The Lost Island (Gideon Crew Series #3)

by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Overview

Gideon Crew—brilliant scientist, master thief—is living on borrowed time. When his mysterious employer, Eli Glinn, gives him an eyebrow-raising mission, he has no reason to refuse. Gideon's task: steal a page from the priceless Book of Kells, now on display in New York City and protected by unbreakable security.

Accomplishing the impossible, Gideon steals the parchment—only to learn that hidden beneath the gorgeously illuminated image is a treasure map dating back to the time of the ancient Greeks. As they ponder the strange map, they realize that the treasure it leads to is no ordinary fortune. It is something far more precious: an amazing discovery that could perhaps even save Gideon's life.

Together with his new partner, Amy, Gideon follows a trail of cryptic clues to an unknown island in a remote corner of the Caribbean Sea. There, off the hostile and desolate Mosquito Coast, the pair realize the extraordinary treasure they are hunting conceals an even greater shock-a revelation so profound that it may benefit the entire human race . . . if Gideon and Amy can survive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455525799
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	03/24/2015
Series:	Gideon Crew Series , #3
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	82,261
Product dimensions:	4.25(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.25(d)

About the Author

Douglas Preston was born in 1956 in Cambridge, MA, was raised in nearby Wellesley (where, by his own admission, he and his brothers were the scourge of the neighborhood!), and graduated from Pomona College in California with a degree in English literature.

Preston's first job was as a writer for the American Museum of Natural History in New York -- an eight year stint that led to the publication of his first book, Dinosaurs in the Attic and introduced him to his future writing partner, Lincoln Child, then working as an editor at St. Martin's Press. The two men bonded, as they worked closely together on the book. As the project neared completion, Preston treated Child to a private midnight tour of the museum, an excursion that proved fateful. As Preston tells it, "...in the darkened Hall of Late Dinosaurs, under a looming T. Rex, Child turned to [me] and said: 'This would make the perfect setting for a thriller!'" Their first collaborative effort, Relic, would not be published until 1995, by which time Preston had picked up stakes and moved to Santa Fe to pursue a full-time writing career.

In addition to writing novels (The Codex, Tyrannosaur Canyon) and nonfiction books on the American Southwest (Cities of Gold, Ribbons of Time), Preston has collaborated with Lincoln Child on several post-Relic thrillers. While not strictly a series, the books share characters and events, and the stories all take place in the same universe. The authors refer to this phenomenon as "The Preston-Child Pangea."

Preston divides his time between New Mexico and Maine, while Child lives in New Jersey -- a situation that necessitates a lot of long-distance communication. But their partnership (facilitated by phone, fax, and email) is remarkably productive and thoroughly egalitarian: They shape their plots through a series of discussions; Child sends an outline of a set of chapters; Preston writes the first draft of those chapters, which is subsequently rewritten by Child; and in this way the novel is edited back and forth until both authors are happy. They attribute the relatively seamless surface of their books to the fact that "[a]ll four hands have found their way into practically every sentence, at one time or another."

In between, Preston remains busy. He is a regular contributor to magazines like National Geographic, The New Yorker, Natural History, Smithsonian, Harper's, and Travel & Leisure, and he continues with varied solo literary projects. Which is not to say his partnership with Lincoln Child is over. Fans of the bestselling Preston-Child thrillers can be assured there are bigger and better adventures to come.

Place of Birth:

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Education:

B.A., Pomona College, 1978

Website:

http://www.prestonchild.com

Editorial Reviews

Master thief Gideon Crew has less than a year to live, but he can't refuse his next mission. He has been asked to penetrate the advanced security system of Manhattan's Pierpont Morgan Library and steal a single page from the invaluable Book of Kells manuscript, which is on loan there. He completes the task, but discovers that this exquisite medieval parchment conceals an ancient Greek treasure map. And then comes an even more astonishing revelation: If successfully unraveled, the map just might contain information that could save his own life. Now in mass-market paperback and NOOK Book. (P.S. This first new series entry in more than two years spotlights the evolving partnership between Gideon Crew and his new partner Amy.)

"The action zigzags like an out-of-control rocket toward a double-deceptive conclusion."—Kirkus Reviews on Gideon's Corpse

"Gideon, an engaging fellow from the get-go, lives up to his initial promise, demonstrating an intelligence and resourcefulness that should endear him to adventure fans."—Booklist on Gideon's Corpse

"Like Michael Crichton, Preston and Child weave their stories at a thrilling pace...Preston and Child never fail to entertain. And GIDEON'S CORPSE is a thriller that ranks high among their many co-authored offerings to date."—BookReporter.com

"Preston and Child deliver a tight, literate thriller...The writing is fast-paced and cinematic."—New Mexico Magazine on Gideon's Corpse

"Ever timely and provocative, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have given us yet another one of their taut page-turners in GIDEON'S CORPSE...The issue is never if he'll escape, but how. It's the thrill of the ride that counts, and GIDEON'S CORPSE gives the reader a front seat."
—Albuquerque Journal on Gideon's Corpse

"The writing is taut and intense with twists and turns to surprise even the die-hard thriller fan...the authors make it fresh and original."—RT Reviews on Gideon's Corpse

"Sherlock Holmes fans will relish Preston and Child's 13th novel featuring eccentric FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast (after 2012's Two Graves), one of their best in this popular series...easily stands on its own with only passing references to Pendergast's complex backstory."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on White Fire

"Preston and Child have done it again! WHITE FIRE continues their white hot streak of bestselling suspense as the most eccentric and ruthlessly clever FBI agent in the business, Pendergast, takes on old money and even older secrets with some literary help from Sherlock Holmes. Simply brilliant!"—Lisa Gardner on White Fire

From the Publisher