Douglas Preston is one of my favorite authors. He reminds me a bit of Clive Cussler -- an author who wrote exciting, thrilling books and also did The Things in real life. Having been an investigative journalist, Preston has looked into, researched and written about all sorts of weird, mysterious, and downright scary events and places. I love how he (and co author Lincoln Child) weave some of these real occurrences into their Agent Pendergast and Nora Kelly books, adding their own twists to make the story their own.

I read Preston's 2017 non-fiction book The Lost City of the Monkey God with fascination when it came out. I could only imagine the excitement and uncertainty of searching the Honduran rain forest with LIDAR to find a legendary lost city.

When this book - The Lost Tomb - popped onto my radar before its publication, I knew I had to read it. I read part of the digital arc I requested from the publisher -- and stopped. Not because I didn't want to finish the book, but because I was enjoying it so much I wanted to wait....to slow down....to wait until I had the audio book to listen while reading the words, and a bit more time to read/listen, look up facts on the real events online as I read, and just savor this book. I have a almost obsessive love for mystery, the unexplained, and the strange directions real events can take. And, this collection of stories hits all the buttons for me. I didn't want to just read this for pre-publication review purposes -- I wanted to completely enjoy this book!

So I stopped reading. And waited. Christmas holiday. Several days off of work. No place I need to be. And, I loaded up my digital print copy of this book and bought the audio book.

I was ready to enjoy Douglas Preston's stories.

I'm glad I waited.

The stories are from journalistic pieces he researched and published, and tales he and Lincoln Child wove into their books. Everything from an Italian serial killer case that spanned decades to Dyatlov Pass - the stories are varied and each as interesting as the next.

For readers who love mysteries, interesting and intriguing tales and books like the Agent Pendergast and Nora Kelly series -- you really need to read this book!

Loved it! And, Douglas Preston is firmly situated right at the tippy-top of my favorite authors list. Not only that, I think he would be an interesting person to spend time with, to have dinner with, to have real conversation with. An interesting person, who has led an interesting life. I've met a number of authors in my years as a reviewer. Most were very nice people who I enjoyed speaking to and spending time with...and a couple were incredible douchemeister asshats (not naming names). My intuition tells me that Preston would be a wonderful member of the former, and not the latter. If he ever does an event near Denver I will be there to thank him for his work, and to also see if I'm right. :)

I'm definitely in line for his next non-fiction book. He has me hooked!

The audio book is just over 12 hours long and narrated by Will Collyer. This is the first audio book I've listened to that was narrated by Collyer. He has a pleasant voice, reads at a good pace, and is easily understandable. Great job of narration! The audio book is very enjoyable!

I highly recommend this book! I bought a copy, so I don't have to add a disclaimer that I received a free review copy and that all opinions are strictly my own, yadda yadda yadda....but I will just out of habit....

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

This was a very interesting book. Douglas Preston is a good author, and it was very informative. I will probably be reading more Douglas Preston books in the future.

I have read this author before and have enjoyed him, so I had high hopes for this one, until I learned it was just articles from his writings over the years and then I was a little hesitant. Nonetheless, I dove in.

I need to be completely honest here - I did not love this. One story I had to skip completely because I have the book about it and I didn't want the "cliff notes" of an article [The Monster of Florence], one I only listened to half of because my eyes were completely glazing over from all the technobabble that was the complete article and I am afraid there were a couple that I listened to, but probably checked out a little whilst listening [and it was no fault of the narrator, but more on that later]. The story that really stayed with me was the one about Amanda Knox - that was one wild ride of a story and shows just how crazy the internet and the trolls and hidden bowels of it have gotten so out of control. The Lost Tomb was also a very good story and I enjoyed it very much. There were a couple others that I also enjoyed, but I don't remember the titles of them. Overall though, this was just an okay read for me. The meh parts absolutely outweighed the really good ones for me and to be honest, I am disappointed, though not sorry I read this. Even though I didn't care for most of it, the stories I did like made it worth it in the end.

I was able to request and receive the audiobook ARC for this and have now added the narrator, Will Collyer, to my favorite narrator list [he gives a 5-star narration]; he does an exceptional job with the material he is given and my issues with the book have nothing to do with his exceptional narration. The ones that I really enjoyed were made even more enjoyable because of really good narration - it makes such a difference. I would absolutely listen to him again!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Douglas Preston, Will Collyer - Narrator, Hachette Audio and Grand Central Publishing for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

I think my favorites were the pieces on Amanda Knox/internet trolls and The Lost Tomb. I didn't realize these were reprints of articles, and if I had I likely wouldn't have picked it. But the second half made it worth the read.

