Any suggestions for a Special Agent Pendergast fan?

Question

I have just finished reading the Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and I am in desperate need for other reading material! I love the Pendergast novels and I am looking for something else that is like them. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I have also greatly enjoyed these books. I know book 9 in the series will be coming out, but I think the release date got moved back and I can't find a date for it now. Until then, you might like to try some of these other authors/books that I have read and enjoyed.

I think the Pendergast/Diogenes relationship is one of the best hero/villain parings that has been written in the last several years and compares favorably to the Clarice Starling/Hannibal Lecter relationship. So if you haven't already read Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, I would recommend that book. This is the best of the Hannibal Lecter books, but you can also try Red Dragon by Harris as well.

I have read a couple of the stand-alone books written by either author and enjoyed those as well, although, I did like the Pendergast books better. Mount Dragon, Tyrannosaur Canyon and Blasphemy by Douglas Preston and Utopia by Lincoln Child. Of these, I liked Utopia best. It is a mystery/thriller set in a high-tech theme park.

You might also like some of the books of James Rollins, such as the Sigma Force novels. Of the ones I have read, they are like a cross between the Pendergast books and The Da Vinci Code with a little bit Tom Clancy Op-Center.

If you like a little action in your reading, then check out Matthew Reilly. Seven Deadly Wonders has mystery and intrigue, the main characters seem to have almost the encyclopaedic knowledge of arcane history that Pendergast exhibits and do it all while trying to escape deadly traps and bad guys.

Although not similar in style from storyline perspective, you might also like Dean Koontz. I particularly enjoyed Watchers and Odd Thomas, but he has written many wonderful books that cover many genres from horror to supernatural to sci-fi. His books usually also include a good dose of humor. Other recommended titles: Life Expectancy, The Good Guy and The Husband, to name a few.

If you just like the mystery/thriller type of book, then the Alex Cross series by James Patterson or the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell might appeal to you as well.

Answer 2

Finally someone on YA who appreciates their talents as much as I do!  They've written several books separately so you may want to check them out.

Daniel Silva doesn't write the scary kind of thriller as DP & LC, but they deal with intrigue, espionage, fast-paced adventure.  Several have Guy Allon as the main character.  He's an art restorer by trade, but does clandestine work for Israel.  I'm in the middle of a remodel/new construction so I can't get you any titles.  Sorry.  Look in the mystery section of your bookstore.  I think you'll like him..