Fever Dream

By: Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston

Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois

Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

At the old family manse in Louisiana, Special Agent Pendergast is putting to rest long-ignored possessions reminiscent of his wife Helen's tragic death, only to make a stunning - and dreadful - discovery. Helen had been mauled by an unusually large and vicious lion while they were big game hunting in Africa. But now, Pendergast learns that her rifle - her only protection from the beast - had been deliberately loaded with blanks. Who could have wanted Helen dead...and why?

With Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta's assistance, Pendergast embarks on a quest to uncover the mystery of his wife's murder. It is a journey that sends him deep into her past where he learns much that Helen herself had wished to keep hidden. Helen Pendergast had nursed a secret obsession with the famed naturalist-painter John James Audubon, in particular a long-lost painting of his known as the Black Frame.

As Pendergast probes more deeply into the riddle - the answer to which is revealed in a night of shocking violence, deep in the Louisiana bayou - he finds himself faced with an even greater question: who was the woman he married?

©2010 Lincoln Child (P)2010 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Once again, the bestselling authors show they have few peers at creating taut scenes of suspense. Their restraint in the book's early sections make the payoffs all the more compelling." ( Publishers Weekly)

Not the best Pendergast adventure but still solid

For those of us who love this series, I don’t think this one will disappoint. It’s not my favorite Pendergast book but I did enjoy the opportunity to see Pendergast lose his cool a bit while investigating the death of his wife, Helen, more than a decade earlier after discovering it was actually a murder. He enlists the help of Lieutenant D’agusta, of course, and also ends up working with D’Agusta’s girlfriend, Laura as they kick butt and take names. I always enjoy these books and liked seeing a different side of Pendergast. I recommend it to everyone who likes the series.

Child-Preston do not disappoint

This was another excellent book by these two authors. A.X.L. Pendergast is at his finest. The story line moves along with intrigue, action and twists. Thoroughly enjoyed Fever Dream and I am looking forward to the next Pendergast adventure.

Pendergast strikes again!

Would you consider the audio edition of Fever Dream to be better than the print version?

I enjoy books but lately have come to relish the joy of being read to. The audio books also allow me to do other things while being entertained.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked to finally hear about and meet Pendergast's wife.

Which scene was your favorite?

It is hard to pick a favorite seen, but the climax in the park was great.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did want to listen to it in one sitting, but then made my self stretch it out in order to savor it.

Agent Pendergast is and this time it's personal

Where does Fever Dream rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

It's definitely in the top 20.

What other book might you compare Fever Dream to and why?

Well, it's easily compared to those in the Agent Pendergast series because it has an established universe. I might also compare it to The Alienst by Caleb Carr in relation to the gore factor.

Have you listened to any of Rene Auberjonois???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I listen to all of Rene Auberjonois's performances - he's one of the best narrators on Audible. This one, like his others, is top notch. His ability to capture the characters' nuances, the narration - all of above reproach. The man is incredible.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I particularly felt the beginning was quite evocative and very sad.

Fever Dream

I enjoyed this book's humor and the narration of it.I like how the two main characters are as different as night and day,but good friends despite the mishaps they get into during cases.I found the mystery surrounding the wife deep and really had to pay close attention to what that was about,once it was revealed because it was a little confusing at first.I'll definitely look for more books from these two authors.

A Classic Pendergast

The Pendergast series is one of my favorites series. Being from New Orleans I loved the fact that this character was also from New Orleans . His investigation style, which annoys his partners, and his mysterious behavior always draws me in. He is in rare form in this book, we actually get to see a little more of his emotional side.
In this book we travel with Pendergast to uncover the truth behind his wife's death. And as usually his quick thinking, vast knowledge of everything it seem, as well as his charming personality are in full effect.
I'm looking forward to the next to books in this series.

Great descriptive writing

If you could sum up Fever Dream in three words, what would they be?

Great descriptive writing

What did you like best about this story?

Author's ability to keep me engaged

Which character – as performed by Rene Auberjonois – was your favorite?

Pendergast

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

not enough time in the day

Any additional comments?

I'd like more than three books in the series

skip

I did not like this book. For one it turns out that there are other books in the series which I was unaware of, perhaps that would change my opinion if I read them first.

The main character is obviously a knock off of a sherlock homes character, the type of character that is 10 steps ahead of the reader, and does not explain how he got to the conclusion of his reasoning.

There are also characters in this book that make no sense. They add nothing to the story, and their personal story has no conclusion either. Maybe it gets wrapped up if there is a book after this one.

The reader does a good job, but in my opinion makes the main character seem like a 1900's gentleman in a modern world. Perhaps this is how I would pictured it if I had read the book myself. Regardless, I feel it doesn't fit the story and is a little "hacky".

The book does have some good points to it and it not overall terrible. It has some good twists and turns but I feel some times it just feels like the author makes this feel forced.

Overall, if you want to read about a 1900's FBI agent that has a man servant, who runs around looking for clues about who killed his wife 20 years ago, with some very obvious plot holes then this is your book. It will kill some time but I think your credit can be spent better.

Very engrossing listen.

I chose this book on the basis of the reviews, not because I was familiar with the author(s). It was very different to what I have read, or listened to previously and, after a few chapters, I thought this might not be my kind of book. But the characters were very real, and interesting in their actions and eccentricities, so I continued with this book, soon becoming totally engrossed. There were multiple threads to this story, all nicely intertwined. However, I felt the story was not at the end, when the book ended. I would like to have learned the 'future' of three of the threads, which remained unresolved. Overall, however, I liked it. The narrative moved smoothly. Expect more than usual from this one.
The narrator did an excellent job, allowing the listener to concentrate on the story; the different voices were distinguishable, thus retaining the flow.

Pendergast is a wonderful character

But I do not like the story line of Pendergast and his late wife Helen. For some reason they just do not have any chemistry together and I just never liked her. I did not care who wanted her dead and I wish Pendergast could just move on. This was not one of my favorite books in the series - others are much better, particularly The Relic and Still Life with Crows. Now those are gripping stories!!!

The narrator. Rene Auberjonois, is the best there is in the business. I love to hear his voice and as soon as he says three words, I know I am in the world of Pendergast and I am content.