Brimstone (Pendergast Book 5)

This is one of the most interesting Pendergraft grass, starting with a couple of really unique murders. The story leads on to a devilish ending.

In this book Agent Pendergast has some truly unique crimes to solve. It seems there has been a death where a man was completely burned up inside his home, burned by a heat estimated to have needed to be thousands of degrees to reduce the body to ash. Even stranger, the furniture the man is on, the walls in the room, nothing is damaged by fire. The only clues a hoof print burnt into the wooden floor and the smell of brimstone in the air. Then a second murder happens, eerily similar to the first, and Pendergast is once again trying to solve what seems an unsolvable crime.

Here we have another great entry into the Pendergast series. This one sees Pendergast investigating a bizarre series of murders that have devil like trappings - fire, sulfur, and hoofprints burned into the floor. Hooked me in immediately!This novel reintroduces Vincent D'Agosta who has been missing for a couple of books now, and Laura Hayward, who we met back in the second book Reliquary, when she was a lowly transit cop. They bring some welcome depth to the story, and I like the connection between them. It's especially interesting seeing the role reversal from their last encounter - now Hayward is high up on the command chain, while D'Agosta has been busted down to a lowly Southampton Sargent position. This book also introduces us to the existence of Pendergast's brother, the evil Diogenes and sets things up for his story arc in later novels.A really fun read, but this is the first in the series where I do feel the need to point out a couple of flaws. No spoilers here, but firstly there's a large subplot featuring a criminal turned preacher in New York that really feels out of place. It seems to exist solely to hammer home the point that Hayward is smarter, tougher, and better in a tight situation then all the other cops, especially the male ones. If you did read Reliquary, it's the exact same thing. Hayward suggests a plan, it's shot down, the alternative plan fails horribly and Hayward saves the day. Nothing else really comes out of it, so it feels like 100 pages of filler. Would have much preferred to see her working with Pendergast and D'Agosta on the devil killings case.My biggest complaint is that for the first time in this series, the authors throw a cliffhanger in at the end of the novel (There was a small one at the end of Relic, but it wasn't this serious) . The beauty of this series up until now is that they were all truly stand alones - you could pick up any of the first few books and be guaranteed a full story. Not here. It's a very ambiguous ending which leaves you having to buy the next one to find out what happened to Pendergast. Annoying! I hope this doesn't become a regular thing.Anyway still a very entertaining read, but not up to the standard of the previous novels, especially Cabinet of Curiosities.

After a somewhat disappointing "Still Life with Crows" I approached "Brimstone" with a bit of trepidation. I was worried that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child may have lost their knack for coming up with original plots in a genre that trends towards the mediocre. Moreover, I was afraid that they had wrung all they could out of their signature character, Special Agent Pendergast, leaving him a rather boring cliché. Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth as "Brimstone" is their strongest novel since "The Ice Limit". Infused with a darker edge, and a palpable spirit of malevolence, that is quite successfully maintained throughout the numerous plot twists, "Brimstone" is a genuinely superb thriller.As I mentioned above, "Brimstone" once again finds Pendergast investigating a murder that seems tied to the occult. Specifically, he is investigating the bizarre death of art critic Jeremy Grove, who has been found burned to death in a room untouched by fire. Adding to the mystery is the overpowering stench of sulfur and what appears to be a cloven hoof burned into the floor. To assist in his investigation, Pendergast calls upon Vincent D'Agosta, previously seen in "Relic" and "Reliquary", who has been languishing in the Southampton Police Department after an abortive turn as a novelist. As more victims fall prey to the seemingly demonic killer, and as the public begins to see the murders as Scripture fulfilled, the two investigators race against the clock to solve Preston and Child's most puzzling mystery yet.That stated, what makes "Brimstone" so successful is that Preston and Child manage to weave in a much larger set of plot lines, characters and settings than usual. Whereas in "Still Life with Crows" the question of Pendergast's ward, Constance, was blatantly tacked on in a form of in novel advertising, in "Brimstone" she actually has a role to play and fits much better within the structure of the book. Likewise, even though the supernatural thriller element is always paramount, the authors are quite successful in blending in elements of espionage, international assassins and history, the result of which is perhaps their richest, most complex novel to date. Finally, a significant portion of the action takes place overseas, which creates an intriguing dichotomy of Pendergast being more in his element culturally, but significantly weakened for not being on his home turf.Furthermore, Lincoln and Child gleefully (but entirely respectfully) draw upon their literary heroes such as Poe and Lovecraft. The result is a novel that has much of the style and menace of these two authors, while incorporating the genuinely fresh take that one expects from these two authors. As such, I can wholeheartedly endorse "Brimstone" as a superb return to form for Preston and Child. It is perhaps their darkest novel to date, and infuses the character of Pendergast with new life, and more importantly, new mysteries. For loyal readers, some questions will be resolved, but far more will be left unanswered, as what one might call the "Pendergast Mythos" continues to evolve. "Brimstone" has vaulted to the top of my list for Preston and Child novels (just below the trinity of "Relic", "Riptide" and "Thunderhead") and is by far the best Pendergast novel since "Relic". A real treat for the upcoming fall season, and especially Halloween, don't pass this one by.Jake Mohlman

One of the best of the series. Looking forward to another one. This one is again a must read. Enjoy

Pendergast is like a 21st Century version of Sherlock Holmes. Just as excentric, a billion times more wealthy, has a lot more forensic devices at his fingertips, works for the FBI and swallowed a similar number of dictionaries. You will learn a LOT of long-lost words from the English language so keep your Kindle dictionary up to date (or your paper Dictionary nearby). Really good reads without too much blood and gore. Some amazingly twisted plots of a style Sherlock Holmes would have been glad to be involved in. The books in this series stand alone OK, but are definitely better read in order as some of the characters and locations move in and out of each book. Thoroughly recommend if you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes.

This is the fifth book in the FBI agent pandergast series by the author duo which has a good plot for the story and the thrill was nonstop therefore it was hard to put the book down. I will recommend this book to the fans of the author and the thriller lovers.

love the plots

Another great book in this series. Some old characters return from the earlier books and a lot of the book is set in Italy in pursuit of the 'devil'. Never a dull moment.