Reading order · 22 books · 1995 to 2024 · Set in New York
Pendergast Books in Order
Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast is a pale, elegant, brilliant FBI agent from an old New Orleans family, who investigates bizarre crimes in New York and beyond. The books blend thriller, mystery and the supernatural.
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Series facts
- Books
- 22
- Published
- 1995 to 2024
- First book
- Relic
- Latest
- Angel of Vengeance (2024)
- Setting
- Set in New York
The reading order
Every Pendergast book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
22 books · Set in New York
- 1Relic1995With Aloysius Pendergast and Margo GreenJust before a huge exhibition opens at the New York Museum of Natural History, visitors and staff are found savagely murdered.Buy on Amazon
- 2Reliquary1997With Margo GreenHeadless skeletons are found in the tunnels beneath Manhattan, where thousands of homeless people live.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Cabinet of Curiosities2002With Aloysius PendergastA pit containing the remains of thirty-six people, killed in the nineteenth century, is found under a building site in Manhattan, and then a new series of murders begins.Buy on Amazon
- 4Still Life with Crows2003With Aloysius PendergastA series of bizarre murders shakes a small Kansas town surrounded by cornfields, and Pendergast arrives, recruiting a local teenager, Corrie Swanson.Buy on Amazon
- 5Brimstone2004With Aloysius PendergastA man is found dead in his locked attic, burned from within, with a hoof print scorched into the floor.Buy on Amazon
- 6Dance of Death2005With Aloysius PendergastPendergast’s brilliant brother, Diogenes, sets out to commit the perfect crime.Buy on Amazon
- 7The Book of the Dead2006With Aloysius PendergastAn ancient Egyptian tomb is reopened at the museum, and strange things begin to happen.Buy on Amazon
- 8The Wheel of Darkness2007With Aloysius PendergastPendergast and his ward, Constance, travel to a monastery in Tibet, and follow a stolen artefact aboard a luxury ocean liner.Buy on Amazon
- 9Cemetery Dance2009With Aloysius PendergastA journalist is murdered in his apartment by a man who was seen to die days before.Buy on Amazon
- 10Fever Dream2010With Aloysius PendergastPendergast learns that his wife’s death on safari in Africa twelve years ago was not an accident.Buy on Amazon
- 11Cold Vengeance2011With Aloysius PendergastPendergast hunts the people behind his wife’s death.Buy on Amazon
- 12Two Graves2012With Aloysius PendergastBuy on Amazon
- 13White Fire2013With Aloysius PendergastCorrie Swanson, now a student, investigates old deaths at a Colorado ski resort, and Pendergast follows.Buy on Amazon
- 14Blue Labyrinth2014With Aloysius PendergastA body is left at the door of Pendergast’s New York mansion, linked to his family’s dark past.Buy on Amazon
- 15Crimson Shore2015With Aloysius PendergastPendergast is hired to investigate the theft of a valuable wine collection in a coastal village in Massachusetts, and finds a body.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Obsidian Chamber2016With Aloysius PendergastWith Pendergast missing and presumed dead, his ward Constance is kidnapped, and his bodyguard Proctor pursues her captor across the globe.Buy on Amazon
- 17City of Endless Night2018With Aloysius PendergastA teenage heiress is found murdered in New York, the first of a series of killings.Buy on Amazon
- 18Verses for the Dead2018With Aloysius PendergastPendergast, now with a new partner, investigates a killer who leaves human hearts at graves in Miami.Buy on Amazon
- 19Crooked River2020With Aloysius PendergastSevered feet in shoes wash up on a beach in Florida, and Pendergast investigates.Buy on Amazon
- 20Bloodless2021With Aloysius PendergastBodies drained of blood are found in Savannah, and the case leads back to a famous plane hijacking of 1971.Buy on Amazon
- 21The Cabinet of Dr. Leng2023With Aloysius PendergastPendergast travels back in time to the New York of the 1880s.Buy on Amazon
- 22Angel of Vengeance2024With Aloysius PendergastPendergast faces his final confrontation with the sinister Dr Leng.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with Relic. Some books form trilogies within the series, and characters cross freely between them.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Aloysius Pendergast | Margo Green | Constance Greene | Vincent D'Agosta | Bill Smithback | Laura Hayward | Corrie Swanson | Diogenes Pendergast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Relic | LLead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ||||
| 2 Reliquary | MMajor | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | |||
| 3 The Cabinet of Curiosities | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |||||
| 4 Still Life with Crows | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | |||||
| 5 Brimstone | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 6 Dance of Death | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 7 The Book of the Dead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 8 The Wheel of Darkness | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||||
| 9 Cemetery Dance | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 10 Fever Dream | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 11 Cold Vengeance | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |||||
| 12 Two Graves | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 13 White Fire | LLead | MMajor | ||||||
| 14 Blue Labyrinth | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||||
| 15 Crimson Shore | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||||
| 16 The Obsidian Chamber | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||||
| 17 City of Endless Night | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |||||
| 18 Verses for the Dead | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||||
| 19 Crooked River | LLead | MMajor | ||||||
| 20 Bloodless | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||||
| 21 The Cabinet of Dr. Leng | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 22 Angel of Vengeance | LLead | MMajor | MMajor |
Characters in the Pendergast books
9 characters from Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s chart, with the number of Pendergast books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Aloysius PendergastEnigmatic FBI special agent from New Orleans | 22 | Relic 1995 |
| Margo GreenMuseum researcher, later an anthropologist | 5 | Relic 1995 |
| Constance GreenePendergast's mysterious ward | 20 | The Cabinet of Curiosities 2002 |
| Vincent D'AgostaNYPD lieutenant and Pendergast's friend | 16 | Relic 1995 |
| Bill SmithbackJournalist | 7 | Relic 1995 |
| Laura HaywardNYPD officer, later captain, D'Agosta's partner | 7 | Reliquary 1997 |
| Corrie SwansonKansas teenager who becomes an FBI agent | 4 | Still Life with Crows 2003 |
| Diogenes PendergastPendergast's brilliant, murderous brother | 4 | Brimstone 2004 |
| Nora KellyArchaeologist | 2 | The Cabinet of Curiosities 2002 |