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The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3 By Douglas PrestonLincoln Child ( Grand Central Publishing )
Release Date: 2003-06-01
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $7.99
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Product Description
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. Again.
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 A creepy, intelligent thriller.
When Dr. Nora Kelly of the New York Museum of Natural History is called into a meeting with her boss, she expects to be able to convince him to give her more money to fund her current archaeological project. Instead she is given the devastating news that her funding is being cut. And when she leaves, she has the dubious pleasure of running into Special Agent Pendergast waiting for her in her office. He quickly drags her off, claiming to need her expert opinion. He brings her to a construction sight which has managed to uncover a century old charnel house. Almost as soon as they arrive, they are removed from the sight in an obvious attempt to cover up the importance of the discovery. And almost as quickly, the site is demolished. Now, Nora, Agent Pendergast, and reporter Bill Smithback must try to discover not only the importance of the site and the reason everyone is so eager to cover it up. Only they have no evidence from the site to look over, and eerily similar killings have been begun all over the city. With the whole of New York gripped in panic, the group is running out of places to turn. How could killings from over a century ago be occurring today, when there should be no one around to know the details?
This is the exact creepy, sci-fi material the Pendergast novels are made of, and it is just as good as it's predecessors. A perfect mix of frightening moments, strange science, and interesting historical tidbits, this is a genuine winner.
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 Don't bother
I figured out who did it the moment the character was introduced. It was also too long. Save your money.
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A worthy, captivating, thrilling ride and read. ( mar1an1 )
This is the best book from the duo author that I've read thus far (again, I don't read in order of the published date). It kept me captivated, interested and in tune for the duration of the read and beyond. The air of mystery by was perfectly described through the ornate details. This book dwelled further into Pendergast's life and his family.
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 Entertaining, but characters are a little flat and ending is a bit of a let down
This is the fourth Agent Pendergast novel I've read and the second best so far. I enjoy the genre blending element of these novels and find Pendergast to be an interesting character. The premise of the novel is intriguing and the suspense, for the most part, builds well.
In the four novels I've read, including Cabinet of Curiosities, Preston and Childs come close, but don't quite realize the full potential of this series. I enjoyed Cabinet of Curiosities but I have a few relatively minor complaints as well.
1. The characterization is a little weak: The Police Captain is a cliché. While a stupid man might arguably rise to that rank in the NYPD, I find it hard to imagine that anyone could rise to the rank of Captain without being at least a little savvy when it comes to the politics of the Department and City. The scenes where he blunders and blusters into the investigation grated a little on me because I could never believe they were real. The weak characterizations extend beyond just the police captain. I found almost all of the characters a little thin. Pendergast himself is made a little too superhuman in this novel, both mentally and physically, which strained credibility a little for me.
2. The novel is a little padded: It's probably 50 or so pages longer than it needed to be and the diversions tend to bog the novel down.
3. The ending is a bit of a let down: The killer's experiments in the 1800's and early 1900's were, as we come to learn, an ends to a means. When the mystery of this larger purpose is revealed, it's a little unwhellming and a bit of a let down.
Despite my minor complaints, this is still a very entertaining novel. Not exactly a `home run', but a solid page turner none-the-less. The blending of history, science, the supernatural, and crime makes for an entertaining mix. My complaints about the ending and the bloated writing are consistent to all of the Pendergast novels I've read so far. Where this novel falls a little short of my favorite Pendergast novel, Still Life With Crows, is the characterization. The secondary characters in Still Life were much richer and more fully realized.
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In truth it's Horror!
This is my favorite Agent Pendegrast novel.
The plot was very similar to an old NightStaker episode that feature a feidn who stalked Seattle in search of spinal fluid to gant him eternal life.
I'm happy that Preston has made the cross-over to thrillers, but in truth the novels like Relic are horror novels with a heavy dose of mystery and splash of police procedural added to make them more board in their market demographics I guess.
It's solid thrills all the way, even if a little over the top at times.
The Fury and the Power (Fury and the Terror) If you want to read the novel that was the mother of all terror thrillers with spies and conspiracies check out John Farris's work.
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