Pendergast Books in Order

Douglas Preston’s and Lincoln Child’s Pendergast is a co-written series, that showcases different short techno-thriller stories. The series’ debut novel is titled Relic.

The books follow Aloysius Pendergast, a special agent with the FBI. Throughout the series, he develops into a well-rounded persona, which helps him to deal with the various situations he encounters.

The plot of Relic, the first book in the series, starts with brutal killings that occur at the New York Museum of Natural History just days before the launch of a large display. Pendergast gets tasked with identifying the killers. He has to uncover the secrets hidden in the museum’s secret chambers and shadowy corridors. The plot thickens as the autopsies reveal that the murderer was not human. Other volumes in the sequel are divided into two trilogies. The Helen Trilogy includes the novels Fever Dream, Cold Vengeance, and Two Graves. The Diogenes Trilogy includes the novels Brimstone, Dance of Death, and The Book of the Dead.  The Helen Trilogy depicts the agent’s life as a family man.

Pendergast Books in order 

Pendergast

1. Relic (1995)
2. Reliquary (1997)
3. The Cabinet of Curiosities (2001)
4. Still Life with Crows (2003)
5. Brimstone (2004)
6. Dance of Death (2005)
7. The Book of the Dead (2006)
8. The Wheel of Darkness (2007)
9. Cemetery Dance (2009)
10. Fever Dream (2010)
11. Cold Vengeance (2011)
12. Extraction (2012)
13. Two Graves (2012)
14. White Fire (2013)
15. Blue Labyrinth (2014)
16. Crimson Shore (2015)
17. The Obsidian Chamber (2016)
18. City of Endless Night (2018)
19. Verses for the Dead (2018)
20. Crooked River (2020)
21. Bloodless (2021)

Similar authors

• Jeremy Logan by Lincoln Child features a history professor and analyst of anomalies. He makes one of the most incredible and frightening discoveries mankind has ever faced.
• Congo by Michael Crichton follows an expedition looking for diamonds. It looks into the enigmatic deaths of a previous trip that occurred in the Congo’s tropical rainforest.

Zobacz także: Cotton Malone Books in Order.

Most recommended books

1. Still Life With Crows (Pendergast, #4) (4.19 Goodreads score)
2. Dance of Death (Pendergast, #6; Diogenes, #2) (4.18 Goodreads score)
3. The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, #7; Diogenes, #3) (4.15 Goodreads score)
4. Brimstone (Pendergast, #5; Diogenes, #1) (4.14 Goodreads score)
5. Blue Labyrinth (Pendergast, #14) (4.11 Goodreads score)

Awards

Relic received the Garden State Teen Award for Fiction in 1998.

Latest releases

The latest Pendergast book is called Bloodless and was released in August 2021.

Movies based on the series

A Pendergast TV series was announced in 2016, produced by Gale Anne Hurd. However, at the moment of writing (2022) still hasn’t been released.

Book summaries

Relic (1995)

Just days before a massive exhibition opens at the popular New York Museum of Natural History, visitors are being savagely murdered in the museum’s dark hallways and secret rooms. Autopsies indicate that the killer cannot be human…But the museum’s directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders. Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who–or what–is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre?

Reliquary (1997)

Hidden deep beneath Manhattan lies a warren of tunnels, sewers, and galleries, mostly forgotten by those who walk the streets above. There lies the ultimate secret of the Museum Beat. When two grotesquely deformed skeletons are found deep in the mud off the Manhattan shoreline, museum curator Margo Green is called in to aid the investigation. Margo must once again team up with police lieutenant D’Agosta and FBI agent Pendergast, as well as the brilliant Dr. Frock, to try and solve the puzzle. The trail soon leads deep underground, where they will face the awakening of a slumbering nightmare…

The Cabinet of Curiosities (2001)

Inside are thirty-six bodies–all murdered and mutilated more than a century ago.While FBI agent Pendergast investigates the old crimes, identical killings start to terrorize the city.The nightmare has begun.Again.

Still Life with Crows (2003)

When a series of murders strikes small-town Kansas, FBI Special Agent Pendergast must track down a killer or a curse — either way, no one is safe.A small Kansas town has turned into a killing ground.Is it a serial killer, a man with the need to destroy?Or is it a darker force, a curse upon the land?Amid golden cornfields, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers evil in the blood of America’s heartland.No one is safe.

