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Cemetery Dance (Pendergast #9)

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 8,731 ratings · 694 reviews

Pendergast-the world's most enigmatic FBI Special Agent-returns to New York City to investigate a murderous cult.

William Smithback Jr., a prominent New York Times reporter, was killed in a brutal attack in his Upper West Side apartment His wife, Nora Kelly, an archeologist at the Museum of Natural History, was injured a well. Multiple eyewitness identified the assailant as...more

Hardcover, 435 pages

Published May 12th 2009 by Grand Central Publishing (first published January 1st 2009)

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Nov 19, 2012 Matt Schiariti rated it 5 of 5 stars

Let me preface this that I picked up a copy and had it signed by Preston and Child themsevles at the very first stop of their book signing tour at a local Barnes and Noble. If you have an opportunity to go see them, do so! Very personable, open to questions and had a great time talking to the fans, signing the books and answering the questions! They are working on another book and I did ask them if we'll ever see a sequel to Ice Limit (which if you'll recall was mentioned in Still Life with Crow...more Let me preface this that I picked up a copy and had it signed by Preston and Child themsevles at the very first stop of their book signing tour at a local Barnes and Noble. If you have an opportunity to go see them, do so! Very personable, open to questions and had a great time talking to the fans, signing the books and answering the questions! They are working on another book and I did ask them if we'll ever see a sequel to Ice Limit (which if you'll recall was mentioned in Still Life with Crowes) and when I asked Lincoln Child he said 'yes there will be and sooner than you think!'

Now, on to the review.

Simply put, I loved it. Pendergast, D'agosta, Hayward, Kelly, Smithback, they're all here. This is simply yet another great mystery/whodunit penned by Preston and Child featuring characters that we fans have been reading for years now and if you're anything like me, have grown rather attached to.

I'm not giving anything away in saying that Smithback is murdered in this book. It's very sad to say the least which shows just how engaging these characters have become to me as a long time fan. Who did it? A man named Colin Fearing. But is he just a man? The majority of this book covers Voodoo and Zombis. Sound a little far fetched? Perhaps at first glance but as with Preston and Child novels, the Pendergast books in particular, the far fetched doesn't always seem as unbeleivable after you start to turn the pages. I haven't encountered other authors than can go out on a limb with the supernatural and mystical and be able to land on their feet like Preston and Child.

At the center of this mystery is a cult like village referred to as the Ville which is situated in one of the most remote forests of Manhattan (and this is a real live place, not made up). Talk of animal sacrifice, murder and voodoo rituals coupled with the murder of Smithback by a zombi makes the public outcry immense against the Ville.

Pendergast, D'agosta and Nora Kelly are hell bent on finding out who would be after and want to murder their fallen friend/husband and what is really at the bottom of this zombi mystery. Let me say that it's definetly more complicated than it seems at first glance.

It took me a little while to read this book. Not because it was incredibly long, not because it was boring or difficult to read or hard to follow. It's simply because when a Preston and Child novel comes out I tend to read them slower because I enjoy them so much I find myself not wanting them to end, even though I'm eager to see how everything plays out.

Cemetery Dance doesn't disappoint and any fans of Preston and Child novels and their repeating characters should get their hands on this one.(less)

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Jul 29, 2012 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourite-series

I ADORE the character of FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that I loved this book. I literally didn't want to put this down, hence the title of this review.

Preston and Child do not disappoint in this latest outing, with appearances by Pendergast, NYPY Detective D'Agosa, Nora Kelly, and all the other characters who have appeared in past books here and involved in the current murders needing to be solved.

As always when Pendergast is involved, the case is some...more I ADORE the character of FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that I loved this book. I literally didn't want to put this down, hence the title of this review.

Preston and Child do not disappoint in this latest outing, with appearances by Pendergast, NYPY Detective D'Agosa, Nora Kelly, and all the other characters who have appeared in past books here and involved in the current murders needing to be solved.

As always when Pendergast is involved, the case is somewhat unusual, and the neat, some might say bizarre things that Pendergast knows, does and asks all add to the colour and flavour of the story.

