What do you think?
Rate this book
Blue Labyrinth - Free Preview
Special Agent Pendergast-one of the most original, compelling characters in all of contemporary fiction-returns in Preston and Child's new exhilarating novel
BLUE LABYRINTH
A long-buried family secret has come back to haunt Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast.
It begins with murder. One of Pendergast's most implacable, most feared enemies is found on his doorstep, dead. Pendergast has no idea who is responsible for the killing, or why the body was brought to his home. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect crime, save for an enigmatic a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased.
The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California's Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his own family's sinister past. But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family he is being stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. And he soon becomes caught in a wickedly clever plot, which leaves him stricken in mind and body, and propels him toward a reckoning beyond anything he could ever have imagined....
BLUE LABYRINTH
A long-buried family secret has come back to haunt Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast.
It begins with murder. One of Pendergast's most implacable, most feared enemies is found on his doorstep, dead. Pendergast has no idea who is responsible for the killing, or why the body was brought to his home. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect crime, save for an enigmatic a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased.
The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California's Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his own family's sinister past. But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family he is being stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. And he soon becomes caught in a wickedly clever plot, which leaves him stricken in mind and body, and propels him toward a reckoning beyond anything he could ever have imagined....
77 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 9, 2014
25 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Preston
219 books13.3k followersDouglas 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.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...
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.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/dougla...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 6, 2018
This book did not grab me in the ways that other Agent Pendergast books have. I was ready for another great ride and found this book slow and less than typical for the series. Not boring, just not...
February 2, 2019
I've loved Preston-Child books ever since I first read "Relic," "Reliquary," and others. But as time goes on their story lines are becoming more predictable, dull, and profanity-laced. Disappointing.
August 3, 2017
Just love Pendergast!
November 27, 2017
What made the experience of listening to Blue Labyrinth the most enjoyable?
The voice of Rene Auberjonois made it superb. He is the voice of Pendergast. I love this series and am never disappointed. I wish Pendergast had been more involved but he was not himself in this book. Thank goodness he returned by the ending.
What other book might you compare Blue Labyrinth to and why?
No comparison except to the other excellent novels by these two authors. Start at the beginning of this series and catch up if you haven't read them all. These are good enough to read again and again.
What about Rene Auberjonois’s performance did you like?
Everything. Mr. Auberjonois is a perfect voice for this elegant and demanding detective. No one else can read thee books.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I was ready to scream when the bad guys started after the two women who were trying to get to the special plants even though I knew it would have to be okay in the end. The suspense was made even more so by the different characters in the chapters. Excellent story.
The voice of Rene Auberjonois made it superb. He is the voice of Pendergast. I love this series and am never disappointed. I wish Pendergast had been more involved but he was not himself in this book. Thank goodness he returned by the ending.
What other book might you compare Blue Labyrinth to and why?
No comparison except to the other excellent novels by these two authors. Start at the beginning of this series and catch up if you haven't read them all. These are good enough to read again and again.
What about Rene Auberjonois’s performance did you like?
Everything. Mr. Auberjonois is a perfect voice for this elegant and demanding detective. No one else can read thee books.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I was ready to scream when the bad guys started after the two women who were trying to get to the special plants even though I knew it would have to be okay in the end. The suspense was made even more so by the different characters in the chapters. Excellent story.
November 20, 2014
Can't provide much of a review based on 11 chapters, but so far it's providing absolutely everything I read the Pendergast novels for. This one really seems tailored for the long-term, faithful readership, & promises a lot of answers to long-standing questions about the Special Agent's family & past. Lots of fun "chrome," as well -- an indoor tea garden? A music room for Constance Greene, complete with antique harpsichord? Fun stuff for Pendergastlies like myself . . . cannot wait to read the rest of this puppy. Unfortunately, my local library still hasn't gotten its copies!
November 11, 2014
Excellence
I've read all of the Agent Pendergast books and everyone was thoroughly entertaining. I hope this series never stops, not only for me but for generations to come.
I've read all of the Agent Pendergast books and everyone was thoroughly entertaining. I hope this series never stops, not only for me but for generations to come.
December 27, 2014
Great read!
October 4, 2015
Another amazing book in the series! Can't wait for the new one.
November 5, 2014
Ok. I'm hooked. Looking forward to the release of Blue Labyrinth.
Read
March 8, 2018I always like a Pendergast story. This one lacked some cohesiveness. A stray sub plot, although resolved, left you wondering why it was there. This was a transitional novel, bringing back old characters, introducing new ideas, and another side of Pendergast. I enjoyed it, and look forward to the next installment.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews