Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: As a physician I enjoy medical thrillers and this one is tops in all areas - and particularly accurate in descriptions, relationships of people in the field. I especially enjoyed the "gossip" aspects of the profession described as only one who has been-there-done-that can do. Prognosis? A best seller for sure. The author will survive and live a full and productive life - hopefully with more great novels to come. Could not put it down - a great read. Chilling and twisting. It will hold you from start to finish.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent medical procedural
Review: Becoming an anesthesiologist may not be the easiest way to prepare for writing a medical novel, but you can't beat it for enhancing your verisimilitude. This novel takes off a little slowly, but once you get into it, the medical know-how and experience the author brings to the story make it totally engrossing. Besides satisfying the medical wonks among us, the book works as a mystery. In fact, I was not sure just how our hero's problems were being choreographed until near the end of the book - that is, when the author told me.
Rating:
Summary: Lie still makes one think hard about life
Review: David Farris has written one of the the best medical thrillers ever! The relativity to today's ethical and moral dilemmas in medical practice makes one ache for all physicians. Farris forcefully defends a doctor's responsibilities to patients first, and touches on most contemporary arguments dealing with questions of life. We are led to think - this is the highest praise for any author, and Farris accomplishes this in beautifully constructed prose which marks him as a writer first and foremost. But, I'd be proud to have him as my doctor.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome and authentic
Review: Dr. Farris has hit a home run with this debut novel. As a physician, I can relate to the ethical conflicts presented. I can't wait for his next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Medical mischief wreaks havoc with people's lives.
Review: Dr. Malcolm Ishmail is a surgical resident in "Lie Still," a medical thriller by David Farris. Dr. Ishmail's life takes a huge downward spiral when he treats a thirteen-year-old boy named Henry Rojelio in an Arizona emergency room. Henry Rojelio is an asthmatic and a frequent visitor to the ER. However, he appears to be in no immediate danger when Dr. Ishmail examines him, and the resident orders a routine injection to ease Henry's symptoms. Suddenly, Henry's condition deteriorates and he slips into a coma. Malcolm is baffled and deeply troubled by Henry's condition. When a nurse reports him to his superiors as having bungled the case, he knows that his career may be in jeopardy. How could a routine visit to the ER end up so disastrously? Could this tragedy be related to a feud that Dr. Ishmail is having with the beautiful Dr. Mimi Lyle, a brain surgeon and Dr. Ishmail's superior? After working with Dr. Lyle, Malcolm is convinced that her surgical skills are lacking, and he wrestles with the choice of reporting her or letting things slide. Are the incidents with Henry and Dr. Lyle just ghastly coincidences? In Dr. Malcolm Ishmail, Farris has created a realistic, likeable, and human protagonist to tell this intricate story. The author, himself a doctor, provides clear and detailed medical background and a few doses of gallows humor to lighten up the serious proceedings. There is also an erotic subplot that is explicit and daring, but necessary to explain the characters' motivations. The plot is tense, exciting, and thoroughly engrossing. "Lie Still" is a promising debut novel from a very talented writer, and I recommend it for readers who love medical thrillers with substance.
Rating:
Summary: Medical mischief wreaks havoc with people's lives.
Review: Dr. Malcolm Ishmail is a surgical resident in "Lie Still," a medical thriller by David Farris. Dr. Ishmail's life takes a huge downward spiral when he treats a thirteen-year-old boy named Henry Rojelio in an Arizona emergency room. Henry Rojelio is an asthmatic and a frequent visitor to the ER. However, he appears to be in no immediate danger when Dr. Ishmail examines him, and the resident orders a routine injection to ease Henry's symptoms. Suddenly, Henry's condition deteriorates and he slips into a coma. Malcolm is baffled and deeply troubled by Henry's condition. When a nurse reports him to his superiors as having bungled the case, he knows that his career may be in jeopardy. How could a routine visit to the ER end up so disastrously? Could this tragedy be related to a feud that Dr. Ishmail is having with the beautiful Dr. Mimi Lyle, a brain surgeon and Dr. Ishmail's superior? After working with Dr. Lyle, Malcolm is convinced that her surgical skills are lacking, and he wrestles with the choice of reporting her or letting things slide. Are the incidents with Henry and Dr. Lyle just ghastly coincidences? In Dr. Malcolm Ishmail, Farris has created a realistic, likeable, and human protagonist to tell this intricate story. The author, himself a doctor, provides clear and detailed medical background and a few doses of gallows humor to lighten up the serious proceedings. There is also an erotic subplot that is explicit and daring, but necessary to explain the characters' motivations. The plot is tense, exciting, and thoroughly engrossing. "Lie Still" is a promising debut novel from a very talented writer, and I recommend it for readers who love medical thrillers with substance.
Rating:
Summary: Great thriller
Review: Great book Dr. Farris. All I can say is buy this book and read it today. Best medical thriller of the year. Smart, real, and not your every day cookie cutter medical thriller. Robin Cook could learn a few things from reading this great novel. Money well spent. Thanks Dr. Farris.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: I don't know what it was that drew me to buy this book-- perhaps it was the corpse on the cover. But whatever it was, I decided to pick this book up to read on my winter break. What a mistake that was.
I don't believe in rattling off bad things about books I don't like-- and I at least try to find some good thing about a bad book I read-- but this book was just rubbish. I did, however, learn one good thing from this book.
First, let's deal with the rubbish: the book is well over 350 pages, and I was ready to put it down after page 20. But, since I felt like I owed the author some dignity, I read past page 200, and finished the first of the two stories in the book. Seriously, throughout the first 200 pages, I was trying to get my life together amongst the seemingly chaotic plot. The plot is really unbelievable, the characters lack any real motivation whatsoever.
And was I the only one angered at why on earth the author would start one plot at the beginning of the book, then wait another 200 pages to resolve it again? That's a good idea, the author must have said to himself, I will start the first 20 pages with a good conflict, then separate the resolution to the first conflict by another 200 page one! Really, it just left me confused and bored.
Back to the characters' motivations-- I racked my brain trying to figure out why a prominent brain surgeon would ever have an affair with a resident. Why would she even waste the time? It makes no sense, she has no reason to be with him, other than the fact that she could get fired. Which leads me to another point: the way the author started "relationship" between surgeon and resident is both mediocre and predictable. It was pretty much trash; nothing more, nothing less. Even though this author is new to the field, I'm not apologizing for realizing that he should stick to pediatrics than writing.
But, the one good thing I learned from this book is that removal of brain aneurysms is a difficult thing. I learned more about adenomas than I did about what a great medical thriller is.
Don't waste your time on this book; granted, I am an English major and I tend to hold books up to a certain level when reviewing them, but you'd be better off reading Vogue.
Rating:
Summary: Authentic, gripping read
Review: I rarely read "medical thrillers", but this book caught my eye, and was a fantastic read. Unusual characters, sharp dialogue, and I couldn't put it down. It is exceptionall well-written.
Rating:
Summary: Authentic, gripping read
Review: I rarely read "medical thrillers", but this book caught my eye, and was a fantastic read. Unusual characters, sharp dialogue, and I couldn't put it down. It is exceptionall well-written.
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