I am very happy that Preston and Child have taken the Pendergast character back to solving other people's crimes, and away from exploring the oddities in Pendergast's family. Although I initially WANTED more information about the Pendergast family history, the 4 books just previous to this one that delved into that exact topic went off the rails by the end for me. I felt they got way too mired in drama (and not the good interesting kind!) and I wanted Pendergast back doing what he does best - solving crimes with his own brand of justice and cleverness.

The pace moves along at lightning speed as all Preston/Child books do, (be prepared! You get nailed to the wall on about page 6 and they never really let go from then on!) having two or three plot lines manned by various characters running in parallel. So when you get to the end of a chapter that leaves you hanging in one area, the next chapter moves on to one of the others meaning you have to read two, sometimes three chapters to see what happens. But that's okay, because the chapters are short, the action is hot, and the book is a quick and easy read.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars, is because my favourite Pendergast book is still The Cabinet of Curiosities, and while this one was good, it didn't surpass that one. However, Cemetery Dance is a great book, and I highly recommend it as a terrific read!! Just make sure you have some free time when you start it, because you won't want to put it down till the end once you start it!(less)

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Jun 05, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is my very first Preston/Childs novel, besides Preston's The Monster Of Venice, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I had been told these novels could stand alone, and it did.

Very fast paced, from the first page, it kept my attention to the last one. Was it zombiis? Was it not? Who knew! But with as smart a writing as this book has, I knew it wasn't just another band-wagon genre-based ~~vampires, no~~... ~~werewolves, no~~.. novel about the latest Fad in Writing. THANK GOD!!! (I am SO tired of them all,...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

With Cemetery Dance, Preston and Child's return Special Agent Pendergast to his most familiar setting, New York City, where he rejoins the gruff but big-hearted Lt. D'Agosta in investigating the vicious murder of one of the series' regular characters. The story is well-crafted with a persistent sense of foreboding evoking a nightmare like quality that kept this reader precariously on the edge of his seat. While I personally do not usually enjoy stories using voodoo as a plot point, I confess to...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Josh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There are many conflicts that are going on in the storyline of Cemetary Dance. The main conflict though in the book is the conflict between the citizens of New York and the inhabitants of the Ville. The Ville are these people all in a cult right outside of New York, they practice a weird religion. Mr. Smith was on the brink of exposing these people before he was killed by a zombii. He was brutally slaughtered in his apartment by Colin Fearing who is dead... or is he. Colin almost kills his wife...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

I don't think that I have read all 8 of the other books in this series, but I have read at least a handful. First off, I did like the book. Believe it or not I feel that it was "lighter" than some of the other chapters in Agent Pendergast's "history". This of course is despite the brutal murder of a carry-over character right at the start of the book (with more to follow of course!)

Like all of their books, it was inventive, had a decent plot with a few good twists, and the characters (at least t...more

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Mar 27, 2010 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

The reading by Rene Auberjonois was a little distracting initially. He was a good reader, and used talented inflection to portray emotion. It was the quality of his voice that distracted me in the beginning. Where the voice of Peter Giles (who read The Scarecrow for my last audio book) had a somewhat "neutral" voice that allowed me to concentrate on the story, I found Rene's voice so distinctive that it distracted me. I'd sit there and wonder, "What is it about his voice? Is it an accent? What k...more The reading by Rene Auberjonois was a little distracting initially. He was a good reader, and used talented inflection to portray emotion. It was the quality of his voice that distracted me in the beginning. Where the voice of Peter Giles (who read The Scarecrow for my last audio book) had a somewhat "neutral" voice that allowed me to concentrate on the story, I found Rene's voice so distinctive that it distracted me. I'd sit there and wonder, "What is it about his voice? Is it an accent? What kind of accent is that? He reminds me of someone. Who does he remind me of?" Then I thought, "Wait! I know what it is! He reminds me of the guy that played Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life!" Henry Travers played Clarence the Angel. Do you remember his voice? That is who Rene Auberjonois reminded me of. That voice can be a little distracting initially! (You may remember him as security officer Odo in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) However I found that after time I got used to it, and found he really did a good job, keeping the female voices soft but not cheesily "female" as some men will do when portraying the female voice. He really is a quite talented narrator, and a good choice given all of the french pronounciation required in this story.

