The Red Lotus

by Chris Bohjalian

In the months to come, as the CDC worked to contain the pandemic, the names of the American teens would be largely forgotten, although the older of the pair, who was also the first to evidence the symptoms, would be remembered as Patient Zero.

  This was, arguably, an improvement over the moniker that the survivors would use for the American who had brought the pathogen to Vietnam in the first place. Austin Harper would be called, with the gallows humor of the beleaguered who fear that death is but a sneeze distant, the Rat King.

  Acknowledgments

  I had a terrific time researching this novel, and not simply because I fell in love with Vietnam. I enjoyed my homework for this book because of the people I had the privilege of meeting or, in some cases, working with once again.

  Jerrold H. Bamel, a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and now a corporate fraud investigator, was a lifesaver when I was trying to understand how an American consulate might help an American abroad whose boyfriend has suddenly disappeared—and where the FBI might fit in. (He also appears in the acknowledgments of The Flight Attendant. He’s the kind of guy who quite literally has made the world a safer, better place. If he ever writes a thriller, buy it.)

  Dr. Kimmery Martin, an emergency room doctor and a novelist (The Queen of Hearts and The Antidote for Everything), read this novel as a rough draft, and gave me invaluable guidance as both a physician and a writer. The next time you’re in a bookstore or library, pick up her books.

  Inessa Manuelyan is a gifted doctoral candidate in the field of molecular virology at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. She was kind enough to walk me through some of the labs, and share with me her knowledge of microbiology, knock-in and knock-out mice, and research protocols. She also read a rough draft of this manuscript and patiently corrected my mistakes—of which there were plenty.

  Jerry Everett, a gunsmith in Texas, was kind enough to read some key sections in this novel and patiently explain to me the differences between the Glock 17 and the Glock 26. This is the second time he has generously shared his knowledge with me. (He corrected my egregious Beretta mistakes in The Flight Attendant.)

  Here in Vermont, I imposed upon some of the “usual suspects” who have helped me with so many books in the past: Lauren Bowerman, assistant attorney general for the Department of Children and Families; Emmet Helrich, formerly a lieutenant with the Burlington Police Department; Dr. Mike Kiernan, an emergency room physician; Dr. Steven Shapiro, chief medical examiner for the State of Vermont; and my biking friends, Andrew Furtsch and Stephen P. Kiernan, who listened patiently to every possible twist as we rode.

  I’m grateful as well to Jennifer Nachbur, public relations director at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, who graciously told me about her job and first brought me to the university labs; to Scott I. Remick, an information and technology professional, who helped me understand how one might (or might not) be able to access someone else’s computer; to Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, who spoke with me about pandemics (and rats) when I first began imagining this story; to my neighbor Van Thi Tran, who grew up in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City today) and helped me name my Vietnamese characters; to Khatchig Mouradian, a gracious (and candid) reader; and to young Sarhad Melkonian, who one day in Armenia when he was ten years old gave me sound advice about storytelling.

  I want to thank the Vietnam veterans I interviewed for this novel—for their service, and for telling me their stories. Some of them are my neighbors and friends: Dan Adam, Bob Bougor, and Bill Finger.

  As always, I amassed a small library researching this novel, and I have to give special thanks to a pair of books that I loved—as a reader and as a researcher. First, I want to thank Robert Sullivan for his interesting, astute, and moving chronicle of his year investigating the life of the rat in New York City, Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants. Second, I was inspired and touched by the candor of Dr. Paul Austin’s beautiful memoir, Something for the Pain: Compassion and Burnout in the ER. I learned so much from these two remarkable books.

  I extend my deepest thanks to my brilliant editor, Jennifer Jackson. This is our seventh book together, and I shudder when I think of what my novels might be like without her wisdom and judgment. But I am thankful as well for the hard work and creativity of the entire team at Doubleday, Vintage, and Penguin Random House Audio: Todd Doughty, Maris Dyer, Sarah Engelmann, John Fontana, Kelly Gildea, Zakiya Harris, Suzanne Herz, Judy Jacoby, Ann Kingman, Jennifer Marshall, Anne Messitte, Sarah Nisbet, Charlotte O’Donnell, the late Russell Perrault, John Pitts, Nora Reichard, Paige Smith, William Thomas, David Underwood, and Lori Zook.

  I am so grateful to my agents: Deborah Schneider, Jane Gelfman, Cathy Gleason, and Penelope Burns at Gelfman/Schneider ICM; to Brian Lipson at IPG; to Kate Pines at ICM Partners; and to Miriam Feuerle and her associates at the Lyceum Agency. Thank you for always having my back and for the great gift of friendship.

  Finally, I am—as always—so appreciative of the insightful, honest counsel of my lovely bride, Victoria Blewer, and our daughter, the always amazing Grace Experience. Victoria has been the first reader of every word I have written since we were eighteen years old; Grace has been diligently reading and improving my work since she was in high school—and bringing many of my characters to life as one of the best audiobook narrators in the business.

  I thank you all.

  About the Author

  CHRIS BOHJALIAN is the author of twenty-one books, including The Guest Room; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands; The Sandcastle Girls; Skeletons at the Feast; The Double Bind; and Midwives, which was a #1 New York Times bestseller and a selection of Oprah’s Book Club. His novels Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers were made into movies, and The Flight Attendant will be a limited series on HBO Max starring Kaley Cuoco. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages. He is also a playwright (Wingspan and Midwives). He lives in Vermont and can be found at chrisbohjalian.com or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Litsy, and Goodreads.

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