Aloysius Pendergast has come a long way since the last book I read in the series Still Life With Crows book 4. I was concerned that I'd have a hard time skipping to book 21, but I was pulled right into the action with no problem. I just recently discovered Pendergast and loved every book so far, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy and I wasn't disjointed! It's hard to describe without giving everything away, so I'll just say READ IT! You'll love it too! Now I'm looking forward to catching up the rest of the series while I wait on the cliffhanger at the end of this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm still playing catch up with this series having managed to read almost half of the twenty-one. As I had read Bloodless and had the chance to read an ARC, I jumped right in and got lost for the better part of two days. I would have read it in one go but hunger and sleep prevented that. Yes, it's that good. Time travel, science fiction, mystery, thriller, cliff hanger, two awesome story lines and so much more. I'll say no more because of possible spoilers.
There is enough backstory given to keep things straight so if you are like me and haven't read everything in the series, take a chance on this one = you won't regret it. Just make sure you set aside a weekend, have snacks, etc. and settle down to enjoy the ride. It's a doozy.
My thanks to the publisher Grand Central and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I guess you can call me a fan of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, I have read 35+ of their books, counting both their individual works and their collaborations. “The Cabinet of Dr. Leng” is their latest in the Pendergast novels, 21 books strong, and one that takes the story in an outlandish direction, yes even for this series.

Picking up where the previous novel “Bloodless” left off, FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast is mourning the loss of his “ward” Constance Greene, who has used a time machine (now destroyed) to go back to New York of the 1880s to save her younger self as well as her brother and sister. Pendergast is so depressed that his housekeeper enlists long-time friend NYPD Lieutenant Commander Vincent D'Agosta to come over and try to get him moving once again, with little success. But may there be a way to fix the broken time machine?

D’Agosta has his own issues, being in a funk with his career, when a somewhat interesting murder takes place in the museum where his whole Pendergast friendship started; a museum employee was found frozen to death in one of the deep freezers away from his area, the door was sabotaged to prevent him from escaping.

Meanwhile we have Special Agent Armstrong Coldmoon making his way back out West, getting assigned to a simple open and shut murder case on a Native American reservation. But maybe this case wasn’t so straight forward; the more Coldmoon digs the more he finds, eventually tying back to D’Agosta’s museum murder and the theft of Native American artifacts.

And finally we also spend a lot of time with Constance Greene in 1880s New York as she establishes herself as an European duchess and plots to save her remaining family from the clutches of the evil Dr. Leng before he can kill her sister. But Constance isn’t as clever nor as careful as she needs to be…

The stories overlap and cross into each other, leading to an explosive finale that will need another book to resolve.

Looking back at some of my reviews of this series, I see that I have complained about the Pendergast books getting a bit too conventional at times. Well, this one sees me complaining about being a bit too unconventional, specifically about the time-travelling to parallel dimensions. One of the strengths of these books has always been the careful mixture of mystery with the fantastical/supernatural and the ability of the authors to not push too far into either of those categories (similar to some of the better Repairman Jack books by F. Paul Wilson); it seems that lately they’ve been having a difficult time keeping that balance. I will continue reading and continue to be a fan, but hopefully the next book will see us right the ship.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is the 21st installment in the long-running Agent Pendergast series. And what a fantastic ride it is!

I'm going to put this in the beginning of my review: Get ready for a WILD cliffhanger. I knew there will be another book coming as by the time I got to 5% left in the book, we were nowhere near the completion of the story. I knew I'll need to wait; I thought I was mentally prepared. I was not. My advise: don't look up the spoilers in advance. Allow yourself to really experience the last page. Let it happen: you'll love it and also hate it as you know that now you really have to wait. It was so good/bad that the authors had to apologize at the end of the book for making us wait.

It is not a standalone novel and if you are new to these books, I would definitely recommend starting with the 3rd book of the series - the Cabinet of Curiosities (which is a fantastic book that made me absolutely fall in love with the world of Pendergast). The 2nd part would be Bloodless (book #20) and then this current book.

The action picks up right after the end of Bloodless. Constance is in New York of 1880. Agent Coldmoon FINALLY makes it to Denver. Pendergast returns to New York. We also get to follow Vincent D'Agosta on a new interesting case.

I really enjoyed all the storylines in the book. It was great to see that Coldmoon is a capable agent on his own, without Pendergast. He does a wonderful job with the case he is presented with. I'm thinking there is yet more to come with his case in the next book. Something is definitely fishy there.

I did feel bad for Vincent - he seems to mope around a lot again. Maybe the authors could give him a little break and have some good things going for him for a change!

