Rating: 
Summary: A Fast and Furious Read
Review: Preston and Child bring back characters from THE RELIC and THUNDERHEAD to weave a wonderful thriller. The highlight of the book is the incomparable Special Agent Pendergast (the modern Sherlock Holmes).At a construction site, 36 bodies are found that have been buried for over 100 years. Enter Agent Pendergast who enlists Nora Kelly, now of the Museum of Natural History, and the train ride begins. The bodies were the victims of a notorious serial killer, a mad doctor. But now similar killings are beginning to occur. The original killings were part of a scheme to prolong life. Apparently someone is duplicating that work. Or did the original killer succeed and is still at work? Only by reading the book will you discover the answers. It has been a long time since a book flew by as quickly as this one did. At slightly over 600 pages, it felt like less than half that. The action and tight plotting make the pages turn very quickly. This is one of the best novels Preston and Child have turned out together. If you have enjoyed any of their earlier work, then you will surely enjoy this one.
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Summary: AN A-ONE READING OF A CHILLING STORY
Review: Auberjonois is A-one in his deft, dramatic (when called for) delivery of a dark tale. In this, their seventh collaboration on a science laced thriller, Preston and Child take us to present day Manhattan and a 100 year old crime. As excavation begins for the erection of a state-of-the-art apartment complex in Lower Manhattan, a basement is unearthed with a grisly store - the remains of 36 dismembered bodies, brutally slain by a serial killer over a century ago. Museum archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI special Agent Pendergast join forces to find out who the brutal killer was. Their search takes them to horrendous places: a mass grave under a Chinatown brownstone and a Riverside Drive house of horrors. The pair's investigation is hampered by a greedy developer who refuses to accept any delays on the construction of his apartment building. However, that's small potatoes compared to the killings that now terrify the city. These murders are copycats of the century old killings. Excitement spiked by authentic forensic detail make this another sure fire nail-biter from the apparently inexhaustible duo of Preston and Child. Auberjonois's voice performance is icing on this chilling story. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: The Best. Period.
Review: This book would be a bargain at twice the price. I could tell some one what was going on relatively early, but it made no difference, no difference at all. If I had to say which fiction book I've read is the best one ever, I'd say this one. This is Preston's and Childs' greatest work to date. It is a masterpiece. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Rating:
Summary: The best yet from Preston & Child
Review: I have been a fan of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child ever since Relic was released. Each book has been a wonderful read, with my personal favorites being Reliquary and Thunderhead. After hearing that they had a new book coming out, I began to peruse their excellent website on a daily basis, seeking out new information. The sample chapters were great, but I still couldn't wait for the book. Finally the UPS man delivered my Amazon order and I could sit down to a night of reading. Was all the anxiety worth it? Of course it was. Suffice it to say that after a long night of reading, Cabinet is now my favorite Preston/Child book. The story is remarkable, as is the cast of characters. Having Pendergast return was simply the best. Reading Cabinet was an extremely creepy experience, in a very good way. The tension is unbelievable and the surprise ending will give you quite a jolt. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
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Summary: Good story for "C.S.I." and "Crossing Jordan" fans
Review: I listened to the audiobook of "Cabinet of Curiosities" especting it to be a disappointment. I was happily surprised to find it an interesting story that kept my attention. Usually I save audiobooks for time spent working out, but found myself sneaking a listen on other occasions. I enjoyed this book so much that I'm buying the paperback for my husband to read. Although this book does not have as much detailed forensics in it, if you like television shows like "C.S.I." and "Crossing Jordan" you will enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing : it *is* too much !
Review: I found this book a disappointment. I cannot tell if it is because I read it right after Relic, by the same authors, which had very favorably impressed me. This opus sees the comeback of several characters that appeared in previous Preston & Child books (Special Agent Pendergast from Relic, Nora Kelly from Thunderhead and Smithback, appearing in both) as well as the environment of the N.Y. Museum of Natural History, but one does not get the impression of a coherent universe : the Museum's top brass is changed, as is the N.Y. mayor, one wonders where is Margo Green from Relic... and Pendergast is *Really* too much. Too wealthy, too smart, too able... all in all incredible, or should I say unbelievable? . Whereas Relic was a good horror thriller, including the nasty stroke at the end; the Cabinet of Curiosities demands really too much from the reader's goodwill and suspension of disbelief . The sequence of events leading to the serial killer going on a spree, and putting on his trail the only man able to find him out, and who, coincidentally, is ideally fitted for the task with all the necessary traits and who, moreover, is tied to him by bonds the reader will discover as he goes along... It is all too much for me. Perhaps you'll like it better than I did, if you are really fans of the genre or the authors.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent mystery
Review: I really loved this book. Agent Pendergast has become one of my favorite characters. This tale takes us on an adventure at once horrifying and informative. The inner workings of a museum were particularly interesting to read. I have read most everything that Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston have written, both together and separately. It's not your usual whodunit.
