Imagine, if you will, cutting into a man’s brain to perform a transorbital lobotomy that will leave the hapless creature impervious to pain, free of moral or ethical constraints, extremely violent, and submissive to his minders. If you can buy into that scenario, then you’ll find Cemetery Dance an irresistible read.
In this thriller the creative duo of Preston and Child pit their super sleuths, Pendergast and D’Agosta, against just such a horrifying adversary. The story opens with a brutal double murder at an Upper West Side apartment that leaves a husband and wife dead. The NYPD only have to find the killer captured on security cameras and identified by witnesses to mark this case “closed.”
But when the man, a neighbor of the dead couple, is found to be already “dead,” the authorities aren’t sure where to turn. Of course, we know who will tackle this vexing case. Pendergast and D’Agosta certainly are up to the challenge, but the serpentine journey will take them to parts of the city they’ve never visited before.
More importantly, they’ll also become very knowledgeable about Obeah, the West Indian zombie cult of sorcery and magic that wants to avoid public scrutiny. One of the pair’s more outlandish investigations, this caper will raise up the hair on the back of your neck and have you leaving the lights on when you go to bed. It’s a scream a minute!