The Lost Tomb by Douglas Preston is a book of articles he has written in the past, mostly for the New Yorker, with updates where available. Preston is, at heart, a reporter, who follows his nose to try to solve real mysteries in the world, and report them to us, adoring fans of his fiction. As with most non-fiction there are times and dates and names. With some of the more complicated mysteries there are plenty of them. Some of the mysteries he reports on have become the basis for a work of fiction, dressed in different clothing, of course. It is an interesting read, well written, and presented in as much depth as is possible. A consuming read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Lost Tomb by Grand Central Publishing, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #GrandCentralPublishing #DoughlasPreston #TheLostTomb

The Lost Tomb is a collection of previously published articles. I came into the book being a fan of Preston's fiction titles. I am so glad I picked up The Lost Tomb. The stories are very interesting and cover a variety of topic such as Oak Island, Egyptian tombs, and more. While these 'stories' were written over a span of several decades, Preston does include updates to the information. I think this book works wonders as a collection of appetizers, making you want to read and research more on the various topics. The collection, like Preston's other works, is very well written. The collection is also put together really well. I really enjoyed The Lost Tomb. It's a nonfiction title we will definitely add to our library and I will suggest to our nonfiction readers as well as those who are fans of Preston's fiction titles.

The Lost Tomb: And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder by Douglas Preston is a very highly recommended collection of thirteen nonfiction articles Preston has written over the years.

Preston is, indeed, the best-selling fiction writing partner with Lincoln Child of the Aloysius Pendergast series, but he is also a well respected nonfiction writer. David Grann writes the forward to these thirteen fascinating, remarkable features, many of which I remember reading in the original publications. Each selection is followed by updated information. It is wonderful to have all these articles together in one place along with the updates. The Lost Tomb is compelling reading and not to be missed.

Contents include:
Uncommon Murders: Buried Treasure (a personal search for a friend and a treasure); The Monster of Florence (in search of a serial killer in Italy)
Unexplained Deaths: The Skeletons at the Lake (hundreds of skeletons found at a lake high in the Himalayas); The Skiers at Dead Mountain (the death of a group of skiers in the Ural Mountains); The Skeleton on the Riverbank (who was Kennewick man?)
Unsolved Mysteries: The Mystery of Oak Island (the center of treasure hunting for over 200 years); The Mystery of Sandia Cave (Frank Hibben and the discovery of the 20,000 year old Sandia Man); The Mystery of Hell Creek (extraordinary record in North Dakota of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs)
Curious Crimes: The Clovis Point Con (how did the ancient Clovis mammoth hunters create their weapons?); Trial by Fury (The Amanda Knox case and ultimate acquittal)
Old Bones: Skeletons in the Closet (museums storage of skeletons that Native Americans want the right to bury); Cannibals of the Canyon (a terrible truth about a prehistoric civilization in the American Southwest); The Lost Tomb (the discovery of the sepulchre containing the many sons of Ramesses the Great)

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I'm a big fan of Douglas Preston's fiction work and his colorful and engaging writing style shines through in the non-fiction stories that comprise "The Lost Tomb". Some of them are quite intriguing and read as thrilling mysteries, including one that was the basis of the latest Preston & Child novel.

However... almost all of the stories in this book were published in magazines in the late 1990s and get addenda for updates, rather than being rewritten and updated. Most significantly, at least a few have nothing at all to do with archeology and don't fit into this compendium. By the time I finished the last piece ("The Lost Tomb", one of the very best in the book) I was somewhat relieved to have reached the end of the book. My theory is that at least one of the pieces herein serves as filler to hit a required page count rather than because they too are more "best of" Douglas Preston.

Ultimately, I would say that "The Lost Tomb" is worth your time, but it's entirely appropriate - and smart - to be judicious about which stories you read through and which you skim or skip entirely. Your reading experience may vary, suffice to say!

Completely captivating!

"The Lost Tomb," by Douglas Preston is an immensely interesting collection of true-life stories that are a worthwhile read on their own - and that make the perfect companion to any Pendergast or Nora Kelly novels that one might have already read.

