Blue Labyrinth

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

A long-buried family secret resurfaces when one of Aloysius Pendergast's most implacable enemies shows up on his doorstep as a murdered corpse. The mystery has all the hallmarks of the perfect murder, 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 desolate Salton Sea, which in turn propels him on a journey of discovery deep into his family's sinister past. But Pendergast learns there is more at work than a ghastly episode of family history: he is soon stalked by a subtle killer bent on vengeance over an ancient transgression. In short order, Pendergast is caught in a wickedly clever plot, which will leave him stricken in mind and body...and may well end with his death.

©2014 Douglas Preston (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Preston and Child have created a terrific mix of mystery and the unexpected that will keep you reading into the late hours of the night. They promise a great read and they have delivered." (Clive Cussler)

Not my cup of tea

I bought the book for $5. The title intrigued me but the story didn't. Law enforcement-type novels don't excite me anymore. I should have dug a bit deeper into the author and genre before purchasing.

In love with Pendergast

My husband and I have been listening to all the Pendergast books in order and love them. Creative, humorous, suspenseful, slightly unrealistic, and not too vulgar! Highly recommend this whole series to be read in order to get the full sense of all the characters.

The one prior to this was good/this one was better

What did you love best about Blue Labyrinth?

Continually engaging story, The return of a character we have not heard from him for a while. Took a couple directions I was not anticipating.

What other book might you compare Blue Labyrinth to and why?

Previous Preston and Child/Agent Pendergast books. Overall I am enjoyed all of them.
This one was good because of the story itself however I do like it when there is some new weird family history exposed.

What about Rene Auberjonois’s performance did you like?

Fairly clear separation of voices. Good inflection of current emotion in characters
Consistency of characters as well, They sound like I remembered.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I only had one extreme reaction, more of a pet peeve that REALLY REALLY annoys me.
I realize this is more of a production/editing problem but anyone who has read the stories knows agent Pendergast is a very intelligent, worldly individual with a fantastic vocabulary.
For the love anything sacred, the name "Porsche" HAS TWO SYLLABLES!!!!
If agent Pendergast can pronounce the name of a rare French wine that's half the length of an average book chapter, you would think he could get that right.
Doesn't anyone "proof listen" to these things?

Any additional comments?

See extreme reaction comment.

Disappointing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, I miss the humor of the earlier books and felt this needed more of that.

If you’ve listened to books by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child before, how does this one compare?

I have all of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's books on audio, except for the "Helen Trilogy" which I didn't care for very much. This is more of the same; somewhat maudlin and missing Pendergast's dry humor and his great interaction with D'Agosta. So, to me, it was just a rather mediocre story not up to par with the earlier Pendergast books.

What about Rene Auberjonois’s performance did you like?

Rene Auberjonois simply is Pendergast. I can't imagine anyone else performing these books as well.

Was Blue Labyrinth worth the listening time?

I listened all the way through when I received it after having it on my pre-order list for awhile. But I found myself taking lots of breaks because i was somewhat bored. I tried to listen to the story again a second time, in case it was just the mood I was in the first time that made it unappealing. However, I realized that I just couldn't go on beyond the first part and will return it. This is the first time I've ever returned a Pendergast novel.

Any additional comments?

I find myself going back to the earlier Pendergast novels, that seemed more fun, filled with more action and more intriguing story lines. This one just felt flat to me. I wonder if Preston/Child are getting tired of Pendergast? Before the "Helen Trilogy' he was more fun with a sneaky sort of dry humor, taking less personally, and having great interactions with so many other quirky characters. ( I was sad when they killed Bill Smithback off, who, though annoying also provided some great comic relief).

Now, he seems more of a depressive and abrasive personality and not as likable. It is sad, because the Pendergast character has been the best character since Sherlock Holmes; enigmatic, intuitive, detached but available to his friends and brilliant. I'm hoping that Preston/Child will get back to their hero solving mysterious cases with odd perpetrators and lots of twists and turns and more interesting stories that aren't about family angst. I know the Pendergast fans will be incensed that someone can feel this way about this book, but to be honest I'm sure if I was a writer of so many novels, I would have my times when stories just didn't come together as well as former books did and I wrote less than inspired stories. It happens to everyone, I'm sure and this certainly isn't the end of my looking forward to the next Preston/Child book. They are my favorite authors.

A little disappointing.

Would you listen to Blue Labyrinth again? Why?

No, it takes an exceptional book for me to listen more than once.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Edge? No. Interested? Yes.

Which character – as performed by Rene Auberjonois – was your favorite?

No preference.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not particularly.

Pendergast, once again is weak.

Any additional comments?

Once again Pendergast is shown weak and mentally corrupted. This is not the strong detective that launched the series. Far to often he is worthless in the books.

Following Pendergast

Wordy but intense and riveting. highly enjoyable and entertaining. surprises around each corner. good book.

Always a good listen or read

Every Pendergast novel I read or isten to keeps me spellbound until the ending. Love the authors and the performance. Always well done. Five stars all the way.

Enjoyable Story

Again I was amazed with another book of this series. The book was thrilling and keep me listening to the end and always entertained.

#1

Best Pendergast story in a long time. One of my favorite so far. Back on a roll.