REVIEW: Cold Vengeance

Cold Vengeance
Authors: Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston

Agent Pendergast is angry. Not just angry......really really really angry. And out for justice, with a shot of revenge. In the first novel in the Helen Pendergast trilogy (within the Pendergast series), he discovered new evidence in the death of his wife in a lion attack several years before. He swore he would find out who was behind her murder and avenge her. In Cold Vengeance, Pendergast not only discovers that the conspiracy is so much more diabolical and depraved than he thought, but he also discovers that Helen might still be alive.

This book really seems like a bridge between the first novel that introduced Helen and the plot behind her death and the last novel that I'm sure will wrap up the story in a grandiose Pendergastian way. I enjoyed the chase (some of the action scenes were just awesome and there are some great lines by Pendergast in this story), but the weak cliffhanger ending I just really didn't like. I'm a bit tired of the Helen story line, to be honest. I miss the weird cases that lead Pendergast to out of the way dusty museums and archaeological sites. I prefer the somehow distant and reserved Pendergast to this overly emotional, out for revenge version. BUT.....despite my eye roll at the end of the book, this is a good story. There is plenty of action....plenty of bad guys to hate....and enough mystery to the situation to keep it interesting. I will be glad to read through the next book and have the Helen mystery solved so the series can move on to something else. Not that I blame Pendergast for being pissed off that someone killed (or pretended to kill) his wife.....but the overly emotional, almost broken Pendergast is more creepy than his normal strange self. Just a weird vibe to the Helen story-line books. The Constance Green story angle is getting a bit weird also....I hope that gets resolved in the next book or two as well.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. Rene Auberjonois narrates again. I like his reading pace and his voice. Plus I think he does a really good accent for the Pendergast character. I have partial hearing loss, and never have any problem understanding him. The audiobook is unabridged and just under 12 hours long. Good quality. Very enjoyable.

Cold Vengeance is the 11th book in the Pendergast series. There are 16 books currently, and a 17th coming out in 2018.

For more information on the authors and their books, check out their website: http://www.prestonchild.com/