A Book Review: Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Pendergast #5)

In Brimstone, Alyosius X.L. Pendergast of the FBI returns to the buzzing New York City and investigating a series of spine-chilling murders. This novel, co-authored by Douglas Preston and Lincolon Child, is standing as the fifth installment in a series of mind-blowing detective/thriller/mystery novels featuring Agent Pendergast, a great fictional detective whose intellectual prowess can only be rivaled by Sherlock Holmes.

Will I recommend Brimstone? Yes, absolutely. But make sure you begin this series in the chronological order; that is, starting your journey at Relic, the first book in the series. Like many would-be readers of this series, I too, began my journey at Relic 8 months ago. Four novels later, my adventures in Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's macabre world led me to Brimstone, and this book brought the series to a new height.

Synopsis:

In our world, an average of 57 people are murdered every minute. One particular murder in the magnificent Hamptons estate, however, attracted the scrutiny of a most formidable detective, Agent Pendergast of the FBI. As a gliding eagle scouting for its preys, Pendergast arrived at the gruesome crime scene and pierced into the murderous carnage with his icy-blue eyes.

This is is no ordinary crime scene; what remains of a corpse, burnt almost to ashes, lies spreading on the floor and fouls the air with a stench of brimstone and burnt flesh. The diabolic venue recollects the story from a classic German legend, recounting the terrifying fate that awaits the poor souls who made a Faustian pact with the devil.

Is it possible that the murderer is stemming from a supernatural origin? Pendergast re-unites with Sergeant D'Agosta and Captain Laura Hayward to cracking down this logic-defying crime. From the bustling metropolis of New York to the deserted, haunted castles in Italy, the trio's investigations led them to traverse in distinctive locales, drawing back the curtains and unveiling a blood-chilling horror, 30 years in the making...

My thoughts on this book:

Fast paced and suspenseful, Brimstone thrilled me with an atmospheric story that twisted and turned in the most unexpected manner. Unlike its predecessors, Brimstone is a mystery thriller smelling of flavors akin to Agatha Christie novels. When I was reading this book, on every page, a sense of dread was creeping between the lines of texts. The author(s) riddled the plot with clever puzzles, leaving little clues and unveiling the secrets at the opportune moments to blow the readers' minds.

Brimstone is superbly written, the author(s) brilliantly interwove multiple sub-plots together and crafted a ripping yarn. This book made use of short chapters and narrated the story at a very fast pace. The chapters connected well, and they transitioned smoothly from one into the next without disruptions . In other words, once you flip to the first page in Brimstone, you will not be able to put this book down until the story reaches its end.

This book also features the return for some of our favorite characters from past novels, namely Vincent D'Agosta and Laura Hayward. In Brimstone, Vincent and Laura both played the role of supporting characters. But the story developed these two characters steeply, where past events steered the direction of their lives and are continuing to have significant impacts on them. The steep character development casts an interesting light on Vincent and Laura's characters, while providing a sense of continuity from the previous novels.

On the other hand, Pendergast rocked the centre stage of the story with an intellectual prowess flying off the charts! It was a blast to read the story of this resourceful and formidable detective, as he deduced and solved one mystery after another like a hot knife cutting through butters. If you like Sherlock Holmes, then you will probably like Pendergast too.

A compelling murder mystery requires a sinister villain, a villain who is as formidable as the protagonist. Brimstone successfully chilled the spines of its readers by setting up an enigmatic villain whose identity and motives are masked in secrecy, only to be revealed at the end. This is the kind of book that will keep you guessing, and when you think you have figured out the answers to the riddles the next chapter kicks in, then plunging the puzzles in even deeper mysteries. If you like a good mystery novel, then Brimstone will not disappoint you.

What more can I say? Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have once again, written a very successful mystery thriller. Brimstone is a worthy addition to the ongoing saga of Agent Pendergast, who is arguably among the best fictional detectives to be penned on paper. I simply cannot wait to read the next installment in this series,. Meanwhile, I highly recommend Brimstone to veteran readers for Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's literary works. For new comers to the world of Agent Pendergast, I recommend starting this series from Relic and I hope you will enjoy this series as much as I did.

Until the next time, happy reading!