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Pendergast #3
Gabinet osobliwości
In lower Manhattan, excavators make a gruesome discovery: the buried bone stash of a late-19th-century serial killer. After a newspaper reporter broadcasts the story of this ghastly archaeological find, deadly things begin to happen. Murder follows murder. Who is holding New York City in fear: Is he a copycat killer or is he the rightful heir of the Five Points madman? Fortunately, FBI agent Pendergast and his cohorts are on the case.
625 pages, Paperback
First published June 3, 2002
2849 people are currently reading
16031 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Preston
183 books13.5k 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...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,124 reviews
February 10, 2017
Thus far, I have, for whatever reason, been comparing the Pendergastian works of Messrs. Preston and Child to food (see, for example, here and here). It’s entirely possible I have a tapeworm. That said, in keeping with that theme, let’s call Cabinet of Curiosities a pumpkin spice latte.
On a crisp late October day with the leaves overhead a blaze of orange, red, and yellow, there are few more sublime experiences than sitting outside and sipping a pumpkin spice latte while you enjoy that blaze of color (good company or a good book might, of course, further enhance the experience). The weather, flavor, and mood all mingle together perfectly, complementary parts whose whole is considerably greater than the proverbial sum of its parts. Sure, you know you’re drinking something flavored with an artificial substance that’s probably equal parts carcinogen, extract of gecko, and stray cat urine, but you’re not worried about that—you’re just enjoying the moment because you’re exactly where you want to be doing exactly what you want to do while drinking exactly what you want to drink.
What happens, however, if we contemplate having that same drink on a sunny and sweltering mid-July day, when, in the immortal words of Meat Loaf (or Jim Steinman, really), the “skin on the streets is a-gleaming with sweat” and the redolent stench of rotting garbage stings your nostrils because the moment anyone puts anything curbside, it heats instantly to the point of putrefaction? Suddenly, not only are weather, flavor, and mood not happily mingling, but they’re actually engaged in open hostilities (the PSL, of course, would be lobbing pumpkin bombs at the others, Green Goblin-style), and you want no part of any of them.
It should go without saying that this is, of course, solely my exceedingly subjective view, but Cabinet is the type of book that, when you’re in the mood for it, is like that first pumpkin spice latte of the season that you just can’t drink fast enough. If you’re not in the mood, though, it’s the kind of thing where, after a few sips, you want to dump the thing, kick yourself for essentially setting five dollars on fire, and then rectify the problem with an iced mocha (point of fact: an iced mocha can generally be used to rectify any problem regardless of severity, season, or circumstance).
Fortunately, I was, by and large, in the mood when I embarked on reading Cabinet, though that mood waxed and waned a bit as I read, which made the less superb parts of the book—flat characters, overly nefarious villains, lengthy descriptive passages, improbable coincidences—leap out more than they might have under other circumstances. That said, this is a thrilling addition to the Pendergast oeuvre, and the first book where he really takes center stage—which is good, because he’s by far the most compelling character here. We get to see Pendergast in his Sherlockian mind palace (yes, I know the concept predates the BBC’s Sherlock, but I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that the show has popularized the idea a fair bit), learn a bit about his family’s crazy history, and see him in a more human light than we have thus far.
“Cabinet of curiosities” was the term used to describe private collections of esoteric natural history miscellanea (often of dubious origin) that men of means and a scientific bent as well as hucksters of the first order put on display in the days before natural history museums existed (they were, in fact, precursors to those worthy institutions); such collections might include everything from a giant whale bone to the shrunken head of a cannibal to a yeti penis (see previous comment re: dubious origin). The book introduces us to perhaps the creepiest (and most comprehensive) cabinet of curiosities ever assembled (well, fictionally, anyway), and while I don’t want to spoil anything, let’s just say that it’s not a place I’d like to hang out despite my affinity for natural history.
The book is not without flaws, and it drags at times for being a fast-paced thriller, but, by and large, Preston and Child are master craftsmen who continue to build a phenomenal series around a Sherlock-type who’s rapidly evolving into a character worthy of his place in the pantheon of great fictional detectives.
I’m not sure when I’ll be ready for my next pumpkin spice Pendergast, but rest assured that I’ll be in the mood at some point, and will continue the journey.
On a crisp late October day with the leaves overhead a blaze of orange, red, and yellow, there are few more sublime experiences than sitting outside and sipping a pumpkin spice latte while you enjoy that blaze of color (good company or a good book might, of course, further enhance the experience). The weather, flavor, and mood all mingle together perfectly, complementary parts whose whole is considerably greater than the proverbial sum of its parts. Sure, you know you’re drinking something flavored with an artificial substance that’s probably equal parts carcinogen, extract of gecko, and stray cat urine, but you’re not worried about that—you’re just enjoying the moment because you’re exactly where you want to be doing exactly what you want to do while drinking exactly what you want to drink.
What happens, however, if we contemplate having that same drink on a sunny and sweltering mid-July day, when, in the immortal words of Meat Loaf (or Jim Steinman, really), the “skin on the streets is a-gleaming with sweat” and the redolent stench of rotting garbage stings your nostrils because the moment anyone puts anything curbside, it heats instantly to the point of putrefaction? Suddenly, not only are weather, flavor, and mood not happily mingling, but they’re actually engaged in open hostilities (the PSL, of course, would be lobbing pumpkin bombs at the others, Green Goblin-style), and you want no part of any of them.
It should go without saying that this is, of course, solely my exceedingly subjective view, but Cabinet is the type of book that, when you’re in the mood for it, is like that first pumpkin spice latte of the season that you just can’t drink fast enough. If you’re not in the mood, though, it’s the kind of thing where, after a few sips, you want to dump the thing, kick yourself for essentially setting five dollars on fire, and then rectify the problem with an iced mocha (point of fact: an iced mocha can generally be used to rectify any problem regardless of severity, season, or circumstance).
Fortunately, I was, by and large, in the mood when I embarked on reading Cabinet, though that mood waxed and waned a bit as I read, which made the less superb parts of the book—flat characters, overly nefarious villains, lengthy descriptive passages, improbable coincidences—leap out more than they might have under other circumstances. That said, this is a thrilling addition to the Pendergast oeuvre, and the first book where he really takes center stage—which is good, because he’s by far the most compelling character here. We get to see Pendergast in his Sherlockian mind palace (yes, I know the concept predates the BBC’s Sherlock, but I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that the show has popularized the idea a fair bit), learn a bit about his family’s crazy history, and see him in a more human light than we have thus far.
“Cabinet of curiosities” was the term used to describe private collections of esoteric natural history miscellanea (often of dubious origin) that men of means and a scientific bent as well as hucksters of the first order put on display in the days before natural history museums existed (they were, in fact, precursors to those worthy institutions); such collections might include everything from a giant whale bone to the shrunken head of a cannibal to a yeti penis (see previous comment re: dubious origin). The book introduces us to perhaps the creepiest (and most comprehensive) cabinet of curiosities ever assembled (well, fictionally, anyway), and while I don’t want to spoil anything, let’s just say that it’s not a place I’d like to hang out despite my affinity for natural history.
The book is not without flaws, and it drags at times for being a fast-paced thriller, but, by and large, Preston and Child are master craftsmen who continue to build a phenomenal series around a Sherlock-type who’s rapidly evolving into a character worthy of his place in the pantheon of great fictional detectives.
I’m not sure when I’ll be ready for my next pumpkin spice Pendergast, but rest assured that I’ll be in the mood at some point, and will continue the journey.
November 8, 2015
This book was fantastic! The Pendergast series has been awesome so far. Well researched. Twists and turns. Suspense. Gore. Diabolical bad guys. Perilous situations. Last minute salvation. I am so glad this series has a lot more books because I don't want it to end!
January 18, 2023
I'm reading this series out of sequence. I believe my first book by Preston and Child was Blue Labyrinth (2014) and I thought wow, what a unique character and story so I was hooked and have been a fan ever since.
