City of Endless Night by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

City of Endless Night sees the return of Special Agent Pendergast to New York City and pairs him once again with Lieutenant Vincent D’Agosta. When a young socialite is found in an abandoned warehouse missing her head, it seems like a very personal crime. Soon, however, more victims appear, also missing their heads. This time murdered in seemingly highly secure if not impregnable locations.

NYC loves nothing so much as a juicy story. Once word leaks out that there is a serial killer stalking the seemingly despicable yet untouchable elite, the Decapitator captures their imagination. Pendergast and D’Agosta search for connections among the victims as well as a more earthly motive than “divine wrath”. D’Agosta’s dogged detective work and Pendergast’s brilliant and eccentric mind both work on the problem. The investigation finally takes them to an abandoned Long Island psychiatric hospital for a thrilling conclusion.

Preston and Child excel at creating atmosphere. The blustery New York City set the mood for another creepy killer. City of Endless Night strips the story back down to its essentials and focuses on the pairing of D’Agosta and Pendergast. While Pendergast’s ward, Constance, is a great literary creation in her own right, allowing this story to focus solely around D’Agosta and Pendergast makes for a more tightly plotted adventure reminiscent of their first encounter long ago in Relic. The crime scenes are fascinating and solving them is particularly satisfying. As brilliant as Pendergast is, he feels as if he is in real jeopardy here. One of the best Pendergast stories in years. Highly recommended.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

Buy it here: