LIFE SUPPORT CASSETTE

Rating:
Summary: DARK AND DISTURBING
Review: Gerritsen explores the area of longevity and how desperate some people are to prolong their lives; the risks they will take, and the horrifying consequences when that desire exceeds safety and caution. What make this book work so well is Gerritsen's ability to create individual scenes that ring of truth, particuarly in the relationship between Toby, her sister, and her mother. Some of the dialogue is biting, harsh, yet with an underlying compassion and confusion that accompanies the anguish of Alzheimer's. Tess also establishes a great deal of sympathy for a supporting character, Molly Picker, whose life as a prostitute leads her into an unbelievably cruel outcome. Her phone call home to her mother, begging her to let her come home, is gut-wrenching in its realism and her mother's cruelty. The story builds well, and Toby's romance with Dan Dvorak is well-done, although the curtain of doom that hangs over Dan at the end does leave a little bitter taste.
All in all, Tess continues to be a master of the medical thriller; check out her excellent "The Surgeon," "Harvest," and "Bloodstream." She makes you wonder just how safe we are in a hospital!

Rating:
Summary: Held my attention from beginning to end
Review: I am reviewing this book in its ABRIDGED format of only two tapes.

This abridged recording begins when an underage prostitute is delivered to her client. She's immediately put off by the sleazy location but plays along entering a white walled room filled only with a bright light and what appears to be a doctor's examination table. She hops up on the table as instructed but is soon sucking in noxious fumes and knocked unconscious . . .

Next we meet Dr. Toby Harper who works the graveyard shift in the emergency room. One night an old man appears in the ER with no apparent illness besides a penchant for stripping off his clothes in public and a bit of disorientation. As Toby goes about examining him his leg starts to twitch. She's called out on another call and when she returns he has disappeared and Toby is held responsible. Soon another old man arrives (who was, coincidentally, living in the same fancy retirement community as the first mystery man) with similar symptoms but this man dies. Toby is suspicious, orders an autopsy and does some snooping around on her own when she is met with unreasonable resistance to her questions. It seems that some experimentation with prolonging life has been going on at the retirement home with frightening side effects. When Toby eventually discovers a bit of what has been going on her own life becomes endangered.

This was an interesting medical thriller with an engaging protagonist but once Tape 2 begins the abridgement becomes very apparent. Events begin to happen fast and furiously and characterization is minimal. For the most part, the cuts necessary for this abridgement are smooth but I did find myself left a bit confused on more than one occasion and would've loved to have gotten to know all of the players a bit better. If I stumble across an uncut version of "Life Support" I'll definitely check it out to read all that I missed.

Rating:
Summary: Gerritsen is fast becoming my new favorite pop novelist
Review: I believe I'm actually going backwards as far as the chronology of her titles are concerned. The first book of hers that I read was "GRAVITY", which I thought was perfect. "LIFE SUPPORT" didn't disappoint either. What makes Gerritsen's medical thrillers work is her utter believability. Although a lot of the medical jargon went right over my head (I'm sure I'm not the only one) it certainly comes across that she knows what she's talking about. So far, both books that I've read have centered around an intelligent heroine, who beat the odds of having their reputations tarnished, and yet end up victorious. I would, however, have preferred to know a little bit more about the fate of the heroine's love interest in the book, maybe by Gerritsen explaining a bit more in detail as to the curability of the illness and so on.

Overall, I preferred GRAVITY to LIFE SUPPORT because the heroine in the former was not only a doctor, but a flight surgeon on a NASA shuttle. Makes for a great plot! If you haven't tried that one yet, you certainly should. I'm looking forward to checking out her latest novel THE SURGEON... just waiting to find a copy at a nice price. :)

Rating:
Summary: Life Support is a fast-paced medical mystery
Review: Tess Gerritsen doesn't fall victim to the sophomore slump with her second medical thriller, Life Support. A peaceful evening in the ER is broken by the arrival of a delirious elderly man. Dr. Toby Harper does her best to treat the patient, but he mysteriously disappears from the hospital when left unattended. Toby searches for her lost patient and tries to determine the cause of his behavior when another patient with similar symptoms dies under her care. Her concern is deepened when the cause of the patient's death is determined to be Creutzfeldt- Jakob, or mad cow disease. Following this disclosure, Toby is beset by personal tragedies as someone is trying to prevent her from discovering the evil truth and unthinkable research responsible for this outbreak.

Life Support is a fast-paced medical mystery full of intrigue and suspense. The plot-driven story grabs the reader and never lets go. I couldn't put this book down. Gerritsen effectively uses medical terminology that's not over the average reader's

Rating:
Summary: A must have read for anyone who loves medical thrillers
Review: This was the first book that I read by Tess Gerritsen. From the very first few pages, I was automatically taken into the fast-paced content. I literally had a hard time putting the book down! The characters were like pieces of a puzzle that Gerritsen created, but didn't put together until the end of the book. I have read quite a few medical thrillers in the past, but none have kept my curiosity going like this book. Gerritsen is a wonderful writer. I feel as though anyone can enjoy this book--although I loved it even more since I am a health care professional. This is truly an enjoyable read. I only hope that Gerritsen will continue to write novels that are as great as this one!!