Two Graves (novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | December 11, 2012 |
| Products | Suspense novel |
| Parent | Grand Central Publishing |
Two Graves is a suspense novel authored by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, published on December 11, 2012, through Grand Central Publishing. It represents the twelfth installment in the Special Agent Pendergast saga and the third entry in the Helen trilogy, following Cold Vengeance.
Plot Summary
Following Helen’s surprising return after twelve years in Cold Vengeance, Pendergast is determined to track down her abductors. Simultaneously, New York City is plagued by a serial murderer.
Plot
The narrative picks up directly after Cold Vengeance, shifting focus to Helen’s viewpoint.
To locate Helen’s kidnappers, Pendergast intimidates members of the Covenant and uncovers their scheme to transport her from Fort Lauderdale by plane. After sabotaging the aircraft—resulting in one kidnapper’s death—he pursues them to Mexico.
In the desert, while riding a stolen Ducati Streetfighter, Pendergast disables vehicles carrying Helen and her captors. During a confrontation, Helen is fatally wounded; Pendergast kills her attacker but fails to apprehend Wulf Konrad Fischer, the pilot who escapes. He buries Helen and collapses beside her grave.
Part Two
Alban Lorimer commits a murder in a New York City hotel, deliberately leaving evidence behind. Lieutenant D’Agosta spearheads the investigation.
Meanwhile, two additional storylines develop: Corrie Swanson evades a Nazi threat; Dr. Felder visits Constance at Mount Mercy Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where she consents to occasional visits but refuses treatment.
Pendergast descends into despair, resorting to medication and contemplating suicide. Vinny hesitates about intervening. Lorimer strikes again; Lady Viola Maskelene informs Pendergast of Helen’s death. Pendergast prepares to end his life using an ancestral drug that induces euphoria before death.
Corrie presents Nazi documents she uncovered to Pendergast; he advises her to stay low with her estranged father in Allentown, Pennsylvania. D’Agosta persuades Pendergast to investigate the recent murders, revealing his prime suspect: Pendergast’s presumed-deceased brother Diogenes.
Alban kills a third victim, leaving his little toe as a signature mark. FBI Agent Gibbs suspects an accomplice with access to hotel surveillance footage; D’Agosta concurs.
Dr. Felder examines Alexander Wintour’s archives by renting a gatehouse from Wintour’s reclusive grand-niece in Connecticut.
Corrie locates her father, who is wrongfully accused of bank robbery but maintains contact through gifts concealed by her mother’s deception.
Mitochondrial DNA tests confirm for Pendergast that the killer is his and Helen’s son—not Diogenes. A young man claiming to be Pendergast’s son arrives at his apartment bearing missing body parts as proof.
The youth recounts being raised in Nova Godoi, Brazil, where “good” twins receive names and status while weaker twins perform menial labor. Having escaped, he seeks Pendergast’s assistance. Named Tristam by Pendergast, he is the weaker twin; Alban represents the idealized Nazi twin and hotel murderer.
Corrie gains employment at her father’s former dealership to further investigate. Dr. Felder plans to infiltrate the Wintour library despite restrictions.
Pendergast traces Tristam’s escape route to an abandoned brewery marked “BETATEST.” Anticipating another murder scene, he and Vinny arrive just as Alban completes another killing but before dismemberment occurs.
Pendergast confronts Alban but is disarmed; Alban demands a confrontation between father and son.
Vinny breaches Pendergast’s trust by revealing Tristam’s identity to Captain Singleton, leading to Pendergast’s 30-day suspension and Vinny’s removal from the case.
Alban infiltrates 891 Riverside mansion, subdues Proctor without killing him, and kidnaps Tristam.
Corrie uncovers a fraudulent scheme at the dealership involving counterfeit car sales enabled by a corrupt auditor. Charlie Foote offers help but is later exposed as part of the conspiracy. After being captured and tied up by Foote, Corrie escapes when her father wounds Foote during a struggle.
Pendergast consults Constance at Mount Mercy for guidance; she suggests targeting Der Bund’s base in Nova Godoi and notes Alban might possess enhanced senses due to Nazi eugenics experiments. In Brazil, Pendergast allies with Colonel Souza of Alsdorf police—an honest official amid widespread corruption—to plan an assault on Der Bund while sparing Alban, Tristam, and Fischer (whom Pendergast intends to handle personally).
Foote attempts another trap for Corrie but fails as she anticipates his betrayal.
Disguised as a butterfly collector, Pendergast infiltrates Nova Godoi and locates imprisoned lesser twins and others deemed imperfect.
Dr. Felder breaks into Wintour’s library but is confronted by Ms. Wintour’s manservant Dukchuk. Felder injures Dukchuk and escapes an attempted murder.
Captured by enemies, Pendergast escapes after killing several Nazis and coordinates an attack with Colonel Souza’s forces. The battle causes heavy casualties on both sides; Souza and his son are killed. Pendergast destroys the castle but Fischer and Alban escape—Alban severely burned and disfigured.
In a tense standoff in Mexico, Alban kills Fischer for betraying their cause then flees; Pendergast spares his son.
Constance reveals to Dr. Felder that the story about killing her child was fabricated—intended to protect him during transport from Tibet to India as the nineteenth Rinpoche in absentia.
Back in New York, Pendergast assists D’Agosta in exposing Midge Rawley as a traitor leaking information to Der Bund; Singleton's reputation suffers accordingly. Vinny proposes marriage to Laura, who accepts.
At 891 Riverside mansion, Pendergast writes Viola expressing gratitude for saving him but insists on maintaining friendship only. Constance—recently released from Mount Mercy—and Tristam play cards while Pendergast asks Constance to serve as an older sister figure mentoring Tristam.
Reception
—Assessment from Publishers Weekly