Aloysius X. L. Pendergast: A Mysterious Profile

By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

#1 New York Times–bestselling authors: Get to know the ruthless, mysterious FBI agent, “one of thrillerdom’s most exciting and intriguing series leads” (Booklist).
 
Acclaimed as “a modern-day Sherlock Holmes” (Associated Press) with a brilliant mind, a cultured manner, and a dark edge, Special Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast has calmly looked evil in the face throughout the long-running series that includes such novels as The Cabinet of Curiosities—named one of NPR’s 100 Best Thrillers Ever—and Crooked River. In this essay, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child discuss how the character came to be created, his enigmatic backstory, and the history of their own wildly successful writing partnership.
 
“The most charming, intelligent, cool, and creepy agent ever written.” —Suspense Magazine
 
“Every bit the modern equivalent of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot.”―Providence Journal

• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: May 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781504074544

Douglas Preston

Douglas Preston writes about archaeology for the New Yorker and National Geographic magazines, as well as novels and nonfiction works (such as The Lost City of the Monkey God). With Lincoln Child, he writes international #1 bestselling thrillers, including the Agent Pendergast adventures.

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Aloysius X. L. Pendergast

A Mysterious Profile

Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Aloysius X. L. Pendergast

Douglas Preston

My first job out of college was as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It was over a quarter mile from the front door of the Museum to my office, way in the back, and it took seven and a half minutes to make that walk (I timed it). I had to pass through the great African Hall with the elephants, a series of smaller halls, the Egyptian Alcove, the Hall of Man in Africa, the Hall of Birds of the World, the Precolumbian Gold Hall, and the Hall of Mexico and Central America. It is one of the largest museums in the world, and I found it an amazing place to work.

Part of my job was to write a column about the Museum in Natural History magazine. I wrote about the Copper Man, I wrote about the Ahnighito Meteorite, about Meshie the chimpanzee, about the Dinosaur Mummy and the Star of India.

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