At his side in this case is the sometimes bumbling and often emotional New York City policeman Vincent D'Agosta. Wren, the librarian who lives in the basement of the New York Public Library and often does research for Pendergast, is also featured as well as several other recurring characters which makes Cemetery Dance a tough read for newcomers to the series.  

At the onset of Cemetery Dance, two of those recurring characters New York Times reporter Bill Smitback and Museum of Natural History archeologist Nora Kelly are celebrating their first anniversary when a neighbor in their apartment building brutally murders Smithback and leaves an occult image on the wall of two snakes curled around a spike-like plant and the word "Dambalah."

The problem - the murderer, who was caught on video, has been dead for more than a week. This information and video beg the question "Was Smitback killed by a Zombie?" Nora searches Bill's computer and finds notes regarding an article on Animal Rights which implicate the Ville des Zirondelles. a religious order who perform animal sacrifice. The Ville is located in a secluded area in the northern-most part of Manhattan.

Nora visits with Caitlyn Kidd, the crime reporter for the exploitive Westsider (think National Enquirer) where they overhear one of the tribal ceremonies and observe an individual with the appearance of a Zombie. Meanwhile, D'Agosta finds a letter written by the influential Lucas Kline threatening Smithback after he wrote an article about his abusive behavior towards his employees. Finding artifacts in Kline's office which relate to the occult make him a second person of interest in the murder. Pendergast and D'Agosta follow the clues but of course there encounter many twists and turns before they finally save the day.  

Loaded with information about the occult, death conjures, Voodoo, Obeah, and Zombies and interesting characters like Mr. Bertin from New Orleans (a mentor of Pedergast) and Etienne Bossong the leader of the Ville community, Cemetery Dance is a must read for followers of this series. This is the ninth book to feature Pendergast who first appeared in Relic. Once again, the action is set in New York City. Readers who enjoy mystery with quite a bit of macabre will enjoy Cemetery Dance.  

--Jerry Solot