Marker

As with previous Cook novels, this one is full of well developed characters and has a fast-paced and interesting story line. The only complaint is that the plot was way too predictable and I could see the climax coming during the second or third hour of this 14+ hour audio book. Although there were a few twists and turns along the way, the storyline and ending were predictable enough to leave me feeling generally dissapointed.

This was my first, and probably my last, Robin Cook novel. I had such high hopes for this book when I purchased it! Unfortunately, multiple factors conspired to make me hate it. The book is about some thirty- and forty-somethings, but the author reads them all as if they were very uptight and much older than stated. I can't tell how much of the problem is the narrator and how much is Mr. Cook's incredibly stuffy dialogue. The book keeps restating parts of the plot as if we have forgotten what happened thirty minutes ago, which I found annoying. I think my biggest issue, though, was the plot and subplots. I am a physician, and as such I have NEVER met forty-something doctors who are as oddly formal and 'official'-sounding as some of these characters. I also found it incredibly hard to believe that the characters involved didn't figure out some of the medical things that went on within their own lives a little quicker. Surely Laurie has done autopsies on women who died of the medical condition she has in this story-- and yet she has no clue?!? Finally, the idea that so many mysterious deaths are occurring at a hospital with a low morbidity rate, and yet the administration is not alarmed, drove me completely nutty. The most interesting part of the plot (a national conspiracy) was given about 2 minutes of time at the end of this overly-long story. By the end of the book I really didn't care what happened to the people involved. Hate to bum you out, but I really can't recomend this one.

The story line had potential, but the writing is sophomoric, the dialogue stilted, and the narration is terrible. I wasted a credit on this one.

Even better than some of Robin Cook's older books. I guess being able to predict the ending doesn't bother me much or I would give up reading mysteries all together. I enjoy the ride not just getting to the destination.

I've read most of Robin Cook's books and while they are enjoyable most seem to have the same plot - our hero against the big bad managed care company. How about something a little different?

Seems like Cook's written this story a few times before. Formulaic and predictable. At least it's Cook's formula, and not derivative.

Robin Cook did not dissapoint. The storyline kept my interest, but the narration made me want to sleep. The voices for the characters were kind of lame.

George Guidall enhances every book he narrates, lending nuance and drama to even the most pedestrian prose. This is a workmanlike thriller that feeds effectively on one's natural fear of lying helpless in a hospital bed. But the story never really grabs you -- there's a kind of mechanical feel to it, as if the author were following a mystery cookbook recipe. Had anyone but Guidall narrated the book, I doubt I would have stuck it out to the end.

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.

I LOVE Robin Cook books. Unfortunatly there is no way I can finish listening to this one. I can't tell if the story is good or not because the narrator puts me to sleep. I have learned a good lesson. I will always listen to the sample before I buy another one.