Cemetery Dance (Pendergast Book 9)

Pendergast, the world's most mysterious FBI Special Agent, investigates a murderous cult in New York City that no one has ever survived.William Smithback, a New York Times reporter, and his wife Nora Kelly, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Eyewitnesses claim, and the security camera confirms, that the assailant was their strange, sinister neighbor--a man who, by all reports, was already dead and buried weeks earlier.While Captain Laura Hayward leads the official investigation, Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta undertake their own private--and decidedly unorthodox--quest for the truth. Their serpentine journey takes them to an enclave of Manhattan they never imagined could exist: a secretive, reclusive cult of Obeah and vodou which no outsiders have ever survived.

From Publishers Weekly

Bestsellers Preston and Child kill off a regular supporting character at the outset of this suspenseful tale of urban terror, their ninth to feature FBI special agent Aloysius Pendergast (after The Wheel of Darkness). William Smithback, a New York Times reporter, and his wife, Nora Kelly, an anthropologist with the New York Museum of Natural History, are celebrating their first anniversary when Smithback is fatally stabbed in their Manhattan apartment, apparently by a creepy neighbor, Colin Fearing, an out-of-work British actor. Given eyewitness descriptions of the killer, including one from Kelly herself, as well as surveillance footage showing a blood-stained Fearing emerging from the apartment building right after the crime, the case appears to be open and shut—until Pendergast and his NYPD ally, Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, learn that Fearing died almost two weeks earlier. This taut page-turner can only add to the authors' growing fan base. 8-city author tour. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

It takes a certain amount of guts to start a novel by killing off a popular recurring character, but no one has ever accused this writing team of lacking guts. The latest Pendergast thriller begins with a murder that is apparently committed by a man who, 10 days earlier, was pronounced dead and then buried. But the eyewitness is sure it’s the same man, and footage from a security camera appears to confirm it. How does a dead man commit murder? And why this particular victim? Pendergast, the FBI special agent who frequently takes on personal assignments on a freelance basis, teams up once again with New York police lieutenant Vincent D’Agosta to solve a crime that has ties to the supernatural. Individually, these two writers turn out books that are solid, competent, workmanlike. Together, they manage to kick it up several notches, producing novels that are elegantly written and feature unique characters and eerie, compelling stories. For fans of the Pendergast series, this is a must-read. --David Pitt

Publishers Weekly

"[A] suspenseful tale of urban terror...this taut page-turner can only add to the authors' growing fan base."

Times Record News

"A page-turner...plenty of action and a cast of truly odd characters...thoroughly enjoyable."

Lansing State Journal

"A top-notch action packed, high-octane thriller that takes the reader on an incredible literary roller-coaster ride... enough unexpected plot twists and turns to satisfy even the most jaded reader. With narrow escapes galore...This book offers compelling, page-turning, tense suspense."

From AudioFile

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have a reputation for writing sinister horror stories set in New York City. This one does not disappoint. Mysterious FBI agent Pendergast returns to solve the murder of NEW YORK TIMES reporter William Smithback, whose killer is plainly visible on a security camera. The only trouble is: The killer had died two weeks before the murder. René Auberjonois, who played the alien Odo on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and the grim Paul Lewiston on "Boston Legal," lends the proper air of gravitas to his performance. With the underlying story featuring zombies and the undead, it takes the sober Auberjonois to help maintain the credibility of the plot. His sincere delivery is perfect for a strange story that is more than a little creepy. M.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

About the Author

Douglas Preston, a regular contributor to The New Yorker, worked for the American Museum of Natural History. He is an expert horseman who has ridden thousands of miles across the West.Lincoln Child is a former book editor and systems analyst who has published numerous novels and anthologies.The authors encourage readers to visit and send them e-mail at their Web site, http://www.prestonchild.com.

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