I love all their books but The Cabinet of Curiosities just blows me away and I love it so much! It is so mysterious and can I say horrifying? I'm glad that I read this one because the Pendergast family was covered, Nora Kelly was introduced, and Riverside Drive. O M G Riverside Drive! 😱
This is my favorite book in the series.
I love all their books but The Cabinet of Curiosities just blows me away and I love it so much! It is so mysterious and can I say horrifying? I'm glad that I read this one because the Pendergast family was covered, Nora Kelly was introduced, and Riverside Drive. O M G Riverside Drive! 😱
This is my favorite book in the series.
December 5, 2017
5 creepy, terrifying stars!
Thanks Terry for the great BR on this book. I’m really enjoying our mutual trip down Pendergast horror lane. 😱😃
Alright, where do I start? That’s right, we start in New York City in an ancient tunnel full of 36 dead bodies! So, where did these bodies come from and why are they there? Great question and you’re about to find out.
FBI agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast (whew, what a name!) decides to investigate this site with the dead bodies and enlist Dr. Nora Kelly to help with the archaeology part of the investigation.
(Quick side note that I learned from one of my good friends here on Goodreads. Try reading Thunderhead before you take on The Cabinet of Curiosities.
In “Thunderhead”, you'll meet Dr. Nora Kelly and how she meets Bill Smithback, our ambitious New York Times journalist. Reading “Thunderhead” before was worth it for me and helped with the flow of the book. Thanks Matthew for the great advice!)
Okay, back to these dead bodies. Mau ha ha ha!
The investigation goes into the direction of a "Jack the Ripper" type of serial killer, a new copycat killer in NYC that's duplicating the murders and learning all about curiosity collections back in the 1800s. Imagine two headed calves, mammoth penises, shrunken tribal heads to a creepy doll owned by a Voodoo priestess. Get the idea?
This book was great, creepy and super suspenseful. I had no idea where the plot twists were taking me. They were taking me for a tense and finger-nail biting ride, that’s for sure!
One last thing, what an amazing house for a setting! Someone needs to take notes and make that come to life for Halloween! o.O
Thanks Terry for the great BR on this book. I’m really enjoying our mutual trip down Pendergast horror lane. 😱😃
Alright, where do I start? That’s right, we start in New York City in an ancient tunnel full of 36 dead bodies! So, where did these bodies come from and why are they there? Great question and you’re about to find out.
FBI agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast (whew, what a name!) decides to investigate this site with the dead bodies and enlist Dr. Nora Kelly to help with the archaeology part of the investigation.
(Quick side note that I learned from one of my good friends here on Goodreads. Try reading Thunderhead before you take on The Cabinet of Curiosities.
In “Thunderhead”, you'll meet Dr. Nora Kelly and how she meets Bill Smithback, our ambitious New York Times journalist. Reading “Thunderhead” before was worth it for me and helped with the flow of the book. Thanks Matthew for the great advice!)
Okay, back to these dead bodies. Mau ha ha ha!
The investigation goes into the direction of a "Jack the Ripper" type of serial killer, a new copycat killer in NYC that's duplicating the murders and learning all about curiosity collections back in the 1800s. Imagine two headed calves, mammoth penises, shrunken tribal heads to a creepy doll owned by a Voodoo priestess. Get the idea?
This book was great, creepy and super suspenseful. I had no idea where the plot twists were taking me. They were taking me for a tense and finger-nail biting ride, that’s for sure!
One last thing, what an amazing house for a setting! Someone needs to take notes and make that come to life for Halloween! o.O
February 8, 2020
”There, impaled on the horns of the triceratops, hung a body, naked from the waist up, arms and legs hanging loose. Three bloody horns stuck right through the man’s back. It looked as if the triceratops had gored the person, hoisting him into the air.”
The investigation into the mystery begins with the finding of 36 dismembered bodies under a construction site, but the mystery itself dates back 130 years ago. One of the bodies has a note sewn into her dress with her name and address written in her own blood. She knew she was going to die, but she couldn’t bear the thought that no one would know who she was when and if her corpse is ever found.
There is something damned poignant about that.
Special Agent Pendergast is assigned to the New Orleans office, which doesn’t seem to slow him down from poking his long, aristocratic nose into this odd finding in New York. It isn’t a murder case, after all; the murderer should be long dead. This is more of a case for archaeologists, not curious FBI agents. He is rather a strange duck though. ”The whole thing was a joke. The FBI agent looked more like an undertaker than a cop, with his black suit, blond-white hair, and movie-cliche accent. He wondered how such a piece of work ever got his ass through Quantico.”
Pendergast is a font of the type of information that some would call trivia, but those of us who strive to be renaissance people tend to see it as our palace of knowledge that allows us to make more connections with everything we experience and everything we read...enhancing our enjoyment of travelling, reading, and all other aspects of life. Pendergast is my kind of weird.
Pendergast enlists the aid of Nora Kelly from the Museum of Natural History, the site of Preston and Child’s fantastic first book in the series…Relic. After all, this is a case more suited to an archaeologist than a detective, though really aren’t archaeologists and detectives basically doing the same work? Kelly has no idea how much helping Pendergast is going to fuck up her already tenuous hold on a career at the museum. There are powerful dark forces that are manipulating events from the shadows. Every day the construction site is put on hold while Kelly investigates the sparse evidence still remaining with the bodies is costing some rich bastard more money.
What becomes readily apparent is that the more recent deaths by a serial killer called The Surgeon are somehow related to these ancient murders more than a century ago. How is that possible? And what is Pendergast’s connection to the primary suspect in the construction site murders?
A murderer is reaching across history for yet another series of victims.
The Preston and Child books are cerebral and yet action packed. They are well paced stories that allow readers to feel like they are learning something, even as their heart rate escalates as the situation for our heroes becomes more tenuous. Stopping the forces of evil, whether they reside in the boardroom or skulk about in the fog of night prove equally dangerous.
Highly recommended for those readers who want more from their pleasure reading than the standard best seller list drivel.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
The investigation into the mystery begins with the finding of 36 dismembered bodies under a construction site, but the mystery itself dates back 130 years ago. One of the bodies has a note sewn into her dress with her name and address written in her own blood. She knew she was going to die, but she couldn’t bear the thought that no one would know who she was when and if her corpse is ever found.
There is something damned poignant about that.
Special Agent Pendergast is assigned to the New Orleans office, which doesn’t seem to slow him down from poking his long, aristocratic nose into this odd finding in New York. It isn’t a murder case, after all; the murderer should be long dead. This is more of a case for archaeologists, not curious FBI agents. He is rather a strange duck though. ”The whole thing was a joke. The FBI agent looked more like an undertaker than a cop, with his black suit, blond-white hair, and movie-cliche accent. He wondered how such a piece of work ever got his ass through Quantico.”
Pendergast is a font of the type of information that some would call trivia, but those of us who strive to be renaissance people tend to see it as our palace of knowledge that allows us to make more connections with everything we experience and everything we read...enhancing our enjoyment of travelling, reading, and all other aspects of life. Pendergast is my kind of weird.
Pendergast enlists the aid of Nora Kelly from the Museum of Natural History, the site of Preston and Child’s fantastic first book in the series…Relic. After all, this is a case more suited to an archaeologist than a detective, though really aren’t archaeologists and detectives basically doing the same work? Kelly has no idea how much helping Pendergast is going to fuck up her already tenuous hold on a career at the museum. There are powerful dark forces that are manipulating events from the shadows. Every day the construction site is put on hold while Kelly investigates the sparse evidence still remaining with the bodies is costing some rich bastard more money.
What becomes readily apparent is that the more recent deaths by a serial killer called The Surgeon are somehow related to these ancient murders more than a century ago. How is that possible? And what is Pendergast’s connection to the primary suspect in the construction site murders?
A murderer is reaching across history for yet another series of victims.
The Preston and Child books are cerebral and yet action packed. They are well paced stories that allow readers to feel like they are learning something, even as their heart rate escalates as the situation for our heroes becomes more tenuous. Stopping the forces of evil, whether they reside in the boardroom or skulk about in the fog of night prove equally dangerous.
