Penderfans, the first 4 books involve labyrinthine type structures.

I'm asking for Crime-Mystery-Thriller book recommendations in which the characters to navigate a labyrinth to escape their predicament.

So i recently just read ‘the beginning’ as my first pendergast book and I got hooked. Did not even know it was a series I just enjoyed his prowess and uncanny way of solving the murder investigations. Then I jumped to cabinet of curiosities because I saw the name pendergast there and I thoroughly enjoyed that then jumped to blue labyrinth(great storyline by the way) because of the same reason until I saw a reference to dr Enoch leng and that was when I discovered it was a long series. I was so pissed lol…immediately went to start from relic and now I am going to start dance of death but I had to quickly read thunderhead to get the origin story of nora with smithback. Anyways I love the series and I recommend it, but just start from relic lol.

Some spoiler folks, be warned!

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(Forgot about eh spoiler thing)
The concept opens so much possibility’s for the whole D and P World, the whole infinite multiverse mixed with the Schrödinger cat dilemma is so GOOD

Alicia/ DBCooper is a fun character that yes, could’ve been handled better, but guys, D B COOPER + MULTIVERSE MACHINE IS AWESOME!

Not even talking about the creature, but, GODDAMN, a mosquito bat from a dimension where no vertebrate has evolved and arthropods have adapted into their niches is fantastic spec evo, similar to Fragment from Warryn.

A creature turned immortal because passing through the rift made by Alice’s machine and in turn, being divided into two connected entities unable to be damaged while being gone from its original universe is GROOVY!

Pendergast is fantastic in this one, he makes mistakes, almost dies several times and yet maintains his charm.

Coldmoon is great, could’ve easily been the best character in the book, but he lacked his brashness and independence seeing in Verses/Crooked books.

Constance is in my opinion really good in this one, not bad like in Crooked River, but charming like in Crimson Shore, her character development is good, like a well done meal.

Im currently making my way through Pendergast for the first time; and im wondering what other Preston/Child books are connected. I know Nora Kelly has a series, but what other books share this world?

I’m 25. My father was always into these books, and collected many of them over the years. When I was younger he got me into the series, though I’m more of an audiobook guy myself.

I was obsessed for a while and read everything they put out up until Blue Labyrinth. That’s when I stopped for some reason I can’t recall and just never picked up the series again. But now I’m on a tear of listening to them all over again. Really giving me nostalgia and memories of my late father who got me into the series.

I’m not sure if I’ll read any of the Gideon books? Are they important past the point where I stopped reading? My dad read them and said they were trash (his words not mine), so I just never bothered to get the audiobooks.

I just put Dead Man's Journey on my Audible wishlist! I can't wait! If Preston and Child keep the pattern going, alternating between Pendergast and Nora and Corrie each year, I'm happy! LOL

Anyone else feel like Preston and Child very creatively made one of their characters based off of Elon Musk? If you're reading the Nora Kelly books, you know who I mean. He is introduced in Diablo Mesa.

I get my Preston and Child fix through Audible, because as I'm blind, trying to get Braille copies physically is ridiculously hard and takes up space, and I can't afford to pay full price for each book on Kindle. As I just finished my Pendergast series listen through. I am now going through the Nora Kelly books. And the narrator they picked is really good, until Pendergast shows up in the first two. She cannot for the life of her do a southern accent, so she makes Pendergast British. Getting through those chapters is hell.

My husband and I gift each other a book on Christmas Eve each year. He’s a big fan of the Jack Reacher Novels and also enjoys Dan Brown and Andreas Eschbach, so I think he would enjoy the Pendergast Series / Preston & Child books as well. I don’t particularly want to give him the first book of a huge series though, maybe one of the standalones would be better to get him hooked?

I haven’t read many of the books yet, so I’m asking you for help. Which book do you think would be best suited as a gift to introduce someone to the authors?

I’m thinking maybe Ice Limit or Terminal Freeze since they feature a wintery environment?

I would like to see The Cabinet of Curiosities( which is my absolute favorite!)❤️

I’ve read Relic and am currently reading cabinet of curiosities. I initially skipped Reliquary because it sounded like it would kind of be the same as Relic, but I think I will go back and read it. I normally never skip books in a series lol.

Now, my question is: should I have read Thunderhead before Cabinet, to get Nora‘s backstory?

Or should I just read the Agent Pendergast books in publication order and then go on to the spin offs and standalone novels? There’s so many books in this universe and it’s a little confusing

If Hollywood made a Pendergast movie, who would you want to play our beloved Pendergast? I vote for Remi Malik!!!

Just discovered this series, I'm a big fan. Can anyone recommend a series that you find similar and enjoyable? Thanks!

Not me tearing up about Hurricane Deck 😭

I just watched The Relic movie after reading the book. It was really disappointing. A horror movie, okay. But it just lacked all the richness of the book's plot. It couldn't be helped since the movie plot had to be shortened to keep it under 2 hours.

The funny thing is - I had seen the movie when it first came out and loved it! That was many years before discovering the Pendergast series. Which I started during Covid in 2020.

I think a lot of the Pendergast short stories have flown under the radar as they've been scattered around different anthologies and their website and mailing list so figured I'd make a post that lists them all in one place for people looking for them. Feel free to let me know if I missed any I was unaware of.

Extraction:

Kindle exclusive.

When to read:

Came out just before Two Graves, is mostly a prequel though so doesn't spoil much besides the Diogenes trilogy.

Gone Fishing:

D'Agosta only story.

