Don't even bother to read this book. The ending was thrown together without making any sense. None of the earlier events were explained to the reader or brought to any conclusion. Cook appears to have ended the book in a hurry without any particular plan or cohesiveness. ( )

A book that has trouble deciding which direction it wants to go. Spends plenty of time in a courtoom discussing legal niceties like John Grisham; but there's plenty of deep medical discussion as well; and of course there's a set of action sequences that want to be a thriller.

It actually combines the legal and medical aspects nicely, so if you're a wonk in one of those fields you may enjoy those sections, but you had better be a fan of both genres, or at least be able to enjoy minute technical detail in general.

The thriller sections work pretty well as single scenes. There's a car chase that gets the adrenaline pumping, and some interaction with thugs that works pretty well. But they don't really join on to the story properly, having a tacked-on feeling that never really resolves itself properly. The dialogue suffers from the usual Robin Cook stiltedness and stiffness, and as others have mentioned, the ending doesn't really work; but some of the characters are pretty neat, and the pace of the story is good, bearing in mind all the detail you have to get through. There are a lot of worse books. ( )

Before reading this book I had ressolved to never read a Robin Cook book again, having been so disapointed in Mutation jus a few days ago. I am glad I weakened Crisis is a but better book, much more believable. The ending seemk to me not to match the build-up but that was only a minor disapointment. ( )

I've accused Michael Chricton of having two writing modes: good and ER scripts. I hope Robin Cook has another mode besides poor made for TV medical mystery script.

I'm warning all readers that there will be spoilers at the end of this review.

The story starts off very well and succeeded in holding my interest until almost the end. I found the main characters comparatively well developed. I particularly liked the relationship between Jack, the New York Medical Examiner, and his somewhat estranged Boston based sister. Very realistic. Jack's tragic background certainly had my sympathy. His buddies and basketball partners we also relatively realistic.

The relationship with Craig, his brother-in-law, a major Boston doctor with a special private practice, was also believable. Considering they had met only a few times, I found their formal but cordial relationship on the mark. Also believable was Craig's midlife crisis, separation from his wife and relationship to his receptionist.

The antagonists, the sleazy attorney graduating from ambulance chaser to malpractice attorney was over the top as was his equally reprehensible "investigative assistant" / henchman. But they were supposed to be that way. They provided a sort of comic relief against the tension of the other characters. I especially enjoyed the courtroom drama. For me, these scenes were the highlight of the book.

Warning: There Be Spoilers Here!
Where it all started to come tumbling down to totally unbelievable, although it was pretty rocky before this, comes when Jack goes in to checkup on Craig, his brother-in-law. Craig has been lulling himself to sleep with a mixture of booze and pills. Jack comes into Craig's bedroom and see's him on the side of the bed, but does not hear Craig breathing. In the next sentence, Jack is being attacked by what he thinks is an intruder, only to find out he's being attacked by Craig!

That's an OK plot twist . . . except no mention is ever made of who, or what, Jack mistook for Craig alseep on the bed. Remember, Jack is a Medical Examiner. I presume he can tell the difference between a pile of blankets and a real body. Further, Craig is allegedly totally intoxicated, yet he claims he heard someone, presumably the people who attacked his daughters, lurking around the house. I even read this passage several time to see if I missed something. This discrepancy is never cleared up.

Bigger Spoilers Here!
It gets worse.
We learn Craig has not committed malpractice, he committed murder with an obscure poison. While this could be another acceptable plot twist, we are left some major problems: Craig had nothing to gain from the murder. He certainly had the means and the opportunity to kill his patient, but there was no motive. Further, that means he hired thugs to terrorize his own daughters to the point of sexual assault against eldest daughter. It just does not make sense.

In the epilogue, we are allegedly offered an explanation. Jack is in Cuba on his honeymoon. Getting drinks at the bar he sees a dead ringer for Craig, except for hair color, missing since we learned he was a murderer. Jack confronts the look-alike and the man insists he is not Craig Bowman, the missing doctor, but someone else. Jack calls his sister and we find the name that the man gave was the name of a patient of Craig's that died the year before . . . around the time of the beginning of Craig's midlife crisis. Jack, the eternal skeptic up to that point, is convinced the man is telling the truth.

This suggests several possibilities, none of which make for a satisfactory conclusion to this story.

You May Resume Review Reading
As I said, it was good, almost to the end, then the story just fell apart. I did enjoy the words, and if I let the words carry me along, the story was entertaining. It is only if I think about it, that I begin to dislike the book. That is why I'm going for two and a half stars.

If you like real medical mystery . . . this may not be your best choice. If you're traveling and need something to occupy your time while waiting in the terminal or otherwise on hold, this is great stuff. As a courtroom drama, it fairs much better. The courtroom scenes, while not original are very well done. Take a chance if you can't find something better to read: maybe you will enjoy it more than I did. ( )

Disappointing! The twisted, contrived ending was a total let-down. There was a lot of unnecessary and pointless descriptive detail in the book especially about Jack's navigation of Boston's streets. I still don't know who terrorised Craig's children??!! Cook's attempts to use the novel as a platform for his complaints about aspects of the US medical system sabotaged any chance he had at developing realistic characters.