This book took a little longer for me to read as I kept on stopping and looking up the locations, objects, history of the 1880's and the information about the Lakota chiefs and artifacts. I would love to see an illustrated edition with additional information. It would be so educational! This book took me down the rabbit hole for sure.

I received the advanced copy of this book for my review and I'm really thankful for that. I'm not sure if the actual book that comes out on 1/17/23 will have any changes or not, but I think it would be very helpful to have translations from other languages provided in the book as it's not always possible to pause and look it up. Thank you, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing, for allowing me to read this story in advance. I really could hardly wait!

Another amazing book in the series! I have been reading this series since the beginning and Preston / Child are some of my favorite authors. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. Great read!!

I was very disappointed with Bloodless and I wasn't sure how this one was going to go for me. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have restored my faith in their Pendergast books. From the beginning to the cliffhanger at the end, I was enthralled and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. The side plot with Agent Coldmoon was still engaging and I always love to see Vinnie D'Agosta make an appearance. The Cabinet of Curiosities remains my favorite Pendergast novel and this one as a direct sequel is not a letdown. Rather it builds on the previous story and gives Dr. Enoch Leng center stage in all of his off-putting murderous glory. It's going to be hard to wait for the next book in this series.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the arc for review purposes. All thoughts are my own.

This book is typical Preston/Child and typical Pendergast and that is a good thing. I have been reading the Pendergast novels since the 90's and he is one of my three favorite fictional characters (with Sherlock Holmes and Star War's Thrawn).

If I had anything even slightly negative to say about this book is that is needed MORE Pendergast. It is very Constance-heavy but that is to be expected given the story line. In addition, it does end a bit abruptly so the wait for the next one is going to be tough!

Other than those small quibbles, it is an exciting adventure which takes us to Constance's past in a parallel dimension. I love that almost all Pendergast novels have a bit of the supernatural. Not in terms of ghosts, etc. but in terms of being "attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature". There are no limits to the stories we will be told.

I highly recommend this book but, most importantly, the entire Pendergast series (in order). Do it. You won't be sorry.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

This would EASILY have been 5 stars, until the end loomed and I realized it was not a complete story. And then, the words "TO BE CONCLUDED" made me whimper a little.

We first heard of Dr Leng way back in The Cabinet of Curiosities, when his victims were discovered far beneath the streets of New York City. And we learned that Constance had previous contact with him back when those atrocities were being performed. Now Constance has returned to the New York of 1880 to rescue her sister, brother, and her child self.

Pendergast is lost without Constance and is just a shell of himself when he finally returns to present-day New York. So much changed that his housekeeper, Mrs Trask, visits NYPD detective D'Agosta to visit and find out what is troubling him so much.

We also revisit Agent Coldmoon, who has worked recently with Pendergast on some of his most baffling cases.

Two current murders, one in New York and the other in South Dakota appear to be linked and bring together D'Agosta and Coldmoon, who each are trying to solve these murders.

The action moves from New York of 1880 to present-day New York to South Dakota to Equador and finally to Miami, and there are unanswered questions EVERYWHERE!!

A total cliffhanger and now I have to wait!

Having said that, as always I loved the latest. Always great to catch up with Pendergast and the gang. Fun, clever, entertaining as always, they continue to be top of the game.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 21st book in the Pendergast series by Preston & Child. It should not be read as a standalone - at a minimum, you should read The Cabinet of Curiosities and Bloodless first (though, really, the whole series is worth the investment!). I loved this book and audibly gasped at the ending. I don't know how I'm going to wait until the next one comes out (it was a cliffhanger!).

Constance has taken a time machine back to 1800s NYC (in a parallel universe) to try to save her sister and herself from Dr. Leng, and her brother from his death. Pendergast, understanding Leng's abilities, is desperate to follow and help. Meanwhile, Coldmoon (and Vinnie!) are working on a case involving theft of Native American artifacts in the present time.

If you're a Pendergast fan, you should enjoy this book. If it's your first foray into the series, start with an earlier book as mentioned above.

Thanks to a mysterious device, Cassandra has returned to the 1880s New York City on a mission of mercy. While a youth, she lived through horror at the hands of the sinister Dr. Enoch Leng and later discovered he was directly responsible for one of her sibling's deaths and unintentionally responsible for the other. Now she's come back as an adult so save her siblings thanks to some superscience and armed with the money, equipment, and knowledge required to give her siblings a fighting chance …

Meanwhile, in the present day, Aloysius Pendergast is trying to rebuild the broken machine that sent his beloved back in time. He will recruit a reengage, genius engineer to aid him. What is the goal? Why to open the path between the present and the past, of course, so he can go after her. Beyond that, he's not quite sure.

