Pendergast: The Beginning

With their latest Pendergast thriller (following Angel of Vengeance), Preston and Child present Special Agent Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast’s captivating origin story. In 1994, rookie FBI agent Pendergast is assigned to work with burned-out and disillusioned special agent Dwight Chambers. Chambers has just lost his beloved wife of many years as well as his partner and is contemplating suicide. He has no tolerance for Pendergast’s eccentric personality or his brilliant yet idiosyncratic approach to solving cases. Pendergast’s determination to follow his instincts lead to both his and Chambers’s suspension from the agency. During their weeklong suspension, the two ignore orders and end up investigating a series of grisly serial murders. The unconventional killer has cut off one of each of the victims’ arms posthumously. After Pendergast uncovers the murderer and the motive for his bizarre behavior, he finds himself in a life-or-death situation. Frequent series narrator Mays deftly conveys Pendergast’s mellifluous Southern accent. Mays’s nuanced reading heightens the tension as Pendergast and his future chauffeur, Proctor, are held captive.