Highly recommended for those readers who want more from their pleasure reading than the standard best seller list drivel.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
April 18, 2021
The Cabinet of Curiosities is the third book in the Pendergast series written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It's also the prequel / intro for a new spin-off series about Nora Kelly. I've read the first two books they wrote together, and this is definitely my favorite. It was kinda fantastic, to be honest... it hit all the spots to make it a memorable thriller, pull in some historical NYC content, and offer theories on what life is all about. I also learned all about the abnormalities of the human and mammal world, and how so many disfigurements have been documented in our museums but not shown to the public. Could I view a cabinet of curiosity without vomiting? Probably, but wow!
Construction workers find 30 skeletons while digging the foundation of a new building. They're 125 years old; no big deal, right? Soon we find out they were all murdered years ago, and letters at the museum connect it to some psycho who was trying to extend his life by taking something from people's spines -- while they were still alive. It doesn't end there... a copycat begins the process all over again today. Pendergast rides in to the rescue, driving everyone over the edge. Only this time, it's more personal to him... and when he is captured by the new serial killer, he begins to wonder whether the old one never died and is still alive 150 years later, intent on another murdering spree.
Wow! The twists and turns never ended. Of course some of this is pure theory and science-fiction but just enough to really make a reader wonder what's possible... not too much that you think "oh please, this is not reality." I'm loving Pendergast's personality. Nora Kelly is a great addition too, and I will probably check out her series in the future. The poor cops are given such a bad reputation here too. I also really really like Smithback... these authors are amazing at making peculiar and annoying people quite intriguing. I can't find anything wrong with these characters, and I love the balance of humor and truth they bring to the pages. I even feel bad when someone I began to like was killed!
Learning about NYC history has been a fun experience, particularly when the detectives visit the libraries or the museums. While all of this one's plot took place further from where I live, I do think they will get closer at some point to my neighborhood. They hit a chemist's store about 30 blocks away, so it's just a matter of time. If you like POV shifts, in-your-face characters, and plots that are just enough to give you the willies about what could actually happen, you need to devour these. Of the 3 I've read so far, this is the best... pretty much a 5-star read and I'm probably going to pick up the next one sooner than I thought. I was planning to read one per month this year, but I might have to take a second on in April.
Construction workers find 30 skeletons while digging the foundation of a new building. They're 125 years old; no big deal, right? Soon we find out they were all murdered years ago, and letters at the museum connect it to some psycho who was trying to extend his life by taking something from people's spines -- while they were still alive. It doesn't end there... a copycat begins the process all over again today. Pendergast rides in to the rescue, driving everyone over the edge. Only this time, it's more personal to him... and when he is captured by the new serial killer, he begins to wonder whether the old one never died and is still alive 150 years later, intent on another murdering spree.
Wow! The twists and turns never ended. Of course some of this is pure theory and science-fiction but just enough to really make a reader wonder what's possible... not too much that you think "oh please, this is not reality." I'm loving Pendergast's personality. Nora Kelly is a great addition too, and I will probably check out her series in the future. The poor cops are given such a bad reputation here too. I also really really like Smithback... these authors are amazing at making peculiar and annoying people quite intriguing. I can't find anything wrong with these characters, and I love the balance of humor and truth they bring to the pages. I even feel bad when someone I began to like was killed!
Learning about NYC history has been a fun experience, particularly when the detectives visit the libraries or the museums. While all of this one's plot took place further from where I live, I do think they will get closer at some point to my neighborhood. They hit a chemist's store about 30 blocks away, so it's just a matter of time. If you like POV shifts, in-your-face characters, and plots that are just enough to give you the willies about what could actually happen, you need to devour these. Of the 3 I've read so far, this is the best... pretty much a 5-star read and I'm probably going to pick up the next one sooner than I thought. I was planning to read one per month this year, but I might have to take a second on in April.
February 18, 2021
4.5 stars.
Three books in and Agent Pendergast might have convinced me to include thrillers as one of my favourite genres.
As an aside, I was told to read a stand-alone title, Thunderhead, also by Preston & Child, before I embark on The Cabinet of Curiosities. This is good advice as a new key character in this third volume, Nora Kelly, an archaeologist undergoing a tenure with the Museum of Natural History in New York, was the main protagonist in that novel with most of her character development taking place there. Without having read Thunderhead, which is also a pretty good book, one would not be able to fully appreciate her background and expertise, as well as her connection to Bill Smithback, the journalist.
Now back to the story at hand, which spanned an impressive page count of over 600, the biggest Pendergast book I’ve read so far. The story started with a shocking discovery of three dozen skeletal remains in an underground tunnel beneath a construction site. The body of evidence pointed to possible serial killings that occurred well over a hundred years ago. But what was it about this terrible crime from the late 19th century that had caught Agent Pendergast’s unwavering interest and investment? And were the recent murders of chillingly similar methods the result of a copycat killer, or something even more sinister? The story that unfolded henceforth was utterly absorbing and even downright creepy sometimes.
As with the first two books, we have a handful of character POVs which include a science expert from the Museum (archaeology over biology this time), a journalist and a police officer. I was initially resigned to the fact that we are going to remain fairly detached from Pendergast. Much to my delight, Cabinet of Curiosities provided not just more chapters in Pendergast’s head, but more revelations about his heritage. Without giving anything away, I must say that this man is, without a doubt, fascinating and unorthodox.
For a thriller of this size, pacing needs to be pretty on point to keep the reader engaged. In this respect, I found the novel to be practically unputdownable. With a vivid prose that described late 19th century New York with a haunting atmosphere and the bizarreness of the cabinet of curiosities of old, the narrative lends itself to being spine-chilling at all the right times. The authors are also adept at delivering a suspenseful climax, in spite of the predictability of the outcome. Like I’ve mentioned in my earlier review, we all know Pendergast will survive as this is a long-running series named after the eccentric eponymous character. Even then, I cannot shake off the sense of frisson and anxiety as the final, climactic chapters were unravelled.
The only issue I have with this novel is once again the idiot-police-captain trope. It is getting a bit old, in my opinion. Having these chapters of self-glorifying idiocy inserted between the more riveting account of Pendergast’s plotline was quite annoying. I suppose it can be viewed to be a sort of comic relief to the grim proceedings, but I was mildly put-off instead of humoured.
All that said, The Cabinet of Curiosities is well-written, well-researched and certainly lived up to the genre’s purpose of providing thrills and chills.
Three books in and Agent Pendergast might have convinced me to include thrillers as one of my favourite genres.
As an aside, I was told to read a stand-alone title, Thunderhead, also by Preston & Child, before I embark on The Cabinet of Curiosities. This is good advice as a new key character in this third volume, Nora Kelly, an archaeologist undergoing a tenure with the Museum of Natural History in New York, was the main protagonist in that novel with most of her character development taking place there. Without having read Thunderhead, which is also a pretty good book, one would not be able to fully appreciate her background and expertise, as well as her connection to Bill Smithback, the journalist.
Now back to the story at hand, which spanned an impressive page count of over 600, the biggest Pendergast book I’ve read so far. The story started with a shocking discovery of three dozen skeletal remains in an underground tunnel beneath a construction site. The body of evidence pointed to possible serial killings that occurred well over a hundred years ago. But what was it about this terrible crime from the late 19th century that had caught Agent Pendergast’s unwavering interest and investment? And were the recent murders of chillingly similar methods the result of a copycat killer, or something even more sinister? The story that unfolded henceforth was utterly absorbing and even downright creepy sometimes.
As with the first two books, we have a handful of character POVs which include a science expert from the Museum (archaeology over biology this time), a journalist and a police officer. I was initially resigned to the fact that we are going to remain fairly detached from Pendergast. Much to my delight, Cabinet of Curiosities provided not just more chapters in Pendergast’s head, but more revelations about his heritage. Without giving anything away, I must say that this man is, without a doubt, fascinating and unorthodox.
