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)

Loose ends

I did not know this was the first in a series when I started it, but when it left a loose end to be continued, I was not too disappointed. I'm ok with sequels. I do think it could have been a stand-alone story if it wrapped up everything and I'd have been satisfied with that. I thought it was fun for Pendergast to team up with Laura for a while - maybe she'll appreciate his unique attributes a little better now. Not sure how necessary the side story of his ward is - I expect we'll learn more about that in the next installment, but it seemed somewhat out of place in this context. Will defer judgement on the series until the next episode.

Another winner

Agent Pendergast is back again in another great adventure with spies, corruption, murder & mayhem. A little more background is revealed about the Pendergast family which just adds to the mystery! I wasn't able to turn this one off once I started listening to it. Rene Auberjonois is an excellent narrator & does a great job with all the characters. I recommend this one to everyone who loves Thrillers, Murders, Mysteries & Pendergast!

Thriller

Child and Preston do not fail to live up the their reputation. As will all their books this was exciting and thrilling.

"Fever" How Befitting!

Fever Dream, the most recent in a long list of Preston and Child books featuring "hypocrite lecture" Special Agent Pendergast doesnt' disappoint! The story unveils at a "feverish" pace with all of the expected twists and turns, peak and valleys! BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE....Preston and Child delve finally into the pysche of Special Agent Pendergast peeling off layer by layer the hurt and the tragedy that is himself, Agent Pendergast....revealing more RELEVANCE on what fuels the agents "motos operandi" since the Diogonese series. Fever Dream is a must read, however, to truly appreciate its significance on must read the previous Pendergast books. Readers who choose to ignore the suggestions will not be let down, though. Preston and Child season the story with enough background info the make sure the reader is not lost.

great book

I really enjoyed this book. I like the story of Pendergas and his sidekick --
I am not sure why the story of his ward was included - though it was good
to hear more about her

P & C still got it! (If a little clumsily...)

Would you listen to Fever Dream again? Why?

No, but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it. I very rarely read books more than once, no matter how much I liked it. There are only a small handful of books that I've read more than once.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Honestly, it's not really an edge-of-seat kind of book. But it did keep me interested, and that's the whole point, right?

Any additional comments?

This is book 10 in the Pendergast series, and unfortunately, as is the case with a lot of long running series', it's starting to lose a bit of steam. I still enjoyed it, but compared to their earlier books, from Relic to The Book of the Dead (1 to 7), it's not in the same league. 1 to 7 were absolutely incredible, but they've been slowly running out of steam. There are 2 or 3 more books in the series for me to read still, I just hope the decline isn't too constant.

Liked Story but Ending Sucked

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The ending; it felt incomplete and had unanswered questions. The epilogue which is intended to detail the fate of character was used instead as a tease to what's going to happen next. I prefer conclusions to my books when it involves the main character and was part of the main plot.

Also, the subplot about the main character's ward did nothing for the story except side track it, I was interested in the ward but it went no where, it had no real point to the story or none that I could see.

Would you be willing to try another book from Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston ? Why or why not?

This is my second Lincoln Child book and have no intension of buying another.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

The writing is amazing...that said.

This is my second Pendergast book and so far, the first (my introduction to him) is the better story. The writing is definitely equal. Rene is just an awesome narrator and the Pendergast character is just an entertaining guy. He marches to his own drum. What can't he do? LOL.

This particular story wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. I definitely enjoyed seeing a different side of him; from the moment he realizes she was murdered, the fun begins. What I didn't find that interesting was the actual mystery itself. In fact, it was a little hard to stay connected. At times the clues just didn't make a ton of sense and were just boring, if I'm being honest.

I really just love the adventure and seeing how he just pulls everyone into his world. There is something to be said for writers that can create a character so interesting that you will follow even if you don't quite make the connection to the story.

I will read a few more of these books in the hopes of enjoying not only the character but the mystery.

Final verdict. You may or may not like the mystery, it's definitely subjective, but you will definitely like the adventures.

Wow!

This is my favorite Agent Pendergast book yet! Great suspense, subtle humor, and more background on the brilliant, enigmatic FBI special agent. I will listen to this one again!

Outstanding! I can't wait to read more in series

I just finished listening to the Audible.com version of "Fever Dream" by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston. Fantastic fiction! This was a great murder mystery - definitely the best I've read in the past year - with great characters and a story filled with mystery and intrigue. I can't wait to read (listen to, actually) more of their books in the Pendergast series.

I didn't realize this was part of a series until well into the book, but that didn't matter, the book stands on its own.

I find only two minor faults, one with the story (blame that on editors, not authors) and one with the narration by Rene Auberjonois. Auberjonois doesn't know how to pronounce "New Madrid", MO, which is mentioned a dozen or so times in the book; this was annoying. The only weak point I found with this otherwise wonderful book is one instance where the reader is able to figure out what happens next before the protagonists do; this was obviously not intentional. 5 Stars anyway!