros) mas também a descrição da acção final (a perseguição do culpado - não posso adiantar muito mais...) que nos deixa ver como num filme todos os passos dados pelos intervenientes na cena.

É um livro que além de nos proporcionar bons momentos de leitura e distracção também nos deixa a pensar e nos coloca algumas questões ligadas ao "Gabinete de Curiosidades" mas sobretudo ligadas à própria vida e ao processo de socialização do ser humano, às motivações de cada pessoa e ao modo como as experiências passadas influem no nosso presente/futuro. Para tal contribui o suspense que não nos larga até à última página onde, quando já pensamos ter o crime resolvido, encontramos as verdadeiras respostas (que nos levantam ainda mais questões...).

Recomendo vivamente a todos os fãs de Pendergast pois este é o seu caso mais difícil, ou a todos aqueles que gostam de um bom policial.(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 13, 2012 Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Special Agent Pendergast is on a well-deserved holiday after his perilous adventures in "The Cabinet of Curiosities." He ends up in a small, obscure village in Kansas called Medicine Creek, where a horrible murder has just been committed. Soon after his arrival another, similarly mutilated body is found and Pendergast decides to lend a helping hand. The local sheriff is not altogether pleased with the uninvited assistance and he requests the FBI Bureau in Boston to officially withdraw Pendergast...more

like · see review

Mar 19, 2012 Michael Knudsen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's not perfect but it remains one of my favorite novels of all time. Along with The Relic I consider it to be the high point of P&C's efforts, and the most fun and original of Pendergast's exploits.

Aloysius Pendergast, the independently wealthy decorated FBI Agent from the New Orleans field office, arrives in the sweltering backwater of Medicine Creek, Kansas, just after a bizarre murder scene is discovered in a cornfield just outside of town. Pendergast announces that he is "on vacation"...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Talia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think I'm in love with Special Agent Pendergast! Haha! This guy is amazing. He appears to be unflappable. Now, I've only read two of his adventures, so far, but he's just incredible.

Set in Medicine Creek, KS (interesting as I just moved to KS), this story starts off with a particularly gruesome murder and takes off from there. Having spent time in small towns growing up, the local flavor of small-town America is pretty accurate. The overall atmosphere set out in the books during various stages...more

like · see review

Jun 27, 2011 Danna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh what fun to rediscover Preston and Child! I enjoy the spontaneity of limiting myself to what is available in an airport bookstore when looking for an easy, thrilling tale to read on the airplane. (Happily when I fly out of Austin I have access to BookPeople. Thank you, Austin, for having only local vendors in your airport.) Still Live with Crows is exactly the sort of thing I look for in a traveling book: rollicking good fun in a SyFy Original Film sort of way. I've read a number of Preston a...more

1 like · like · see review

May 07, 2010 Loraine Alcorn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have read every book that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have written and some that they have written individually this one is my favorite .
Set in the small town of Medicine Creek Kansas, Its the story of a dying town thats in competition with another small town to have a big company built that would save the towns economy . While town big shots try there best to make their town the winner a deranged murder is running around killing people. This madman is literally killing their chances for...more

like · see review

Mar 18, 2010 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, thriller, preston-child-novels, pendergast-novels

This is one of my favorite Pendergast novels. Here, the agent is ostensibly on vacation in America's heartland when he comes across a horrific murder and believes at first that a serial killer is working in a small farm town. The town's near dead and its only hope for survival is receiving a field of bioengineered corn developed by KSU.

However, other deaths begin occurring and Pendergast enlists the aid of the local goth, a teen named Corrie Swanson. The authors credit their kids for inspiratio...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 27, 2009 Mary Taitt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Still Life with Crows, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: In Medicine Creek, Kansas, a town where little changes, where Main Street is a two-block stretch of dusty businesses, a peculiar and grisly murder has taken place. The body mutilated and placed carefully in an elaborate tableau in the middle of the endless cornfields. Now eagle-eyed and even-tempered FBI Agent Pendergast arrives to turn upside down this small community to find the killer who must be one of them. The killings are timed...more Still Life with Crows, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: In Medicine Creek, Kansas, a town where little changes, where Main Street is a two-block stretch of dusty businesses, a peculiar and grisly murder has taken place. The body mutilated and placed carefully in an elaborate tableau in the middle of the endless cornfields. Now eagle-eyed and even-tempered FBI Agent Pendergast arrives to turn upside down this small community to find the killer who must be one of them. The killings are timed to coincide with the arrival of the Extension agent with genetically modified corn. Can there be a connection?

