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

Crazy Mix of Medicine and Mafia

Beat the Reaper is a crazy mix of medicine and Mafia. If you like medicine that it technically accurate and deservedly cynical, add in a Mafia hit man who becomes a doctor and you will be on track. Clearly, Josh Bazell used the on-call sleepless hours of his medical training letting his imagination run in a variety of misguided directions. Even when you know where he is taking you can’t really believe it. This is a book I couldn’t wait for friends to read so we could talk about the crazy ending. Catch the YouTube trailer and you will get the flavor of Beat the Reaper.

Dude Lit?

Beat The Reaper is squarely aimed at men -- DUDES, actually -- with plenty of violence, sex, profanity, and assorted other "tough guy" stuff. It's a fun, different, and fast-paced thrill ride. Its narrator uses medical and scientific explanations of things that happen to him. These expositions provide a sense of medical credibility and realism that entertain and even educate. Where the story lacks is in realism of another sort, related to is its plot focus on the mafia, hit men, hit jobs, the Federal Witness Protection Program, and just about any way that these things connect to the physician narrator's life--even if he is supposed to have a checkered past. Beat The Reaper is not a taut medical thriller or even a suspenseful medical story. But it's a fun ride, set in a hospital, centered around a doctor, and chocked full of testosterone, blood, and bravado. If you can suspend your disbelief, you will enjoy the story; it moves at a refreshingly fast, and action-laden pace. Forget what you thought you knew about doctors and strap in for an adventure.

Simple minded, Fun Antihero escapism

The book is a fun read if you don't mind the over the top profanity. Interesting idea to have a former mafia/russian mob hitman enter witness protection and become a physician. Enjoyed some of the information imparted from the good doctor but IMHO this is not worth your credit.

Before its too late!

Beat the Reaper is a high octane race against time, when a doctor with a mysterious past works in an ER. But what happens when that mysterious past shows up on his front door step? Do everything he can to save it before poop hits the fan.

This is book features a main character, who is tri-state born and bred, that surgically takes you through his story. You'll get and idea of what type of person you're dealing with through flashbacks and the company he keeps. Warning: this book is not for the faint at heart. But, if you're into foul mouth New York/New Jerseyians and the occasional gore, then it's right up your alley.

But being an avid comic book reader as well, I got the sense of something deeper in the story. It harkens back to a certain boy turned caped crusader after the death of his parents whilst leaving a showing of the Mark of Zorro. I think you get where I'm going with this. The protagonist in the story may not be a hero, but he is definitely something born from tragedy.

For me the best news at the end of this tale was finding out there was a sequel!

One of the Best Audible Books Ever!!!

Don't let the title cover fool you, this is one FABULOUS book! It has it all, and I do mean all, intrigue, suspense, history, murder, medical, mob, drama, sharks (yes sharks). Sooooo credit worthy and you won't want it to end,

fun and entertaining

This book was fun, funny, and very entertaining. I liked the main character, the violence, and the digressions. The writing style is fun to listen to, and the narrator was very talented. My only complaint is that the book was too short for the money. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it very much. I was tense during the action scenes, grossed out by the hospital scenes, and laughing out loud at the character's comments about almost everything. Very few audiobooks have provided this combination of suspense and humor. highly recommended.

Bloody hilarious

If you like the excerpt you'll love the book. Unless you're planning on a hospital stay soon (wink).
Really funny, can't wait for the author's next one.

Reminded me of Johnny Cool

great mix of mob story and hospital drama. Johnny Cool meets House. A mob killer becomes a Doctor in the witness protection program

Insane fun ...

... but who on God’s green earth thought the occasional sound effects were a good idea?

Great Read

What made the experience of listening to Beat the Reaper the most enjoyable?

I really enjoyed the way the characters were portrayed. Robert Petkoff's narration came alive!

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting aspect of the story was the fact that even after He avenged his grandparents death , He still didn't stop killing. It was interesting to me that maybe this was something that he liked and didn't want to stop doing.

Have you listened to any of Robert Petkoff’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never listened to any of his other Narrations but I have seen him on a few episodes of Law and Order. I will definitely check out some of his other work.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Oh Yeah. It was funny and kept me on the edge of my seat.