Taking its name from the Confucian saying "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, first dig two graves," this novel concludes Special Agent Pendergast's mission to discover what happened to his wife, Helen. He's holed up in Manhattan when he's asked to investigate several mysterious hotel fires that turn out to be a message from the very men he's been tracking. Then he ends up deep in the jungles of South America, confronted by an ancient evil. Cold Vengeance, second in the trilogy, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times best sellers list, so there will be big demand.

In this conclusion to the authors' Helen trilogy (Fever Dream; Cold Vengeance), Special Agent Pendergast finally discovers what happened to his wife, Helen, who was supposedly mauled by a lion while game hunting in Africa 15 years ago but who may have been kidnapped and forced to collaborate in her own death. Having lost the kidnappers' trail, Pendergast is asked to investigate a string of mysterious hotel fires in Manhattan, and the clues lead him to South America and the kidnappers. VERDICT Across these three titles, Preston and Child weave a dense and, oftentimes, boring and unimpressive plotline running over 1200 pages. With the final volume, eager fans will at last learn what really happened to Helen—unfortunately after plodding through a lot of insignificant and inconsequential details. Regardless, order multiples. [See Prepub Alert, 6/3/12.]—Jerry P. Miller, Cambridge, MA

Preston and Child's high-adrenaline 12th thriller featuring maverick FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast wraps up the trilogy that began with 2010's Fever Dream and continued with 2011's Cold Vengeance with a bang. Just as Pendergast is reunited one evening in Manhattan's Central Park with his beloved wife, Helen, who he thought died 12 years earlier, Helen falls victim to a gang of well-organized kidnappers. Despite Pendergast's impressive combination of brains and brawn as well as network of helpers, his efforts to rescue Helen don't play out as he anticipated. Meanwhile, a serial murderer dubbed the Hotel Killer has been targeting guests of Manhattan hotels, mutilating his victims and leaving behind a piece of his own body (e.g., a finger, an ear lobe) to taunt the NYPD. Given the growing cast of characters and their complex backstories, those already familiar with the bestselling authors' fictional world will most enjoy this intelligent suspense novel. Agent: Eric Simonoff, WME. (Dec.)