The story was a little off-beat, what with all of the zombies and animal sacrifice. Typically zombie stories are one of my favorites, but I always find that I have a hard time of it when something fantastical like zombies is put in a modern-day story. It seems so out of place. My mind has a hard time lending any credibility to the storyline when fantasy and modern reality are blended. But, hey, that's my problem-- not the author's!

So, all that being said, what did I really think of the story? The story wasn't a bad story. It just felt like there wasn't too much substance to it. It felt a little empty. A little bit like fluff. But it was an enjoyable distraction to have while I'm at work, and it would be a good choice for listening to while in the car or doing housework. But I'm glad that I didn't "read" it, as I may have had a hard time having it hold my attention or really "filling me up". It's more like a light appetizer than a main course.

But kudos to Rene Auberjonois for being so good at what he did that he made me forget just how distinctive his voice was, and helped me to really "see" the characters of the story.

All in all, not a bad story. Not great, but not bad. It was okay.(less)

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Aug 29, 2009 Kayeb rated it 4 of 5 stars

Vodou and such in this one ... Pendergast is a lesser character and I missed his involvment, which was still included but not to eh same degree as other books in the series.

I liked it in terms of reading it and not putting it down over and over cuz zI couldn't enjoy it, but it is getting more bizarre even than before. I guess vamps and creatures of the night are the current thing to wirte about....so at least there is a bit more of a mystery here.

Google map is fun to use to check out the places...more

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Jun 04, 2009 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow, I just finished this book and it brought back the feeling I had when I first read Relic and met Agent Pendergast. When I first heard that this book had been released I was a little hesitant as I did not enjoy The Wheel of Darkness as much as some of Preston’s and Childs’ other books. But the first 10 pages will blow your mind! I could not believe how they started off the book and I have to admit I was a little devastated.

That said I felt like after those first few pages you feel like you ha...more

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May 28, 2009 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: escape-reading

I've decided that I'm going to designate this book as a "ripping good yarn" because, by golly, that's what it is. This is one of those books where you just have to say to yourself, okay, this is totally escape reading and it's so far-fetched that it can't possibly ever be true. Once you get past that hurdle, then you can do what the authors intended for you to do: sit back, relax, and have fun with it. If you can't do that, then move along, because this book is definitely not for you. Literary s...more I've decided that I'm going to designate this book as a "ripping good yarn" because, by golly, that's what it is. This is one of those books where you just have to say to yourself, okay, this is totally escape reading and it's so far-fetched that it can't possibly ever be true. Once you get past that hurdle, then you can do what the authors intended for you to do: sit back, relax, and have fun with it. If you can't do that, then move along, because this book is definitely not for you. Literary snobs need not apply.

I enjoy "ripping good yarns" (aka escape fiction) once in a while, especially from these two authors both together and independently. I especially enjoy the Agent Pendergast series, which I've been following since he first came out of Preston and Child's collective imaginations. He's an enigma and I like enigmas. I've read all of these stories; I've pre-ordered or bought each one as soon as I heard of its release, and I happen to like them. I am a Pendergast junkie.

I absolutely cannot tell you much, because of the plot twists in this book. To tell is to ruin. The book opens with the murder of an old friend from other books in the series (whose name I will not divulge here -- but if you're a Preston and Child follower, you'll be a bit sad). The identity of the murderer is not in doubt -- it was one Colin Fearing, who lived in the same building, and was caught on tape at the building at the time of the murder. Several people recognized him. The only problem is that Colin Fearing was dead at the time the murder was committed -- his body had been even been identified by a relative. So...enter Agent Pendergast, who was a very good friend to the murder victim, and another recurring character, Lt. Vince D'Agosta of the NYPD. What begins as a bizarre case of murder gets even more bizarre as the investigation takes our heroes into the bizarro world of religious animal sacrifice and voodoo. But when a second killing occurs at the hand of another dead person, it just gets very weird, and their efforts to find the killer puts Pendergast and his pals in a very dangerous situation where their very lives are at stake.

