Rating: 
Summary: Great read but some disappointment with ending.
Review: Life Support is a very interesting and entertaining novel. It grabs you quickly and holds on. The plot is based upon a technology the author has thoroughly researched; it is presented in a way to make it plausible. The heroine, Toby Harper, is a likeable, if naive character you can root for all the way. I loved this book until the last ten or fifteen pages which include at least one event that makes no sense and exclude at least one badly needed explanation. I get the impression that the author ran out of time, perhaps to meet her publisher's deadline, and just "slapped the ending together." I still recommend the book as great entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping read
Review: Life Support is the first book I have read by this author, but it definitely won't be the last! The story is well paced and gripping with good characterization. The plot revolves around an upscale retirement community whose doctors have discovered a way to prolong an individual's natural lifespan; unfortunately, the procedure can also create horrific consequences. Dr. Toby Harper, a doctor working in a local ER, admits two of these retirees and is baffled by their symptoms. Her determination to get to the bottom of the case ultimately threatens her very life. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys medical thrillers.
Rating: 
Summary: Life Support
Review: Life Support was a well written book that kept me on the edge of my seat. It also hit close to home. You see, my mother died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) 46 days after the first noticeable symptoms. This is scary. We could all be walking time bombs.
Rating:
Summary: Human element makes this medical thriller special
Review: Medical thrillers have come to have a sameness about them: courageous young doctor vs. greedy medical/insurance establishment or unethical experimentation. The relationship of the heroine and her mother, who suffers from Alzheimer's, makes her stand out from the other idealistic protagonists. The unusual cause of the symptoms that awaken her suspicions is fresh. Medical scenes in the last third of the novel involving the villains may be too strong for some readers. Kathleen T. Choi, HAWAII CATHOLIC HERALD
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Miss Gerritsen has taken the medical thriller to new heights with both "Life Support" and her previous bestseller, "Harvest." She weaves an intricate plot, fascinating science and wonderful characters to create a fabulous story. And as if that weren't enough, her writing is breathlessly clean and clear, pulling you effortlessly through the book. I read it in one sitting. Outstanding!!
Rating:
Summary: Better than HARVEST-Gerritsen is the nineties superstar
Review: Once upon a time Dr. Toby Morgan lived a calm, serene life even as she
worked on the over-night shift at the Springer Hospital Emergency Room. Her tranquillity vanishes and she spirals into hell when she angers Dr.
Carl Wallenberg, a medical researcher, who is conducting experiments into
prolonging life at an expensive and exclusive senior citizen facility. Toby had the temerity to override the egotistical doctor's orders. He
demanded that she return the body of one of his patients to the person's
family. Instead she maneuvered the medical examiner into conducting an
autopsy.
The autopsy reveals that the deceased died from an extremely rare
illness that could only be contracted by direct contact of bodily fluids. Toby believes that a previous patient, who mysteriously vanished into the
night, also carried the same illness. She begins to investigate, hoping to
abort an epidemic before it occurs. Instead, Toby discovers that illegal
use of fetal tissue gleaned from embryonic monsters are being used to treat
wealthy patrons. She also learns that her knowledge of the practice makes
her expendable by people who do not want their profitable business ended.
HARVEST was one of the top ten books of 1996, but LIFE SUPPORT is an
even better novel. Tess Gerritsen has created a medical thriller that
leaves readers with the creepy crawly feeling up and down their spines due
to its chilling realism. The implications are terrifying, leaving readers
to ponder what next after completing this pulse pounding, natural mescaline
like ride of a best selling novel.
Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, read it in one day!
Review: Read Harvest, loved it. My husdand has needed a kidney transplant for two years, and he still does. Read "Life Support"; loved it. It's a wonder that medicine is for the rich. The protagonist, Dr. Toby Harper, (who names a girl Toby?) hung in there, wanted to know why? how come? and actually cared. I could only hope that I have someone like her for a Doctor. It's been a long time since I have read a book in less than a day!
Rating:
Summary: Page-turner
Review: Talk about a woman that has her world collapsing around her. Really enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone that enjoys a medical triller!
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: Certified Page Turner
Review: Tess Gerritsen has done it again...she has managed to make me lose track of an entire day...and not reget it for a moment.
I have read some of her other books, and since I am a student in the medical profession, I like reading them based on her medical background. But thats not the only reason...the woman can plot a book with the best of them and ratchet up the tesnion level like no other.
Toby, an ER doctor sees something strange come into the emergency room while on shift, but the patient leaves the hospital, and Toby is blackballed at every turn by those who hold higher positions than she does.
The story of this mysterious disease in one steeped in money, wicked doctors, stolen babies and hidden truths. As each layer of the mystery is peeled back further and further, Toby loses those that are most dear to her. Will her fears win the day, or will the quest for truth and accountability be the ultimate victor?
When this book reaches its conclusion, you will be left with a breathless feeling of relief, but hungering for more of Ms. Gerritsen's novels. Certainly one of the best I have read in a long while.
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