City of Endless Night

In the umpteenth book in the vaunted Pendergast series, a serial killer is targeting the ultra-wealthy in New York, and Lt. D'Agosta and Special Agent Pendergast must track the maniac down before the city loses its collective mind and the panicked wealthy citizens bring wrath down about the NYPD And FBI.

I have read all of the Pendergast series. Every year, I look forward to the new one. At this point, Pendergast is an old friend despite the many enigmatic elements of his character, even after all these years. There's something about his unflappable nature, refined tastes, and gothic charm that appeals to me, and I think he's one of the great detectives, up there with Holmes and Poirot.

Preston and Child make a formidable team. Their books always clip along easily, demanding page-turners. CITY OF ENDLESS NIGHT is no exception to that rule. The writing, as always, is crisp and fluid. The story is enthralling. Even with their usual standards met, this story surpasses many of their more recent books solely because it is almost entirely focused on the problem at hand. There is precious little of the Pendergast family dramas that have tainted many of the more recent books, and Pendergast is not as melancholy and moody, dwelling over Constance and/or Helen, or the possibility that Diogenes is out there somewhere. He's an actual FBI agent again, and he works with Vincent to actually solve a mystery.

I know that Doug and Linc probably won't read this review, but if they do: Give me more of that. I'm not really a fan of Constance. I could do without her. I like seeing Pendergast focused on a real, flesh-and-blood crime without any supernatural elements filtered into it. It is refreshing to see him back in his natural element, to see him with some levity, to see him actually doing his job.

I'll take more of this sort of story every year. It was the sort of tale that first attracted me to the Pendergast series, and it was told well. I'll be hoping that the next go-round will be more of the same.

5/5