Has there ever been a protagonist as quirky and unusual as Aloysius Pendergast? At the onset of Cold Vengeance, Pendergast and his brother-in-law Judson Esterhazy are deer hunting in the moors of Scotland. Judson turns a rifle on Pendergast and reveals that he is the man Pendergast has been searching for all these years – the man who killed Pendergast's wife Helen, his sister. Pendergast, however, in typical fashion suspected this all along and disabled the firearm.

A struggle ensues followed by a chase thru the quagmires of Scotland and just when Pendergast seems to have the upper hand, Judson is able to retrieve his gun and shoots Pendergast in the chest even as Aloysius is sinking in the quicksand. At that point thinking Pendergast is near death, Judson reveals a shocking secret.  

Judson returns to the proper Kilchurn Lodge and concocts a story that he shot Pendergast in a hunting accident. When the police arrive, they return to the bogs and drag the site where Pendergast went missing only to find…nothing. Although Inspector Balfour suspects foul play, an inquest finds Esterhazy not guilty and he is able to leave the country only to return in disguise obsessed with finding the body to make certain Pendergast is dead.

  Meanwhile in New York City, Constance Greene (Pendergast's ward) who was previously found guilty of killing her infant son and who believes she was born in the 1870s, is taken to Mount Mercy Hospital for the criminally insane. Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, who is now on desk duty after recovering from a near-fatal gunshot wound to the heart, is alarmed to discover that Pendergast is reported dead by Proctor his butler and goes to Scotland in search of his friend only to get lost in the moors.

Written in typical Sherlockian style, this fast paced series continues to provide the reader with many twists. What you thought you knew from prior Pendergast novels may not necessarily be true. In order to get a true appreciation of Cold Vengeance you should really read Fever Dream. In order to completely understand Pendergast, Greene, and D'Agosta you would be advised to read prior books in the series. Cold Vengeance is the tale of Esterhazy vs. Pendergast. The end will surprise you. Enjoy!

--Jerry Solot