“Old Bones: A Novel,” by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

• Grand Central Publishing.  384 pages. Hardcover $28.00.

• Reviewed by Philip K. Jason

An historical thriller about skeletons in the snow — and the closet.

Partners in crime-writing Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have had an amazing career, both as collaborators and as solo scribes. They are best known for the Pendergast series that reached its 18th installment with the universally praised Verses for the Dead.

In their latest supercharged thriller, Old Bones, they are shifting gears by standing behind a new protagonist, a curator/archaeologist named Nora Kelly. At once youthful and experienced, Nora is strongly attracted by the shocking request of a handsome historian.

Clive Benton needs a team to help him prepare for and execute a startling expedition into rough western wilderness. He believes he has some clues to investigate the fabled Donner Party, a legendary group of seekers who perished via starvation, impossible weather, and violence in 1847.

Benton approaches the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute with his reasonably convincing story about having the key to locating a great treasure of gold coins, a find somehow connected to the Donner misadventure. What he has is the diary of a young woman named Tamzene, who was one of the Donner Party family.

A deal with the institute is made, and personnel from that organization, along with a support team, is set in motion. The authors paint the logistics of the venture in eloquent detail, and they manage to make those plans and details fascinating. The team’s work must be done on a carefully created schedule that considers climate, weather, and just how much horseback riding, mountain climbing, meal-making, and walking can be done in the available time.

The topography holds dangers, as well. Because their search area is federal property, it comes under the jurisdiction of the FBI. And, as readers will find out, that’s a very good thing.

Why? Because it allows for the introduction of another major female character just as engaging as Nora. FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, a self-confessed former “foulmouthed, purple-haired goth,” who is anxiously awaiting the end of her probationary period under the tutelage of Special Agent Hale Morwood.

Preston and Child

She yearns to be assigned a real case. Suddenly, she has one, and it brings her into contact with Nora, Nora’s team, and a series of ongoing problems with the Archaeological Institute’s venture.

Not only does it become necessary to understand the long-ago crimes of the Donner Party catastrophe, but it also involves crimes of greed during the troubled present expedition. Given their different personalities and responsibilities, there is a running friction between Nora and Corrie that softens in the late stages of the novel — hinting, perhaps, at some future Preston & Child thriller that will bring them together again.

Meanwhile, Corrie has the death of one of the expedition’s participants to investigate. And there will be more to come. Too bad she must spend so much of her time on horseback, a mode of transportation that gives Nora no trouble at all.

Corrie’s confrontation with Dr. Fugit, president of the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute and Nora’s boss, is a scene that shows Corrie maturing on the job — holding her own against the offensive woman’s fear-mongering manipulation — and not losing her temper. . . .

To see the full review as it appears in the Washington Independent Review of Books, click here: Old Bones

Miami a major setting in spellbinding thriller with gruesome killings

Verses for the Dead, by Douglas Prescott and Lincoln Child. Grand Central Publishing. 352 pages. Hardcover $28.00.

Billed as “A Pendergast Novel,” this latest entry in the thriller series about a legendary, iconoclastic FBI superstar is brimming with suspense, surprise, and imagination. Fabled rulebreaker A. X. L. Pendergast, always at odds with FBI standard procedure, must take an assignment that keeps him on the payroll by agreeing to accept a partner. What a restraining humiliation! However, this premise allows the authors to build a new, unique character, Special Agent Coldmoon, whose Native American heritage brings a special flavor to the table. 

The assignment has the men prowling around every kind of Miami neighborhood to find out facts and discover the psychopath behind a series of outrageously gruesome killings. The killer skillfully excises the hearts of his victims and places them against gravestones in Miami cemeteries.

He also leaves behind strange letters filled with literary allusions and quotations. The perpetrator has taken for himself the name Mr. Brokenhearts

Want more? Each of the grave holds the remains of a woman who, years ago, committed suicide.

The perpetrator seems to be conducting a ritual of his own crazed making that is in some ways a form of expiation.

Centers of interest include the interaction between Pendergast and this somewhat resentful FBI superiors, the FBI’s interaction with local police departments, the growing relationship between Pendergast and Coldmoon, and the dogged if often irregular investigatory process.

Preston and Child

The large cast of intriguing characters provides many who are in themselves centers of interest. These include a modestly successful journalist, Roger Smithback, who makes a big, if short-lived, splash through his coverage of the case. Dr. Charlotte Fauchet, of the medical examiner’s office, puts in the beyond-the-call-of-duty hours that change the direction of the inquiry.

Another fascinating character, once discovered and confronted by the FBI duo, is the killer – a fellow who for all of his murderous deeds qualifies as someone to pity for the miserable life that had been handed to him. . . .

To read the entire review, as it appears in the April 10, 2019 Fort Myers Florida Weekly and the April 11 Bonita Springs, Charlotte County,  and Venice editions, and the April 18 Naples edition, click here: Florida Weekly – Verses for the Dead