Beat the Reaper

A Novel

By: Josh Bazell

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Peter Brown, a young Manhattan emergency room doctor with an unusual past that is just about to catch up with him. His morning begins with the quick disarming of a would-be mugger, followed by a steamy elevator encounter with a sexy young pharmaceutical rep, topped off by a visit with a new patient - and from there Peter's day is going to get a whole lot worse and a whole lot weirder.

Because that patient knows Peter from his other life, when he had a different name and a very different job. The only reason he's a doctor now is thanks to the Witness Protection Program-and even they can't protect him from the long reach of the New Jersey mob. Now he's got to do whatever it takes to keep his patient alive so he can buy some time...and beat the reaper.

Beat the Reaper is not just the only work that will be compared to Quentin Tarantino's films, Grey's Anatomy, and Chuck Palahniuk - it's also the most original and entertaining debut thriller you'll listen to this year.

©2009 Josh Bazell (P)2009 Josh Bazell

Almost perfect

Wonderfully entertaining, fast-paced, funny, thrilling story. I would have given it 5 stars, but I think the writer might have jumped the shark a bit near the end. Well worth a listen. Narrator did a wonderful job with the characters.

What a badass performance

This is one of those books that keeps you entranced the whole time. I swear I stayed up later than I ever normally would so I could listen to the next chapter. I saw a lot of reviews about the excessive cursing, but that never came across to me as being a bad thing. The main character is hilariously intelligent, witty, and a smart ass, and these people tend to curse a lot, so I never once thought the language was excessive; It's just part of the story and the character it revolves around. The author even wrote "DON'T JUDGE" a few times throughout the book and I tend to agree. I thoroughly enjoyed this read; constant action, unexpected sound effects (which I never thought I would like, but wow, I totally did), and one of the BEST performances I have ever heard from Robert Petkoff. Awesome writing, amazing narration. Definitely worth it.

Excellent Pot Boiler

Narration: The narrator does an excellent job of putting on the various accents.

Content: Predictable Jersey-New York mobster good-bad guy squaring off with insurmountable odds. Yes, a woman is involved. Well done. Humorous as well. The explanations about medicine and treatment are informative.

Good Overall

This is a good book if you are not affined by strong language or so called shocking material. If you are like me and enjoy Chuck Palahniuk's work (Choke, Fight Club, Survivor, etc.) then this will seem a little tame. Some of the graphic acts & language felt added on after the fact to make the book appear more outrageous. Overall the story was entertaining and well read.

Gotta Listen!

Not my kind of listen but boy am I lucky I did! Story improbable. Main character unbelievable. Narration flawless and imaginative! Don’t listen to be uplifted. Listen to be entertained second by second. Do yourself a favor and get this now!

Yes! That... was cool!

Not what I expected and not what I normally read or listen to. I picked it up while it was on sale, but it would've been worth full price.
If Scrubs, Killing Them Softly, and some other mob movie with doctors and sharks had a kid, it would be this book. Only not as frenetic.
Satirically funny, but not zany. A bit of action, a dash of gore, a skosh of thrill, and definitely profanity-laden mayhem.
Between Bazell's attention stealing writing and Petkoff's enthusiastic, nay, wholehearted narration it was like listening to the coolest friend I ever had tell me about the coolest (and worst) things that ever happened to him. There's a legal disclaimer at the end that says this story is a work of fiction, any resemblance to actual persons, blah, blah, is purely coincidental. When you're listening to this, it sure doesn't feel fictional.
I want more. Bring on Wild Thing!

Wow

Good recommend Audible. Great narration that brought the story to life. Couldn't stop listening. Disappointed when it ended, and for me it was a bit rushed.

Action Packed

Would you consider the audio edition of Beat the Reaper to be better than the print version?

Did not read print version

What was one of the most memorable moments of Beat the Reaper?

The first through the last page.

What about Robert Petkoff’s performance did you like?

Really good and seemed to capture the Dr.'s personality.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Don't worry, there won't be a sequel... (Wild Thing)

Any additional comments?

Would like to see this become a movie! Action packed!

he has another - please get it soon!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This story and performance is great - and he didn't rush to publish another one too soon. At last however, there is a new one out. If it isn't in audible I will be forced to buy it off the rack.

Beat the Reaper

I love stories that have little FYI moments as it is goes. Though this is fiction no doubt Josh Bazell's telling in the first person of an ER doctor/ ex-hit man view of what is going on in an emergency room was so believeable I will avoid hospitals at all costs for years to come. Some of the information I had to google it was so creepy. But I couldn't turn it off, the story was intense and amazing. The hitman was a bit too skilled to be believable but I didn't care the story was so good I suspended the need for him to be more realistic, oddly I didn't like the characters in this book none of them were really worth saving when it came to the end, with the exception of a homeless man with diabetes losing his feet (and it wasn't so much what the author did with this character as it was he didn't do, nothing disgusting like all the rest of the characters at some point and his little side story sort of drifted in the perriferal view of the main action, so nicely woven in I have to smile). This book has it all, the Italian/Russian mob, Jewish camps, white slavery, life in jail, courtroom deals, rescues, excellent!!! I highly recommend downloading this one. *it gets gross in the same imaginative ways too so be prepaid for that.