If you've ever been curious about what gives Preston some of the ideas that lead to the escapades that we often find his characters in, this book illustrates that much of his inspiration comes from the life he's led and the adventures that he himself has been on.

A fascinating read for those who want to know more about the real-life inspirations for many of his fictional works, but also for those interested in archaeology, true crime, paleontology, and more. One of my favorite articles from this collection focused on the moment in time where a meteor crashed to Earth and caused one of the largest mass extinction events the Earth has seen - something we've all heard about, but that was so much more interesting to learn about on the detailed level that Preston outlined in his article.

I don't often read nonfiction, something I am trying to work on, but this collection kept me hooked from the first page to the last.

"The Lost Tomb" is an excellent collection of previously published magazine journals by Preston.

There are altogether 13 stories, my favorite has to be "Unexplained Deaths" section.

I never heard of Roopkund Lake in the Himalayas before and to know they found hundreds of 500-800 year-old bones and skulls there just blows my mind. It's a mass grave and very intriguing.

I love reading about the Dyatlov Expedition where all 9 experienced campers and skiers died. It's always interesting hearing about the theories but I didn't know there were as many as 70+ "explanations" some more farfetched than others.

What I wasn't expecting to see is Amanda Knox's case. It's very disturbing that the public prosecutor in Knox's case and the Monster of Florence serial murders is the same man, Giuliano Mignini. There's no word for this man except epic fail. Preston and crime reporter, Mario Spezi got entangled with that drama. The Monster of Florence limited series is coming to Apple TV and I can't wait to see it.

There are so many excellent stories to list. Now that I'm going through the contents, I enjoyed them all!

I didn't know beforehand that the author used to be a writer and editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Now I know where the setting and inspiration for Relic came from!

I do wish there were answers to every story here and have to agree with retired archaeologist Stuart Fiedel, "I hate unsolved mysteries" too!

I've been wanting to read Preston's nonfiction book like "The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story" which has been on my TBR for some time. I'm glad to finally get a sneak peek into his other writings besides my all-time favorite series of his with Lincoln Child, Aloysius Pendergast Series through an advance reader's copy. Highly recommend it to those who enjoy true crime, history, Archaeology, Paleontology, Anthropology, and peculiar mysteries.

Thank you Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for the DRC.

Most readers know Douglas Preston as one-half of the writing team responsible (along with Lincoln Child) for the Pendergast novels, but he has also been an editor at the American Museum of Natural History and has written about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic and Smithsonian. His journalistic explorations have taken him around the world.

The Lost Tomb is a collection of true stories about buried treasure, murder, lost tombs, and strange crimes. Several of the stories previously appeared in other publications and have been updated for this book. What became crystal clear as I read is the important part non-fiction has always played in Preston's fiction.

This book is a gold mine for enthusiasts of archaeology and paleontology. I felt as though I were with the team that discovered a vast Egyptian tomb Pharaoh Ramses II built for his fifty-two sons. (No, that number isn't a typo.) I became acquainted with the personalities of many famous archaeologists, anthropologists, and paleontologists. However, what I learned about archaeology in the Southwestern United States made the biggest impression on me. There is a lot of fascinating information in these pages

If you're interested in the subjects of archaeology, anthropology, or paleontology, The Lost Tomb is an excellent way to spend a few hours.

Being a big fan of the Preston/Child fiction books, I was looking forward to “The Lost Tomb And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder” by Douglas Preston, which tells about the real life inspirations for some of the fiction, as well as other adventures that Mr. Preston has had in the world of archeology, treasure hunting, true crime. And this collection did not disappoint, providing some longer essays and articles about the interesting world that we live in, about some of the odder discoveries from our past. Each article focuses on a different topic, some are more bizarre than others, but each one provides a window into a mystery that isn’t always solved.

A Buried Treasure: A story of lost innocence, and maybe not always following up on “whatever happened to…”.

The Monster of Florence: This is one where Mr. Preston gets a bit too involved with trying to solve the case of a serial killer in Tuscany.

The Skeletons at the Lake: An ancient mystery, a large group of skeletons are found high in the Himalayas, modern DNA analysis shows that some of these may be Greek?

The Skiers at Dead Mountain: The basis for one of Preston/Child’s books, a story about an experienced group of winter campers found dead in mysterious circumstances in the old USSR.

