Brimstone

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Behind the gates of a fabulous Hampton estate, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers the carnage of a gruesome crime, a nightmare of seemingly supernatural origin. The smoldering remains of infamous art critic Jeremy Grove, a melted cross branding his chest, are found in a locked, barricaded attic. The hoofprint singed into the floorboards and the smell of brimstone recall the legendary horrors that befall those who make a pact with the Devil.

Reuniting with police officers Vincent D'Agosta and Laura Hayward, Pendergast combs New York hoping for a simple explanation: a villain who is merely a man. But his search takes him beyond the exclusive clubs and luxury penthouses of Manhattan to a crumbling, legend-shrouded castle in the Italian countryside, where 30 years ago four men conjured something...unspeakable.

Featuring bone-chilling suspense and Preston and Child's trademark meticulous research and vivid detail, Brimstone is the duo's, and Pendergast's, most dangerous and gripping adventure yet.

©2004 Splendide Mendax, Inc. and Lincoln Child; (P)2004 Time Warner AudioBooks

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Fiction (Abridged), 2005

"The perfect thriller to stuff into a beach bag....Fans of cerebral action adventure novels know that, outside of Michael Crichton, no one delivers the goods like the veteran writing team of Preston and Child." (Publishers Weekly)
"A highly compelling thriller." (Entertainment Weekly)

whoa must listen whoa

the last character who expected in the story, and is he alive really.next book .

Get the Unabridged Version. . if you can find it.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I love the Pendergast books. They are a guilty pleasure but thoroughly thrilling with enough intellectual elements to be stimulating.

Any additional comments?

The unabridged version loses way too much, particularly since elements build on each other in the series and something unimportant to the current story may turn out to have relevance later on.

A great read, if you've read the rest

Like every Preston/Childs book I've read, this is a great, fun-to-listen to book. The Pendergast character becomes more and more interesting with every installment, and it's fun to encounter chanracters from past books in a cohesive way. However, if you are new to the series you will want to start with the earlier books and read your way up - read Cabinet of Curiosities and Murder of Crows (available at Audible), and maybe also Relic and Reliquary (I don't think these are available at Audible - check the library). The story works much better if you are familiar with the cast.

Nice!

I was hoping that my first audio book would be a good one. Both the narrator and story kept me interested the entire time and wanting more. I almost wanted to sit in more traffic while listening to it. I loved it. As others said though, there was no transition between some scenes but IMO it was not really an issue. The ending (last couple of minutes) was a little disappointing. It seemed like it was thrown together as an afterthought.
Of course, I have nothing to compare it to. I just hope my second book is just as good.

Couldn't put it down

FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, (yes, we finally find out his first name) is a wealthy, southern gentleman, with a taste for the bizarre and supernatural. (Well, with his family, I guess he comes to it naturally!)
Pendergast's methods and manners are eccentric, and mysterious; but in this case, he is up against the devil -- and having a devil of a time.

This murder investigation involves many things, including priceless artifacts and bombs; and there are lots of twists and turns.

I have listened to the other two books by Preston and Child available on audible (The Cabinent of Curiosities and Still Life with Crows) and got this one as soon as I saw it. It was very good -- the ending leaves you hanging and waiting for more. Oh well. You do not have to read the others to enjoy this book. A nice romp if you like murder mysteries with a dash of the paranormal.

Audible needs to get the rest of the collaborations between these two authors -- Relic and Reliquary.