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As the burning city of Acre falls from the hands of the West in 1291, a young Templar knight, his mentor, and a handful of others escape to the sea carrying a mysterious chest. In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights steal a strange device. In the aftermath, an FBI investigation is led by anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly. Soon, he and archaeologist Tess Chaykin are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading knights.
In 1893 Sherlock Holmes and Henry James come to America together to solve the mystery of the 1885 death of Clover Adams, wife of the esteemed historian Henry Adams--a member of the Adams family that has given the United States two Presidents. Clover's suicide appears to be more than it at first seemed; the suspected foul play may involve matters of national importance.
Julia Hamill has made a horrifying discovery on the grounds of her new home in rural Massachusetts: a skull buried in the rocky soil � human, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder.
It's Easter in Reading, a bad time for eggs, and no one can remember the last sunny day. Ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III, minor baronet, ex-convict, and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. All the evidence points to his ex-wife, who has conveniently shot herself.
When his uncle dies, Liam Taggart reluctantly returns to his childhood home in Northern Ireland for the funeral - a home he left years ago after a bitter confrontation with his family, never to look back. But when he arrives, Liam learns that not only was his uncle shot to death, but he'd anticipated his own murder: In an astonishing last will and testament, Uncle Fergus has left his entire estate to a secret trust, directing that no distributions be made to any person until the killer is found.
Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. Everyone seems to accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end, except for a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a crusade to salvage Poe's.
As the burning city of Acre falls from the hands of the West in 1291, a young Templar knight, his mentor, and a handful of others escape to the sea carrying a mysterious chest. In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights steal a strange device. In the aftermath, an FBI investigation is led by anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly. Soon, he and archaeologist Tess Chaykin are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading knights.
In 1893 Sherlock Holmes and Henry James come to America together to solve the mystery of the 1885 death of Clover Adams, wife of the esteemed historian Henry Adams--a member of the Adams family that has given the United States two Presidents. Clover's suicide appears to be more than it at first seemed; the suspected foul play may involve matters of national importance.
Julia Hamill has made a horrifying discovery on the grounds of her new home in rural Massachusetts: a skull buried in the rocky soil � human, female, and, according to the trained eye of Boston medical examiner Maura Isles, scarred with the unmistakable marks of murder.
It's Easter in Reading, a bad time for eggs, and no one can remember the last sunny day. Ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III, minor baronet, ex-convict, and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. All the evidence points to his ex-wife, who has conveniently shot herself.
When his uncle dies, Liam Taggart reluctantly returns to his childhood home in Northern Ireland for the funeral - a home he left years ago after a bitter confrontation with his family, never to look back. But when he arrives, Liam learns that not only was his uncle shot to death, but he'd anticipated his own murder: In an astonishing last will and testament, Uncle Fergus has left his entire estate to a secret trust, directing that no distributions be made to any person until the killer is found.
Baltimore, 1849. The body of Edgar Allan Poe has been buried in an unmarked grave. Everyone seems to accept the conclusion that Poe was a second-rate writer who met a disgraceful end, except for a young Baltimore lawyer named Quentin Clark, an ardent admirer who puts his own career and reputation at risk in a crusade to salvage Poe's.
When six-year-old Olivia Adams disappeared from her back garden, the small community of Stoneridge was thrown into turmoil. How could a child vanish in the middle of a cozy English village? Thirteen years on and Olivia is back. Her mother is convinced it's her but not everyone is sure. If this is the missing girl, then where has she been - and what happened to her on that sunny afternoon? If she's an imposter, then who would be bold enough to try to fool a child's own mother - and why?
His name is etched on the door of his Manhattan office: LEONID McGILL , PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR. It's a name that takes a little explaining, but he's used to it. Ex-boxer, hard drinker, in a business that trades mostly in cash and favors: McGill's an old-school P.I. working a city that's gotten fancy all around him. Fancy or not, he has always managed to get by - keep a roof over the head of his wife and kids, and still manage a little fun on the side - mostly because he's never been above taking a shady job for a quick buck.
In his most enthralling novel yet, the critically acclaimed author Matthew Pearl reopens one of literary history's greatest mysteries. The Last Dickens is a tale filled with the dazzling twists and turns, the unerring period details, and the meticulous research that thrilled readers of the best sellers The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow.
Bartholomew Lampion is born on a day of tragedy and terror that will mark his family forever. All agree that his unusual eyes are the most beautiful they have ever seen. On this same day, a thousand miles away, a ruthless man learns that he has a mortal enemy named Bartholomew. He embarks on a relentless search to find this enemy, a search that will consume his life. And a girl is born from a brutal rape, her destiny mysteriously linked to Barty and the man who stalks him.
