Pendergast is my new favorite detective! It would have seemed this modern-day Holmes faced his ultimate challenge in Brimstone but for the great teaser for the next story. Pendergast's ever-cool demeanor and eccentric ways have captured my interest. I liked seeing Pendergast and D’Agosta share the limelight pretty equally this time, with intriguing insights into both characters. The villain was a fascinating creation. Be sure to read the authors’ note at the end regarding him. The secondary villain that served to annoy Sgt. Hayward seemed a bit extraneous (and long-winded). But the story and the suspense soon got back on track every time. I admit I didn’t see the final resolution to the mystery coming (not before Pendergast, at least), and that was refreshing. Overall an exciting and enjoyable installment in the Pendergast series. And a note on the audiobook, which I listened to: Scott Brick has been great in the Pendergast series, and in Brimstone his Italian was fairly good. (It can ruin an audiobook experience to have a narrator mangle a language!) It was quite fun to see D'Agosta's discovery about his language skills!