The Skeleton on the Riverbank: The politics of determining the background of a 9000-year-old skeleton found in the Pacific Northwest.

The Mystery of Oak Island: Yep, Mr. Preston gets involved in the biggest/longest treasure hunt in North America.

The Mystery of Sandia Cave: Were the discoveries of Dr. Hibben genuine? The allegations of fraud and Sandia Cave.

The Mystery of Hell Creek: Do the fossil finds in North Dakota capture the exact hour that the asteroid hit and wiped out the dinosaurs?

The Clovis Point Con: How a talented amateur slowly drifts into the world of forgery.

Trial by Fury: All about the Amanda Knox case, but more about the media circus and internet outrage surrounding it.

Skeletons in the Closet: Just how many human remains (mummies) do museums need? And who owns those remains?

Cannibals of the Canyon: The controversy about evidence of cannibalism in the American Southwest.

The Lost Tomb: I was unaware that Mr. Preston was involved in the uncovering of the Ramses tomb, but this is a great first-hand recounting of the story so far.

A great collection that makes you wonder how much is still out there to discover.

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

A quick and fun read of different articles that Mr Preston has written over the years, each including a brief update. I loved the different topics covered and the attention given to each of them. You could read one story about a recent murder and the next was about the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. I got lost in the vivid story telling as he paints the picture of his subjects and travels the world to get the story.

I’m a big fan of this author’s books. This was an interesting collection of previous releases. It gives some background into his books he’s written. Any fan will truly enjoy this book

A thrilling real-life work as follow up to the Lost City of the Monkey God. Preston is a skillful adventure fiction writer who really makes the non-fiction prose here grab a reader.

Douglas Preston has enthralled me with his writing once again. Reading his work is always an adventure. He immerses you into the story with his word choice. He is a master at creating a description that fully places you in the setting. I was becoming claustrophobic at his descriptions of narrow, hot tunnels in ancient Egyptian tombs. This collection of articles gives us a glimpse into Preston's life as he finds ideas for his many works of fiction and nonfiction. Preston finds himself in difficult and fascinating situations that keep the reader turning the page.

For the most part, I am enjoying the conversational tone of the writing. These are true stories of mysteries. Some of these events I have heard of, others are new to me. The book is made up of various articles written for different publications, each chapter exploring a different topic. Douglas Preston is one of my favorite authors. I am amazed by what an interesting life he leads. This is a good book if you want to explore certain mysteries in greater detail.

The Skeletons at the Lake, started strong, then became boring. Too much discussion of DNA for someone who is a non scientist.

Douglas Preston finds the most intriguing stories and is an incredible researcher and journalist. I would read a full-length book on any of these topics (I think The Monster of Florence is the only one that resulted in a full-length book). These were previously published but I had missed the majority of them, aside from The Monster and the Amanda Knox one. Updates are included for some of the older ones, which was very helpful. They were all completely fascinating and his writing is wonderful, so compelling.

I should probably preface this review by saying I’ve never actually read a Douglas Preston book before, but this one sounded super interesting and honestly, who among us didn’t have that weird ancient Egypt obsession at some point in our lives.

That said, this book very much falls into my category of “I didn’t really like it, but I know someone will”.

It just wasn’t what I was anticipating from the description. A collection of various articles that Douglas Preston has written over the last 30 or so years, some of them are truly fascinating. I especially enjoyed the chapters about a serial killer in Tuscany, and the chapter about Amanda Knox and the intense online vitriol she inspired.

Much of the other chapters were a lot more science-y than I was expecting. To the point that my late night reading brain kind of spaced a lot of it out, and I’d find myself having to go back and re-read entire paragraphs. There’s a whole lot of talk about soil variations and carbon dating, and I’m sure plenty of people find that super interesting, I’m unfortunately not one of them.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC, I enjoyed it so much.

Douglas Preston is ALWAYS a must read, it doesn't matter who you are - you will absolutely fall in love with any of his books. His prose is palatable for everyone and anyone, with enough charisma, wit, and intrigue to keep you hooked even if you aren't particularly interested in this genre. This book contains a bit of something for everybody; true crime, anthropological mysteries, and unexplained deaths. I already knew about most of the events the book covered in each chapter, but this didn't stop my love for the book. It felt like it gave more depth, combined with Preston's priceless point of view. I 100% recommend this one.