Beat the Reaper: A Novel

Peter Brown started life as an orphaned kiddo being raised by his loving, Holocaust-survivor grandparents, but when they're randomly and brutally murdered in their own home, Peter sets out for revenge and ends up as a very competent hitman for the mob, then as a very competent MD intern in the Witness Protection Program. And then his past comes calling during a hospital shift from hell.
This isn't my usual fare at all, but my friend, Rob, has been wanting me to read it for years and I finally gave in. I'm so glad I did. It's fantastic even as it's also very much not what I usually go for. It's dark and downright brutal in parts, but somehow Bazell manages even so to keep it light and funny. Most of that is because of the narrator, who show more ticks a lot of the right boxes for me: smart, *very* good at pretty much everything he does, but also very matter-of-fact about it and with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, and chock full of charisma. The plot is great, too: lots of interesting twists as the story plays out both in the present and in flashbacks that unfold his hitman past. Definitely recommended, even if, like me, this might not be your usual jam. show less

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell is a wildly funny mashup of a medical and gangser thriller. Peter Brown is an overworked medical resident trying to get through his day at the worst hospital in Manhattan. Between keeping his medical students in line, overseeing the care of patients, covering up the medical mistakes he routinely comes across, and trying to keep communications open between himself and other medical workers, the last thing he needed was to recognize a patient as a mobster. You see, in another life Peter Brown was a mob hit-man known as Bearclaw Brown.

He entered the witness protection program and is hiding in plain sight as a trauma physician. His former accomplice threatens to rat him out if he doesn’t save his life. The show more day that follows is both thrilling and hilarious as it includes the doctor making a clever diagnosis, chasing down a runaway wheelchair patient and getting accidentally stuck with a needle full of infected pus. We are also treated to Brown’s backstory which includes plenty of gun and knife play as well as a harrowing encounter with a shark tank.

Fast, original and darkly funny, I found Beat the Reaper an absolute blast. This book will not appeal to everyone as it is very violent and quite improbable but for those who like dark and twisted stories as much as I, this is a great read. show less

The book starts out with the main character, Pietro Brwna, getting mugged early in the morning on his way to Manhattan Catholic Hospital, where he works as a doctor. When the doctor takes down the mugger and confiscates his gun, you know something is up with this guy. It turns out that the doctor is under witness protection because the mafia wants him dead.

The novel alternates between Brwna's current life at the hospital and his past. He began working for David Lacono, the father of his childhood best friend, Skinflick, to avenge the killers who murdered his grandparents. Quickly he began doing hits for Lacano regularly until Lacano convinced Brwna to take his son along on a mission. The mission ended badly and, eventually, the good show more relationship Brwna had with the Lacanos ended badly as well.

Today, Brwna is known as Dr. Peter Brown, and he has just encountered an old mob acquaintance, Squillante, who is being treated for a terminal condition at the hospital. Fearing for his life, Peter agrees to help save Squillante in exchange for his silence, but Peter has his doubts about the mobster's sincerity.

This book is a whirlwind, and Bazell hits all the marks for drugs, violence, sharks, girls, and the mob. His characters are sarcastic and witty, and the dialogue made me laugh out loud. It's the same old story, but Bazell gives it a refreshing little tongue-in-cheek love. A fun read. show less

Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at a Manhattan hospital. He is a good doctor but the brutal assembly-line of sick and wounded, is starting to grind him down, turning him into an addled pill-popping mess.
One day, while making his rounds, a patient seems to recognize him as a terrifying Mafia hitman, known as the Bearclaw. Is Dr. Brown really, Pietro Brwna, tucked away in the Federal Witness Protection program? Or is this another rattled patient? I’m not telling, but I implore you to jump in and find out for yourself.
This is wickedly funny, smart as hell and sharp as a razor. Do not attempt to eat or drink, while reading, unless you are up for cleaning up afterwards.
It’s a dazzling debut and I cannot wait to see where this author takes show more me next. show less

(This review contains spoilers.)

Josh Bazell writes with energetic, intelligent style. The concept of mob killer turned doctor is wildly creative and well-executed. I'm definitely excited to read whatever he writes next. That said, I didn't really like this story so much. How did Skinflick change from the cool kid who was friends with everybody to a psychotic monster? Why doesn't Peter ever ask himself when David Lacuna started trying to kill him? (I think it was way back when he sent Pietro to deliver a message to the Russians.) And why doesn't Peter seem to feel the slightest shred of guilt over destroying Magdalena's entire family? He said losing Magdalena was like a punishment from God -- as if someone else was pulling all the show more strings -- but he had to have known he was endangering her just by being with her. The protagonist just doesn't blame himself for things he didn't directly do, even though he could have prevented them if he had been more thoughtful. Is this a brilliant application of first-person perspective? Or is something missing? Either way, I will be interested to see where the story goes in the sequel.

P.S. This was the best audiobook performance ever. Bravo Robert Petkoff.
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Being a former hitman who’s now running from the mob while in witness protection, and being a pill-popping but conscientious and imaginative doctor usually don’t go together, but in Beat the Reaper, Josh Bazell’s (a medical resident himself) debut novel, we follow Peter Brown as he heals and hurts in equal measure. The book is full of details both gory and humorous and as profane as the latest HBO shows, but it’s also compulsive reading if you like to grimace while turning the pages as fast as possible. The medical footnotes add a flourish to this already whacky tale. For those who like Hiaasen, Palahniuk and Pulp Fiction.
Violent, profane and wildly entertaining, while not for everyone, those who do crave a huge dollop of show more creativity on their gross-out scenes will be begging for second helpings. show less

Not my usual type of read - a little too masculine - but Peter Brown is a sly and sarcastic narrator, for a hitman in witness protection, and his revelations about the medical profession and mafia thuggery are strangely interesting (whether true or not!) The pacing is slightly erratic - I wasn't all that interested in Peter/Pietro's backstory, and the final chapter is marginally far-fetched, even for fiction - but I read for character, and Peter is certainly full of that.