For a thriller of this size, pacing needs to be pretty on point to keep the reader engaged. In this respect, I found the novel to be practically unputdownable. With a vivid prose that described late 19th century New York with a haunting atmosphere and the bizarreness of the cabinet of curiosities of old, the narrative lends itself to being spine-chilling at all the right times. The authors are also adept at delivering a suspenseful climax, in spite of the predictability of the outcome. Like I’ve mentioned in my earlier review, we all know Pendergast will survive as this is a long-running series named after the eccentric eponymous character. Even then, I cannot shake off the sense of frisson and anxiety as the final, climactic chapters were unravelled.
The only issue I have with this novel is once again the idiot-police-captain trope. It is getting a bit old, in my opinion. Having these chapters of self-glorifying idiocy inserted between the more riveting account of Pendergast’s plotline was quite annoying. I suppose it can be viewed to be a sort of comic relief to the grim proceedings, but I was mildly put-off instead of humoured.
All that said, The Cabinet of Curiosities is well-written, well-researched and certainly lived up to the genre’s purpose of providing thrills and chills.
June 14, 2022
My opinion is very different from the majority. I listened to the Audio version and thoroughly enjoyed the reader. The story kept my interest till about the midpoint of the 16-hour book, at which point I just felt the story was getting into the weeds in detail that was not going anywhere. The book could have been about 4 hours less and still have had the same impact. The reveal of the mystery and the rational for the killings seemed to be rather weak. I listened to the first 2 books and very much enjoyed them, and I plan to continue the series.
March 25, 2019
Awesome, mind boggling and exciting mystery/thriller, with the perfect eccentric and dapper FBI special agent H in Pendergast.
Spoilers will literally ruin this type of novel for a future reader, but I will say that the big revelation of the villain's identity and his rationale for his cold, horrific serial killing crime spree, was something that was totally unexpected and shocking. The fact that the homicides span decades was perhaps the biggest shocker, because I'd been expecting the killer to be a copycat.
The killer's the kind of villain who literally needs to kill in order to survive. He's got a bit of a God complex in his quest for immortality and he's a perfect nemesis for Special Agent Pendergast.
This was a really long novel that never became tedious because the main mystery storyline was never usurped ( as often happens in this genre ) by meandering plot details that flowed into boring territory. There's also a slight gothic element to the mystery as well.
The minor characters were also very interesting and well crafted. They didn't seem like the stereotypical stock characters used to provide filler space in the story. Nora Kelly was a strong, gutsy and intelligent character who more than did her part to assist Pendergast in his investigation.
But it was Pendergast who stole the limelight from everyone. He's not the usual overtly macho and ripped FBI agent. He's a charming, eccentric southern man with his own inimitable fashion sense. Some of the best parts of the story, included sections that detailed his witty banter with other characters.
Pendergast is like a more cultured and better dressed version of Peter Falk's Colombo. He never gives anything away and he's so confident in his skills that he's willing to let the villain underestimate him. He's a meticulous and cerebral investigator who's aware that he's dealing with an equally intelligent villain.
I thoroughly enjoyed how he was often amused by other characters' reactions to his unconventional fashion sense. If I had to choose an actor to play Pendergast, I'll pick a young Roddy McDowell or a younger Neil Mcdonough.
There were some sad parts, especially the background story of the skeletons who were found locked together in the titular "Cabinet of Curiosities". Theirs was a haunting tale of lives doomed to tragedy due to extreme poverty in a society ( virtually a century before the story begins ) that has little sympathy for the unknown impoverished new migrants from Europe.
This is the first book I've read by this author but I am really eager to read the rest in this series, if only to renew my acquaintance with the awesome Agent Pendergast.
Spoilers will literally ruin this type of novel for a future reader, but I will say that the big revelation of the villain's identity and his rationale for his cold, horrific serial killing crime spree, was something that was totally unexpected and shocking. The fact that the homicides span decades was perhaps the biggest shocker, because I'd been expecting the killer to be a copycat.
The killer's the kind of villain who literally needs to kill in order to survive. He's got a bit of a God complex in his quest for immortality and he's a perfect nemesis for Special Agent Pendergast.
This was a really long novel that never became tedious because the main mystery storyline was never usurped ( as often happens in this genre ) by meandering plot details that flowed into boring territory. There's also a slight gothic element to the mystery as well.
The minor characters were also very interesting and well crafted. They didn't seem like the stereotypical stock characters used to provide filler space in the story. Nora Kelly was a strong, gutsy and intelligent character who more than did her part to assist Pendergast in his investigation.
But it was Pendergast who stole the limelight from everyone. He's not the usual overtly macho and ripped FBI agent. He's a charming, eccentric southern man with his own inimitable fashion sense. Some of the best parts of the story, included sections that detailed his witty banter with other characters.
Pendergast is like a more cultured and better dressed version of Peter Falk's Colombo. He never gives anything away and he's so confident in his skills that he's willing to let the villain underestimate him. He's a meticulous and cerebral investigator who's aware that he's dealing with an equally intelligent villain.
I thoroughly enjoyed how he was often amused by other characters' reactions to his unconventional fashion sense. If I had to choose an actor to play Pendergast, I'll pick a young Roddy McDowell or a younger Neil Mcdonough.
There were some sad parts, especially the background story of the skeletons who were found locked together in the titular "Cabinet of Curiosities". Theirs was a haunting tale of lives doomed to tragedy due to extreme poverty in a society ( virtually a century before the story begins ) that has little sympathy for the unknown impoverished new migrants from Europe.
This is the first book I've read by this author but I am really eager to read the rest in this series, if only to renew my acquaintance with the awesome Agent Pendergast.
September 1, 2011
Okay...I gave it a 5 star. Not many of those on my list, but I gave Relic a 4 and the only way to up that was a 5. I'm a little surprised at myself for the rating. This is a very good read and I have it on my shelf. I obtained it after listening to the audio (in a vehicle). I only do that if I figure I'll possibly reread at some point.
The atmosphere in this book combined with the imaginative story line is, if not great, just short of it. These books seem to have a largely female readership... No reason for that guys. They're well done and this one is (in my mind) the best so far. They're not mystery genre but border on several genres from there to paranormal...possibly edging into urban fantasy. Good books, really. I recommend this one especially very highly.
Where the Pendergast character has at times verged on the absurd (not badly so, he's almost always readable) here I think Preston/Child hit their stride with the character. While the story edges along the border of horror and touches other story lines you may have seen elsewhere still, within it's own reality things hold together well.
The atmosphere in this book combined with the imaginative story line is, if not great, just short of it. These books seem to have a largely female readership... No reason for that guys. They're well done and this one is (in my mind) the best so far. They're not mystery genre but border on several genres from there to paranormal...possibly edging into urban fantasy. Good books, really. I recommend this one especially very highly.
Where the Pendergast character has at times verged on the absurd (not badly so, he's almost always readable) here I think Preston/Child hit their stride with the character. While the story edges along the border of horror and touches other story lines you may have seen elsewhere still, within it's own reality things hold together well.
June 27, 2025
El mejor de momento de Pendergast.
Valoración: 9/10
Sinopsis: Durante los trabajos de excavación para construir un nuevo bloque de apartamentos en Manhattan, los obreros hacen un descubrimiento espeluznante: los restos de treinta y seis personas torturadas y mutiladas, víctimas de un asesino que aterrorizó a la ciudad de Nueva York a finales del siglo XIX. El agente especial Pendergast del FBI convence a Nora Kelly, arqueóloga del Museo de Historia Natural, de que le ayude a resolver el misterio de aquellas muertes. Pero lo que era solo una inquietante investigación histórica se convierte en la caza desesperada de un cruel asesino, cuando sobre la ciudad se abate una oleada de asesinatos casi idénticos a los de un siglo atrás. Como más de cien años antes, Manhattan vuelve a ser víctima del pánico.
