Probably my favorite of the Pendergast novels, since Pendergast and D'Agosta are reunited in their crime-solving efforts. The two characters are at their best when they are playing off of one another. In some ways the novel is reminiscent of Thomas Harris's Hannibal, however that's likely just because they share a setting in Florence, Italy. Overall, it's great fun, like all of Preston and Child's books, and the cliffhanger ending is quite a nasty one. It's also the beginning of their "Diogenes trilogy," about Agent Pendergast's estranged brother, and his insidious introduction is quite well done. Diogenes is a dominating and attention-getting character, and Preston and Child are remarkably restrained in their utilization of him. He slides into the story arc like a snake, compounding the grim picture that the authors had already painted of the Pendergast clan.

The dullest spot in the book is the introduction of Lady Viola Maskelene, who is forcibly and ham-fistedly introduced as Pendergast's love interest. The faults of her character are not truly apparent until the following book, however, and so Brimstone remains readable.