13. & 14. Dance of Death; The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Disclaimer: This review covers the second and third installments of the "Diogenes Trilogy," and as such, I will talk about how book one, Brimstone, ended.

Avast, ye reader. Beyond, thar be (slight) spoilers.

When we last saw our intrepid special agent, Aloysius Pendergast, he was dead (to the world at large) after being buried/bricked-in alive. We the readers knew he had survived, and for a fell purpose. His brother, Diogenes, a madman (make sure to make the mustache-twirling motion), had special, sinister plans for him. In fact, it was So ended Brimstone.

With that volume's infernal mystery wrapped up, and the supernatural wholly discounted, it's time to switch gears to the largely unrelated two-part Diogenese story. Seriously, starting the second book several years after I read the first, I could not help but wonder how they got away with considering this a trilogy. I guess it's because it isn't, in fact, but more a standalone book that ends with a loose prologue for the duology that follows.

Dance of Death keeps our cast of characters largely in tact, especially after the miraculous and totally not unanticipated return of Pendergast, while adding a few familiar faces in from previous Preston/Child joints. Lt. D'Agosta and Pendergast ward Constance carry the A-story, stopping Pendergast's villainous brother Diogenes before he can enact his nefarious plan (again, twirl that invisible mustache). It's all very high-stakes. We have a few B-stories, dealing with reporter Smithback, returning curator Margot Green, Laura Hayward and Nora Kelly (from Thunderhead; I had to look her up when it became obvious that she had a published backstory).

To go into the minutiae of the these side jaunts doesn't really matter too much, and, to tell the truth, this volume showed itself as only part of a story. Yes, I read it at a decent clip and it made me snag the next and closing installment of the story from the shelf right after I finished...but that was the plan anyway - to read these back-to-back. It piqued my interest enough to continue, and did end on a humdinger of a cliffhanger...

...the fallout of which made for a spectacular final installment (in the sense that it was an amazing spectacle, and a generally satisfying box of requisite twists and plot inversions). The Book of the Dead made it all interesting again, and the true nature of Diogenes' plot, involving the Museum of Natural History, was pulpy goodness. Curse of the Tomb! I love a good Egyptian exhibit even without threats from beyond. We are also treated to cataclysmic climaxes of the two major storylines (and a mid-story feat by Pendergast that we never doubted he could pull off).

Pendergast, somewhat tied up and off the playing field for part of this book, nonetheless is felt on every page. Earlier Preston/Child Pendergast thrillers gave us a unique protagonist, but this sequence of books delivered by slapping some meat on the good agent's thin motivations and backstory. You can have a cool-for-the-sake-of-cool character as a one-off, but it's hard to push through with a series when you don't answer all the questions - and add more to boot.

This is a closing chapter on part of Pendergast's life. His career and adventures continue (in...five books since then? Something like that), but he's no longer the cipher first presented in The Relic, or just another Sherlock Holmes pastiche, this time with some Southern Gothic for flair.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned much about the plots. Here's what the jacket said about Dance of Death:

Two brothers.
One a top FBI agent.
The other a brilliant, twisted criminal.
An undying hatred between them.
Now, a perfect crime.
And the ultimate challenge:
Stop me if you can...

That's the story of both books, in a nutshell. The mechanics, the puzzle box mysteries, side stories that provide small tidbits that illuminate the dramatic portion of the plot at that exact right moment - you've read these book before, seen these movies. It's formulaic, but not in a bad way. These two writers have something special going on, and though they padded this above "ultimate challenge" enough to make it two books, I can't fault them on their command and craft.

Dance of Death - 3.5/5
The Book of the Dead - 4/5

Overall "Diogenes" Trilogy - let's just say "recommended" for mystery/suspense fans and "required" for Preston/Child groupies

-EMH