(2004)Very good thriller as FBI agent Pendergast tries to figure out how people are being killed in a manner that suggests the Devil did it. Seems to end with Pendergast's death, but wait maybe not.From Publishers WeeklyFans of cerebral action adventure novels know that, outside of Michael Crichton, no one delivers the goods like the veteran writing team of Preston and Child (Relic; Still Life with Crows; etc.). As if invigorated by their recent solo efforts (Child: Utopia, etc.; Preston: The Codex, etc.), the two now deliver their best novel ever, an extravagant tale of international intrigue. As their admirers know, one reason Preston and Child thrillers work is because most feature arguably the most charismatic detective in contemporary fiction: FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, a wealthy, refined yet ruthless descendant of Holmes who's very much his own character. Pendergast, as well as other Preston and Child semiregulars, notably rough-hewn former NYPD cop Vincent D'Agosta, Watson to Pendergast's Sherlock, tread nearly every page of this vastly imagined, relentlessly enjoyable thriller. The body of a notorious art critic is found in his Hamptons, L.I., mansion, wholly burned, with a cloven hoofprint nearby: the devil's work? [...] Erudite, swiftly paced, brimming (occasionally overbrimming) with memorable personae and tense set pieces, this is the perfect thriller to stuff into a beach bag.

In this installment, people are bursting into flame and all clues point to the devil being responsible. ( )

Same old review for this book, as in, enjoyable, but nothing spectacular, took me too long to read and we all know what that means... A bunch of characters return, some new ones added, including Pendergast's brother, who is implied but never actually met...or is he? Big twist ending for this one, but the inclusion of more books in the series kind of ruins that, I'd say. Anyway, no need to make this review run on and on, the main theme behind the review for almost every book in this series remains the same. ( )

http://pro-libertate.net/node/19 ( )

Brimstone is a very long winded story of wannabe supernatural detective fiction. The situations are impossible or rather not believable. The characters have almost supernatural powers. It takes a long time to get from one end of the book to the other. It was given four stars in this review because it was basically a good story anyways. ( )