A claw print scorched into the wall...
The stench of sulfur in the air...
Has the Devil come to claim his due?

Behind the gates of a fabulous Hampton estate, FBI Special Agent Pendergast discovers the carnage of a gruesome crime — a nightmare of seemingly supernatural origin. The smoldering remains of infamous art critic Jeremy Grove, a melted cross branding his chest, are found in a locked, barricaded attic. The hoofprint singed into the floorboards and the smell of brimstone recall the legendary horrors that befall those who make a pact with the Devil.

Reuniting with police officers Vincent D'Agosta and Laura Hayward, Pendergast combs New York hoping for a simple explanation: a villain who is merely a man. But his search takes him beyond the exclusive clubs and luxury penthouses of Manhattan to a crumbling, legend-shrouded castle in the Italian countryside, where thirty years ago four men conjured something...unspeakable.

Featuring bone-chilling suspense and Preston and Child's trademark meticulous research and vivid detail, Brimstone is the duo's — and Pendergast's — most dangerous and gripping adventure yet.

"Fans of cerebral action adventure novels know that, outside of Michael Crichton, no one delivers the goods like the veteran writing team of Preston and Child (Relic; Still Life with Crows; etc.). As if invigorated by their recent solo efforts (Child: Utopia, etc.; Preston: The Codex, etc.), the two now deliver their best novel ever, an extravagant tale of international intrigue. As their admirers know, one reason Preston and Child thrillers work is because most feature arguably the most charismatic detective in contemporary fiction: FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, a wealthy, refined yet ruthless descendant of Holmes who's very much his own character. Pendergast, as well as other Preston and Child semiregulars, notably rough-hewn former NYPD cop Vincent D'Agosta, Watson to Pendergast's Sherlock, tread nearly every page of this vastly imagined, relentlessly enjoyable thriller. The body of a notorious art critic is found in his Hamptons, L.I., mansion, wholly burned, with a cloven hoofprint nearby: the devil's work? Similar killings ensue among a group of maleficent bigwigs who, as college students, once gathered in Florence for a mysterious reason. Also at that gathering was the charming yet sinister Italian Count Fosco, a wonderful character whom the authors have borrowed, with due credit, from Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White. In time Agent Pendergast ties Fosco into the killings, as well as a plot to equip the Chinese with devastating weapons and a parallel plot to recover a legendary Stradivarius violin. Erudite, swiftly paced, brimming (occasionally overbrimming) with memorable personae and tense set pieces, this is the perfect thriller to stuff into a beach bag." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"An outrageously entertaining thriller from these accomplished co-authors....As good as the genre gets. Don't miss it." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

"[H]ighly compelling....While tales of the supernatural can be downright ridiculous, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child prove that the devil is indeed in the details. (Grade: A-)" Entertainment Weekly

"Fans will be excited to see old friends, yet the story will still captivate newcomers. The authors have outdone themselves with marvelous set pieces and an intriguing mystery. Buy several copies." Library Journal

"Brimstone is one of those rarest of creatures — a scary suspense novel worth buying right now, today, in hardcover, at full price if necessary, rather than waiting for the paperback or library copy. It's that much fun. Combining the cliffhanger thrills of 1940s movie serials, the insider information that made The Da Vinci Code so enjoyable, and a character in Agent Pendergast who gives Sherlock Holmes a run for his money, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's Brimstone is a top-notch, hands-down, no-contest winner." Dan Simmons, author of A Winter Haunting and Ilium

"Baffling murders, an ancient mystical rite, and a globe-spanning conspiracy with roots in Renaissance Florence. If you liked The Da Vinci Code, you'll love Brimstone. Pendergast is a treasure. Take the analytical acumen of Sherlock Holmes, season with the world-weary hauteur of Trevanian's Nicholai Hel, add a dash of the impeccable taste — cultural, not culinary — of Hannibal Lecter, and you have Pendergast." F. Paul Wilson, creator of Repairman Jack

Teaming with Police Officer Vincent D'Agosta (The Relic), Agent Pendergast is determined to solve a case that appears to defy everything except supernatural logic. Has the Devil, in fact, come to collect his due?

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child are the coauthors of the bestselling novels The Relic, Mount Dragon, Reliquary, and Riptide.

Douglas Preston worked for the American Museum of Natural History, is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and in 1989 retraced Coronado's thousand-mile odyssey on horseback.

Lincoln Child is a former book editor at St. Martin's Press and has published numerous short-story anthologies.