I have my friend Ellen to thank for this writing duo being on my favorite authors list, and I am grateful she turned me on to these guys. She had me start with Cabinet of Curiosities. The book starts out with the breaking of ground on a high rise apartment complex. A tunnel is discovered under the construction site, and when investigated, a charnel full of the remains of 36 people from over a 100 years ago is discovered. As the investigation into these century-old crimes ramps up, an eerily similar set of murders start happening in the present day. The book is FABULOUS! There were times while reading this one that I was so on-the-edge-of-my-seat into it that if someone had come up to me and said anything I would have jumped three feet in the air. So suspenseful and well written! It is also in my top 5 favorite books of all time.
As it turned out, Cabinet was actually the 3rd book in a series of books by Preston / Child revolving a very extraordinary and strange FBI agent named Alloysius X. Pendergast. As Ellen informed me, you didn't need to read the books in order necessarily as most of the books stood on their own without having to have prior background, although I always believe in reading books in a series in their chronological order. I did make the exception on this one because Ellen told me to start with Cabinet as it was the best of the series up to that point. She was right.
Once I finished Cabinet of Curiosities, I couldn't get my hands on another in the series fast enough, and at that point I decided to start reading the books in order. So I went to the very first book in the series, Relic, and quickly became engrossed in that one too. There were many nights when my husband, Randy, would say to me, "Hon, it's late and you have work tomorrow. Don't you think you should go to bed?" to which I would respond, "I know, but please JUST ONE MORE CHAPTER!!!" LOL It too was an awesome book and comes very close to tying with Cabinet as my favorite Pendergast novel.
After Relic there's Reliquary which follows the same plot line as Relic and should be read in chronological order to make the most sense. This one I struggled with a bit, but it was still good by the end of the book, and I enjoyed it, but certainly no where near as much as the previous two. After that came Still Life With Crows which had a completely different plot line. This one was good too. Next was Brimstone, a stand alone plot line in the series, and then came a three-book story line revolving around Pendergast's diabolical brother, Diogenes. The Dance of Death, The Book of the Dead, and The Wheel of Darkness. All three in this sub-series were good, but the first two were the best.
Preston / Child wrote another stand alone Pendergast novel, Cemetary Dance, which did incorporate several other main characters from previous Pendergast novels. It was good too, and my first and only signed, hardcopy book ever.
Their latest sub-series in the Pendergast library is one involving the death of Pendergast's wife, a plot line that was conveniently never discussed in previous novels. You knew she was dead, but didn't know any details surrounding it. The first two books, Fever Dream and Cold Vengence were average. They kept my interest enough to want to finish them, but they don't hold a candle to Cabinet or Relic and some of the others. The final book in this mini series, Two Graves, is due to be released soon. Of course I will read it as eagerly as I have all the others, but I'm glad to see this storyline coming to an end (hopefully).
These dynamic authors have penned several books each on their own, and I've read some of them. They are good, but pale in comparison to their writings as a team. They recently started a new series with a new central character, Gideon, which I have not yet read. I think part of me is putting it off because I just don't want the Pendergast series to ever come to an end, but alas, I know all good things must at some point....just hopefully not any time soon. hee hee
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