Promotional Information

The electrifying finale of the Diogenes story Combining history with crime and fast-paced drama, THE BOOK OF THE DEAD is exhilirating thriller writing at its best From the authors of THE WHEEL OF DARKNESS and DANCE OF DEATH THE BOOK OF THE DEAD spent 7 weeks in the New York Times bestseller charts Preston & Child are fast becoming one of the most successful writer pairings in the USA They receive great reviews: 'A blockbuster...a lot of fun' Washington Post 'Bestsellers Preston and Child have come up with another gripping, action-packed page-turner... followers of Aloysius Pendergast's previous exploits will find it a satisfying read with a tantalizing, ominous twist at the end' Publishers Weekly 'Preston and Child's Pendergast series... ends in grand style with this intense and shocking conclusion... Preston and Child have truly saved the best for last' Library Journal 'Dynamic duo Preston and Child once again demonstrate their mastery of the genre... The thrillfest runs full force to the very last page' Kirkus Reviews 'A highly compelling thriller... Preston and Child prove that the devil is indeed in the details' Entertainment Weekly

About the Author

Douglas Preston is a regular contributor to the New Yorker. Lincoln Child is a former book editor at St. Martin's Press and has published numerous short-story anthologies. Together they are the co-authors of a series of bestselling novels, including the Agent Pendergast adventures. After a childhood that is of interest only to himself, Lincoln Child majored in English. Discovering a fascination for words, and their habit of turning up in so many books, he made his way to New York intent on finding a job in publishing. Over the next several years, he clawed his way up the publishing hierarchy, becoming an editor at St. Martin's - with titles as diverse as The Notation of Western Music and Hitler's Rocket Sites - but focused primarily on popular fiction. Lincoln's own nascent interests in writing only came to fruition after he left publishing. He now lives in New Jersey with his wife and daughter. A dilettante by natural inclination, Lincoln's interests include: pre-1950s literature and poetry; post-1950s popular fiction; playing the piano, various MIDI instruments, and the 5-string banjo; English and American history; motorcycles; architecture; classical music, early jazz, blues, and R&B; exotic parrots; esoteric programming languages; mountain hiking; bow ties; Italian suits; fedoras; archaeology; and multiplayer deathmatching.

Reviews

a thrilling, nail-biting adventurous journey - SOUTH WALES ARGUS

Bestsellers Preston and Child have come up with another gripping, action-packed page-turner in this concluding volume to a trilogy pitting their Holmesian hero, FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast, against his Mycroft-turned-Moriarty-his younger brother, Diogenes. Picking up shortly after the events of 2005's Dance of Death, the book opens with the arrival of a package of fine dust at the Museum of Natural History; Diogenes has returned the diamonds he stole earlier. Meanwhile, Aloysius is in prison, having been framed for a number of murders. As his friends plot to spring him, his adversary lays the groundwork for a crowning criminal achievement. A mysterious benefactor funds the restoration of an ancient Egyptian tomb at the museum, but the work is beset by the mayhem Preston and Child's readers have come to expect-gory murders and suggestions of the supernatural. This entry, tying up many loose ends from its predecessors, is less likely to work as well for first-time readers, but followers of Aloysius Pendergast's previous exploits will find it a satisfying read with a tantalizing, ominous twist at the end. 10-city author tour. (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.