This is the 14th book in the series of Preston and Child books that feature, as the protagonist, Aloysius Pendergast, the rich FBI agent extraordinaire, and the sixth that I have read. This one immediately succedes White Fire. As with many of the other books in the series, he is assisted in his efforts by Vincent D’Agosta, an NYPD detective, friend and botanist Margo Green and his ward, Constance Greene. His bodyguard and chauffeur, Proctor, is injured in a car crash early on and does not figure prominently in the plot.
The plot. SPOILER ALERT: the events begin when the corpse of his estranged son, Alban, shows up on the doorstep of his Riverside Drive mansion. The rest of the book is a search for Alban’s killer and a motive for dumping him on Pendergast’s doorstep. It takes Aloysius to California and Brazil, but much of the action occurs in New York City – mostly at the Museum of Natural History and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The plot is, as with all of the Preston and Child plots, ridiculous. But the book is also great fun to read and it moves quickly.
8 out of 10.