Comment: Preston & Child - The Cabinet of Dr. Leng.

 

This is the latest novel of the Agent Pendergast series, following Bloodless. The authors write:

Ideally, this novel fits into a sequence one might call the Leng Quartet: The Cabinet of Curiosities, Bloodless, The Cabinet of Dr. Leng, and a fourth, concluding novel which we are writing as fast as possible.

It's been so many years since reading The Cabinet of Curiosities, followed years later with Bloodless, I really hoped that The Cabinet of Dr. Leng would wrap everything up in a nice satisfying bow. Spoiler Alert: the Leng novel ends with a disappointing line:

TO BE CONTINUED...

Admittedly, I'm quite the nerd when it comes to the Pendergast novels. Reading them since 2005, my connection to all the characters has almost become personal. 

I remember reading the Sherlock Holmes stories in middle and high school. I was devastated when Sir Arther Conan Doyle killed Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarity, plunging into the abyss over the Reichenbach Falls.  Over about a week, I discovered Holmes had been resurrected, and the stories continued. I later read that when Doyle killed Sherlock, the city of London came close to shutting down. Doyle was forced to bring Sherlock back to life. I feel the same way about the Pendergast characters as if they were real people. Lame and nerdy, I know. 

Once you think a particularly evil character is dead or has disappeared completely, they seem to pop up at inopportune times. Another surprise in Dr. Leng...the novel leaving you hanging by your fingernails on the proverbial cliff. Wonderful, really.

Writing a brief summary of the series would be a disservice to the new reader. 

It would be beneficial for the new reader of this Quartet to begin at the beginning with The Cabinet of Curiosities, followed by Bloodless and Dr. Leng. 

I don't work for the authors or their publishers, though reading the novels sequentially will be a much more rewarding experience for the new reader. 

If you like gothic/mystery/science fiction novels, the Pendergast series will not disappoint. 

I don't know when the fourth novel will be published, though I know it will be worth the wait.