After Grand-mere Ursule gives her life to save her family, their magic seems to die with her. Even so, the Orchires fight to keep the old ways alive, practicing half-remembered spells and arcane rites in hopes of a revival. And when their youngest daughter comes of age, magic flows anew. The lineage continues, though new generations struggle not only to master their power, but also to keep it hidden. But when World War II looms on the horizon, magic is needed more urgently than ever.
At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art, My Name Is Red is a transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of 16th-century Istanbul, from one of the most prominent contemporary Turkish writers.
Berlin, 1948. Almost four years after the war's end, the city is still in ruins, a physical wasteland and a political symbol about to rupture. In the West a defiant, blockaded city is barely surviving on airlifted supplies; in the East the heady early days of political reconstruction are being undermined by the murky compromises of the Cold War. Espionage, like the black market, is a fact of life.
The village of Saint-Ferdinand has all the trappings of a quiet life. Though if an out-of-towner stopped in, they would notice one unusual thing - a cemetery far too large and much too full for such a small town, lined with the victims of the Saint-Ferdinand Killer, who has eluded police for nearly two decades. It's not until after Inspector Stephen Crowley finally catches the killer that the town discovers even darker forces are at play.
Kay Lansing grew up the daughter of the landscaper to the wealthy and powerful Carrington family. One day, accompanying her father to work, six-year-old Kay overhears a quarrel between a man and a woman that ends with the man's caustic response: "I heard that song before." That same evening, young Peter Carrington drives the 19-year-old daughter of neighbors home from a formal dinner dance at the Carrington estate, but she is not in her room the next morning and is never seen or heard from again.
Paul Reeves is a successful immigration lawyer, but his passion is collecting old maps of New York, tangible records of the city's rich history in an increasingly digital world. One afternoon he attends an auction with his neighbor Jennifer Mehraz, the beautiful young wife of an Iranian financier-lawyer, but halfway through the auction a handsome man in soldier fatigues appears in the aisle and whisks Jennifer away.
Since the 1970s, FantasticLand has been the theme park where "Fun is Guaranteed!" But when a hurricane ravages the Florida coast and isolates the park, the employees find it anything but fun. Five weeks later, the authorities who rescue the survivors encounter a scene of horror. Photos soon emerge online of heads on spikes outside of rides and viscera and human bones littering the gift shops, breaking records for hits, views, likes, clicks, and shares.
The Civil War may be over but a new war has begun, one between the past and the present, tradition and technology. On a former marshy wasteland, the daring Massachusetts Institute of Technology is rising, its mission to harness science for the benefit of all and to open the doors of opportunity to everyone of merit. But in Boston Harbor a fiery cataclysm throws commerce into chaos, as ships’ instruments spin inexplicably out of control. Soon after, another mysterious catastrophe devastates the heart of the city.
In 1865 Boston, the members of the Dante Club, poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell, along with publisher J. T. Fields, are finishing America's first translation of The Divine Comedy and preparing to unveil Dante's remarkable visions to the New World. The powerful Boston Brahmins at Harvard are fighting to keep Dante in obscurity, believing that the infiltration of foreign superstitions onto American bookshelves will prove as corrupting as the immigrants living in Boston Harbor.
As they struggle to keep their sacred literary cause alive, the plans of the Dante Club are put in further jeopardy when a serial killer unleashes his terror on the city. Only the scholars realize that the gruesome murders are modeled on the descriptions from Dante's Inferno and its account of Hell's torturous punishments. With the lives of the Boston elite and Dante's literary future in America at stake, the Dante Club must find the killer before the authorities discover their secret.
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and outcast police officer Nicolas Rey, the first black member of the Boston police department, place their careers on the line in their efforts to end the killing spree. Together, they discover that the source of the murders lies closer than they ever could have imagined.
The Dante Club is a magnificent blend of fact and fiction, a brilliantly realized paean to Dante, his mythic genius, and his continued grip on the imagination.
