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Index Interviews: Shirley Palmer Kill is a Four Letter Word The Five Golden Rules of Publicity for Authors Writing That Killer Query Return to This Issue's Index Return to Homepage Subscribe
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Mystery/Thriller Book ReviewsPage One of TwoThe Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln ChildWarner Books, June, 2002Hardcover, 466 pages ISBN: 0446530220 Ordering information: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk 
When the reamains of thirty-six, 130 year-old murder victims are
discovered in the basement of an old New York building
being renovated, there is not a great deal of outside interest
until Special Agent Pendergast arrives on the scene.
Pendergast is known for his avoidance of protocol, his
large inheritance and his appearance in investigations
that tend to be both mysterious and scientific in nature.
Pendergast manages to charm busy museum archaeologist
Nora Kelly into investigating the incident and the two
visit the ancient murder scene. The project developer, a
rich and powerful man in New York City, uses
his many contacts to minimize this
outside activity, but before Agent Pendergast and Kelly are
kicked out, they manage to ascertain
that the people were horribly murdered. The victims were surgically
mutilated while they were still alive and their spinal cords were
severed during these cruel operations. When a murderer starts
reenacting these ancient crimes, Nora Kelly wonders if
she is in way over her head -- and if her boyfriend, New York Times
reporter William Smithback Jr., can be trusted with any information
without writing it up in a news story.
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have become very reliable at writing exciting and unique thrillers laced with interesting science-fiction themes. The Cabinet of Curiosities is no disappointment -- it is full of surprises, shockers, scientific oddities and fabulous characters. In addition to FBI Agent Pendergast, who was first introduced in The Relic, two likeable characters from Thunderhead return: William Smithback Jr., a New York Times reporter, and his girlfriend, archaeologist Nora Kelly. In addition to great characters and a compelling murder mystery, readers will love the creepy and puzzling curiosities found in the rarely-visited basement levels of the New York Museum of Natural History. The Cabinet of Curiosities is an excellent tale that thrills from start to finish. Casino Royale by Ian FlemingPenguin Books, September, 2002Trade paperback, 192 pages ISBN: 014200202X Ordering information: Amazon.com 
British secret agent James Bond is a true modern icon:
who isn't familiar with the OO7 films? But many
people don't know that the real James Bond was
created by Ian Fleming as a result of his own
intelligence work in World War II. The first James
Bond book, Casino Royale, was published in 1958
and tells the story of British Secret Service
agent Bond who is sent to neutralize a Russian
agent known only as "le Chiffre". Le Chiffre
loves to gamble and Bond heads to France to
ruin him at the Baccarat table, which should finish
him with his Russian superiors. Naturally, things
are never so simple, and what was supposed to be a
simple assignment nearly goes terribly wrong. And Bond
falls for the wrong girl -- a mistake that could
get him killed.
The original James Bond of the first five books written by Ian Fleming himself is quite a bit different than the film character. For one thing, Bond actaully feels things quite intensely. He falls in love, he gets his heart broken. He's tough and cold, but he also questions the morality of killing as required in his profession. The beautiful woman that he falls in love with turns out to be a double agent, shaking Bond to very foundation, thus setting him up for a lifetime of troubled romantic relationships. The action is unsurpassed, and the elegance and style of the surroundings is marvelous. Fleming drew from real-life experiences and the books make a fascinating glimpse into the Cold War spy game. Penguin has recently reissued not only Casino Royale, but also Dr. No and Goldfinger, in trade paperback edition, with wonderful retro covers. Lovers of espionage thrillers simply must pick these up for their collections. Mystery Book Reviews Page One | Page Two Click Here to Return to the Book Reviews Index ** To visit the archives of mystery books reviewed in The IWJ, please click here. |