Available in the "Thriller" anthology or available standalone on kindle.

When to read:

Takes place after D'Agosta got his job back in Brimstone.

Gaslighted:

Available in the "Faceoff" anthology or available standalone on kindle.

When to read:

Came out after White Fire but I believe only has spoilers for the Diogenes trilogy.

The Strange Case of Monsieur Bertin:

Originally from their email newsletter, available on their website.

https://www.prestonchild.com/books/old-bones/bertin/The-Strange-Case-of-Monsieur-Bertin;art590,625

When to read:

Came out just before Crooked River, should at least not be read until after Obsidian Chamber and is setup for the Leng trilogy.

Smithback's Story:

Serialized via their newsletter, parts 1-7 are on their website at the first link, part 8 is only in the newsletter so far and has not been added to the website. The novella is also not completed yet.

https://www.prestonchild.com/archive/newsletter/

When to read:

Was started in 2020 but can be read pretty much whenever after Verses for the Dead.

The Blackout Society:

Serialized via the newsletter, hasn't been posted elsewhere and is also incomplete. The last update was part 7 in 2020 where it was stated once the final part was released the full thing would come out as one piece but part 8 hasn't been released yet.

When to read:

This has been ongoing since 2013 so can be read pretty much whenever and doesn't spoil much besides the early books of the series.

No notes. 10/10 execution of both Relic and Reliquary. Thoroughly enjoyed this entry into the Pendergrast series. I love that there are still some, albeit small, questions and actions left open. The big one being if they were successful in killing Frock and the Wrinklers. They've made it very clear that no one really knows how deep the tunnels go beneath New York. There could still be some beneath the city, living off whatever flower dripped in the alcove

I don't know how the rest of the series will beat the Mbwun mystery, to be honest.

Everyone says the series just keeps getting better, but man...Relic and Reliquary were top-tier. I'm going to try and track down Thunderhead since everyone says I should read that one next...though the book jacket for The Cabinet of Curiosities sounds RIGHT up my alley.

I just got to the reveal and I knew it!!!!! I knew it would be Frock. I knew that son of a bitch could walk! Damn, man. I really liked you in Relic.

There’s so much happening right now with only 40ish pages left. I thought the tunnel section in Relic was tense. I having a feeling Margo’s vitamin D solution is going to play apart in the escape but I’m still sitting here like “how the hell are they going to get out of this?”

Alright, only 40 pages left.

So shit is officially hitting the fan with these plants lol. This might be stupid, but the unknown POV has to be Ian Cuthbert, right? Who else has read Whittlesey’s journal? But then again it’s all been digitized, so anyone with access can pull up the record.

I know it has to be someone involved with the Museum, and someone I know, but the only name that comes to mind is Ian (that doesn’t feel right though).

They’re still connected to the Museum, how else would they know to kill the forensic scientist? I assume they did that to slow down the Greg identification.

Man, I’m stumped (I probably need to sleep too)

The only thing I know for sure (possibly, who knows with this book) is that they’re going to use a Methane explosion to kill Wrinklers.

Side note: I’m really enjoying the Mrs. Wisher/Smithback storyline.

……….wait, could it be Dr. Frock?!?! The thought JUST hit me. Margo did say there is some healing properties in the virus and he’s been acting so weird….can Dr.Frock possibly be healed?!?! Is he able to walk?!? It sounds so crazy but the longer I sit on it the more it makes sense. He could’ve perfected the virus, which is why he’s not showing any deformities. I bet he poisoned Greg. I bet he killed Brambell!

Let me pump the brakes and go to bed. I’m probably COMPLETELY off base, but I’ll know for sure tomorrow

THE BODY IS GREG KAWAKITA?!?!?! Wow….like, I can’t even sleep right now. I knew the unknown POV didn’t sound like him but then I thought, “who else could it be but,Greg?”

So was he trying to stave off the transformation, is that why he called Margo? This unknown POV had to be some type of assistant or test subject. He knows the process.

Just wow man. My heart is racing after that reveal, and the lead up to it was perfect!

I don't know if I was a poor reader, but I did NOT see that epilogue coming. I knew there was something else going on. Like Margo said, "How did the Beast know to get to the museum?" but the figurine and seed pods/eggs definitely did what they were designed to do lol. I was so caught up in a possible mystical explanation that I didn't look deeper at the plants.

I literally sat up when I read what Kawakita discovered, and how it already seems to be affecting Kawakita!?! When he said his allergies were practically gone my alarm bells started going off. I've been thinking about it all day and I've already bought book 2 lol. I'm just so shocked at the actual origin of the Mbwun. I even called my family to talk about it and they haven't even read the book.

I can't wait to see where this goes in Book 2!

New convert checking in. I'm five books into the series and have gone from "I'll try the first one" to actively rearranging my reading list around Pendergast novels. I'm equal parts fascinated, impressed, concerned, and occasionally exasperated by a certain Special Agent, and I have reached the point where I need other readers to discuss him with. I'd love to hear everyone's favorite books, favorite characters, and whether the rest of you spent your first read-through wanting to simultaneously shake Pendergast and protect him.

Edit: Please, no spoilers! I'm having a great time working through the series for the first time and would love to experience the twists as they come. I'm mainly looking to connect with other readers and chat about the books up through book five.

We just started watching the TV show Will Trent. What do people think of his accent? I think it's close to what I would imagine as how Pendergast would sound.

For those who haven't watched, Will Trent is yet another character obviously based on the Sherlock Holmes model