Valoración: 9/10
Sinopsis: Durante los trabajos de excavación para construir un nuevo bloque de apartamentos en Manhattan, los obreros hacen un descubrimiento espeluznante: los restos de treinta y seis personas torturadas y mutiladas, víctimas de un asesino que aterrorizó a la ciudad de Nueva York a finales del siglo XIX. El agente especial Pendergast del FBI convence a Nora Kelly, arqueóloga del Museo de Historia Natural, de que le ayude a resolver el misterio de aquellas muertes. Pero lo que era solo una inquietante investigación histórica se convierte en la caza desesperada de un cruel asesino, cuando sobre la ciudad se abate una oleada de asesinatos casi idénticos a los de un siglo atrás. Como más de cien años antes, Manhattan vuelve a ser víctima del pánico.
February 16, 2008
Sadly, I've now read all of the Pendergast novels, at least until the new one comes out this summer. Fortunately, I seem to have inadvertantly saved the best for last! Cabinet of Curiosities is definitely my favorite of all of them. At a construction site in New York City, workers unearth more than thirty skeletons, evidence of a serial killer operating more than 100 years ago. Soon afterward, a chilling series of copycat murders are perpetrated by a killer dubbed The Surgeon by the press. Agent Pendergast believes that there is a connection; in fact, he thinks the killings are the work of one man operating for more than a century...
This definitely kept my adrenaline going; I read it during my commute, and I kept having to put it down at seriously crucial moments, which led to me chomping at the bit to finish work so I could find out what happened next. It's totally the literary equivalent of a good scary movie -- you find yourself mentally shouting, "No! Don't go in there!" at the characters. Fantastic stuff!
This definitely kept my adrenaline going; I read it during my commute, and I kept having to put it down at seriously crucial moments, which led to me chomping at the bit to finish work so I could find out what happened next. It's totally the literary equivalent of a good scary movie -- you find yourself mentally shouting, "No! Don't go in there!" at the characters. Fantastic stuff!
February 28, 2022
2/28/2022 added the audio version
4.5
I’ve always been curious about the curiosities. Teehee. Cabinets to be exact. In these you learn quite a bit of history. I found it fascinating. The first ‘museums’ of a sort, imagine one so immense that it took more than one lifetime to gather. Imagine one that gave you long life. Imagine the curious cabinet of a serial killer...
there is something for everyone in this book. Antiquities galore.
4.5
I’ve always been curious about the curiosities. Teehee. Cabinets to be exact. In these you learn quite a bit of history. I found it fascinating. The first ‘museums’ of a sort, imagine one so immense that it took more than one lifetime to gather. Imagine one that gave you long life. Imagine the curious cabinet of a serial killer...
there is something for everyone in this book. Antiquities galore.
February 11, 2020
Que me regalen un libro en mi vigesimoctavo cumpleaños (año 2005) es bien.
Que ese libro sea el tercero de una saga cuando no he leído los dos anteriores es mal.
Que vea que se puede leer en solitario y lo comience es regular.
Que la novela me guste mucho es muy bien.
Que este libro me sirviera para conocer a Preston & Child es excelente.
Que ese libro sea el tercero de una saga cuando no he leído los dos anteriores es mal.
Que vea que se puede leer en solitario y lo comience es regular.
Que la novela me guste mucho es muy bien.
Que este libro me sirviera para conocer a Preston & Child es excelente.
May 11, 2022
When 36 tortured corpses dating back over a 100 years ago are found while excavating for a new building in New York City, Agent Pendergast is intrigued. And how does this connect to a modern serial killer called The Surgeon. Due to this being an old case, an archaeologist from the Museum of Natural History is brought on the case. Nora Kelly, newly hired by the museum after the events of Thunderhead is assigned to assist.
These books are thrilling, full of macabre and chilling moments. I like how they skirt around the edges of possibility as well.
These books are thrilling, full of macabre and chilling moments. I like how they skirt around the edges of possibility as well.
June 23, 2022
“One can reach the gates of hell just as easily by short steps as by large.”
Staying in New York, this third novel deals with the museum and archaeological finds again. This time it's closer to home when tearing down structures for new business reveals hidden bones and horrors beneath cement walls, telling a tragic story of the past. A modern killer is up to no good, however, bringing out Special Agent Pendergast, returning character journalist Bill Smithback, and struggling archaeologist Nora Kelly.
While the mystery angle is different, this book has a lot in common with the previous two, Relic and Reliquary, because of so much time spent in the museum, using similar research to unearth mystery, and trailing New York City to unmask a killer. Unlike the other two, Pendergast is more front and center focus. There's something about the detective that's addictive - he's unique and in some cases downright odd. He has an almost unrealistic, uncanny ability to determine the truth of the matter and smooth his way past conventional legal channels. Still, even if he's not wholly realistic, he's just awesome and steals every page scene he graces. Kudos to the author for making him more of a focus and regular. He stood out in the other books but he just wasn't there enough before. As inhuman and otherly than he could appear in previous books, he gets a fuller fleshing out this time, even with glimpses of his personal life and family.
The new addition of a down-on-his-luck cop was a gift. O'Shaughnessy was my favorite when you remove Pendergast from the story. At first he seemed like he would be another one layered addition to the corrupt, laziness of the system, but it's a pleasant surprise to find instead that he was pretty epic in his own, slower manner.
The killer is a demented being and the big reveal of what's at stake is intriguing. It certainly raises the implications of this being another mass murderer killing for mere psychosis out of the bag. There's a horrible death at the end that soured the taste of the of the book for me, though - I was just sitting there with a 'no, they didn't go' there face. Cleverly twisted with suspenseful spots, I can't fault the mystery story itself other than the pacing of the book lagging, waxing and waning at random times.
I started getting weighed down with Nora and Bill especially. I think if a lot of the scenes with Bill were removed, the book would have improved its pacing and interest because he went from annoying to boring. Nora wasn't really that interesting either - I dug some of her inner political struggles and liked how the ending of the book worked out for her, but she didn't hold a high degree of chemistry with me.
Staying in New York, this third novel deals with the museum and archaeological finds again. This time it's closer to home when tearing down structures for new business reveals hidden bones and horrors beneath cement walls, telling a tragic story of the past. A modern killer is up to no good, however, bringing out Special Agent Pendergast, returning character journalist Bill Smithback, and struggling archaeologist Nora Kelly.
While the mystery angle is different, this book has a lot in common with the previous two, Relic and Reliquary, because of so much time spent in the museum, using similar research to unearth mystery, and trailing New York City to unmask a killer. Unlike the other two, Pendergast is more front and center focus. There's something about the detective that's addictive - he's unique and in some cases downright odd. He has an almost unrealistic, uncanny ability to determine the truth of the matter and smooth his way past conventional legal channels. Still, even if he's not wholly realistic, he's just awesome and steals every page scene he graces. Kudos to the author for making him more of a focus and regular. He stood out in the other books but he just wasn't there enough before. As inhuman and otherly than he could appear in previous books, he gets a fuller fleshing out this time, even with glimpses of his personal life and family.
The new addition of a down-on-his-luck cop was a gift. O'Shaughnessy was my favorite when you remove Pendergast from the story. At first he seemed like he would be another one layered addition to the corrupt, laziness of the system, but it's a pleasant surprise to find instead that he was pretty epic in his own, slower manner.
The killer is a demented being and the big reveal of what's at stake is intriguing. It certainly raises the implications of this being another mass murderer killing for mere psychosis out of the bag. There's a horrible death at the end that soured the taste of the of the book for me, though - I was just sitting there with a 'no, they didn't go' there face. Cleverly twisted with suspenseful spots, I can't fault the mystery story itself other than the pacing of the book lagging, waxing and waning at random times.
I started getting weighed down with Nora and Bill especially. I think if a lot of the scenes with Bill were removed, the book would have improved its pacing and interest because he went from annoying to boring. Nora wasn't really that interesting either - I dug some of her inner political struggles and liked how the ending of the book worked out for her, but she didn't hold a high degree of chemistry with me.
December 28, 2018
These guys really come into their own with this novel. Spectacular story, multiple things going on, and a very satisfying ending that leaves enough unanswered questions about our hero I'm compelled to keep reading just to see who he is. This was less campy then the first two Pendergast books and I really appreciate the maturity they bring to their writing so no matter how fantastical things get they keep things grounded in reality (somewhat), and I like how the supporting cast of characters changes from book to book with people coming and going within its own shared universe. Five no doubt about it stars.
