starting summer with Special Agent Pendergast

Just in time for summer reading, the local branch library finally coughed up a copy of Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child's Cemetery Dance with my name on it -- or at least, my name printed on a little 7-day slip.    I've been madly inhaling since then -- and thus not reading as much LJ -- but I finally finished at lunch today.  

I'm happy to report  that Preston & Child are still making this strange and supernatural thriller series work.   Cemetery Dance starts off with a zombie murder in the heart of Manhattan (killing off a major series character in the process) in Chapter 1 and gets weirder from there.  There are a few slow moments involving lengthy chase scenes, but in general the pages turn very quickly and faithful readers of the series are rewarded with several snippets of new info about Aloysius Pendergast's most peculiar family.  (Pendergast also made my Lovecraftian heart beat faster by bribing an independent researcher with some vintage Arkham House books at one point.)

This series apparently has a devoted fan base, along with an extensive authors'  Web site which can help readers new to the series figure out where to start or what they've missed.  I discovered the series after seeing the movie The Relic (fun, but the book is much better) , and haven't missed a title since.   Dark, quirky, and just a little over the top . . .that's my idea of a good June read.