VERSES FOR THE DEAD

5 stars out of 5

What a joy it is to enjoy a book so much that you're sad when you reach the end! Over the years, I've become a fan of several series, including this one - never (or rarely) missing a new installment. And over those same years, I've watched way too many of them become rather stale; characters I'd come to love fall off their professional games, take on lesser roles in their own stories and even, in one instance, continue to act like a silly pre-teenager well into what should be grown-up years. Not so here; although I admit to wishing for a bit more interaction between FBI agent A.X.L. Pendergast and his ward, Constance, his remarkable sleuthing powers and clever repartee haven't faded one whit.

But while many things remain the same, others have changed; most notably, a new chief at the FBI's New York field office, who isn't pleased with Pendergast's think-outside-the-box tendencies, no matter how many cases he solves as a result. As such, he gives Pendergast an ultimatum: Henceforth, he must work with a partner. That turns out to be junior agent Coldmoon, a  Native American from the Lakota tribe who's very intriguing in his own right (in fact, he's interesting enough that I can see him with a series of his own (are you listening, Messieurs Preston and Child)? For now, though, they're a dynamic duo - and watching two very capable characters who really don't want to work together work together is a treat.

As the story begins, a very fresh human heart is found in Miami on the grave of Elise Baxter, who died 11 years earlier - her death deemed suicide by hanging. A note announcing the "gift" is signed "Mister Brokenhearts," so the search begins to identify the writer as well as the former owner of the heart. When the rest of her is found, Pendergast and Coldmoon are assigned to the case (in fact, Coldmoon gets another concurrent assignment, but the nature of that one isn't for me to reveal).

The two detectives head first to Maine, where Baxter died, but clues or ties to the heart-deprived woman are nonexistent. Meanwhile, another fresh heart turns up in a mausoleum in Miami - on the container holding the remains of a woman who reportedly committed suicide in a manner eerily similar to Baxter. By this time, Pendergast's supervisor is plenty riled up, and his anger only escalates when Pendergast insists that exhumation of the long-ago suicide victims' bodies is highly advisable. Ultimately, though, he gets his way, and when an especially capable medical examiner does her thing, clues start falling into place that lead Pendergast and Coolmoon to uncharted territory and a fight to the death (who bites the dust is yet another tidbit that's for me to know and other readers to find out).

All told, it's quite an exciting adventure, and I'm sorry it's over. I have confidence that another installment is in the works, of course - but hey, fellas, could you please hurry it up just a little bit?

Verses for the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central Publishing, December 2018); 353 pp.