Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Brimstone (Pendergast Book 5)

Top positive review

cannot put down

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 10, 2022

This book could not be put down. I read until my eyes were tired. I put it down. Then started reading again. I love the character of Pendergast. Also I learn about many interesting things as I read these books

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Don S

Poor Ending

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 19, 2022

I read this novel in 2022 as I happened on to "Relic" (Pendergast/P,C#1) last year. Loved the earlier 4 novels but was very disappointed with Brimstone due to the lack of finish. I thought the Pendergast series , to this point (Brimstone) was generally, wonderfully entertaining. However, the ending here is no ending, just a tease for the next book. A little tease is OK but to leave the main character in jeopardy is not OK by me. I hate to down grade some of my recent favorites, but must. If you want to try a Preston and Childs, read "Relic" first. I may read the next in line but I fear these guys sit on the beach, drink a few and have ghost writers finish it off. Hope not!

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From the United States

Rosanne Hughes

cannot put down

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 10, 2022

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Amazon Customer

They just keep getting better!!!!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 12, 2022

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Never have I ever read a series of books that entertained from beginning to end and also securely link one to another!!!! Onward Mr. Pendergast, Book 6!!!!!

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Kindle Customer

I am stunned!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 6, 2022

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This story struck at my core. The end was unbelievable, the beginning shocking. And between the two I was sucked into a terrifying roller coaster. This is their most intense story yet.

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Carol Anderson

Fast paced, suspenseful thriller.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 18, 2022

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No boring chapters, Pendergast series is excellent. Best book I have read in a long time. Love them!

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Boomer

Great read, but not as good as the previous books

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 10, 2021

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Here we have another great entry into the Pendergast series. This one sees Pendergast investigating a bizarre series of murders that have devil like trappings - fire, sulfur, and hoofprints burned into the floor. Hooked me in immediately!

This novel reintroduces Vincent D'Agosta who has been missing for a couple of books now, and Laura Hayward, who we met back in the second book Reliquary, when she was a lowly transit cop. They bring some welcome depth to the story, and I like the connection between them. It's especially interesting seeing the role reversal from their last encounter - now Hayward is high up on the command chain, while D'Agosta has been busted down to a lowly Southampton Sargent position. This book also introduces us to the existence of Pendergast's brother, the evil Diogenes and sets things up for his story arc in later novels.

A really fun read, but this is the first in the series where I do feel the need to point out a couple of flaws. No spoilers here, but firstly there's a large subplot featuring a criminal turned preacher in New York that really feels out of place. It seems to exist solely to hammer home the point that Hayward is smarter, tougher, and better in a tight situation then all the other cops, especially the male ones. If you did read Reliquary, it's the exact same thing. Hayward suggests a plan, it's shot down, the alternative plan fails horribly and Hayward saves the day. Nothing else really comes out of it, so it feels like 100 pages of filler. Would have much preferred to see her working with Pendergast and D'Agosta on the devil killings case.

My biggest complaint is that for the first time in this series, the authors throw a cliffhanger in at the end of the novel (There was a small one at the end of Relic, but it wasn't this serious) . The beauty of this series up until now is that they were all truly stand alones - you could pick up any of the first few books and be guaranteed a full story. Not here. It's a very ambiguous ending which leaves you having to buy the next one to find out what happened to Pendergast. Annoying! I hope this doesn't become a regular thing.

Anyway still a very entertaining read, but not up to the standard of the previous novels, especially Cabinet of Curiosities.

5 people found this helpful

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Back to form

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2004

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After a somewhat disappointing "Still Life with Crows" I approached "Brimstone" with a bit of trepidation. I was worried that Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child may have lost their knack for coming up with original plots in a genre that trends towards the mediocre. Moreover, I was afraid that they had wrung all they could out of their signature character, Special Agent Pendergast, leaving him a rather boring cliché. Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth as "Brimstone" is their strongest novel since "The Ice Limit". Infused with a darker edge, and a palpable spirit of malevolence, that is quite successfully maintained throughout the numerous plot twists, "Brimstone" is a genuinely superb thriller.

As I mentioned above, "Brimstone" once again finds Pendergast investigating a murder that seems tied to the occult. Specifically, he is investigating the bizarre death of art critic Jeremy Grove, who has been found burned to death in a room untouched by fire. Adding to the mystery is the overpowering stench of sulfur and what appears to be a cloven hoof burned into the floor. To assist in his investigation, Pendergast calls upon Vincent D'Agosta, previously seen in "Relic" and "Reliquary", who has been languishing in the Southampton Police Department after an abortive turn as a novelist. As more victims fall prey to the seemingly demonic killer, and as the public begins to see the murders as Scripture fulfilled, the two investigators race against the clock to solve Preston and Child's most puzzling mystery yet.