This book has it all...the supernatural, mystery, suspense...that is the hallmark of the writing of Preston and Child. There are plot twists that you won't see coming (or at least I didn't), and it's generally a very fun novel with quite a bit of action.

Yes, it's a bit unbelievable, and it's a bit over the top in some spots, but the authors managed to grab me from the start and I didn't stop until I was finished. I think you'd want to read the other Pendergast novels rather than making this your first foray into the minds of these two authors. This book was much better than the last one -- Wheel of Darkness -- and I hope there are many more Pendergast novels in their futures.

I'd recommend this book to people who enjoy fun escape fiction or to those who like a supernatural cast to their mysteries. These two authors are very good at their craft and now I'll just wait patiently until the next installment arrives. (less)

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May 21, 2009 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are as gods to me. I worship them. The brilliant Brimstone--the first in the Diogenes Trilogy within their eerie, compelling thrillers that feature FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast--enthralled me from page one. Preston and Child are erudite without being stuffy. They scare the hell out of a girl without resorting to the cheap or lurid. And their prose is to die for.

I'm in mad love with the eccentric, intellectual, deliciously Southern Pendergast. For two ye...more

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May 20, 2009 Teresa Watson rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am fond of walking around old cemeteries, so naturally the title caught my attention. A well-known journalist, Bill Smithback, and his wife, archeologist Nora Kelly, are celebrating their one-year anniversary in their New York apartment. When Nora goes to the corner store, someone breaks into their apartment and kills Bill, then attacks Nora in the hallway as she returns home. Eyewitnesses identify the killer: Colin Fearing. There's just one problem: Fearing died ten days ago.

Lt. Vincent D'Ago...more

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May 14, 2009 Ken Kugler rated it 5 of 5 stars

“Cemetery Dance” is the latest book in a series that started with Relic. In this latest installment the setting is NYC and the story is centered on Voudou, zombiis, animal rights, greed, as well as the dance that is always played between people in relationships. The relationship between the main characters, which the authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have developed into complex have invested us with deep interest.
The people that populate this series are FBI agent Aloysius Prendergast, Li...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first book I've read by this duo and I found it a quick read despite being over 400 pages. The action just pulled me along, and I found myself finishing it in only a few hours.
When journalist Bill Smithback is violently killed in his own apartment, all the witnesses agree on the identity of the killer, another resident of the building, Colin Fearing. The problem is that Fearing was found dead ten days earlier, an apparent suicide. Smithback's wife Nora Fearing is attacked again, and...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Mazel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

William Smithback, reporter au New York Times, et sa femme Nora Kelly, archéologue au Muséum d'Histoire naturelle, sont sauvagement agressés dans leur appartement de l'Upper West Side de Manhattan. Si Nora en réchappe, Smithback, lui, est tué...
Le meurtrier est rapidement identifié par des témoins et des caméras de vidéosurveillance. Il s'agit de leur étrange et sinistre voisin, Fearing... pourtant mort et enterré depuis plusieurs jours déjà !
Un tel mystère ne peut laisser insensible le célèbre...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Margaret rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 13, 2009 Hilarie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am a big fan of the Lincoln/Child Penderast novels. They are always fun, full of action, and of course, they feature Agent Pendergast, who happens to be a favorite character of mine. You can learn more about Agent Pendergast here. All that being said, I did enjoy this novel, but not as much as previous offerings from the authors.

Cemetary Dance begins with an attack on a pair of familiar characters (one of my favorite things about these guys, they are never afraid to do away with someone for th...more

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May 25, 2009 Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

My favorite character EVER, Pendergast! Who could not love him? I am addicted to these wonderful books by Preston/Child and usually give them highter marks. However, I am devasted by the loss of a beloved character. I totally didn't believe it. Right to the bitter end, I thought it was a ploy, a joke, a hoax. Alas, it was not. It's going to take me awhile to forgive them for that one :)

The storyline was solid for the most part, with everything naturally coming together in the end. The center of...more

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Sep 02, 2011 Michelle Pape rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the very first novel I read by these authors. Actually it is more appropriate to say" listened to". I have a long 1 hr commute each way to work and back and I listen to books on cd.I don't know how the story would have held up if I had read it but the narrated version was absolutely fantasic. It is like listening to a 1930's radio show. I actually didnt want to get out of the car. They split the action between numerous simultanious plot lines that converge at the end. They always leave a...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Arun Divakar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have been following the Preston-Child series on Aloysius Pendergast for quite some time now. Seems I have read almost a good majority of the books except Reliquary & Still Life With Crows (which I am still looking for). In a series devoted to Pendergast, this is the ninth book in the line.

