Fever Dream (Preston and Child novel)
Fever Dream is a novel authored by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, published on May 11, 2010, through Grand Central Publishing. This work represents the tenth installment in the Special Agent Pendergast series and serves as the initial volume of the Helen trilogy. It follows the events of Cemetery Dance and precedes Cold Vengeance.
Plot
During a visit to his family estate in New Orleans, Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast uncovers evidence that his wife Helen’s demise during an African safari was deliberate rather than accidental. Collaborating with police lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta, he embarks on an investigation that reveals Helen’s fascination with John James Audubon, the artist celebrated for his depictions of American wildlife.
Helen was in pursuit of the Black Frame, a legendary Audubon painting reportedly created while he was confined to a sanatorium. The investigation reveals that Audubon’s illness appeared to stimulate his artistic brilliance. As Pendergast and D'Agosta delve deeper, they attract perilous attention from those responsible for Helen’s assassination. When D'Agosta encounters life-threatening danger, Pendergast enlists Captain Laura Hayward to guide them through the Louisiana bayou and uncover the conspiracy.
Helen had been connected to Project Aves, an initiative aimed at developing a pharmaceutical agent to enhance dormant genius by altering a rare strain of avian influenza. The project collapsed after an infected bird escaped quarantine, infecting a local household. Helen intended to reveal a cover-up that sacrificed human test subjects in favor of containment, which ultimately led to her murder.
In the bayou, Pendergast confronts Charles J. Slade, Helen’s former superior and director of Project Aves. Slade contracted the same influenza strain as Audubon, which bestowed genius but also induced sensory overload and insanity. Despite discovering a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Slade’s mental state worsened. Pendergast convinces Slade that suicide is his only option to avoid complete mental breakdown. Nevertheless, Slade refuses to disclose the identity of Judson Esterhazy—Helen’s brother and the attacker who shot D'Agosta.