Rating: 
Summary: Great for commuting
Review: I listened to the audio tape, which is very well done. The story is engaging although the love scenes are trite, and so are the characters. Nevertheless the main characters are likeable and well-drawn. The strong aspects of the book are the very realistic and moving medical passages. The author is masterful in handling these. The plot of BLOODSTEAM is utterly unbelievable and the ending sudden and implausible. The book contains lots of violence, lots of sweetsy feel-good lovey-dovey stuff, and likable characters. If you spend a lot of time commuting, this will help pass the time pleasantly, but I wouldn't waste precious weekend hours reading this kind of fluff.
Rating: 
Summary: This was the best book I've read in years!!!
Review: I just recently caught onto Tess's work. She's incredible! This book was by far the best I've read in years. You will be delighted by her delicately woven stories and their outcome. I saved this book for my 5 day vacation, but finished it in 2 days becuase I couldn't put it down! I'm a fan of all her work, as I enjoy the medical mystery, versus the love story. Although she wraps some love story elements into each of her books, primarily the medical mystery/murder is the my favorite part.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: Bloodstream takes place in a small town in Maine where every 50 years the teenagers in the town become extremely violent for no apparent reason. Dr. Claire Elliott, recently arrived with her teenage son from the big city of Baltimore after the death of her husband, suspects that there is a biological cause for the epidemic of violence and is determined to find it no matter the risk to her life if she continues to search for the truth. Overall, I didn't find Bloodstream quite as gripping as Life Support, also by Gerritsen, which is the main reason I gave it three stars instead of four, but it is still well worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: If You're New To Tess Gerritsen...
Review: If you're new to Tess Gerritsen, as I am, (I usually read Robin Cook), don't make this one your first book of hers. I couldn't get through it myself. It is much too languidly paced, much too slow going. Every time I thought it was FINALLY going to start getting interesting and pick up steam, it slowed down again. I don't like real rollercoasters and I don't like figurative ones, either. (Ah, well. Not all of Robin Cook's books are winners, either. You can't hit a home run every time up.)
Good thing, though, that I didn't give up on Tess because of BLOODSTREAM as I am now reading HARVEST which is a MUCH better book.
Rating: 
Summary: Book Review of Bloodstream
Review: Bloodstream, by Tess Gerritsen, is an awesome book. It is about a mother and son who move to a new town called Tranquility after the tragic death of their husband and father. The mother is the new town physician.
After about eight months of living there, very weird things start to happen. A virus starts to infect the blood of the younger teenagers who later go berserk and kill or hurt other people. For instance, one boy who is infected goes to school, shoots and kills a teacher, and shoots two other kids.
Later on, the doctor's son is infected and goes psycho. She puts him in the hospital to have tests run, to see what is wrong. The tests come back normal, so the reason for kids going berserk is still unknown.
I like this book because the descriptions of the events are good. It tells exact details of every incident that occurs. Booklist calls it "a fascinating, well crafted, fast-paced medical thriller" with "a crdible, creditable ending."
Another book the author has written is Harvest, which I plan to read next. I've heard from some of my classmates that this is as good as Bloodstream.
Rating:
Summary: Remember the lake where you spent your summers as a child?
Review: I bought this book used and written inside the front cover was "Exceptional! 8/2/00." I agree. The first six pages give you an inkling of how you will feel as the story progresses. The characters are well defined and the physical setting reminds me of a place where I spent my childhood summers and some winter holidays in upstate New York. Remembering the polio epidemic and later times from illnesses said to have been caused by goose droppings or septic overflows made it difficult for me to separate fact from fiction. Even the attitude of the local doctor was a reminder of something that had tragic consequences in our family. There were times when I held my breath and times when I actually gasped as I was reading this book. Occasionally, it does get unpleasantly descriptive but hang in there because it's worth it to get the picture of what is going on.
Rating:
Summary: Petered out
Review: I enjoyed this book in the beginning. I thought it was pretty riveting. But then Gerritsen reverted to her romance novel background with a gratuitous (and overly trite) love scene. As well, I really got disgusted when the protagonist sees a sudden violence in her own son's reactions and doesn't guess that perhaps he, too, has fallen victim to the mysterious behavior change of the kids she is investigating. C'mon!
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling from beginning to end
Review: I just finished reading this book and I could not put it down. This is the first book of Tess Gerritsen's that I have read. I work in the medical field so I guess I'm partial to that type of thriller, but the medical scenes were very realistic in this book. The characters were very well written. I understand how frustrating it can be to have a teenager that you cannot communicate with. I kept trying to figure out the ending but I have to admit it did not end anything like I expected. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good medical thriller and I will definately be reading more of her books in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff.
Review: This was my first introduction to Tess Gerritsen. A doctor begins to suspect a relationship between strange acts of violence and an ecological curiosity at a near by lake. The fate of the town and her own son's life are at stake, unless she can find an explanation and a cure... This is a great read and very fast paced. There's enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the very end of the book. It's also pretty violent, almost bordering on horror at times. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: OK Medical Thriller
Review: Small town, Tranquility, Maine is rocked by what is happening to their teenagers. School fights, disrespect and murder are only a few of the things. Dr. Claire Elliot who moved to Tranquility is determined to find out what is causing the problem and discovers the hidden secrets of this quiet resort town. Now what can she do to help? If you like medical thrillers and want an average book to read or listen to, then this is a book for you. I found this book to be average as can be seen by my 3 star rating. It will grab you from the start but fails to hold on completely. It didn't have me so riveted that when I had to stop that I waited until I heard more. I was able to pop the tape and get out of the car. The positive things about this book are that there are several twists and turns in the plot. Just as you think you've figured out what's going on and who the good guys and bad guys are you get surprised. Jan Maxwell (narrator) did a good job with the reading; however, the images of the characters and the town weren't extemely vivid. Don't let this review keep you from getting this title. If you like medical thrillers and have read other books by Ms. Gerritsen then read this book, it isn't a bad read by any sense of the imagination. However, if you haven't read anything else by Ms. Gerritsen, then allow me to recommend her book Life Support for your first. Ms. Gerritse is a good author. I have only read/listened to two fo her books. However, I enjoy Robin Cook who also writes medical thrillers and have read many of his works. Though not quite as good as Mr. Cook, I would rank Ms. Gerritsen right along side of him. Again, if you like medical thrillers then don't take this book off of your reading list.
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