• Beat the Reaper

  • A Novel
  • By: Josh Bazell
  • Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
  • Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (3,376 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Beat the Reaper  By  cover art

Beat the Reaper

By: Josh Bazell
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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

What listeners say about Beat the Reaper

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,425
  • 4 Stars
    1,081
  • 3 Stars
    546
  • 2 Stars
    185
  • 1 Stars
    139
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,520
  • 4 Stars
    614
  • 3 Stars
    226
  • 2 Stars
    49
  • 1 Stars
    62
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,041
  • 4 Stars
    773
  • 3 Stars
    402
  • 2 Stars
    131
  • 1 Stars
    123

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

2009, What Happened?

When this came out in 2009, it was hot. A look at when the glowing reviews came out, show that most of the Bazell lovers listened in 2009 or 2010. Since than the overall rating has dropped to 3.9. Makes you wonder what happened.

From the beginning I felt this was a pretty cool story. It involved the mob, the holocaust, and doctors. After a couple of hours the mystery of who killed the main character's parents is solved and now the story is plotless. As a documentary it would be pretty cool. A documentary with attitude. I bought it though thinking it was a suspense novel. Josh could not make up his mind if he wanted his documentary to be about the mob, Jews or medicine, so he threw a bunch of stats and descriptions at us peppered with the F bomb constantly. I prefer, to read Puzo, when getting my mafia fix, or Elie Wiesel to learn about the holocaust and if you catch me reading Gray's Anatomy take my temperature.

Narrator is excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

137 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Listen and You'll Love it

This book was short but packed with everything you can imagine: mafia hits, love story, revenge, betrayal…The list goes on and on. The writing is fantastic and very funny. The book description does not do this book justice. The main character Pietro/Peter goes on a roller coaster ride throughout his life and you would love to just tell him to stop and walk away from it all. By far the most surprising part of this book is about the last 15 minutes – WHAT AN ENDING! Out of all of the books that I have listened to, this by far has the best narration. You must LISTEN!!!!!!!! Download the book and I know you won’t regret it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

48 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome.

This was recommended to me by a fellow editor, and I’m thankful that it was. Bazell’s writing is reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk, and Petkoff’s pacing and tone match perfectly. The narrator is also pretty skilled at accents. Our protagonist, Peter, introduces himself as a doctor in a Manhattan hospital, but we quickly learn about his past as a mob hitman, and how those two worlds collide. It was a great car listen, and a promising start from a new author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

44 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome!

I loved it! Excellent entertaining and page turning. It's a medical thriller of sorts. Completely original. Credit worthy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book and great narrator

This book is a testosterone laden pulp thrill ride and you won't believe what happens at the end. I've read the book and listened to the audio and Robert Petkoff's narration is fantastic. Can't wait for him to do more books.

I can't recommend this book and audiobook more!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun, funny, fantastic!

If you like Don Winslow, if you like Lawrence Block, if you like Thomas Perry--even Jim Butcher, chances are you will love this novel as much as I do. Like others say, it's part Sopranos, part ER, part scary, part hilarious, part inventive, part ridiculous, a little bit sexy and completely entertaining.

Go Josh Bazell! Since I live in Oakland I want to go hunt him down in San Francisco and just stand there grinning at him.

And go Robert Petkoff--geez! What a terrific talent.

TWO THUMBS UP!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Strap in to a rocket ride

This novel blasts off in the first minutes, and never slows down. And even though it's "only" 6+ hours long, it's so intense, and so funny, you will feel like it's a much longer book. I loved every minute of it.

The novel "takes place" over the course of the narrator's shift in a hospital, with flashbacks into his past. The non-sequential structure is easy to follow, and makes for a more compelling story, building suspense from two directions. It is an R-rated novel, for obvious sex and violence aspects, but what may make listeners squirm the most are some graphic medical scenes.

The narration is spot on, with a fast pace that matches the novel, bringing both intensity and humor. After listening to this book, you will never think of hospitals the same again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Breakneck, bloodsoaked hilarity

Josh Bazell stretched my suspension of disbelief well past the breaking point on several occasions, but I was having so much fun listening that I really did not care. Resident physician with a dark past as a mafia hit man who only hit really naughty people. Gritty realism it ain't, but it is paced perfectly, lasts just long enough to avoid becoming tiresome, is read brilliantly, and manages to surprise in a series of grotesque but strangely satisfying ways. If you are sensitive to gore or street language, give it a pass, but otherwise you might find it a perfect diversion when you need something light and a little outrageous.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Quirky and Amusing - Especially for Med Student

Really enjoyed this book. Perfect for the Medical or Surgical resident, medical student, or recent medical graduate. Sort of a TV "Scrubs" show meets HBO "Sopranos" in audiobook form. Narration is excellent. Very unique. Not the same typical mystery cliche. Worth the listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful