Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
An Aloysius Pendergast Novel

FBI Agent Aloysius Pendergast was once married to Helen. They were only married a year when she was attacked, killed and eaten by a mysterious red mane lion while they were on a Safari. Now, twelve years later, he discovers that her gun had been loaded with blanks. No wonder she "missed". He realizes she was set up and murdered. He asks his friend, Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, to help him track the truth and murderers down. Traveling from Africa to New Orleans, New York to Florida, the two men find out she was fascinated with James Audubon and it had led to her death. Helen's mysterious obsession with Audubon's masterpiece known as the Black Frame drew enemies. The painting was never found, and Audubon's life ended in madness.

This was another great read by Preston and Child. It's also a To-Be-Continued book. Those loose ends are titillating. Can't wait for the next one.

Impact by Douglas Preston

Impact by Douglas Preston

The U.S. government sends mercenary Wyman Ford on a mission to locate a secret Cambodian mine, the source of some unusual gemstones. These gemstones have never been seen before and they are getting high prices but they are costing people even more dearly than they realize. It seems they are radioactive. He finds the mine alright, but the people forced to work the mine are dying from the radioactive stones. He decides not only to fill out his report but to close the mine down little realizing that wasn't what our government wanted.

In Maine, Abbey Straw has dropped out of college against her hardworking fisherman father's wishes losing the tuition money he paid for. All she's interested in is smoking pot, getting drunk and astrology. She and her friend are out partying on the night that a meteor is seen streaking across the sky. With her new telescope she is even able to get a photograph. Although everyone says it must have hit the ocean, she knows it didn't because there were no shock waves. She triangulates her information to deduce that it hit on one of five islands so she and her party friend sneak out on her father's boat to find it so they can sell pieces of the meteor on ebay. But it's not what she thinks!

In California, scientist Jason Freeman sends co-worker, Mark Corso, a classified hard drive that he stole from where they work. The National Propulsion Facility is studying Mars but Jason has stumbled on something that could rock our world, literally! Jason is killed before he can explain anything to Mark, a researcher with the Mars Mapping Orbiter (MMO) project at the NPF. But Mark does get his package and soon realizes what Freeman was so excited about.

These 3 storylines intersect and the good guys win. There is a unique twist on the last page that was intriguing. Otherwise, this wasn't a favorite of mine. I've read all of his books and the books he co-authors with Lincoln Child and usually love them. This one left me flat. I didn't like the characters. The story seemed implausible to me. I think a meteor hit like he describes would have been heard around the world, if you know what I mean. It would be a good enough read for a beach read or a plane trip but wasn't up to his normal quality.

Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Thunderhead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Archaeologist Nora Kelly is called out to the old home place where she grew up. Abandoned, the neighbor says that there have been lights and noises coming from the house. When Nora checks it out, the abandoned home has been vandalized but in such a way as to seem like someone was tearing it to pieces to search for something. Then she's attacked by some men wrapped in filthy furs demanding, "Where is the letter?" Fortunately for Nora, her neighbor shows up carrying a gun and they are able to escape. On the way out she is in such a hurry that she runs into the old mailbox. She has to get out and pull it out from under her bumper and a letter falls out of the old mailbox. It was written by her father 16 years ago when he disappeared while searching a remote area for the Anasazi city of Quivira. He gives her enough information to narrow the search down.

Nora decides she has to try and find her father's remains and whether or not he ever found the city of Quivira. It's suppose to be the city of gold that the Spaniards searched for. Using satellites and computers she is able to find an ancient road and is able to persuade her boss to finance a small group to see what they can find.

By horseback, they go to the ancient road bed and camp and begin looking for the city. This is when the real adventures begin. I enjoyed this book so much. I like all of Preston and Child's books but I believe this one is one of my favorites. I didn't put it down. I thought it was great from front to back. Mystery, action, and believable. Stan and I have visited the ancient Anasazi sites that were mentioned in the book like Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde. It made the book more alive for me.

There is one sex scene in the book that I wish they had left out. So I wouldn't recommend it to young teens. Otherwise I highly recommend it.