The Cabinet of Curiosities

A Novel

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz

In one of NPR's 100 Best Thrillers Ever, FBI agent Pendergast discovers thirty-six murdered bodies in a New York City charnel house . . . and now, more than a century later, a killer strikes again.

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.

Critic reviews

"This is an intense and interesting story, entwining the quest for eternal life with the history of America, New York, and present-day politics and influence. Rene Auberjonois crafts his narration with great care; each word is voiced with perfect tone, pitch, and emotion, and each character is provided with a fitting personality. The result is narration that flows beautifully while providing insight into the story and those who inhabit it. Satisfyingly imbued with thrills and suspense, the prose is fully realized in Auberjonois's performance, and he even manages to make some of the more fantastic aspects seem reasonable. A totally engrossing experience."—AudioFile Magazine

I'm hooked on Pendergast

I hesitated to start this series for several years thinking it was horror genre which I don't go for. In a sense I suppose it is "horror". But the unique character of Agent Pendergast is so entertaining I am now going thru the entire series. This was my 3rd.

Pendergast is a modern-day "Sherlock" for sure but with some Dirk Pitt and maybe even some Doc Savage mixed in. Definitely NOT "Reacher". There is no sex in this series, that I've found. Pendergast's eccentricities have carried each of the books I've read. P&C do go in for the ghoulish with regularity.

My narrator preference is Rene but the others are fine. There is some chronological order to the series but it is not critical. P&C treat each book as if the reader is just meeting "the man in the black suit" for the first time.

Pendergast is so unique I cannot imagine who might play him in as movie. You really should get to know him.... as much as anyone "gets to know Pendergast". :-)

A Background of Pendergast

What made the experience of listening to The Cabinet of Curiosities the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed learning a little more about who Pendergast is and where he came from. His origins are still mysterious and I'm guessing more will be revealed over time. I found there was a nice balance of a focus on the individual story as well as some development of Pendergast as a character.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite was O'Shannessy. Although he was somehow the only NYPD officer who had some common sense, I enjoyed his quick retorts and sense of humor. He was probably the only NYPD character that you could really like so perhaps I was cornered into it but gladly so.

What aspect of Jonathan Marosz’s performance would you have changed?

I'm not sure what it was, but I wasn't a huge fan. He was not bad by any means, but he wasn't amazing. Books like these need a strong narrator, which the first two in the series had. This performance on it's own is good but compared to the first two it feel short.

Any additional comments?

A few others mentioned it but thought I would too. The editing in this book is poor. There were at least 5 occasions were a line was repeated. It often came at times where there was a long character narrative which really threw me off. I can forgive one or two, but it is a little frustrating to have half a dozen in there.

Great Book... performance, meh

The reader did a phenomenal job of giving voice and life to all of the characters of this book. That being said, the way he uses an upward inflection at the end of sentences when narrating, leads to a feeling of general boredom with the story. As a listener, this is quite distracting.

Love the suspense.

If you could sum up The Cabinet of Curiosities in three words, what would they be?

Superb scientific suspense!

What did you like best about this story?

Scene description and character development

What three words best describe Jonathan Marosz’s performance?

Good character transitions

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Living forever has a price. Murder and madness.

excellent story

great stand alone entry in the Pendergast series. I really enjoyed it. Pendergast is a excellent detective/special agent.