That stated, what makes "Brimstone" so successful is that Preston and Child manage to weave in a much larger set of plot lines, characters and settings than usual. Whereas in "Still Life with Crows" the question of Pendergast's ward, Constance, was blatantly tacked on in a form of in novel advertising, in "Brimstone" she actually has a role to play and fits much better within the structure of the book. Likewise, even though the supernatural thriller element is always paramount, the authors are quite successful in blending in elements of espionage, international assassins and history, the result of which is perhaps their richest, most complex novel to date. Finally, a significant portion of the action takes place overseas, which creates an intriguing dichotomy of Pendergast being more in his element culturally, but significantly weakened for not being on his home turf.

Furthermore, Lincoln and Child gleefully (but entirely respectfully) draw upon their literary heroes such as Poe and Lovecraft. The result is a novel that has much of the style and menace of these two authors, while incorporating the genuinely fresh take that one expects from these two authors. As such, I can wholeheartedly endorse "Brimstone" as a superb return to form for Preston and Child. It is perhaps their darkest novel to date, and infuses the character of Pendergast with new life, and more importantly, new mysteries. For loyal readers, some questions will be resolved, but far more will be left unanswered, as what one might call the "Pendergast Mythos" continues to evolve. "Brimstone" has vaulted to the top of my list for Preston and Child novels (just below the trinity of "Relic", "Riptide" and "Thunderhead") and is by far the best Pendergast novel since "Relic". A real treat for the upcoming fall season, and especially Halloween, don't pass this one by.

Jake Mohlman

13 people found this helpful

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CSims

Cliff Hanger

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 22, 2021

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Oh my Gosh! This story takes us to Italy and back and will make you wonder if the devil is alive and well in New York. A born again convict calling himself a preacher travels to New York by bus after reading about the deaths of two wealthy New Yorkers who both died by what appears to be spontaneous combustion leaving nothing of their bodies but ash and melted blobs of metal that used to be a gold cross encrusted with jewels & the undeniable odor of brimstone & a burn hoof mark in the floor in one case and a burned image of the face of the devil in the wall in the other. The local paper stirs up the locals with tales of the devil & the preacher is calling on the fallen to confess their sins and follow Christ before it’s too late.
The police are scrambling for logical answers and getting nowhere. Pendergast steps in and figures out that the guys that were killed and 2 others all met in Italy over 30 years ago and follows up to see if this is a lead to the deaths that have occurred in NY in such a strange way. Meanwhile the preacher is stirring up the vagrants in NY to a frenzy and the police are trying to figure a way to get them out of Central Park without a riot. While Pendergast and DCosta are in Italy facing the most intelligent and treacherous adversary so far! Many twists and turns in the plot with an ending that leaves you hanging on the edge. What an awesome book!

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Da Vinci Code meets Dante's Inferno

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 7, 2009

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Brimstone is the fifth fantastic read from the ingenious Preston and Child duo and it doesn't disappoint. I thought that the book was simply fantastic and extremely delectable, and the moment I finished it I felt a deep hunger to pounce on the next, if I had the sixth book in my possession I have no doubt that I would be unable to leave it alone. Meticulously researched, the novel travels from the streets of New York into the lush and romantic Italy, where Pendergast meets with a nemesis so grand, evil and intense that everyone has little doubt about it being the devil himself. I adore that these books have an aura of enigmatic and mystical proportions, anything is possible and everything somehow has an explanation.

The book is quite long but a lot of things happen and the chases, the intrigue and the clues take up a lot of time, making the entire story feel alive and throbbing with anticipation of what happens next. My favorite literary crush, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast is fabulous as usual, with plenty of tricks up his sleeves ( literally) and with his senses heightened to take on this hard challenge he takes charge at solving another unusual crime while risking his life. When a famous art critic dies under strange circumstances Pendergast doesn't tale long to start connecting small clues, they form into a cluster of horrifying secrets and involved more people who seem to die in similar fashion before anyone can get to them. There's a connection between the strange, rich people and the hellish ways in which they perished, but the closer they agent gets to the truth the more obstacles appear on his way, seems that not only is the devil out to get him but the mortals involved in protecting the secrets are as ruthless and vicious as they come. His research takes him and former NYPD officer Vincent D'Agosta to monasteries, castles and catacombs of ancient Italians, where the secrets are gravely guarded and finding the truth is tougher than anyone could have expected. I adored the last hundred pages, the tale really took a life of it's own and the ending was stunning, I am worried but hopeful, gah..books such as this one really take me somewhere else, and I can't wait to dive back in.

- Kasia S.

6 people found this helpful

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Dan

Maybe the best Prendergast book yet

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 25, 2022

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Loved this book. Learned so much about his character. Prendergast is the most unique detective of them all. Holmes, Columbo and Hercules Poorly rolled into one.

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Lester Calloway

As always the Pendergast books are fantastic

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 6, 2022

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As always the Pendergast movies are and books are fantastic the reason that the book was Rick requested was because I was loaning out the Mike library of Pendergast bugs and I thought that I had the missed one brimstone so I ordered it for the person that I was loaning it to

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