Preston & Child – City of Endless Nights – Review

This novel is the next in the series after The Obsidian Chamber. The tale kicks off with the discovery of a gruesome murder by two kids raising havoc in suburban Queens. After egging an old mans car in the middle of winter, he decides to give chase following the boys into a an industrial area. Hiding inside a vacant building, the boys find the naked body of a young woman. This is not an ordinary corpse, though nude and frozen, the body is missing a head.

A familiar character enters the crime scene: Lieutenant Commander Detective Vincent D'Agosta. Reader's are aware of the detective from almost the very beginning of the Pendergast series. He's a no nonsense cop who prefers to play by all the rules. The man puts his heart and soul into every homicide case, sometimes at the detriment of his health and relationships. Pendergast and D'Agosta go way back and now find themselves partnering on a case that should be a simple homicide, but turns out to be something far more insidious.

As partners in an investigation, D'Agosta and Pendergast are like chalk and cheese. Where Pendergast is caviar and expensive Champaign, Vincent is steak and potatoes, drinking a cold beer on a hot day at a baseball game. Their differences seem to compliment each other, and their loyalty and friendship for one another is rock solid.

The decapitated young woman turns out to be a tech billionaires daughter. She had been reported missing a few days prior to her body being discovered. Because the case is now 'high profile', by orders of the mayor, the detectives visit Anton Ozmian, the father of the deceased. Ozmian turns out to be a menacing character, having a violent fit when told of his daughters death. Ozmain takes the term 'wealthy eccentric' to levels never seen before. Because the case is high profile, the pressure and heat from the top is strong, thus solving the case for the NYPD and the FBI is high priority. Then another murder is committed.

In most or all of the Pendergast series is a dogged journalist on the heels of the investigation. Bryce Harriman once worked for the NYT and now works for the Post. The man's ethics are sketchy, but he always seems to get the scoop. When the second victim is found headless, there's talk around town of a serial killer. Because both murders were members of the 1%, Harriman makes a link. There must be a 99% crusader making examples of the 1%. When this story makes the headlines, all of New York's elite are seen fleeing Manhattan in droves.

The mark of a great crime/thriller is it keeps the reader guessing as to the killers identity until the end. This tale is no different. One would never deduce this killer's identity and their motive for the murders.

For fans of this series, this installment will not disappoint. For readers who read City of Endless Night by itself without knowledge of the series will also be entertained from start to finish.