WHITE FIRE Pendergast, Book 13

Narrator René Auberjonois is perfection as he portrays the rip-roaring assortment of Preston and Child’s over-the-top characters. Special Agent Pendergast’s ward, Corrie Swanson, hears of a story told by Oscar Wilde to Arthur Conan Doyle about a man-eating grizzly in 1876. Sensing a great topic for her criminal justice thesis, Corrie travels to Roaring Fork, Colorado, where the killings occurred. While investigating perimortem trauma on human bones, Corrie discovers the victims were actually killed by humans—and cannibalized. Auberjonois’s cool persona is ideal for the black-suited mystery-man Pendergast. As Corrie, he’s a hard-headed 20-something who won’t be bullied. A sadistic serial arsonist, a beleaguered sheriff, wizened miners, and “old-money” interests give Auberjonois plenty of opportunities to dazzle. This highly satisfying Pendergast adventure includes an alleged long-lost Sherlock Holmes mystery. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2013]