The tale begins with one of the most well known characters in the Pendergast tales getting murdered and from then on moves to a Zombii cult, an illegal settlement,murder and general mayhem. One thing tha...more

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Jun 08, 2009 Krazykat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: srp-2009

Thanks to Teresa's suggestion, I started my first Pendergast novel---if i could endure Twilight's vampires and werewolves then surely this book about zombii couldn't be half bad. It's so much better! I fell in instant like with the inscrutable intelligence of Special Agent Pendergast and even if one doesn't believe in the hoodoo of voodoo, the authors made the plot seem plausible.
Basically the plot is about how and why one prominent New York Times reporter William Smithback Jr was killed by one...more

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May 23, 2009 Brooke rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Although most, if not all, of the other GR reviews for this book contain a certain plot element without including a spoiler warning, I'm a little uncertain about doing so. I understand their likely reasoning - it's revealed in the inner flap of the book and occurs in the first few pages, but the shock I felt when opening up the cover and reading the newspaper clipping printed there, "William Smithback Jr., a prominent New York Time reporter, was killed in a brutal attack last night in his Upper...more Although most, if not all, of the other GR reviews for this book contain a certain plot element without including a spoiler warning, I'm a little uncertain about doing so. I understand their likely reasoning - it's revealed in the inner flap of the book and occurs in the first few pages, but the shock I felt when opening up the cover and reading the newspaper clipping printed there, "William Smithback Jr., a prominent New York Time reporter, was killed in a brutal attack last night in his Upper West Side apartment," was so startling that I'd hate to take that away from other readers.

My first response was denial - no way did Preston and Child kill off Smithback. He's one of their original characters, introduced in Relic along with D'Agosta and Pendergast. No way did they do it and then reveal it in the book's synopsis without some sort of twist. It's a misdirection! At least twice they've given the illusion that someone was dead, only to find out that we'd been tricked. I was quite confident Smithback would be just fine.

By the time I got to the autopsy scene, where his organs were displayed around his opened corpse, I realized that no, our dear journalist has really left us.

#$@!

One reason I love the Preston/Child books so much is that they've crafted unique characters that I end up really attached to. This is the opposite of so many other thrillers (including, puzzlingly, their solo books). In the end, the reason for Smithback's death was so mundane that it was disappointing. We lost him so some rich dude can get richer? The rich dude's full plan, when finally revealed, seems too crazily far-fetched - too many things had to happen just right for it to have worked out. Being a fictional story, obviously everything DID happen right, but it required quite a bit of suspension of disbelief (go ahead and laugh - after everything that's happened in the Preston/Child books, THIS is what trips me up? I know, I know.)

I'm just lukewarm on this one, which is sad since, to me, new Preston/Child releases are akin to new Harry Potters. There are threads dropped within that are reasonably expected to lead to new ones (Nora's new expedition and the mysterious envelope Pendergast receives), so hopefully I'll go back to being a drooling fangirl in a year's time.(less)

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Mar 21, 2011 Dustin Crazy little brown owl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Really enjoyed this. The opening of the story really grabbed my attention. There were some far-fetched, unrealistic elements but also some beautifully described settings. It's the first book I've read in this series but won't be the last :-)

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Dec 17, 2009 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

authors at their entertaining best, a Prendergast novel.