Rating:
Summary: Great - - Riveting
Review: This was truly a "couldn't put down" type book. I most enjoyed the clues that were in every line if you paid attention. The details of the areas visited / crime sceens, etc. I purchased all of their books, but only the "Relic" books even gave a clue to power of "The Cabinet of Curiosities". It was a super book that I could not put down and would look forward to any of similar intellect by these two. The FBI agent allowed the reader to think / assimilate the crime-story. AWL
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Summary: Don't Open The Cabinet of Curiosities
Review: In the past, I have thoroughly enjoyed the novels co-written by both of these authors. The books have featured extremely complicated plots with historical roots, tight writing, intriguing characters and plenty of intense action. The same could be said for this offering but it would not be accurate on several fronts. Like their other books, this novel features an extremely complicated plot. With the understanding that I am not doing justice to their plot and simply can't because of space limitations and other problems; the book revolves around private museums of the 1880's that were located in New York City. Those early and primitive (for the most part) museums were known as "cabinets of curiosities" and for a small fee allowed visitors to look at various objects from around the world. Many of the objects were fake but some were actually what they were purported to be. With the opening of what would become the New York Museum of Natural History, which allowed visitors in for free as required by its charter, the cabinets began to disappear with the museum buying the various collections. Beneath a building that once housed one of the more famous cabinets, work crews have broken into an underground nightmare. The bodies of 36 people have been found who were killed and dismembered over 130 years ago. Special Agent Pendergast of the FBI asks Dr. Nora Kelly, a Museum archeologist to help survey the crime scene and assist with the case. Their time at the scene is very limited and soon both are booted from the site thanks to the internal politics of New York. Dr. Kelly does not share Agent Pendergast's obsession with the case and does not appreciate the fact that her limited involvement as well as other factors have pushed her job into jeopardy. Disgusted by the museum's internal politics as well as Pendergast's heavy pressure on her to identify a killer that may have in fact killed far more than 36 so long ago, Dr. Kelly resumes work on the case. Soon, it becomes apparent that the victims were selected for their age and in each case had most, if not all of their spinal columns removed apparently by a mad man trying to find the secret ingredient to increase a person's lifespan. Her efforts become more urgent as soon the killings begin again with the acts of a copycat killer who is duplicating what happened in gruesome detail so long ago. While the last fourth of this novel is quite intense and has some downright nerve wracking action, the approximately over three hundred pages before are too often slow and boring. The read is rather flat, which is surprising for these authors and only at the end, do the characters seem to come remotely alive. Part of this flat read is due to the fact that the reader is forced to wait for long stretches for anything to happen amid the vast historical lessons between any event no matter how minuet. Simply removing the detailed historical lessons would cut down this book nearly in half. The other major problem with the novel is that too often it degenerates into the typical run of the mill serial killer novel. Far too often for my taste, the reader is treated to being in the mind of the killer as he stalks his next victim. Of course, the killer is killing for a lofty reason (don't they all?) and of course, the victim has no more presence of his or her surroundings than some character in the latest slasher movie. This novel until the last 100 pages or so is a slow moving very detailed affair that finally explodes with a very good ending. But, taken as a whole, it does not live up to its potential or the past novels by this team. Since every author is guaranteed to have a bad book or two, if this is as bad as it gets, the next one should be back to form and be something worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A Little of the Old, A Little of the New
Review: Douglas and Preston's Cabinet of Curiosities will be a treat for their fans and could even create a few more to add to their number. The set up is fascinating with thirty six dead bodies being unearthed from the 1870s before the dead bodies in the present time also start piling up. The authors keep the pace moving and the tension high, even at points where credibility dips and the twists become a little more predictable. The horror shifts from creeping terror to gross-out squeamishness and then back again with relative ease. It is a fast-paced summer type read that makes one wish it was not the depths of February.
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