Brimstone (2004)

A body is found in the attic of a fabulous Long Island estate.There is a claw print scorched into the wall, and the stench of sulfur chokes the air.When FBI Special Agent Pendergast investigates the gruesome crime, he discovers that thirty years ago four men conjured something unspeakable.Has the devil come to claim his due?Some things can’t be undone.

Dance of Death (2005)

Hot on the trail of a killer in Manhattan, FBI Special Agent Pendergast must face his most brilliant and dangerous enemy: his own brother.Two brothers.One a top FBI agent.The other a brilliant, twisted criminal.An undying hatred between them.Now, a perfect crime.And the ultimate challenge:Stop me if you can…

The Book of the Dead (2006)

Can FBI Special Agent Pendergast stop a cursed Egyptian tomb from terrorizing New York City — or will he stay trapped in a maximum security prison, punished for a murder he didn’t commit?An FBI agent, rotting away in a high-security prison for a murder he did not commit…His brilliant, psychotic brother, about to perpetrate a horrific crime…A young woman with an extrodinary past, on th edge of a violent breakdown…An ancient Egyptian tomb with an enigmatic curse, about to be unveiled at a celebrity-studded New York gala…

The Wheel of Darkness (2007)

At a remote Tibetan monastery, FBI Special Agent Pendergast must find a powerful and ancient artifact before it falls into the wrong hands.A luxury ocean liner on its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic, awash in wealth and decadence…An ancient Tibetan box, its contents unknown, sealed with a terrifying warning…An FBI agent destined to confront what he fears most–himself…

Cemetery Dance (2009)

Pendergast, the world’s most mysterious FBI Special Agent, investigates a murderous cult in New York City that no one has ever survived. a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Eyewitnesses claim, and the security camera confirms, that the assailant was their strange, sinister neighbor–a man who, by all reports, was already dead and buried weeks earlier.While Captain Laura Hayward leads the official investigation, Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D’Agosta undertake their own private–and decidedly unorthodox–quest for the truth. Their serpentine journey takes them to an enclave of Manhattan they never imagined could exist: a secretive, reclusive cult of Obeah and vodou which no outsiders have ever survived.

Fever Dream (2010)

As he stalks his wife’s traitors from Scotland to New York City, Special Agent Pendergast discovers layers of deception and conspiracy that will shatter everything he believed to be true.Yesterday, Special Agent Pendergast still mourned the loss of his beloved wife, Helen, who died in a tragic accident in Africa twelve years ago.Today, he discovers she was murdered.Tomorrow, he will learn her most guarded secrets, leaving him to wonder: Who was the woman I married? Why was she murdered? And, above all . . . Who murdered her?Revenge is not sweet: It is essential.

Cold Vengeance (2011)

Twelve years ago, Special Agent Pendergast’s beloved wife was murdered during an African safari — and now, he’s on a quest for revenge.Devastated by the discovery that his wife, Helen, was murdered, Special Agent Pendergast must have retribution. But revenge is not simple. As he stalks his wife’s betrayers–a chase that takes him from the wild moors of Scotland to the bustling streets of New York City and the darkest bayous of Louisiana–he is also forced to dig further into Helen’s past. And he is stunned to learn that Helen may have been a collaborator in her own murder.Peeling back the layers of deception, Pendergast realizes that the conspiracy is deeper, goes back generations, and is more monstrous than he could have ever imagined–and everything he’s believed, everything he’s trusted, everything he’s understood . . . may be a horrific lie.

Extraction (2012)

In New Orleans’ French Quarter, the Tooth Fairy isn’t a benevolent sprite who slips money under your pillow at night….he’s a mysterious old recluse who must be appeased with teeth–lest he extract retribution. When young Diogenes Pendergast loses a tooth, however, his skeptical older brother Aloysius is determined to put the legend to the test…with dire consequences.