"Expertly weaving period detail, historical fact (the Dante Club did indeed exist), complex character studies, and nail-biting suspense, Pearl has written a unique and utterly absorbing tale." (Booklist, Starred Review)
"Absorbing and dramatic...Pearl has proven himself a master." (Library Journal)
I thought this book was quite ambitious, and fairly successful at what it sets out to accomplish. Having Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes (senior), and James Russell Lowell fictionalized into a sort of League of Extraordinarily Literary Gentleman who hunt down a serial killer is getting to be almost old hat, going back to "The Seven-Percent Solution" in the 1970s. This may be the last entry into the genre which I find entertaining. The story is more than a little contrived, but not outlandish or unrespectable. The famous characters are well-researched and presented with sensitivity and affection, although the anachronisms fly off the page (and into the ear). This is no "Seven-Percent", but it's also ten times better than anything Caleb Carr has ever written. I look forward to seeing what Matthew Pearl comes out with next time.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful
I'm sorry to say that I have never read Dante. "The Dante Club" was a good intro - at least now when I come across references to "The Inferno" as one does frequently in literature, I will be familiar with the allusion. The narrator was excellent, (it's always a relief to have someone other than Scott Brick doing the reading.) The characters were vividly drawn and the story was exciting and suspenseful. The ending was satisfying in that it was surprising and believable. I will definitely download more books written by Mathew Pearl and books narrated by Boyd Gaines.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
I've just finished listening to this book and miss it already. I enjoyed this book very much and will miss inhabiting it very much. The environment of the "fireside poets" and their city of Boston, within which the mystery is set was really interesting, learning about Dante's poetry was enlightening and the mystery that held it all together moved along at a pace that suited me very well. And very importantly, as listeners will know, the reading of a book can make it or break it, John Siedman's reading of this book matched to story's voices perfectly. A lovely long listen, don't miss it.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Certainly one of the better historical mysteries but I would have preferred not to have such detailed descriptions of how the victims met their deaths.Squeamish? Yes. Uniquely so? No. If you listen just be prepared for some ugly moments. Beyond that, my only criticism would be the somewhat lengthy background on death in the American Civil War. Not squeamishness but felt an unnecessary impediment to the pacing of the essential story.
On the other hand, whether or not historically accurate, the "amateur detectives", four members of the Boston literati,came across interestingly and with sufficient characterization to avoid being simply puppets manipulated for the purposes of making it "historical". It is well written and well read. The setting conveys the feel of 19th Century Boston and Harvard to one who knows little of its specifics. How an expert would react I do not know. It it is not a puzzle mystery, where all clues necessary for the reader to solve the puzzle are presented. In keeping with current practice, the mystery is solved with information that is discovered by the amateur sleuths that cannot have been known to the reader. I accept this contemporary convention though devotees of the "classic", early Ellery Queen type books,will be perturbed.
Overall, it is solid fare that kept me engaged throughout the book. I do believe it would have been better if the cause of my concerns had been eliminated but I can still recommend it to anyone, whether or not familiar with the poets most of us only read in school.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
I read this book in college and gave a copy to several friends and family members afterward because I was so taken by it. I hadn't read it in a while, and was thrilled to find it on audible, because I have a lot of things that I've been needing to do, but many of them don't require that I use my entire brain, so I've been able to listen to it while I clean house, craft, etc. It was wonderfully read! I was thoroughly pleased with the performance, and I think that I got a completely different experience from reading the book. I would highly recommend both this book and this author to anyone. And as far as this book is concerned, I would recommend both the written and the audio versions.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
I have listened to this audiobook many times. The story is interesting and the narrator is great. I have no idea of how historically accurate any of the information is, but I enjoy it as a novel. Highly recommended.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I loved this book. The characters were wonderful. Narration was spot on. The use of Dante's prose was amazing. The idea that someone was killing like the horrors in Dante's Inferno was a great departure of motive and M.O. for someone like me that loves a good serial killer novel. I can only hope Pearle will do this for some other ancient greats.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I was expecting more and got less. It gave a lot of background on the characters and the time period but the suspense was not there for me. I worked my way through it and it was OK. Everybody has different tastes and this did not move fast enough for me.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Is there anything you would change about this book?
I'm not sure how I would change it. I love books with historical characters, but somehow this didn't hold me. I found myself having gotten distracted and not having taken in anything for five or more minutes. I think it could have been structured/edited better. The basic plot is fairly good and the writing style is enjoyable, but it both drags and doesn't quite hold together--for me at least.
What was most disappointing about Matthew Pearl’s story?
Really hard to say. I liked it in many ways, but it just didn't quite hang together or come together. Sorry to be so vague.
Which scene was your favorite?
Late in the book a cool historical thing about (some) Boston churches comes out, which I enjoyed. (Saying any more would be a spoiler.)
Did The Dante Club inspire you to do anything?
Um, no. Except maybe return the book. I might try listening again in a month or so though, to see if it is just that I am distracted at the moment in general..
Any additional comments?
Narration is pretty solid. I hope this review is perhaps useful to some in spite of my vagueness.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Murder mysteries are not my favorite non-fiction, but this one was interesting and kept me engaged. Using the old poets was clever. It actually peeked my interest in Dante, also.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
this story takes a while to get in to and it is not immediately obvious how all the separate pieces fit together but it becomes very engaging