Match Book
The Cabinet of Curiosities
Douglas Preston
2002 · 629 pages · Thriller
How it reads
The Cabinet of Curiosities is thriller (archaeological techno-thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.
It's set in a big city setting, in the present day, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are survival, secrets and justice. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.
It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending resolves happily. At 629 pages it's a real commitment. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something tense
- you want a book that pulls you through
- you want an escape
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or heartwarming
- you want dense, lingering prose
- you want something you can finish this weekend
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- thriller
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- prolific veteran
- Setting: place
- big city
- Setting: time
- contemporary
- Mood / feeling
- tense
- Pace
- fast paced
- Tone / weight
- light and escapist
- Length
- long
- Narrative style
- third person, several viewpoints
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- well known
- Series vs standalone
- later in a series
- Ending style
- resolved and happy
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
ShiverLisa JacksonShares: thriller, tense mood, light and escapist tone, fast paced
Hello, DarknessSandra BrownShares: thriller, tense mood, light and escapist tone, fast paced
GoneLisa GardnerShares: thriller, tense mood, light and escapist tone, fast paced
She's Not SorryMary KubicaShares: thriller, tense mood, light and escapist tone, fast paced
The Last Mrs. ParrishLiv ConstantineShares: thriller, tense mood, light and escapist tone, fast paced- A Lie for a LieRen DeStefanoShares: thriller, tense mood, light and escapist tone, fast paced
Appears in
Find a copy
Reviews on Goodreads ↗Match Book earns a commission on purchases made through these links, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, Match Book earns from qualifying purchases.