Series Review + GIVEAWAY: The Pendergast Novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

I just finished reading the eighth book in this series, and I thought rather than reviewing all eight individually, or reviewing the eighth without giving you any background, I would review the series as a whole instead.

Aloysius Pendergast is an FBI agent with a decidedly unorthodox approach. The crimes he investigates tend to be not entirely of this world. Not that there are ghosties and ghoulies, but rather strange forces that cannot be entirely explained by logic.

These books have that perfect balance of scary where they are definitely creepy, but they aren't going to give you nightmares. I love them! The action is fast paced and these books are total page-turners, guaranteed to keep you up all night reading.

Pendergast himself has the potential to be one of the iconic sleuths. His eccentricities and strange methods make the books stand out from the crowd. Lincoln and Child, who each have books published solo, make a dynamic writing team! I abosolutely recommend this series.

For the most part, the novels in this series are stand-alone and can be read out of order without too much trouble. However, I think they're better in sequence:
1. Relic
2. Reliquary
3. The Cabinet of Curiosities
4. Still Life With Crows
5. Brimstone (Diogenes Trilogy Book One)
6. Dance of Death (Diogenes Trilogy Book Two)
7. The Book of the Dead (Diogenes Trilogy Book Three)
8. The Wheel of Darkness
9. Cemetary Dance

About the Authors: Website. Douglas Preston is a Research Associate at the Laboratory of Anthropology in Santa Fe, a member of PEN New Mexico, and a board member of the School of American Research in Santa Fe. He counts in his ancestry the poet Emily Dickinson, the newspaperman Horace Greeley, and the infamous murderer and opium addict Amasa Greenough.
Lincoln Child'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.

GIVEAWAY!

Thanks to the wonderful Anna at Hachette Book Group, I am able to give away three copies of the latest book in this series, Cemetary Dance, in audio format. To enter, comment here with your email address. Get an extra entry for becoming a follower and another one for posting this giveaway on your blog or social networking site. Good luck!