January 20, 2020
Wonderful book. It introduced me to the thriller writing if Lincoln and Child: and their terrific character Aloyious Pendergast. Highly recommended.
January 26, 2025
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child was a huge disappointment to me. Throughout this book I wondered why it was so revered in the mystery world. My husband picked up this copy almost a year ago for me and has been waiting patiently ever since for me to read it. After reading a particularly taxing book, I was looking for something lighter and exciting to read, so I picked this up. I'm still somewhat confused as to all the five star ratings on Goodreads, and if someone would like to explain it to me, I'd very much appreciate it.
So this book starts with your usual mystery type characters. A beautiful heroine, Nora, who is smart and sexy (because this is such an unusual quality) and ends up being drawn into a 100-year-old mystery because she just "can't seem to stay away" from it. (Do you hear the sarcasm?) Then you have your typical Sherlock Holmes-type-character, Pendergast, the FBI agent, who just doesn't quite pull off the arrogant and intelligent Holmes. Instead he comes off as non-talkative and moody. Then we have Smithback, the annoying - yes, really annoying - journalist who will stop at nothing to get the story (stop me if you've heard this one), and ends up getting himself in trouble. He left me wondering why Nora was dating him and wishing he could have died in some fantastically gory way. That leaves the brooding Irish cop, O'Shaughnessy, who was a walking cliche with his annoyed-at-everything attitude and bad boy past. He was actually my favorite character.
I won't go too much into the plot, it's pretty straight forward. A lot of bodies are found at a construction site to a new building. They turn out to be the work of a killer almost 100 years ago and are almost forgotten when suddenly the killings start up again. The idiot police captain is being pressured by the mayor and the building contractor (who, of course, donates a lot of money to various causes that affect key players) to get these murders solved quickly. While the police force stumbles around with loose ends, the four main characters I described earlier come together to start piecing together clues and eventually solving the mystery.
I found nothing exciting or interesting about this book. Some mysteries do well in following the standard type mystery plot, but this one fell short. There were some truly disgusting scenes coupled with some suspenseful moments that made me feel like I was reading a horror at times, but those were few and far between. When I finally found out who the killer was, I discovered that not only had I not even been trying to guess who it was (I do this in all good mysteries), but also, that I just didn't care. I wanted this 600 page book with some excitement in the last 100 pages to finally end.
In my husband's, and Preston's and Child's defense, this was not the first book of the series. My husband and I often share similar tastes in mystery and he had read several of these and wanted me to try one. He realizes now, that maybe he should have picked a different one. Although you don't have to read them in order, there might have been some more build-up or explanations of characters, such as the initial chemistry between Nora and Smithback in earlier books that might have made it more enjoyable for me. In any case, this review is getting too long for a book I really didn't enjoy. The best thing about it were two things. First, the last 100 pages held all the excitement for me. And second, the book is centered around these people from 100 years ago that used to have these things called "Cabinets of Curiosities". Back before T.V. or the internet, these places where museum-like buildings that held strange and unusual things that were very popular for people from all classes. It was the entertainment of the age. The descriptions and history behind these and some of the things they contained, as well as their strange collectors, were the most interesting part of the book. For that, I give it a little credit.
So this book starts with your usual mystery type characters. A beautiful heroine, Nora, who is smart and sexy (because this is such an unusual quality) and ends up being drawn into a 100-year-old mystery because she just "can't seem to stay away" from it. (Do you hear the sarcasm?) Then you have your typical Sherlock Holmes-type-character, Pendergast, the FBI agent, who just doesn't quite pull off the arrogant and intelligent Holmes. Instead he comes off as non-talkative and moody. Then we have Smithback, the annoying - yes, really annoying - journalist who will stop at nothing to get the story (stop me if you've heard this one), and ends up getting himself in trouble. He left me wondering why Nora was dating him and wishing he could have died in some fantastically gory way. That leaves the brooding Irish cop, O'Shaughnessy, who was a walking cliche with his annoyed-at-everything attitude and bad boy past. He was actually my favorite character.
I won't go too much into the plot, it's pretty straight forward. A lot of bodies are found at a construction site to a new building. They turn out to be the work of a killer almost 100 years ago and are almost forgotten when suddenly the killings start up again. The idiot police captain is being pressured by the mayor and the building contractor (who, of course, donates a lot of money to various causes that affect key players) to get these murders solved quickly. While the police force stumbles around with loose ends, the four main characters I described earlier come together to start piecing together clues and eventually solving the mystery.
I found nothing exciting or interesting about this book. Some mysteries do well in following the standard type mystery plot, but this one fell short. There were some truly disgusting scenes coupled with some suspenseful moments that made me feel like I was reading a horror at times, but those were few and far between. When I finally found out who the killer was, I discovered that not only had I not even been trying to guess who it was (I do this in all good mysteries), but also, that I just didn't care. I wanted this 600 page book with some excitement in the last 100 pages to finally end.
In my husband's, and Preston's and Child's defense, this was not the first book of the series. My husband and I often share similar tastes in mystery and he had read several of these and wanted me to try one. He realizes now, that maybe he should have picked a different one. Although you don't have to read them in order, there might have been some more build-up or explanations of characters, such as the initial chemistry between Nora and Smithback in earlier books that might have made it more enjoyable for me. In any case, this review is getting too long for a book I really didn't enjoy. The best thing about it were two things. First, the last 100 pages held all the excitement for me. And second, the book is centered around these people from 100 years ago that used to have these things called "Cabinets of Curiosities". Back before T.V. or the internet, these places where museum-like buildings that held strange and unusual things that were very popular for people from all classes. It was the entertainment of the age. The descriptions and history behind these and some of the things they contained, as well as their strange collectors, were the most interesting part of the book. For that, I give it a little credit.
March 29, 2019
This book will shortly receive a welcome re-read as I found a hardcover version, review to follow of course.
And while this is the third Pendergast book it also stars Nora Kelly who will star in a new book coming August written by Messieurs Douglas & Child. So that is two books looking forward to this year, including the new Pendergast which seems to come out like clockwork and the latest one proved that the series was still going strong.
This book is certainly one of the more Gothic tales told in the Pendergast series, it is grounded in "the cabinets of Curiosities" which were places people in the 19th century went to see the worlds amazing natural treasures, albeit that some were false but spectacular nonetheless. They contained oddities and rare examples of our natural history. It was in this surrounding were one Enoch Lang decided to start looking for an extension on his life. In his quest he did some horrible things.
When a modern company is planning some new buildings and they are preparing the land for the build they find by accident an hidden tunnel were bodies have been stashed and they bodies prompt our modern day Sherlock Holmes one FBI agent called Pendergast to show up and look into their importance. It is here that he Askes Nora Kelly to look into the archaeological importance of the remains. They are promptly shut down by the cooperation and the city whose interest does not lie in an investigation of a century old mass murder.
The investigation will still continue and once again a major part is being played by the New York metropolitan museum, that also played a major role in the previous two books starring Pendergast. It seems that a killer has taken up the role left by his ancient predecessor and is killing again. This time in the modern media he has got a name: the Surgeon.
While Pendergast, Kelly and journalist Smithback do get closer to the truth the solution lies again in another mansion containing a cabinet of Curiosities and some gothic roots that could in essence destroy the world, an elixer that could extend life or destroy the world as we know it. This is what the killer is searching for.
This is a real gothic novel of dark secrets hidden in a museum and mansion that will also be another insight in the history of Pendergast and his family. A really great read and a fantastic tale that founded the series with Pendergast. This series cannot be given to much credit as it deserves so much more and is so much fun to read and reread. Hence my search for the hardcover editions of the books whom I originally had bought in paperback.
An absolute positive advise for new readers to pick up this series and read them from beginning to end. You'll have plenty of fun and learn something about America as well as most books do contain great information about the Americas which should not be such a big surprise when you look into the writers background.
