Old Bones

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Number one best-selling authors Preston & Child bring the true story of the ill-fated Donner Party to new life in a thrilling blend of archaeology, history, murder, and suspense.

Nora Kelly, a young curator at the Santa Fe Institute of Archaeology, is approached by historian Clive Benton with a once-in-a-lifetime proposal: to lead a team in search of the so-called "Lost Camp" of the tragic Donner Party. This was a group of pioneers who earned a terrible place in American history when they became snow-bound in the California mountains in 1847, their fate unknown until the first skeletonized survivors stumbled out of the wilderness, raving about starvation, murder - and cannibalism.

Benton tells Kelly he has stumbled upon an amazing find: the long-sought diary of one of the victims, which has an enigmatic description of the Lost Camp. Nora agrees to lead an expedition to locate and excavate it-to reveal its long-buried secrets.

Once in the mountains, however, they learn that discovering the camp is only the first step in a mounting journey of fear. For as they uncover old bones, they expose the real truth of what happened, one that is far more shocking and bizarre than mere cannibalism. And when those ancient horrors lead to present-day violence on a grand scale, rookie FBI agent Corrie Swanson is assigned the case...only to find that her first investigation might very well be her last.

EXTRAORDINARY ACCLAIM FOR PRESTON & CHILD:

"There's nothing else like them." (Washington Post)

©2019 Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Preston & Child is one of those "names" on a book that make you want to set everything else aside in order to read what amazing words they've written [...] From the best writing team out there, you do not want to miss this book." (Suspense Magazine)

"A smart, satisfying read." (Kirkus)

"This outing belongs to two dedicated women, whose future adventures will be happily anticipated." (Booklist)

Not one of their best books

While it was interesting to bring Cori & Nora together from previous Pentergast books, it felt rather clunky and lacked the normal excitement I've come to expect from this team of authors. Introducing Pentergast in the last few minutes to finish wrapping things up was lame and predictable.

Ok novel. Poor reader performance and choice

This has some of the old charm. A bit slow to get moving. Missing the underlying horror elements of their earlier works in the Pendergast series. Speaking of Pendergast, the actress totally botches Agent Pendergast’s accent. Yikes. It changes and is quite disconnected. Her performance seems oddly unmatched at times. Overall, this novel does not do much to lend to ones satisfaction. Go listen to the older material. Or, look for a better performance on Libravox

Expanding and world building

This is an excellent addition to the Pendergast world and explores what others from the past are doing in this story.

Old characters unite, and it's good.

I'm a devoted Pendergast reader, and this book kept my interest, bridging the gap until the next installment, and I've enjoyed Swanson's return. It does seem that the narrator is unfamiliar with agent Pendergast, since her portrayal of his accent is rather baffling. But his appearance is sufficiently brief that it's tolerable. The rest of her performance is easy on the ears.

Tired Old Bones

Pendergast is not British! Nora's annoying, Corrie lost her spark. Not up to usual storytelling.

I was a bit disappointed

I really enjoyed the story but was very disappointed in the performance, especially of Special Agent Pendergast.

Beginning of a new chapter

Preston and Child have launched what undoubtedly will be a new series spun off the Pendergast character. A good listen and a freshening of a good series of characters. I do miss Rene Auberjonois voice as Pendergast, however!

I really enjoyed it, except...

good story. I'm glad to see the Corrie character again. thought the ending was a bit corny and the narrator does an awlful pendergast

Intrigue

A tale with a twist that draws you in and has several potential villains. It even has a very very late final twist just when you believe you’ve got it figured out. I got off at wrong exit while listening because I turned off my GPS so I would not miss parts of the storyline.
An enjoyable listen.

Interesting

Not my favorite of Preston/Child books, but an interesting enough read for long summer days. If you are wanting more Pendergast, this is not for you.