Meanwhile, a dead museum curator is found in a freezer storage room in the New York Museum of Natural History, a bizarre entry into the annals of locked room murder mysteries. Pendergast's old comrade Lieutenant Commander Vincent D'Agosta is in charge of that investigation, and it's a strange setup made all the more difficult to investigate because of the priceless artifacts also held within that freezer …

But is it somehow related to a death on the Lakota Reservation? A famed crafter of replicas of indigenous people's relics has been found shot to death. The case seems open and shut at first glance, but Pendergast's old ally Special Agent Armstrong Coldmoon is not so certain. When he discovers ties between the dead man, a curator of the New York Museum of Natural History and a large sum of money, that open and shut case seems to increasingly smell of a coverup …

For their twenty-first outing in the Pendergast series, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child have composed a story with many layers and plots, a novel where not every crime is solved and not every mystery is unraveled. It is a book that is fascinated with the concepts of mystery and action, it's a book that has a propulsive writing style and no less than four different storylines. It's a quirky entry in a long running series, in other words, the middle grounds to a longer saga, which stretches back almost to the series' beginning.

I have a somewhat special circumstance for coming to The Cabinet of Dr. Leng. I am not a regular reader of Preston & Child. In fact, the last book I can recall reading was The Cabinet of Curiosities, back when it hit paperback in 2003. According to the back matter of their latest book, this entry is not a standalone piece, building on material from both the last book I read as well as a subsequent book called Bloodless. The ending to this work is not a satisfying one on its own. In fact, the ending seems to serve the purpose only of dragging readers by the throats into the next book, which unfortunately is still being written. So, I have read this book pretty cold and without any sense of the history of the characters or connection to the series rest of the series. Typically, this is not my favorite way to come to series fiction.

Does The Cabinet of Dr. Leng stand well on its own? Aside from that ending, it's not bad. I could keep up with the plots and could find characters to invest my interests in. My favorite threads were centered on the historical stuff and Agent Coldmoon. Prendergast spends a lion's share of this book not doing much. He's there, and he gets chapters, but he's mostly nursing his emotional wounds and putting other pieces into play. At first, I wondered if the authors were tired of the character and just added him in to keep this under that bestselling series banner. However, I then acknowledged how little we see the protagonist of a thriller series take the opportunity for a rest. Even John Corey of Nelson DeMille's series starts off his latest book The Maze on hiatus, though he admittedly does fall into the next plot rather quickly.

The first half of The Cabinet of Dr. Leng is somewhat akin to a leisurely stroll instead of a white knuckle thrill ride. Most of the actual action happens in the distant past. The modern day plotlines are investigative. Intriguing, perhaps, but not necessarily dragging us helplessly along. During these opening chapters, the book is relatively easy to put down. Particularly when one plotline gives way to the next.

However, the second half of the book is where these storylines merge and the book shows its hooks, grabbing on and carrying us along through the remainder. This is where The Cabinet of Dr. Leng goes from entertaining to unputdownable. The trust the authors demonstrate in their readership is commendable. As well, the afterward that includes an apology from those authors for this book's cliffhanger conclusion is endearing.

Will this convince me to read the series? I'm certainly curious how this cliffhanger turns out. However, I'm not champing at the bit to go back through all the preceding volumes just yet.

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng is an interesting way stop in a longer series, a midpoint along a much larger adventure. Drawing inspiration across different points of the series (along with different eras of history), the latest entry in the Pendergast series is an involving book that builds to a climax it is unable to resolve. Fans of the series won't be able to wait for the next installment, and that yearning to know what happens next may well win some new readers to Preston & Child's books.
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A special thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

An entertaining installment in the Pendergast series. Dr. Leng has returned! The authors have put a new spin on this series with time travel but they continue to leverage notoriety in exchange for creativity and giving fans something new. For readers new to this series, I suggest some of the earlier installments.

ARC was provided by NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng is part of an ongoing series and is best read in sequence as it continues the story. The fantastical time travel and mystery-solving continue throughout the book. It is extremely engrossing as the characters are well-developed and vividly portrayed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Love this series! In this edition, Preston & Child continue the storyline begun in the previous book Bloodless where Constance Greene makes a risky move to try to change the past. Now Pendergast is determined to help her and enlists the aid of his long-time friend NYPD Lieutenant Commander Vincent D'Agosta.

Meanwhile FBI Special Agent Armstrong Coldmoon, who has been working with Pendergast for several months, is reassigned to look into a murder case out west. He's not happy with the easy answer the locals have used to close the case and his further digging finds links to an ongoing murder investigation in NYC.