I was disappointed to walk away with this book on my last trip to the library, but the moment I started reading, my disappointment changed to interest and attention. I was spellbound. The language was poetic, the pacing delicate and well timed, and there was humor among the horror. I normally don’t like this type of novel, but this was so well-written, I truly enjoyed it, despite its ghastly nature. The characters are engaging. And at times surprising. If you’d have told me I’d like this, I’d have laughed out loud—but I did. I was sorry for the book to end and am eager to read another. Also, I found out just now it is part of a series—I vaguely suspected it might be—but it hangs together as an individual unit so well that the fact that it’s fourth in the series sis not diminish it readability! I’m going back tot eh library to get the FIRST one and read them all, maybe. We’ll see how the next one is.

One thing about reading this type of book is that it makes me nervous walking around alone at night in Detroit.

And here’s something more eerie: four dead birds have appeared in a certain spot where I walk every day, appeared, disappeared, and reappeared—I kid you not. It’s under some low bushes where I have to duck into darkness to get through. Four different kids of dead birds, a sparrow, a blackbird, a wood thrush and a starling. Where’s Pendergast when I need him?

One thing I don’t like about this novel and others like it is the expendable people. I’m tempted to write my own novel about their lives. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child would probably consider ME one of the expendable people the could toss into a crevice in the cave or leave in a field surrounded by dead crows.

I didn’t think they answered the question of why the tableaus very well—look at the example Job had of the 45. But that’s just me. One tiny tweak in an otherwise super book. (But scary and horrifying!)

I also finished another book, but no time for more reviews right now.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 20, 2011 Lara Lleverino rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, crime-fiction, book-in-a-series

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Sep 04, 2011 X5-494 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sarah

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Oct 26, 2010 Hali Sowle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: douglas-preston, thriller, mystery, pendergast, midwest, supernatural

The 4th book in the Pendergast series takes place away from the usual location of NYC. In the very small town of Medicine Creek, KS a brutal murder has taken place and the killer has taken the time to decorate the murder scene with the bodies of dead crows. Special Agent Pendergast is on vacation, trying to put some space between himself and the terrible happenings in the basement of the house on Riverside Drive that belonged to his ancestor, but Pendergast's idea of a vacation is to investigate...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 16, 2013 ConvincoDude rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, freaky-supernatural-adventures, read-this-if-it-kills-you, science-fiction, thrillers, why-isn-t-this-a-bloody-movie-yet

Creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy creepy cre...more

like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Barbara Sumpter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a fun read and very different from earlier Pendergast books. Earlier novels took place in New York and had a decidedly urban flavor. The New York Museum played an important role in the earlier books as did the scientists (archeologists, anthropologists, biologists etc), government and multiple law enforcement agencies.

The setting for Still Life With Crows is very different and smaller in scale. We are transported to the cornfields of small-town Kansas. Gone are the museums, taxis,...more

like · see review

Jul 20, 2012 Patricia Kurz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: light-fiction

This is a remarkable book. It is my first P&C and I was blown away by character, setting, pacing, and outcome. It was fully satisfying, logical, in the end touching and thought provoking. I recommend it to EVERYONE and ANYONE.

My first Preston/Child book... so forgive the obvious.

Within its genre, Still Life with Crows is 5* all the way. It's not great "literature," but it has all the earmarks of greatness. Characters are rich and believable, plot is perfectly paced, reveals are timely and a...more

like · see review

Jul 02, 2010 Jayci rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After staring at the cover for a few days post-pick up from the library, I finally gave in to my determination and curiosity. It was constantly thrilling, but parts were a bit gruesome (the crime scenes), but I could not put it down. There was quite a bit of humor in it, contributed by Corrie, a goth girl in the small town who really just wants to be left alone, so she dresses and acts out. She becomes Special Agent Pendergast's "assistant" and really turns into a character anyone can like.

Ther...more

like · see review

Nov 09, 2012 Blaken rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't finish this one, so you may consider my rating invalid. Nevertheless, the reason that I couldn't stomach Still Life was not because of the graphic and disturbing murders (that's why I bought the book) but because of the main character, Agent Pendergast. I didn't realize that this was part of a a crime-procedural series when I started reading it, so apologies to Pendergast fans, but to me he is just another in a long line of prudish, ultra-competent super sleuths that have populated crim...more

like · see review

Jun 16, 2011 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a wonderfully tightly plotted story with a stunning twist to the conclusion that literally left me breathless - and gave me the biggest case of the creeps I have had from a book in years!