And while this is the third Pendergast book it also stars Nora Kelly who will star in a new book coming August written by Messieurs Douglas & Child. So that is two books looking forward to this year, including the new Pendergast which seems to come out like clockwork and the latest one proved that the series was still going strong.
This book is certainly one of the more Gothic tales told in the Pendergast series, it is grounded in "the cabinets of Curiosities" which were places people in the 19th century went to see the worlds amazing natural treasures, albeit that some were false but spectacular nonetheless. They contained oddities and rare examples of our natural history. It was in this surrounding were one Enoch Lang decided to start looking for an extension on his life. In his quest he did some horrible things.
When a modern company is planning some new buildings and they are preparing the land for the build they find by accident an hidden tunnel were bodies have been stashed and they bodies prompt our modern day Sherlock Holmes one FBI agent called Pendergast to show up and look into their importance. It is here that he Askes Nora Kelly to look into the archaeological importance of the remains. They are promptly shut down by the cooperation and the city whose interest does not lie in an investigation of a century old mass murder.
The investigation will still continue and once again a major part is being played by the New York metropolitan museum, that also played a major role in the previous two books starring Pendergast. It seems that a killer has taken up the role left by his ancient predecessor and is killing again. This time in the modern media he has got a name: the Surgeon.
While Pendergast, Kelly and journalist Smithback do get closer to the truth the solution lies again in another mansion containing a cabinet of Curiosities and some gothic roots that could in essence destroy the world, an elixer that could extend life or destroy the world as we know it. This is what the killer is searching for.
This is a real gothic novel of dark secrets hidden in a museum and mansion that will also be another insight in the history of Pendergast and his family. A really great read and a fantastic tale that founded the series with Pendergast. This series cannot be given to much credit as it deserves so much more and is so much fun to read and reread. Hence my search for the hardcover editions of the books whom I originally had bought in paperback.
An absolute positive advise for new readers to pick up this series and read them from beginning to end. You'll have plenty of fun and learn something about America as well as most books do contain great information about the Americas which should not be such a big surprise when you look into the writers background.
August 22, 2017
The only thing I'm left feeling curious about is what took me so long to read this book, and the other Preston/Child's books?! This is a great mystery that includes tons of action, twists/turns and great horror moments. Special Agent Pendergast is such a fun, mysterious and always interesting character. I enjoyed getting more of his background in this installment. Thanks to Ginger and Matthew for the fun buddy read!
March 14, 2024
‘The Cabinet of Curiosities’ by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is the third novel in the, to me, bonkers pseudo-science thriller series featuring FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast. I LOVED it! However, I felt it did not reach the usual Mount Everest heights of pulp horror as the previous two novels. The authors appeared to tone down the bloody terror slightly, very slightly, as a sacrifice (sacrifices being something of a go-to plot device for these authors) to their changing their usual over-the-top monster mayhem story for this book. ‘The Cabinet of Curiosities’ fits in more of the usual expected elements of a detective story.
I have copied the book blurb:
”In one of NPR's 100 Best Thrillers Ever, FBI agent Pendergast discovers thirty-six murdered bodies in a New York City charnel house . . . and now, more than a century later, a killer strikes again.
In an ancient tunnel underneath New York City a charnel house is discovered.
Inside are thirty-six bodies--all murdered and mutilated more than a century ago.
While FBI agent Pendergast investigates the old crimes, identical killings start to terrorize the city.
The nightmare has begun.”
The character of Pendergast has been surprisingly more of a supporting one in the previous novels, but not so much in ‘The Cabinet of Curiosities’. Readers finally learn about who he is in this book, and more importantly, why he is so peculiarly knowledgeable about the occult! Hint: it runs in the family.
Readers should begin with book one, Relic. Actually, it isn’t absolutely necessary to begin with ‘Relic’ in keeping up with continuing series developments so far in this particular novel, but the series is really fun! You’ll be missing out on a lot of pure traditional horror silliness which has been elevated into a higher class of pulp novel. One caveat: do not get too attached to any character! Survival is not a given.
I have copied the book blurb:
”In one of NPR's 100 Best Thrillers Ever, FBI agent Pendergast discovers thirty-six murdered bodies in a New York City charnel house . . . and now, more than a century later, a killer strikes again.
In an ancient tunnel underneath New York City a charnel house is discovered.
Inside are thirty-six bodies--all murdered and mutilated more than a century ago.
While FBI agent Pendergast investigates the old crimes, identical killings start to terrorize the city.
The nightmare has begun.”
The character of Pendergast has been surprisingly more of a supporting one in the previous novels, but not so much in ‘The Cabinet of Curiosities’. Readers finally learn about who he is in this book, and more importantly, why he is so peculiarly knowledgeable about the occult! Hint: it runs in the family.
Readers should begin with book one, Relic. Actually, it isn’t absolutely necessary to begin with ‘Relic’ in keeping up with continuing series developments so far in this particular novel, but the series is really fun! You’ll be missing out on a lot of pure traditional horror silliness which has been elevated into a higher class of pulp novel. One caveat: do not get too attached to any character! Survival is not a given.
![Profile Image for Terence M [Quot libros, quam breve tempus!].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1712357414i%2F6658001._UY200_CR4%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
March 14, 2019
12/03/2019 - Finished - Review to come
3.5 Stars - “I liked it 😎”
Recommended by Adrienne - thank you!
Audiobook - 17:04 hours - Narrator: Jonathan Marosz. This novel deserved more than an "I liked it" 3Stars but was not quite up to the standard of an "I really liked it" 4Stars.
Quite a long but interesting plot/storyline that was well-written and held my interest for most of the 17 hours of very good narration by Jonathan Marocz. Some significant suspension of belief was required which is not surprising for this genre (sub-genre?) of novels involving archaeological digging and the disclosing of many mysterious and 'spooky' revelations and the like. Dr Pendergast of the FBI (is he really?) was a character about whom we learnt very little, but I expect that will change in later publications. I look forward to my friend Adrienne's next recommendation in this series.
3.5 Stars - “I liked it 😎”
Recommended by Adrienne - thank you!
Audiobook - 17:04 hours - Narrator: Jonathan Marosz. This novel deserved more than an "I liked it" 3Stars but was not quite up to the standard of an "I really liked it" 4Stars.
Quite a long but interesting plot/storyline that was well-written and held my interest for most of the 17 hours of very good narration by Jonathan Marocz. Some significant suspension of belief was required which is not surprising for this genre (sub-genre?) of novels involving archaeological digging and the disclosing of many mysterious and 'spooky' revelations and the like. Dr Pendergast of the FBI (is he really?) was a character about whom we learnt very little, but I expect that will change in later publications. I look forward to my friend Adrienne's next recommendation in this series.
December 3, 2018
Audiobook # 218
I've read every book in the Pendergast series, but I thought I'd give the audiobooks a whirl so I can listen to them at work. I recommend every single one of them. He is my favorite detective.
I've read every book in the Pendergast series, but I thought I'd give the audiobooks a whirl so I can listen to them at work. I recommend every single one of them. He is my favorite detective.
April 2, 2020
Such a well written, edge of your seat, thriller. A hidden grave, an archaeologist; and an FBI agent whom seems to have mysterious ways. This book in some ways reminded me of Sherlock Holmes! Page turner for sure.
October 22, 2020
Pues me ha encantado. De los tres que llevo leídos este es el mejor. Necesito más de Pendergast!!!
July 10, 2019
Tercera entrega de esta saga policiaca con toques sobrenaturales. Después de que los dos primeros libros formasen una bilogía, en esta ocasión estamos ante un libro autoconclusivo (pero que hay que leer respetando el orden de la saga). "Los asesinatos de Manhattan" comienza cuando, mientras se realizan unas obras de derribo para construir un edificio, son descubiertos en el sótano de la anterior edificación treinta y seis cadáveres mutilados en el siglo XIX con unas características muy especiales. Cuando la noticia se hace pública gracias al periodista Bill Smithback, a quien ya conocemos de libros anteriores, el caso se complica, pues comienzan a sucederse en el presente réplicas de estos crímenes tan antiguos. El agente Pendergast del FBI, que ya se había interesado por el hallazgo del XIX, contará con la ayuda de la arqueóloga Nora Kelly (un personaje nuevo), para ir enlazando pasado y presente e intentar así resolver el misterio.
