Martha

I just finished listening to this audiobook, which I completed in less than a week (half the usual). The motivation to buy this book is that I used to be a fanatic of Robin Cook medical thrillers when I was in medical school back in the nineties. The last novel I had read was Contagion in 1998 and then I never had the time to read any more, until I discovered Audible. Well, I started listening to the book with a lot of enthusiasm and nostalgia, expecting to find it as exciting as his previous novels, but found it's too predictable from the beginning, as other reviewer pointed out. On the other hand, there are some medical aspects that are dificult to believe by any person minimally knowlegeable of how hospitals work. Being myself an M.D. I couldn't understand how nobody had though about Potassium Choride as the causal agent for the unexplained deaths, since it was so obvious. Well, it didn't make me lose interest, since I wanted to know the details of how the genetic markers fit into the plot. Bottom line, a bit dissapointing if you have read previous novels but still worth the time, specially since there are not many authors out there writing medical thrillers.

Medical thrillers are my passion. I've read them all and I can tell you, this is the best I've read in a long time. Something that distinguishes good thrillers from bad ones is credibility, and that's where most fall short, and this one is particularly good at that. I am myself a physician scientist as the main character in this book, and it's clear the author did his homework in thoroghly researching the areas covered by the plot. Highly recommended.

I haven't yet finished listening to this audiobook (I've gone through the first half in just a couple days), but I'm fascinated with the high level of scientific and technical details, amazing for a writer with no scientific background, which makes me think he had to research the topics very thoroughly. It reminds me of the style of two of my favorite authors, Michael Crichton and Robin Cook. I can't wait until I get to the end of this nailbiting thriller. Highly recommended.

Initially I was a bit reluctant to order a book from a not so well known writer, but after reading other reader's comments I decided to give it a try, and it definitely paid off. The writer/narrator manages to keep your attention up with the characters, who are profoundly human, specially Smithy, who evokes a big resemblance to Forrest Gump for his innocence and naiveness (is he a bit retarded?). Some could also describe it as stupidity, specially since the same character uses the word "stupid" to describe his actions and gestures more than a handful of times. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I was wondering all the time whether Smithy was sharing part of his sister's mental disease, since he seems to see her everywhere, even after her death, and is definetely obsessed with her. Overall, this was a great, unusual listening experience. I look forward to more works from the same author in the future.

It was extremely difficult to listen to this book. The plot was very slow and as other reviewers have stated, too detailed and wordy, to the extreme it gets really annoying. The narrator's style doesn't help either. She doesn't seem to be successful in catching the listener's attention with the tone of her voice. I'll avoid this narrator in the future.

I've read or listened to all of Michael Crichton's books and I was looking forward into this one, which in my opinion is one of his best pieces of work. Like on some of his previous novels such as Jurassik Park and Prey, he did a lot of research on highly technical topics to support his characters and statements, always controversial, but that's where the excitement is. I can say that I learned a lot about environmental issues, and figured out how ignorant I was by believing all what the media says about those topics. This has been one of the most influential books I have read, since it made me change my mind about some very important aspects of life. It also kept me excited all the time on the plot. Highly recommended!!!