Blue Labyrinth
Authors: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: November 11, 2014
Source: NetGalley
Book Description (from Goodreads):
Special Agent Pendergast-one of the most original, compelling characters in all of contemporary fiction-returns in Preston and Child’s new exhilarating novel
BLUE LABYRINTH
A long-buried family secret has come back to haunt Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast.
It begins with murder. One of Pendergast’s most implacable, most feared enemies is found on his doorstep, dead. Pendergast has no idea who is responsible for the killing, or why the body was brought to his home. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect crime, save for an enigmatic clue: a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased.
The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California’s Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his own family’s sinister past. But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family history: he is being stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. And he soon becomes caught in a wickedly clever plot, which leaves him stricken in mind and body, and propels him toward a reckoning beyond anything he could ever have imagined…
In a single word, WOW. I have been reading the Pendergast series for several years now and eagerly await each installment. I must admit the last few, (Cold Vengeance and Two Graves) while good, just didn’t engross me like Brimstone and the rest of the Diogenes trilogy. Things picked up with White Fire, but Blue Labyrinth…. well, it was the Pendergast book I had been waiting for.
We get to see some familiar faces, Vincent D’Agosta, Margo Green, and my favorite, Pendergast’s ward, Constance Greene. One of the best things about this book is that Constance is front and center in the action.
We get to see Pendergast in a new light, he is completely outwitted, and for the first time he has encountered a problem that he is unable to solve solely by himself. Seeing Pendergast vulnerable made me realize that while his skills are formidable, he is still only human. Sometimes we need to see our heroes brought low before we can truly appreciate them.
There is a lot of Pendergast history spread throughout this book, particularly about a long buried family secret. With each book we get snippets of what his family was like and Pendergast’s history is just as odd and mysterious as he is.
The pace is non stop with the chapters moving from character to character. Toward the end each chapter seemed to leave me on a mini cliffhanger and kept me turning page after page to find out what was happening to the characters. This is the 14th Pendergast book and the dynamic duo of Preston and Child still keep things fresh and exciting for their readers. I think Blue Labyrinth may have nudged The Cabinet of Curiosities out of the way as my favorite in the Pendergast series.
Blue Labyrinth goes on sale November 11, 2014 and is a must read for fans of the Pendergast series. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.
Stefan's Bookshelf 