Diablo Mesa

By: Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child

Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell

From New York Times bestsellers Preston and Child, archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson are tasked with the mysterious deaths of two people found at a site where a UFO allegedly crashed decades before.

Lucas Tappan, a wealthy and eccentric billionaire and founder of Icarus Space Systems, approaches the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute with an outlandish proposal—to finance a careful, scientific excavation of the Roswell Incident site, where a UFO is alleged to have crashed in 1947. A skeptical Nora Kelly, to her great annoyance, is tasked with the job.

Nora's excavation immediately uncovers two murder victims buried at the site, faces and hands obliterated with acid to erase their identities. Special Agent Corrie Swanson is assigned to the case. As Nora’s excavation proceeds, uncovering things both bizarre and seemingly inexplicable, Corrie’s homicide investigation throws open a Pandora's box of espionage and violence, uncovering bloody traces of a powerful force that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets—and that threatens to engulf them all in an unimaginable fate.

Critic reviews

“Diablo Mesa is thriller-adventure writing of the absolute highest order that takes Preston and Child back to their high-concept roots... It reads like a hybrid of the best from Wilbur Smith and Alistair MacLean, making for flat-out great reading entertainment.”—Providence Sunday Journal

“The story has tension, mystery, murder… Down-to-earth action tackles an otherworldly mystery in this devilishly plausible yarn.”—Kirkus (Starred Review)

“Excellent… The taut suspense and tight plotting that marked the authors’ earliest Pendergast novels are very much in evidence. Fans of kick-ass female leads will be delighted.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Thoroughly entertaining.”—Booklist

“The last third of the novel is not to be missed and is impossible to put down. Everything from Cold War espionage to Soviet agents at Roswell and, of course, our top-secret group that is behind all of this will cause enough suspense and unpredictable thrills that you will not be able to see the next move coming before Preston & Child cast a literary checkmate. Diablo Mesa is just what thriller junkies require, and this always reliable author duo delivers at every turn.”—Bookreporter

“Diablo Mesa is thriller-adventure writing of the absolute highest order that takes Preston and Child back to their high-concept roots in books like Mount Dragon and Thunderheart. It reads like a hybrid of the best from Wilbur Smith and Alistair MacLean, making for flat-out great reading entertainment.”—BookTrib

“Diablo Mesa touches upon one of the most enduring and popular topics of the past 70 years… a great hook.”—The Big Thrill

“Diablo Mesa will keep you enthralled.”—The Florida Times-Union

“Preston & Child are back with a thrilling, excellent third novel… Nobody writes like these two and this book keeps you the edge as you read along with the adventure.”
—Red Carpet Crash

Praise for the Nora Kelly series——

"Mystery thriller writing of the highest order."—Providence Sunday Journal

"There's nothing else like them."—Washington Post

"Consistently exciting and never predictable."—Associated Press

"The two strong female protagonists [Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson] share a dynamic reminiscent of that between Pendergast and his friend on the NYPD, Vincent D'Agosta."—Publishers Weekly

UFOs

At first I had some concerns about this storyline, a bit like Nora Kelly had. However all of that disappeared as I continued listening. Great story and I do love these characters. Fascinating concept here and it kept my attention all the way through. Roswell and New Mexico are a wonderful combo with archaeology.

Narrator

This narrator had a good voice and good narration but did she fail vocabulary in elementary school or is the narration done by a computer? She doesn’t properly pronounce some of the words. Doesn’t someone edit or listen to these when they are done? It’s annoying and unprofessional.

We’re Not Done With Roswell!

I’ve read most—if not all—of Preston & Child’s’ books. This is Book 3 of a 3-part series that can each stand alone. The authors have been able to create a fresh tale about what the Roswell crash could have been. There are scary bad guys (not who you’d expect) and good guys who figure out complicated, dangerous things. Highly recommended. (Authors: You need to look up the difference, grammatically, between ‘farther’ and ‘further’.)

ok

I kept thinking it was a story I had already heard.
I even looked at date to be sure.

Definitely different

Nora is a favorite character.. thoroughly enjoyed meeting new characters along the way. I enjoyed this one immensely.