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A review by cathepsut
The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
On a construction site in Manhattan workers find a vault with thirty-six dismembered bodies, interred there over 100 years ago. Pendergast shows up to investigate. And we don’t have to wait long for a copy-cat killer.
Pendergast is a pretty over the top character. The authors’ weirder version of Sherlock Holmes? I find it hard to emphasize and to take him seriously. I haven‘t managed to connect to him yet. Smithback I mostly disliked (again). The only relatable character is Nora Kelly.
I struggled with the plot. As a supposedly fast moving thriller about a serial killer this fell flat and dragged at times. The Enoch Leng storyline was just odd. Somewhat supernatural, with a dash of horror and the grotesque. And some curious omissions, despite the otherwise narrative overabundance.
The book in general was just too long. This really did not need over 600 pages. Relic was almost 200 pages shorter. That could have helped tightening this one here as well. As it was, I started skimming in the second half of the book. There was just so much detail that I didn‘t need or want and that slowed me down and even bored me.
Custer and his chapters in the second part of the book were ridiculous and superfluous. Why even bother to add those parts of the investigation? They didn‘t serve any purpose.
And the ending of our bad guy came out of the blue and lacked a proper closure. It was weird, gross and a lame way of getting Pendergast out of this particular pickle.
On the plus side, Pendergast’s “memory crossing” was oddly compelling. A kind of memory palace technique, but with moving pictures. More like lucid dreaming. That part was interesting.
Despite my abundant complaining I just made myself a list of the Pendergast/Nora Kelly books. I am pretty sure I will (re-)read more of them. Probably not in order, but as my library and KU have them available.
Pendergast is a pretty over the top character. The authors’ weirder version of Sherlock Holmes? I find it hard to emphasize and to take him seriously. I haven‘t managed to connect to him yet. Smithback I mostly disliked (again). The only relatable character is Nora Kelly.
I struggled with the plot. As a supposedly fast moving thriller about a serial killer this fell flat and dragged at times. The Enoch Leng storyline was just odd. Somewhat supernatural, with a dash of horror and the grotesque. And some curious omissions, despite the otherwise narrative overabundance.
The book in general was just too long. This really did not need over 600 pages. Relic was almost 200 pages shorter. That could have helped tightening this one here as well. As it was, I started skimming in the second half of the book. There was just so much detail that I didn‘t need or want and that slowed me down and even bored me.
Custer and his chapters in the second part of the book were ridiculous and superfluous. Why even bother to add those parts of the investigation? They didn‘t serve any purpose.
And the ending of our bad guy came out of the blue and lacked a proper closure. It was weird, gross and a lame way of getting Pendergast out of this particular pickle.
On the plus side, Pendergast’s “memory crossing” was oddly compelling. A kind of memory palace technique, but with moving pictures. More like lucid dreaming. That part was interesting.
Despite my abundant complaining I just made myself a list of the Pendergast/Nora Kelly books. I am pretty sure I will (re-)read more of them. Probably not in order, but as my library and KU have them available.