Gemini

By: Carol Wiley Cassella

Narrated by: Mozhan Marno

Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

An ICU doctor in one of Seattle's most respected hospitals, Dr. Charlotte Reese is used to listening for the chop of the Medvac helicopter and preparing for the worst. But when a Jane hurtles through the doors of Beacon Hospital with tubes keeping her alive, Charlotte's stoic resolve begins to fail her and she becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery of her patient's identity to solve what is looking more and more like an attempted murder. As Jane Doe's condition worsens over the course of days, Charlotte must decide what matters most as she grapples with the concept of life quality and the idea of letting Jane's fate be decided by a court-appointed guardian with no links to the patient. Filled with stunning medical detail and set against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, Gemini is a vivid novel of moral complexity and emotional depth that will resonate with fans of Sue Miller and Jodi Picoult.

©2014 Carol Wiley Cassella (P)2014 Recorded Books

Excellent read

I loved this book! The writing was excellent and easy to follow even when going back and forth in time. The performance was also good though it seemed slow at times. I highly recommend this book.

Entertaining enough

The story was pretty well-written, although it was more of a romance novel than a medical novel, which was disappointing to me.

The reader was good, but mispronounced several words and terms and the names of many local towns. Since I'm from the area the story takes place in, this was hard to listen to, especially since the author felt compelled to name many towns , highways, and local areas that were unnecessary and did nothing for the story.

I just don't get how a professional reader (performer) would not do the research to know how to say the words she's reading correctly. Just my pet peeve, I guess.

All in all, though, it kept me company through gardening, sewing and other tasks.

Omg

Apart of me wanted to give this a bad review just because it left in a cliffhanger but it was such a good book

Very good character development

Carol Cassella has written a book, taking place in a medical setting, that is quasi-mystery, and largely a story of people's lives. Dr. Charlotte Reese is on duty when a "Jane Doe" is brought in, in very serious, life-threatened condition, and they have no family to tell them her medical history or her wishes for things like life support. Dr. Reese becomes very invested in what happens to her which is part of the plot.

Around this central part of the story, Cassella has woven the life stories of several people--who, initially seem to have no relationship to each other, and her character development of each of them is very good. The interactions that tell their back story are quite interesting to listen to.

Much of this focuses on medical issues of course, but a great deal is how the mystery (which pretty much stops being mysterious not very far into the book) resolves itself. Even though the listener kind of knows that part, what is engaging is the way the story gradually builds up to reveal certain things that led to what had occurred at the very beginning of the book. There are some really gripping parts to the story.

I was not overly fond of the narration by Mozhan Marno, but it did the job okay. I liked this book and recommend it as a good read--but I feel it did not rise to the level of "5" on any measure.

Enjoyable, some mistakes in narration

I very much enjoyed this intertwining tale of a doctor with a Jane Doe under her care and Reni, an orphan girl raised by her grandfather. It is clear from early on that Reni is the Jane Doe and as the book unfolds the storylines of Jane Doe and her doctor get closer and closer to the story of Reni. My only complaint is with the audio version of the book and the incorrect pronunciation of some of our Washington State locations.
Sequim = skwim, not se-kweem
Alki = Alk-eye not alkee

One of the most boring books I have ever read!

I am shocked at all the positive reviews of this book. The writing is overly dramatic and long winded. I am 1/3 of the way through the book and nothing of interest has happened. I also dont care about any of the characters. This book is a snooze fest and I cannot force myself to finish it -- I would rather ride in my car in silence.