Description: Agent Pendergast returns in a new suspense thriller from New York Times bestselling authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Art critic Jeremy Grove is found dead, his face frozen in a mask of terror. His body temperature is grotesquely high; he is discovered in a room barricaded from the inside; the smell of brimstone is everywhere ...and the unmistakable imprint of a claw is burned into the wall. As more bodies are discovered - their only connection the bizarre but identical manner of death - the world begins to wonder if the Devil has, in fact, come to collect his due.

Verdict: Preston and Child do justice to the character of Pendergast yet again. This story is thrilling and clever, and the settings are beautifully described. However, some major flaws stand out which contradict their previous works. The most glaring error is that the character D'Agosta is visiting Italy for the first time in this book, yet in the previous books he told Pendergast he had already been there. Also, some of the details early on in the book could have been a bit more subtle. For example, the Count offering Pendergast a glass of Amontillado blew trumpets of caution in my mind, which made the ending predictable. The thing that still blows me away about Preston and Child is their ability to do research. Each side topic in the book feels like it is being explained by an expert. They take the time to do things right. It's just a shame they couldn't research their OWN books a bit better. Overall the book is a great read, and impossible to put down. I anxiously await 'Dance of Death'.
Reviewed by Jeremy Myers