She was poring over filing cabinets, old computers and scattered notes when she finally found it: a manuscript from her late husband, "Jurassic Park" and "Congo" writer Michael Crichton.

For the curious, that would be: In 1995, “The Lost World,” “Congo” and “ER ... father pieced things together,” says Crichton.

The Andromeda Strain and Congo, movies like Westworld and Coma, and the TV medical drama ER. For more on Michael Crichton and James Patterson's collaboration, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE ...

Crichton, the celebrated author of books like Congo and Jurassic Park ... they had everything they needed,” she explains. For ...