En lo que llevo leído de la saga del agente Pendergast he podido comprobar que son libros muy adictivos, que empiezan muy directos y enganchan desde la primera página. Son libros ligeros, de capítulos cortos y, a pesar de que son tirando a largos, da la sensación de que se leen solos. Estoy segura de que de haber tenido más tiempo para leer, habría acabado con "Los asesinatos de Manhattan" en tres días. El libro se divide en nueve partes y la última en concreto es de lo más trepidante; me da mucha rabia que por esa falta de tiempo no haya podido leer el final del tirón y tuviera que ir dosificándolo, porque es digno de no soltarse hasta acabar.
Algo que me gusta mucho de esta saga es la ambientación. Se ubica (de momento) en la ciudad de Nueva York, lugar que me encanta y que conozco bien. Verlo reflejado en estos libros es una gozada, es como volver a estar allí. En este libro se nos dan más datos sobre el Museo de Historia Natural y también se realiza una aproximación a algunos barrios desfavorecidos, pero el hecho de que se hable del Nueva York del XIX lo hace doblemente interesante, porque podemos ser testigos de cómo ha cambiado la vida y la ciudad desde entonces. Algunos capítulos, además, parecen un cuento de Poe o de Lovecraft.
También me resulta muy interesante la figura del propio agente Pendergast, del que se sabe muy poco, pero en cada libro se descubre un poquito más de su pasado. Es un señor muy peculiar y enigmático y hasta tiene su propio palacio mental, como Sherlock Holmes.
Lo he pasado pipa leyendo este libro y, aunque hay algún detalle de la resolución del caso que no me acaba de convencer, el disfrute ha hecho de esta lectura una muy buena experiencia. Además, lo he leído de forma conjunta con Silvia y Arlenne y hacer teorías locas en grupo con novelas policiacas es de lo mejor. 4,5.
En lo que llevo leído de la saga del agente Pendergast he podido comprobar que son libros muy adictivos, que empiezan muy directos y enganchan desde la primera página. Son libros ligeros, de capítulos cortos y, a pesar de que son tirando a largos, da la sensación de que se leen solos. Estoy segura de que de haber tenido más tiempo para leer, habría acabado con "Los asesinatos de Manhattan" en tres días. El libro se divide en nueve partes y la última en concreto es de lo más trepidante; me da mucha rabia que por esa falta de tiempo no haya podido leer el final del tirón y tuviera que ir dosificándolo, porque es digno de no soltarse hasta acabar.
Algo que me gusta mucho de esta saga es la ambientación. Se ubica (de momento) en la ciudad de Nueva York, lugar que me encanta y que conozco bien. Verlo reflejado en estos libros es una gozada, es como volver a estar allí. En este libro se nos dan más datos sobre el Museo de Historia Natural y también se realiza una aproximación a algunos barrios desfavorecidos, pero el hecho de que se hable del Nueva York del XIX lo hace doblemente interesante, porque podemos ser testigos de cómo ha cambiado la vida y la ciudad desde entonces. Algunos capítulos, además, parecen un cuento de Poe o de Lovecraft.
También me resulta muy interesante la figura del propio agente Pendergast, del que se sabe muy poco, pero en cada libro se descubre un poquito más de su pasado. Es un señor muy peculiar y enigmático y hasta tiene su propio palacio mental, como Sherlock Holmes.
Lo he pasado pipa leyendo este libro y, aunque hay algún detalle de la resolución del caso que no me acaba de convencer, el disfrute ha hecho de esta lectura una muy buena experiencia. Además, lo he leído de forma conjunta con Silvia y Arlenne y hacer teorías locas en grupo con novelas policiacas es de lo mejor. 4,5.
August 14, 2012
In my opinion, this is the best of the Pendergast series. One of my top ten favorite books, I think!
June 4, 2017
One of the most creepiest books that i might have happened to have read in a long time.
I am a little scared still ©.©
I am a little scared still ©.©
June 28, 2011
***please note: serious spoilers in this review***
This book started out in an interesting fashion, but a lot didn't make sense. For example, 1) I never understood what Nora found attractive in Smithback, he seemed like a fop and a simp. Maybe she wants to get a divorce in a later book in the series. 2) I never saw why Pendergast chose Nora. 3) Very dumb epiphanies - the final room to room walkthrough with the insects, then the lizards, then the clothing, then finally the armor - somehow help the mad scientist who uses these things to help him achieve his lifelong goal of - wait for it - devising the ultimate poison. Wait a minute - what? I read this part twice just to make sure I wasn't missing something. The ultimate poison? That's worth becoming a serial killer who tortures his prey so he can extend his life by several hundred years? To accomplish this? Huh?
Even worse, there was a much better answer: Mad scientist guy should have been developing a way to generate life from a chemical soup and then speed evolution in order to shape a new series of life forms to suit his desires. Hey we've already got a guy that has lived an extra hundred years, and could have lived two hundred extra years. We've got a guy that can time travel in his head. So why not have a mad scientist who can create and shape life itself? That would have made him like a god. But no, these authors decided that the ultimate poison (which they never even bothered to explain) was the reason. And I wonder if they had intended something like the scenario I described above, but changed it to the ultimate poison because talk of evolution is taboo and perhaps people are too dumb to understand something as complicated as spontaneous generation.
I also hate dumb secret family revelations, you know the ones: "He is my father!" "He is my half-brother!" "She is my grandmother!" and in this one, it was "He is my uncle!" I knock off a star whenever a writer pulls that dumb stunt.
I got through the book so I originally gave it two stars, though I had to remove one. There were some good parts. These guys are, without a doubt, creative, but I fear they are equally lazy. It felt like they suddenly realized that they had written the requisite 350 pages and then called, "Quittin' time! It's quittin' time! Clean up the kitchen, whatcha got Linc, ultimate poison, Douggie, done, type it up and let's get outa here, cause it's quittin' time!"
This book started out in an interesting fashion, but a lot didn't make sense. For example, 1) I never understood what Nora found attractive in Smithback, he seemed like a fop and a simp. Maybe she wants to get a divorce in a later book in the series. 2) I never saw why Pendergast chose Nora. 3) Very dumb epiphanies - the final room to room walkthrough with the insects, then the lizards, then the clothing, then finally the armor - somehow help the mad scientist who uses these things to help him achieve his lifelong goal of - wait for it - devising the ultimate poison. Wait a minute - what? I read this part twice just to make sure I wasn't missing something. The ultimate poison? That's worth becoming a serial killer who tortures his prey so he can extend his life by several hundred years? To accomplish this? Huh?
Even worse, there was a much better answer: Mad scientist guy should have been developing a way to generate life from a chemical soup and then speed evolution in order to shape a new series of life forms to suit his desires. Hey we've already got a guy that has lived an extra hundred years, and could have lived two hundred extra years. We've got a guy that can time travel in his head. So why not have a mad scientist who can create and shape life itself? That would have made him like a god. But no, these authors decided that the ultimate poison (which they never even bothered to explain) was the reason. And I wonder if they had intended something like the scenario I described above, but changed it to the ultimate poison because talk of evolution is taboo and perhaps people are too dumb to understand something as complicated as spontaneous generation.
I also hate dumb secret family revelations, you know the ones: "He is my father!" "He is my half-brother!" "She is my grandmother!" and in this one, it was "He is my uncle!" I knock off a star whenever a writer pulls that dumb stunt.
I got through the book so I originally gave it two stars, though I had to remove one. There were some good parts. These guys are, without a doubt, creative, but I fear they are equally lazy. It felt like they suddenly realized that they had written the requisite 350 pages and then called, "Quittin' time! It's quittin' time! Clean up the kitchen, whatcha got Linc, ultimate poison, Douggie, done, type it up and let's get outa here, cause it's quittin' time!"
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