Two Graves (2012)

Join Agent Pendergast in the heart of the South American jungle as he investigates a string of murders that lead him to his wife’s kidnappers — and spark memories that may haunt him forever.After his wife, Helen, is brazenly abducted before his eyes, Special Agent Pendergast furiously pursues the kidnappers, chasing them across the country and into Mexico. But then, things go terribly, tragically wrong; the kidnappers escape; and a shattered Pendergast retreats to his New York apartment and shuts out the world.But when a string of bizarre murders erupts across several Manhattan hotels-perpetrated by a boy who seems to have an almost psychic ability to elude capture-NYPD Lieutenant D’Agosta asks his friend Pendergast for help. Reluctant at first, Pendergast soon discovers that the killings are a message from his wife’s kidnappers. But why a message? And what does it mean?When the kidnappers strike again at those closest to Pendergast, the FBI agent, filled anew with vengeful fury, sets out to track down and destroy those responsible. His journey takes him deep into the trackless forests of South America, where he ultimately finds himself face to face with an old evil that-rather than having been eradicated-is stirring anew… and with potentially world-altering consequences.Confucius once said: “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, first dig two graves.” Pendergast is about to learn the hard way just how true those words still ring.

White Fire (2013)

Past and present collide as Special Agent Pendergast uncovers a mysterious connection between a string of 19th century bear attacks in a Colorado mining town, a long-lost Sherlock Holmes story, and a deadly arsonist.In 1876, in a mining camp called Roaring Fork in the Colorado Rockies, eleven miners were killed by a rogue grizzly bear. Corrie Swanson has arranged to examine the miners’ remains. When she makes a shocking discovery, town leaders try to stop her from exposing their community’s dark and bloody past.Just as Special Agent Pendergast of the FBI arrives to rescue his protege, the town comes under siege by a murderous arsonist who-with brutal precision-begins burning down multimillion-dollar mansions with the families locked inside. Drawn deeper into the investigation, Pendergast discovers a long-lost Sherlock Holmes story that may be the key to solving both the mystery of the long-dead miners and the modern-day killings as well.Now, with the ski resort snowed in and under savage attack-and Corrie’s life suddenly in grave danger-Pendergast must solve the enigma of the past before the town of the present goes up in flames.

Blue Labyrinth (2014)

When a longtime enemy shows up dead on Pendergast’s doorstep, the murder investigation leads him into his own dark past as a vengeful killer waits in the shadows.It begins with murder. One of Pendergast’s most implacable, most feared enemies is found on his doorstep, dead. Pendergast has no idea who is responsible for the killing, or why the body was brought to his home. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect crime, save for an enigmatic clue: a piece of turquoise lodged in the stomach of the deceased.The gem leads Pendergast to an abandoned mine on the shore of California’s Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his own family’s sinister past. But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family history: he is being stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. And he soon becomes caught in a wickedly clever plot, which leaves him stricken in mind and body, and propels him toward a reckoning beyond anything he could ever have imagined . . .

Crimson Shore (2015)

When a straightforward murder case spirals out of control, Pendergast and his ward investigate an ancient witches’ colony in a sleepy New England town where a terrible evil awaits . . .A secret chamber.A mysterious shipwreck.A murder in the desolate salt marshes.A seemingly straightforward private case turns out to be much more complicated-and sinister-than Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast ever could have anticipated.Pendergast, together with his ward Constance Greene, travels to the quaint seaside village of Exmouth, Massachusetts, to investigate the theft of a priceless wine collection. But inside the wine cellar, they find something considerably more disturbing: a bricked-up niche that once held a crumbling skeleton.Pendergast and Constance soon learn that Exmouth is a town with a very dark and troubled history, and this skeleton may be only the first hint of an ancient transgression, kept secret all these years. But they will discover that the sins of the past are still very much alive. Local legend holds that during the 1692 witch trials in Salem, the real witches escaped, fleeing north to Exmouth and settling deep in the surrounding salt marshes, where they continued to practice their wicked arts. Then, a murdered corpse turns up in the marshes. The only clue is a series of mysterious carvings. Could these demonic symbols bear some relation to the ancient witches’ colony, long believed to be abandoned?A terrible evil lurks beneath the surface of this sleepy seaside town-one with deep roots in Exmouth’s grim history. And it may be that Constance, with her own troubled past, is the only one who truly comprehends the awful danger that she, Pendergast, and the residents of Exmouth must face . . .

