The Book of the Dead

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 464 pages
• Published by: Grand Central Publishing May 30, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0446576980
• ASIN: B0017ZG8JE
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
Bestsellers Preston and Child have come up with another gripping, action-packed page-turner in this concluding volume to a trilogy pitting their Holmesian hero, FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast, against his Mycroft-turned-Moriarty—his younger brother, Diogenes. Picking up shortly after the events of 2005's Dance of Death, the book opens with the arrival of a package of fine dust at the Museum of Natural History; Diogenes has returned the diamonds he stole earlier. Meanwhile, Aloysius is in prison, having been framed for a number of murders. As his friends plot to spring him, his adversary lays the groundwork for a crowning criminal achievement. A mysterious benefactor funds the restoration of an ancient Egyptian tomb at the museum, but the work is beset by the mayhem Preston and Child's readers have come to expect—gory murders and suggestions of the supernatural. This entry, tying up many loose ends from its predecessors, is less likely to work as well for first-time readers, but followers of Aloysius Pendergast's previous exploits will find it a satisfying read with a tantalizing, ominous twist at the end. 10-city author tour. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From AudioFile
The third in a trilogy, this title picks up in the middle of the story. Set, in part, in the American Museum of Natural History, where the tomb of Senef is reopened after seventy years, the story involves a villain named Diogenes, who plots murder and mayhem to destroy New York City society while Aloysius, his FBI agent brother, seeks to thwart him. Rene Auberjonois's melodramatic narration fits the convoluted plots perfectly. Both the abridgment and the lack of prologue bringing new listeners up to speed make the plot difficult to follow. However, the dramatic music adds tension to Auberjonois's enthusiastic reading. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Book of the Dead (Hardcover) Preston and Child are so much more than the sum of their individual parts when they collaborate. This is so evident yet again in Book of the Dead. This novel finishes with a bang what is an informal trilogy revolving around Aloysius Pendergast and his brother Diogenes. This trilogy is populated with many of their previous characters and protagonists serving in supporting roles to the brothers, and is a very satisfying novel and a truly enjoyable read. How do I know this was a trilogy? One of the best things about this book is a brief two page note from the authors at the very end where they explain in which order to read their works and why. I have to give one warning though about what is otherwise a terrific book. I'm not a professional reviewer, as are the writers of the two reviews which have already appeared here, but I have to say I disagree with them that this can be truly appreciated as a stand alone novel. If you have not read any of the previous works then do yourself a tremendous favor and take the recommendation of both the authors and myself: go back and start with Relic and work your way forward from there. There is so much pleasurable reading you have missed and there is simply too much going on in this book which, without the knowledge of the previous stories, you will not fully appreciate. So, with that one warning, on to my verdict. I loved this book. It was everything I could hope for in a denouement and so much more. I, like so many others, have been waiting impatiently for a year for the answers and resolutions to the many apparently insoluble issues and problems created by the authors in their foregoing works. Finally, to my great relief, the book was released yesterday and with all apologies to Amazon, this was not a book I was willing to wait a day or longer for someone to deliver to me so I let myself off work early and went and bought a copy locally. I mentally steeled myself to be slightly disappointed because I simply could not see how the authors could convincingly solve the myriad of problems they had created previously. Yet, with a kernel of hope in my core, I started reading around 3 in the afternoon. I finished after midnight. Yes, as is typical of Preston and Child, this is one of those books that you will want to finish in one go and will find very hard to put down. I am happy to report that the authors, with grace, style, and panache, provided answers that are believable, convincing and reasonable and which resolve all the complex issues previously created. There was so much to like about this book! The Cain and Abel brothers (or Holmes and Moriarty if you prefer) have been locked in their dance of death for their entire lives. But what caused this to be? What is the unimaginably horrible crime that Diogenes is working feverishly to perpetrate? How can Aloysius escape from a maximum security federal penitentiary that has never suffered an escapee? And when will there finally be a point to Constance Green? All these loose ends are tied up for us finally in a deeply satusfying way. This novel delivers excitement, thrills, scares, mysteries, tension as fine as any you can read, and delivers them in sinfully addictive prose that drags you from one page to the next without remorse or relent. The best thing about the book is its relentless intelligence and the competence of the two siblilngs as they work to thwart and foil each other. The prison break was so intelligently crafted, the diabolical crime really was diabolical and also so personal it just dripped with hate, revenge, and misguided retribution. One final bit of praise. The authors finish the book with one of the most satisfying closing sentences I've ever read. It nailed the last niggling reservation I had and I unreservedly admire how they set me up for it, stringing out my reservation to the very last sentence of the very last page and then just crushing it. Do not skip forward to the last sentence. Restrain yourself, don't do it. You can't appreciate it fully unless you have been through the other novels and force yourself slowly through this one, but my hat is off to Preston and Child for crafting this enormously enjoyable conclusion that ties up all the loose ends and sets the stage for what may come yet in the future, Comments (3) | | (Report this)