These storylines twist and turn in exciting ways with several new characters brought into the mix..and the return of one evil archenemy! Will good triumph over evil? Oh no!!! We must wait to find out!!!

I received an arc of this new thriller from the authors and publisher via NetGalley. It's probably my favorite series of all time so I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity. My review however is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

"Preston and Child continue their #1 bestselling series featuring FBI Special Agent Pendergast and Constance Greene, as they cross paths with New York's deadliest serial killer: Pendergast's own ancestor…and now his greatest foe.

AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

Astoundingly, Constance has found a way back to the place of her origins, New York City in the late 1800s, leaping at the chance, although it means leaving the present forever.

A DESPERATE OPPORTUNITY

Constance sets off on a quest to prevent the events that lead to the deaths of her sister and brother. But along the road to redemption, Manhattan's most infamous serial killer, Dr. Enoch Leng, lies in wait, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

UNIMAGINABLE ODDS

Meanwhile, in contemporary New York, Pendergast feverishly searches for a way to reunite with Constance - but will he discover a way back to her before it's too late?"

I love a good mystery and a good time slip!

** this is part of a series but it can stand alone... but treat yourself to the earlier books, as with most long term series this one works so well if you really have the character background. plus it's a great series! **
I am a long time fan of Pendergast and this series from Preston and Child; super glad to have a chance to review this new installment. With appreciation to Grand Central Publishing for a review copy, I really do love this series.

I loved the depth with Constance and the development of her character in this story (which connects to the cabinet of curiosities book and the ending of Bloodless) as well as the focus on Native American/Indigenous artifacts. The inclusion of Agent Coldmoon was a great part of this plot but I was really engaged, more than expected, with the Constance plot and how themes across books were developed.

If you are a fan of this series (and you probably are if you are reading #21/#22), this is another win and has an ending that makes you want to know what comes in the next book.

It's rare for a long term series to continue to hold my attention and offer continued interest and engagement from me so The Cabinet of Dr. Leng is a big thumbs up from me.

It was very hard for me to keep up with everything going on in this book. Too many back and forth between the different times and it was like 2 stories in one. Very confusing!

Initially when I started reading i thought there were at least 2 novellas within this book because the story kept jumping from one to the other. The loose ends did, however, get tied up in the end. I do not generally read books that have much fantasy eg: time travel but in this case i thoroughly enjoyed this book. Pendergast in himself is such a dynamic protagonist but in this story we also got to so see how strong a character was presented in Constance. We also got to see how Pendergast feels about Constance. I felt only negative to this book was the ending. There was none. I have read all of Preston & Child books and that is a first. I suppose the whole story could not be told unless the book had 800 pages ( and most readers, including me, psychologically do not want to read 800 page books) So here I sit waiting in anticipation for the next book.

The writing team of Preston and Child is one of my favorites. I love the Pendergast series and also the standalone novels they both write. This book continues right where the previous one, Bloodless, left off. Constance has gone into the past and Pendergast is obsessed with finding her. There is also a Native American mystery with Agent Coldmoon which involves forged artifacts. I enjoyed the Coldmoon storyline and would love to see a book staring him. The forging of native artifacts is fascinating to me, and Coldmoon is such a great character. The story with Coldmoon did not really have anything to do with the Pendergast story. It just seemed like a way to add more pages to the book.

I do not really like the time travel aspect of the story, but I still found myself involved the storyline. I really came into this series for the mysteries, and that is still my favorite part. It was nice to see Constance come up against a worthy opponent in Dr. Leng. Sometimes she seems so self assured that it feels like she can do no wrong, so it is nice to see her get her comeuppance. And once again it is Pendergast to her rescue, even if he needs to reinvent time travel to do so. The story ends in a cliff hanger, which I felt was a bit of a cop out. Why drag this out? I enjoyed this book and plan to continue reading the series but would love a return to the FBI cases rather than the family dynamics.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Any book with a green mist floating out through a door is going to attract my attention. Fortunately, The Cabinet of Dr. Leng is as good as the cover. I had not read the Pendergast novels before, but the authors did a good job of cluing me into the characters and background without resorting to an info dump.

What we have here is science fiction, mystery, thriller and a character who wears the wrong clothes to the 19th Century. Okay, so that is not a major plot point, but let is serve as a warning if you plan to time travel. There are also at least three different stories going on that all come together even though they seem to have nothing to do with each other at first.

Alas, the book ends with a cliffhanger. The authors apologize for it. It's such a fascinating cliffhanger that it makes me want to read the next edition, which I will because the characters are interesting, and the major characters have depth to them.

Before I go to check my closet to see if my wardrobe is appropriate for time travel, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me to read and review The Cabinet of Dr. Leng.