The latest Pendergast thriller begins with a murder that is apparently committed by a man who, 10 days earlier, was pronounced dead and then buried. But the eyewitness is sure it’s the same man, and footage from a security camera appears to confirm it. How does a dead man commit murder? And why this particular victim? Pendergast, the FBI special agent who frequently takes on personal assignments on a freelance basis, teams up once again wit...more

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Jun 09, 2009 Bob rated it 4 of 5 stars

Pendergast is back in NY city getting involved in another case, this one involving Zombies, a strange secret cult in a wild wooded are on Manhattan Island. Nora of previous books has been married a year to here reporter husband(Stephen?) {as you can see I am doing this without the book in front of me}. On their anniversary eve at home Nora goes out for a special cake and when she gets back she see the apartment in disarray with blood all over and Stephen on the floor just before she is attacked...more

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May 20, 2009 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-fiction-read, 1000-fiction, 1121-thrillers

I really like the Pendergast series. It is starting to reach the point where I kind of wish the authors weren't expected to turn out a book a year, but this one was an improvement over the last one. Largely that's due to the fact that this one was set back in New York, so the larger cast of characters was available. I can't say that I was sorry to see Smithback die - my friends know how I feel about journalism. One of the things I like so much about this series - besides the esoteric Southern br...more

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Jun 12, 2010 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As with all the Pendergast Preston/Child novels, this one was full of intricate plot twists and interesting unorthodox investigative methods by both Pendergast and Vinnie D'Agosta, my two favorite characters in this series. However, this one was perhaps just a bit too intricate and convoluted for my taste - it didn't have the engaging quality of the previous Pendergast novels. I was also shocked right in the first chapter by Will Smithback's death, and kept hoping that, somehow, something would...more As with all the Pendergast Preston/Child novels, this one was full of intricate plot twists and interesting unorthodox investigative methods by both Pendergast and Vinnie D'Agosta, my two favorite characters in this series. However, this one was perhaps just a bit too intricate and convoluted for my taste - it didn't have the engaging quality of the previous Pendergast novels. I was also shocked right in the first chapter by Will Smithback's death, and kept hoping that, somehow, something would happen to show that he didn't die after all - but, alas, that was not to be. I liked Smithback and Nora Kelly, and I am disappointed to see one of these characters killed off.

The eerieness of the Ville's strange cult and rituals also got to me - the descriptions of the animals and the fear they must have felt awaiting the sacrifice ceremony hit too close to home for me, a huge animal lover and animal rights activist.

In this novel I needed the recap by Pendergast in the hospital in the last chapter to truly understand the whole thing, and I'm not overly fond of having to have it all spelled out for me in order to finally make sense of it all - usually I like the pieces of the puzzle to play out logically, so I can put the ideas together and have them confirmed at the end, which Preston and Child usually do give to their readers - but didn't this time.

I did like the epilogue and finding out that Nora Kelly will find some kind of peace - and she'll get her research trip funded to Utah. Maybe we'll even see her again in a future novel. I also liked that Vinne and Laura may make amends and get back together; they're good as both professional and romantic partners - Vinnie was just a bit too angry and out of character in this one, understandably, but it will be nice to have him get back to normal as well in a later novel. He's been too out of his element and too beyond the book in this and the last time he appeared - it's time for him to get back to being vintage Vinnie.

What I am looking forward to is the next novel Fever Dream, which was previewed at the end of this one - I expect it will give us vintage Pendergast. In this one, it just didn't feel as engaging as normal. (less)

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Aug 09, 2011 Seth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A convoluted plot that, ultimately, doesn't make a lot of sense, with the death of a recurring character at the heart of it--that doesn't make much sense either, and on occasional feels a trifle tasteless. I was glad to read about Pendergast and D'Agosta's continuing adventures fighting crime together, since I think theirs is the best and most interesting dynamic in the entire series. But the crime they are solving here is actually more laughable than those in the other Preston and Child books,...more

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Feb 10, 2011 Gary Baker rated it 3 of 5 stars

A crime thriller with a good helping of voodoo thrown in. Based in and around New York, a police officer and his FBI colleague investigate the murder of a friend by someone declared dead a few days previously.

The chapters are short, the action is fast, there's a light sprinkling of humour, it's very easy to read.

