Review of 'The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, #3)' on 'Goodreads'
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child released their 3rd book featuring Special Agent Pendergast in 2002, and since I'm new to the authors, I've just gotten around to reading it. When a brutal 36 person ancient murder scene is unearthed at a construction site, SA Pendergast and archeologist Nora Kelly dive into the investigation of an old doctor who performed brutal surgeries on living people. But just as they get deep into their findings, a fresh run of murders occur that have strange similarities to the ancient surgeon. This book was a step up from it's predecessor, Reliquary, but still had it's highs and lows.
The Cabinet of Curiosities (CoC) pick up not long after Reliquary but more easily fits right after Preston and Child's book Thunderhead. I had not read thunderhead prior to reading this book, and the more I read CoC, the more I wish I had. Protagonists Nora …
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child released their 3rd book featuring Special Agent Pendergast in 2002, and since I'm new to the authors, I've just gotten around to reading it. When a brutal 36 person ancient murder scene is unearthed at a construction site, SA Pendergast and archeologist Nora Kelly dive into the investigation of an old doctor who performed brutal surgeries on living people. But just as they get deep into their findings, a fresh run of murders occur that have strange similarities to the ancient surgeon. This book was a step up from it's predecessor, Reliquary, but still had it's highs and lows.
The Cabinet of Curiosities (CoC) pick up not long after Reliquary but more easily fits right after Preston and Child's book Thunderhead. I had not read thunderhead prior to reading this book, and the more I read CoC, the more I wish I had. Protagonists Nora Kelly and Bill Smithback's relationship seems chiefly pulled from experiences outlined in Thunderhead, and oftentimes CoC made me feel "out-of-the-loop" due to me not having read Thunderhead. Interestingly enough, this could have been called Book 4 of the Smithback series instead of Book 3 of the Pendergast series...we'll see if Bill remains in the subsequent books.
Once of my complaints about Reliquary is that in diving into the "mole-men" world, the authors chose to do some radical things that really turned me away from that book. Also the surprise ending, although completely from left field and unexpected, sort of made me sad. CoC does a much better job of keeping that from happening. My biggest issue I had with CoC is that the action didn't remain high as it did in Relic. There were times that I could put the book down and not return to it for days and feel ok about it.
All in all, though, the story is gripping and interesting. It had me excited, hopeful, and sad all at the same time. The insights to how these Cabinets of Curiosities were developed and curated is very interesting. Preston and Child do a great job of shadowing stressful scenes and only giving out the necessary information. Once again, they kept me guessing with how the outcome would occur and once again hit you with things you don't expect.
Preston and Child do a great job of making the unexpected happen, and keep this within the controls of the story. To often authors try a surprise scene that feels like it violates the story, and CoC is not guilty of this. I would recommend this book to any thrill seekers, but be aware the action comes and goes.