Those who have read the Pendergast novels know all about Agent Pendergast's predilection for luxury, so it is a surprise to find him showing up in a small town in Kansas to investigate an unusual death with ritualistic aspects. While folks in the town are all stirred up over it, there is an undercurren...more

like · see review

Nov 27, 2011 Meredith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, detective, fiction, horror, morality-tales, mystery, series, suspense, tragedy

As an abridged book, not bad editing.

This is the first time in the series that we get Agent Pendergast out of New York (though he's technically stationed out of New Orleans). It was good to get a new setting. Also, this mystery doesn't involve science fiction, just good old fashion secret keeping. Apparently, even in a small town, some secrets can be kept. I won't spoil the full reveal of why the murderer is staging his murders like he is, as it is quality creeptastic.

Given that I listened to...more

like · see review

Jul 19, 2012 Scott Rhee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fans of "Brimstone" will enjoy this, another exciting thriller starring FBI agent Pendergast by the writing team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. In "Still Life With Crows", the setting is the American Heartland, where a series of gruesome killings amongst the cornfields has authorities baffled. Enter SA Pendergast, a mysterious soft-spoken agent who claims to be working in an unofficial capacity (on his vacation, no less). He soon uncovers that there is something more troubling than a seri...more

1 like · like · see review

Feb 13, 2013 Sue Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2013

Lordy - what a book!!!

Great ending too - you've got to love a book that goes out with a bang!!! Especially when it grabbed you from the get go. This story had it all - creepy ripe cornfields, gruesome murder scene with hallmarks of a very sick mind, small town politics and characters and a local historical landmark that speaks of supernatural doings and a legend of a very old curse that may have been awakened. I mean - what more could you ask for?!

Oh - and did I mention it's in the middle of K...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 16, 2012 Connie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: with-reviews

Decent air-port-esque fluff/murder mystery. I was looking for something light to read and my dad suggested this. It was reasonably enjoyable and a fast read, though I enjoyed the first 2/3 much more than the last 1/3.

The first 2/3 of the book chronicle the events surrounding a murder in a small Kansas town, while the local sheriff battles with a quirky FBI outsider (our hero, Pendergast) for how to handle the investigation. Pendergast is a fantastic character--the set-up of the book reminds me...more

like · see review

Feb 04, 2010 Desiree rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love Preston and Child and this book did not disappoint! Only reason I can't give this book 5 stars is because of Pendergast. Wait, before you start throwing shoes, lemme just say that he's one of the most exciting and interesting literary characters I've ever come across! But, give the guy a flaw!!!!! If not, I'm wondering if it'll be revealed in a future work that everyone's favorite special agent has some kinda supernatural background. And how was he able to lie on the ground and see... Eh,...more

like · see review

May 08, 2010 Dhuaine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, thriller

Serial murders in the corn. Monstrous crime scenes. Sounds good enough. Gore was quite high, but not gross. Body count - satisfactory. Even Pendergast reigned in his superhuman capabilities; there was even one thing that could be counted as his personal failure of sorts.

I liked this book, despite several laughable scenes and cliche plot devices. It wasn't as creepy as Relic, but at least included a nice chase sequence. I was mildly uneasy, but not spooked out - the best combination for coward me...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Ask Preston &...: Whatever Happened to Corrie?	17	111	Sep 17, 2011 09:26am

combine
Other Editions (43)

More editions...

Genres

Thriller

225 users

Mystery

199 users

Horror

111 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

53 users

Suspense

48 users

Mystery > Crime

28 users

Mystery > Detective

11 users

Adventure

11 users

Fantasy

10 users

Novels

8 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Douglas Preston

Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two fr...more Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two front teeth to his brother Richard's fist; and various broken bones, also incurred in dust-ups with Richard. (Richard went on to write The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, which tells you all you need to know about what it was like to grow up with him as a brother.)

As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.

After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.

In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.

Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.

Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...(less)

More about Douglas Preston...

Books by Douglas Preston

The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, #3)

Brimstone (Pendergast, #5; Diogenes, #1)

The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, #7; Diogenes, #3)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Still Life With C...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Still Life With Crows

“Where are you from, Mr. Pendergast? Can't quite place the accent.”
“New Orleans.”
“What a coincidence! I went there for Mardi Gras once."
“How nice for you. I myself have never attended.”
Ludwig paused, the smile frozen on his face, wondering how to steer the conversation onto a more pertinent topic.” — 4 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Still Life with Crows
avg rating	preview: Still Life with Crows Goodreads rating: 4.12 (11625 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/919887.Still_Life_with_Crows?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340774326l/919887.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/919887.Still_Life_with_Crows?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston[/url]

Still Life with Crows (Pendergast #4)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website