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Preston and Child, who penned RELIC and other novels, use the American Museum of Natural History as a backdrop for their historical mysteries. In THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, the title refers to collections of exotic animals, freaks of nature, and other items gathered by travelers from around the world. Many of these objects would later be displayed in Barnum's sideshows as well as in legitimate museums. Special Agent Pendergast, who appeared in some of the earlier works, investigates a series of grisly murders that occurred in the 1830s below a famous cabinet that charged to see its strange holdings. Pendergast recruits archeologist Nora Kelly to assign a date to the nineteenth century bodies and clothing unearthed during the excavation of a downtown Manhattan building. The corpses reveal gruesome mutilations that make Pendergast wonder whether they are linked to some current cases of partly dissected bodies found in the city. Later, the investigation uncovers arcane "scientific" societies, whose members, like Dr. Frankenstein, delved too deeply into the occult. In a peculiar way, Pendergast is no less wacky than those he investigates: He time travels to turn-of-the-century New Orleans and the notorious Five Points district of New York to investigate the crime. The historical material in this novel is its strongest suit. René Auberjonois is a skilled narrator, who has performed some of the previous novels by Preston and Child. He demonstrates an exceptional range of voices, including the genteel Southern Pendergast and the inveighed upon Kelly. Minor characters, such as librarians, police officers, and construction workers are all thoughtfully individualized. Appropriately spooky music divides sections. The audio version has been heavily abridged–approximately two-thirds of the novel has been cut. The result is a more entertaining, plot-driven version that may please those less interested in historical oddities like cabinets of curiosities. The outcome is transparent, and lovers of traditional mysteries might be annoyed by this hodgepodge of genres.
Reviewed by Karla Jay, July 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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