Cold Vengeance

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2011 Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Make sure you read others before this

This would not be a good place to start but I have read the ones that go before

Better half of a whole book

I enjoyed Cold Vengeance. They did a good job of presenting a book without crazy and imaginary monsters. I’m glad I took Rebecca’s advice and waited for the second part of this book to be published, Two Graves. This is the better half of a whole book, but you need both books to complete the story.

Thrilling Second Book in Helen Trilogy

This is the second book in the Helen trilogy. After learning that his beloved wife did not die and was in fact murdered, Agent Pendergast will stop at nothing to find her. His journey is full of twists and turns and some other familiar faces show up to help along the way. It is a taut thriller and as usual with Preston and Child books, time flies because you are so absorbed. This book ends on a cliffhanger, to be resolved in Two Graves, which I already have. So glad I don’t have a long wait. Ready to jump in for the big finale! Fantastic narration by Rene Auberjonois. Ready to find out what happens in the next book, Two Graves. Preston and Child books are simply brilliant.

Aloysius X. L. Pendergast

This is the eleventh Pendergast novel, the second of the 'Helen Pendergast' arc. Aloysius X. L. Pendergast is an albino F.B.I. special agent who is an independently wealthy cross between Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and The Devil. His lineage is as dark and checkered as the mysteries he deftly runs to ground. He solves cases. Never mind that his methods are often incorrigible. His tenaciousness makes him a priceless ally and a disastrous enemy. His exploits have moved me from the edge of my seat to exclaiming uncontrollably in front of strangers to my embarrassment. Pendergast is doubtlessly the most exciting character in modern fiction. This volume and the arc in particular are not only among the best examples of Pendergast and Preston & Childs's work but an example of the best of the modern genre.

I'd have bought the next one anyway

I hate an ending where nothing is resolved. This should have been titled "Part 1". Better than the last 2 Pendergast stories. Frustrated that I will now have to wait probably 8 months to read the rest of this story.

A Must Read!!!

What a cliff hanger. If your a Pendergast fan, you will Love this book. I could not put it down.

Frustrating!!!

Great suspense and action but I will not be buying the next one...I do not trust the authors not to leave me dangling YET AGAIN...

These authors are diabolical!!!

I love the Pendergast novels! They are very addicting and every time one ends I want to hear the next one. They had started to veer off into some bizarre territory (not that it was any less interesting and suspenseful) and I was glad to see that with these last two novels they were getting back into mere implausibility. I know that sounds like I'm dissing the books, but I'm not. It's just that, how many times can one museum ignore warnings and keep pushing on with their openings, resulting in a massacre? Implausible, but still very gripping and exciting. That kind of thing. Anyway, this book had nothing to do with the museum.

The diabolical part is this: I just happened to look at the player when things were really heating up, and noticed that there were only about 39 minutes left. I knew there was no way the story could reach its conclusion in that short of a time. And it didn't. They just left me hanging on the edge of a cliff by one very brittle fingernail--and I don't have a Pendergast to save me. Nor will I have the next Pendergast novel until December, as I understand it.

That is pure evil, is all I'm saying. But I plan to be first in line when it is released.

Clif hanger

I hope this follow up book is at the printer cause I don't know how long I can sit on the edge of my seat!

Perfection, as usual

Would you consider the audio edition of Cold Vengeance to be better than the print version?

Probably.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Pendergast, of course. Although I also like Laura Heyward and D'Agosta.

What does Rene Auberjonois bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The breadth of talent he has for different accents and voices. Excellent! I like him a lot more than Scott Brick, at least for these books.