Apparently there's a series based on the FBI character, Pendergast. This is my first time reading from this collection and it was completely self contained, so it seems you could dip in...more

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May 16, 2009 Gerry Hine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Aloysius Pendergast, agent for the FBI, along with Vincent D’Agosta of the NYPD must solve the murder of a newspaper reporter and friend brutally executed in his home by what appears to be a walking dead person or zombii. Following a convoluted trail our heroes save the life of Nora Henderson famous archeologist and uncover the plot of a man who would try to become one of the richest persons in the world through murder and extortion. Learn what a leucotome is while being acquainting with the h...more

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About Douglas Preston

Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two fr...more Douglas Preston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1956, and grew up in the deadly boring suburb of Wellesley. Following a distinguished career at a private nursery school--he was almost immediately expelled--he attended public schools and the Cambridge School of Weston. Notable events in his early life included the loss of a fingertip at the age of three to a bicycle; the loss of his two front teeth to his brother Richard's fist; and various broken bones, also incurred in dust-ups with Richard. (Richard went on to write The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, which tells you all you need to know about what it was like to grow up with him as a brother.)

As they grew up, Doug, Richard, and their little brother David roamed the quiet suburbs of Wellesley, terrorizing the natives with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. With a friend they once attempted to fly a rocket into Wellesley Square; the rocket malfunctioned and nearly killed a man mowing his lawn. They were local celebrities, often appearing in the "Police Notes" section of The Wellesley Townsman. It is a miracle they survived childhood intact.

After unaccountably being rejected by Stanford University (a pox on it), Preston attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where he studied mathematics, biology, physics, anthropology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy before settling down to English literature. After graduating, Preston began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as an editor, writer, and eventually manager of publications. (Preston also taught writing at Princeton University and was managing editor of Curator.) His eight-year stint at the Museum resulted in the non-fiction book, Dinosaurs in the Attic, edited by a rising young star at St. Martin's Press, a polymath by the name of Lincoln Child. During this period, Preston gave Child a midnight tour of the museum, and in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to Preston and said: "This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!" That thriller would, of course, be Relic.

In 1986, Douglas Preston piled everything he owned into the back of a Subaru and moved from New York City to Santa Fe to write full time, following the advice of S. J. Perelman that "the dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he's given the freedom to starve anywhere." After the requisite period of penury, Preston achieved a small success with the publication of Cities of Gold, a non-fiction book about Coronado's search for the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola. To research the book, Preston and a friend retraced on horseback 1,000 miles of Coronado's route across Arizona and New Mexico, packing their supplies and sleeping under the stars--nearly killing themselves in the process. Since then he has published several more non-fiction books on the history of the American Southwest, Talking to the Ground and The Royal Road, as well as a novel entitled Jennie. In the early 1990s Preston and Child teamed up to write suspense novels; Relic was the first, followed by several others, including Riptide and Thunderhead. Relic was released as a motion picture by Paramount in 1997. Other films are under development at Hollywood studios. Preston and Child live 500 miles apart and write their books together via telephone, fax, and the Internet.

Preston and his brother Richard are currently producing a television miniseries for ABC and Mandalay Entertainment, to be aired in the spring of 2000, if all goes well, which in Hollywood is rarely the case.

Preston continues a magazine writing career by contributing regularly to The New Yorker magazine. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonisan, Harper's,and Travel & Leisure,among others.

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Books by Douglas Preston

The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, #3)

Brimstone (Pendergast, #5; Diogenes, #1)

The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, #7; Diogenes, #3)

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Trivia About Cemetery Dance

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Quotes from Cemetery Dance

“What the hell was your pal Bertin demanding?” he asked. “Sipping syrup?”

“It’s a cocktail he prefers when he gets, ah, overly excited.”

“A cocktail?”

“Of sorts. Lemon–lime soda, vodka, codeine in solution, and a Jolly Rancher candy.”

“A what?”

“Bertin prefers the watermelon–flavored variety.”

D’Agosta shook his head. “Christ. Only in Louisiana.”

“Actually, I understand the concoction originated in Houston.” — 1 person liked it

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Cemetery Dance (Pendergast #9)

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