Review: Fever Dream, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Fever Dream by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

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

With Lt. Vincent D’Agosta’s assistance, Pendergast embarks on a quest for justice. It is a journey that sends him deep into his murdered wife’s past, where he is stunned by how much she kept hidden from him. Helen Pendergast had nursed a private obsession with the famed naturalist-painter John James Audubon and spent years hunting for an infamous, long-lost painting of his known as the Black Frame.

In a night of shocking violence deep in the Louisiana bayou, Pendergast gains some answers to the riddle of his wife’s death, but he is left with an even greater mystery: Who was the woman he married?

This review is based on a free review copy received from the publisher/author.

The Bibliomaniac’s Review:

Preston and Child are back at it again, giving us another delicious Pendergast book to savor. This one contains some substantial information about his past, and a look at another part of his family, one of the areas which his companions and the readers know the least about. Fever Dream gives us a more in-depth look at his late wife Helen, and the reader discovers along with Pendergast that there was a great deal that he did not know about her.

Fever Dream moves at a slower pace than some of the previous Pendergast novels, especially Dance of Death, The Book of the Dead, and Cemetery Dance, but the subdued intensity and pacing allows the reader to more fully immerse themselves in the story, rather than rushing along at a breakneck speed to get to each new revelation. Preston and Child have lost none of their style or ability to stun and shock; here it is drawn out in a tantalizing way.

Along for the ride with Pendergast is his usual Watson, Vince D’Agosta of the NYPD. Joining him roughly two-thirds through the story is D’Agosta’s co-worker and lover, Laura Hayward. These two have different approaches to helping Pendergast on his quest, and Hayward must be convinced that what they are doing is right, but without their help, Pendergast would—for a change—be unable to succeed. There are plenty of thrills, injuries, and near-death misses along the way to keep the price of Pendergast’s revenge high.

The sole quibble to this novel was the way it ended. For a change, Pendergast has not finished the story as the ultimate victor, and one mighty hefty plot thread has been left unresolved, presumably until the next novel in the cycle. While I really dislike cliffhanger endings, this one does at least hold out the promise that there will be another book in the series, although it may be some time in coming, as the authors have begun a new series featuring a new protagonist. The first novel in that series is due out in the winter of 2011, so it may be 2012 or even later before Pendergast fans like me can have their next fix. Nonetheless, Fever Dream is a more-than-worthwhile entry to the series to keep readers enthralled until the next one arrives.