My opinion seems to be a bit of an outlier here. I listened to the audiobook version of "The Cabinet of Curiosities" and genuinely enjoyed the narrator's performance. The story really grabbed me and held my attention until about halfway through the 16-hour listen. After that, I felt like Douglas Preston was getting bogged down in unnecessary details that didn't really advance the plot. Honestly, "The Cabinet of Curiosities" could have been trimmed by about four hours without losing any of its im...

"The Cabinet of Curiosities" is the third book in the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It also serves as a prequel and introduction to a new spin-off series featuring Nora Kelly. Having read the first two books they collaborated on, I can confidently say this one is my favorite. Honestly, it was fantastic! It ticked all the boxes for a memorable thriller, incorporating historical NYC elements and prompting reflections on the meaning of life. I also gained insights into hum...

I'm reading this series out of order. I think the first Preston and Child book I ever read was Blue Labyrinth back in 2014, and I was immediately blown away by the unique characters and stories. I've been hooked ever since!I love all their books, but The Cabinet of Curiosities just completely blows me away. I absolutely love it! It's so mysterious, and honestly, pretty horrifying. I'm really glad I finally read The Cabinet of Curiosities because it gives you so much background on the Pendergast ...

"There, impaled on the horns of the triceratops, hung a body, naked from the waist up, arms and legs hanging loose. Three bloody horns stuck right through the man’s back. It looked as if the triceratops had gored the person, hoisting him into the air.”The investigation into the mystery begins with the finding of 36 dismembered bodies under a construction site, but the mystery itself dates back 130 years ago. One of the bodies has a note sewn into her dress with her name and address written in he...

Awesome, mind-boggling, and exciting mystery/thriller, featuring the perfectly eccentric and dapper FBI special agent A.X.L. J. Pendergast. Seriously, this book is a page-turner!Spoilers will absolutely ruin this type of novel for future readers, but I will say that the big reveal of the villain's identity and his rationale for his cold, horrific serial killing crime spree was totally unexpected and shocking. The fact that the homicides span decades was perhaps the biggest shocker, because I was...

4.5 stars.After three books, Agent Pendergast might have actually convinced me to call thrillers one of my favorite genres. As a side note, I was told to read *Thunderhead*, another standalone title by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, before diving into *The Cabinet of Curiosities*. This was great advice because a key new character in this third installment, Nora Kelly, an archaeologist working towards tenure at the Museum of Natural History in New York, was the main protagonist in that earlie...

5 seriously creepy, terrifying stars!Thanks, Terry, for the heads-up on this one. Really enjoying this shared descent into Pendergast's horror-filled world. 😱😃Right, so where do we even begin? Oh yeah, that's right – New York City, in an ancient tunnel packed with 36 corpses! So, where did these bodies come from and why are they down there? Excellent question, and you're about to find out.FBI agent Aloysius X.L. Pendergast (wow, what a mouthful!) decides to investigate the tunnel of dead bodie...

For some reason, I've been comparing the Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Child to food (see, for example, here and here). I might have a tapeworm. Anyway, sticking with that theme, let's call *The Cabinet of Curiosities* a pumpkin spice latte. On a crisp late October day, with the leaves a blaze of orange, red, and yellow, few things beat sitting outside sipping a pumpkin spice latte while enjoying the colors (good company or a good book could make it even better, of course). The weath...

This book was absolutely fantastic! The Pendergast series has been consistently awesome, and The Cabinet of Curiosities is no exception. The research is impeccable. The plot twists and turns keep you guessing. The suspense is killer. There's plenty of gore for those who like it. The bad guys are diabolically evil. The situations are perilous. And the last-minute salvations are just perfect. I'm so thrilled that Douglas Preston's series still has so many more books because I seriously don't want ...

Alright, I'm giving "The Cabinet of Curiosities" a solid 5 stars. I don't hand those out often, but I gave "Relic" a 4, and the only way to top that was with a 5. Honestly, I'm a little surprised at myself for the rating. But this book is a fantastic read, and it's earned a spot on my shelf. I actually first experienced it as an audiobook (while driving), and I only do that if I think I might want to revisit the story later. The atmosphere in "The Cabinet of Curiosities", combined with the incr...