‘Pendergast: The Beginning’ mucks through swamp-minds of insane villains
Book review: Preston & Child deliver their first Pendergast prequel, and reveal he’s always been who he is. But would we have it any other way?
Books
‘Pendergast: The Beginning’ mucks through swamp-minds of insane villains
‘The Mad Wife’ (2025) is a maddeningly flat portrait of Fifties malaise
Book club book report: Meagan Church has little to add about the much-covered topic of midcentury women who feel trapped in a societal box.
‘Executioners’ (1957), ‘Cape Fear’ (1962, 1991) explore limits of modern law
Throwback Thursday (Book and movie reviews): MacDonald’s novel is surprisingly tame, the first movie keeps the censors occupied, and Scorsese’s version finally delivers the shocks.
Collins steps up his tie-in game in ‘Dark Angel: Skin Game’ (2003)
‘Dark Angel’ flashback (Book review): The author hits on a remarkable number of issues of the real 2020s as Max embraces her leadership role.
Hannah digs further into weird psychology in ‘Last Death of the Year’ (2025)
Book review: Her sixth Poirot novel – though still stepping toward whimsy — stays on the rails more than the fifth.
‘Darker Than Amber’ (1966, 1970) is first McGee novel to darken screens
Sleuthing Sunday (Book and movie reviews): The plot’s relative simplicity makes it a good choice, and the casting is solid. But MacDonald’s introspection can’t be mimicked.
Teen thriller ‘Kill Creatures’ (2025) short on killer characters
Book club book report: But Rory Power’s young-adult novel is cleverly structured and could translate nicely to the screen.
‘Bright Orange for the Shroud’ (1965) dominated by dark villain
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): In a novel criticizing the attempted “taming” of Florida, MacDonald shows how scary an untamed man can be.
MacDonald goes all-in on McGee with double-length ‘Deadly Shade of Gold’ (1965)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): After the four 1964 novels introduce the unorthodox sleuth, the fifth tome is an international epic.
Gaiman explores the fantasy of love in ‘Stardust’ (1999)
Book club book report: As Tristran learns about the nature of love via experience, the author sweeps the reader along with him.