The Obsidian Chamber (2016)

A Tragic DisappearanceAfter a harrowing otherworldly confrontation on the shores of Exmouth, Massachusetts, Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast is missing, presumed dead.A Shocking ReturnSick with grief, Pendergast’s ward, Constance, retreats to her chambers beneath the family mansion at 891 Riverside Drive – only to be taken captive by a shadowy figure from the past.An International ManhuntProctor, Pendergast’s longtime bodyguard, springs to action, chasing Constance’s kidnapper through cities, across oceans, and into wastelands unknown.But in a World of Black and White, Nothing Is as It SeemsAnd by the time Proctor discovers the truth, a terrifying engine has stirred – and it may already be too late….

City of Endless Night (2018)

When Grace Ozmian, the beautiful and reckless daughter of a wealthy tech billionaire, first goes missing, the NYPD assumes she has simply sped off on another wild adventure. Until the young woman’s body is discovered in an abandoned warehouse in Queens, the head nowhere to be found.Lieutenant CDS Vincent D’Agosta quickly takes the lead. He knows his investigation will attract fierce scrutiny, so D’Agosta is delighted when FBI Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast shows up at the crime scene assigned to the case. “I feel rather like Brer Rabbit being thrown into the briar patch,” Pendergast tells D’Agosta, “because I have found you here, in charge. Just like when we first met, back at the Museum of Natural History.”But neither Pendergast nor D’Agosta are prepared for what lies ahead. A diabolical presence is haunting the greater metropolitan area, and Grace Ozmian was only the first of many victims to be murdered . . . and decapitated. Worse still, there’s something unique to the city itself that has attracted the evil eye of the killer.As mass hysteria sets in, Pendergast and D’Agosta find themselves in the crosshairs of an opponent who has threatened the very lifeblood of the city. It’ll take all of Pendergast’s skill to unmask this most dangerous foe-let alone survive to tell the tale.

Verses for the Dead (2018)

After an overhaul of leadership at the FBI’s New York field office, A. X. L. Pendergast is abruptly forced to accept an unthinkable condition of continued employment: the famously rogue agent must now work with a partner.Pendergast and his new colleague, junior agent Coldmoon, are assigned to investigate a rash of killings in Miami Beach, where a bloodthirsty psychopath is cutting out the hearts of his victims and leaving them with cryptic handwritten letters at local gravestones. The graves are unconnected save in one bizarre way: all belong to women who committed suicide.But the seeming lack of connection between the old suicides and the new murders is soon the least of Pendergast’s worries. Because as he digs deeper, he realizes the brutal new crimes may be just the tip of the iceberg: a conspiracy of death that reaches back decades.

Crooked River (2020)

A startling crime with dozens of victims. Appearing out of nowhere to horrify the quiet resort town of Sanibel Island, Florida, dozens of identical, ordinary-looking shoes float in on the tide and are washed up on the tropical beach—each one with a crudely severed human foot inside.A ghastly enigma with no apparent solution. Called away from vacation elsewhere in the state, Agent Pendergast reluctantly agrees to visit the crime scene—and, despite himself, is quickly drawn in by the incomprehensible puzzle. An early pathology report only adds to the mystery. With an ocean of possibilities confronting the investigation, no one is sure what happened, why, or from where the feet originated. And they desperately need to know: are the victims still alive?A worthy challenge for a brilliant mind. In short order, Pendergast finds himself facing the most complex and inexplicable challenge of his career: a tangled thread of evidence that spans seas and traverses continents, connected to one of the most baffling mysteries in modern medical science. Through shocking twists and turns, all trails lead back to a powerful adversary with a sadistic agenda and who—in a cruel irony—ultimately sees in Pendergast the ideal subject for their malevolent research.

Bloodless (2021)

A fabulous heist:On the evening of November 24, 1971, D. B. Cooper hijacked Flight 305—Portland to Seattle—with a fake bomb, collected a ransom of $200,000, and then parachuted from the rear of the plane, disappearing into the night…and into history.A brutal crime steeped in legend and malevolence:Fifty years later, Agent Pendergast takes on a bizarre and gruesome case: in the ghost-haunted city of Savannah, Georgia, bodies are found with no blood left in their veins—sowing panic and reviving whispered tales of the infamous Savannah Vampire.A case like no other:As the mystery rises along with the body count, Pendergast and his partner, Agent Coldmoon, race to understand how—or if—these murders are connected to the only unsolved skyjacking in American history. Together, they uncover not just the answer…but an unearthly evil beyond all imagining.