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A Case of Need  By  cover art

A Case of Need

By: Michael Crichton, Jeffery Hudson
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
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Publisher's summary

The death of a doctor’s daughter may be malpractice - or murder - in this novel by a #1 New York Times-bestselling author: “I loved it” (Stephen King).

In the tightly knit world of Boston medicine, the Randall family reigns supreme. When heart surgeon J. D. Randall’s teenage daughter dies during a botched abortion, the medical community threatens to explode. Was it malpractice? A violation of the Hippocratic Oath? Or was Karen Randall murdered in cold blood?

The natural suspect is Arthur Lee, a brilliant surgeon and known abortionist, who has been carrying out the illegal procedure with the help of pathologist John Berry. After Karen dies, Lee is thrown in jail on a murder charge, and only Berry can prove his friend wasn’t the one who wielded the scalpel. Behind this gruesome death, Berry will uncover a secret that would shock even the most hardened pathologist.

An Edgar Award-winning novel by the author of such blockbusters as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park - and creator of the long-running NBC drama ER - A Case of Need is a “superb” medical-thriller mystery (Los Angeles Times).

©1968, 1996 by Jeffery Hudson; Copyright renewed 1996 by CrichtonSun LLC (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about A Case of Need

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Crichton, no need to say more

loved it. I'm a bjg fan. really appreciate the information he always gives at the end of hos sfories where be presents the science and data.

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Interesting, but...

I thought this started out very well, but it fizzled for me in the end. I feel it gives an objective view to support legal abortions and staging the story in the 1960’s shows how little some of society has not changed their view.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Abortion from the early 70s.

a story of the evils associated with abortion, and the truth. how doctors dealt with it before Roe vs Wade.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Abortion drama

Excellent story of a pathologist that gets wrapped up in an abortion gone wrong. The twisted relationships between the various characters made for a very good read.

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  • Overall
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Excellent

Very good story - I had a hard time stepping away from it. I highly recommend this.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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An oldie but a goodie.

So much has changed in medicine and society and yet many of the issues remain the same. This is a great detective story from the days before cell phones, computers and pregnancy tests at dollar stores.

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Early Crichton has some tech but focus on crime dr

Early Crichton has some tech content, which is refreshing, but focuses on crime drama and intrigue.

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  • Overall
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I could not get into this one .

Have read many Michael Crichton books and loved them . This book was not a favorite . glad I didn't start with this one.

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too wordy

couldn't finish it slow dialogue ,slow moving story,not like all his other great books he has written

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Doesn"t Hold up to the passing Years

I've always been a huge Michael Crichton fan and was excited to find one I had yet to read. Unfortunately, this novel doesn't stand up to rhe passage of time as well as many of his others. Our society has changed too much to relate to the scandal of illegal abortion and read the all-encompassing sexism without feeling bitter. The medicine that was cutting-edge at the time is now very dated, even to a lay person. Sorry Chrchton fans, but I'd take a pass on this one.

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