The Book of the Dead (2006)

In the Pendergast trilogy's sprawling finale, framed FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast (think Sherlock Holmes crossed with Bruce Wayne) plots his escape from super-max. Meanwhile, when an ancient Egyptian tomb goes on display at an NYC museum, staffers begin eviscerating one another, victims of either the mummy's curse or Al's evil brother Diogenes. Combining police procedural, prison-break caper, and campy gothic melodrama, The Book of the Dead is as incongruously assembled as a jackal-headed god. Fortunately, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child toil like a pharaoh's slaves to build action set pieces so ingenious we forget how contrived they are.