Knife Music

by David Carnoy

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Six months after saving the life of teenage accident victim Kristen Kroiter, emergency room surgeon Ted Cogan is shocked when he is questioned by police in the wake of her baffling suicide, which causes the womanizing Cogan to be wrongly accused of rape.

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7 reviews
This was an amazing suspense story. Ted Cogan is a great character to get to know. He is a surgeon with a a sense of humor and both feet on the ground. Being good looking doesn't hurt him either but does it make him a rapist? You will ask yourself this over and over as you read. I changed my mind more than once.

The writing flows very well and the author manages to not only take us into the mind of a gifted surgeon but the minds of teens as well, boys and girls. That is no easy feat if you ask me. Each chapter tells the story from a different character which I liked.

I particularly enjoyed reading the snippets from Kristen's Journal. The author hit it right on the head with the style a teen uses while talking. I admit annoying to read at show more times but dead on.

Example from page: 145
"She was like did he say anything about me? And I was like,yeah, he asked me where my partner in crime was. And I was like, she's over talking to the Gap guy."

If you are a mystery, suspense, thriller lover pick up this book. It's hard to believe it's the author's debut novel. I sure want more!
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This was an amazing suspense story. Ted Cogan is a great character to get to know. He is a surgeon with a a sense of humor and both feet on the ground. Being good looking doesn't hurt him either but does it make him a rapist? You will ask yourself this over and over as you read. I changed my mind more than once.

The writing flows very well and the author manages to not only take us into the mind of a gifted surgeon but the minds of teens as well, boys and girls. That is no easy feat. Each chapter tells the story from a different character which I liked. I particularly enjoyed reading the snippets from Kristen's Journal. The author hit it right on the head with the style a teen uses while talking. I admit annoying to read at times but show more dead on.

This is an astonishing first novel. It carries the two most important features of a great thriller. First, an involving, suspenseful plot that always stays one step ahead of you, yet never strains believability or jumps out of bounds. Second, well-drawn characters whose motivations make sense. I wonder what the author will do for an encore. I am looking forward to finding out!
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I found it to be a fast read. I wasn't very interested in the story
and felt no sympathy for the doctor. I felt no involvement with the
characters, and found them to be not very nuanced. I think the author
was attempting too many "twists" and instead of being suspenseful, I
felt that it was just dragging. I also felt that the rapes were
trivialized and there was no real connection to the trauma this girl
went through. She committed suicide and never once was there any
attempt to try to get into her head. I felt that the author could
have had a very good book, had he focused more on the characters and
not on the minutiae that he chose to focus on. There was so much crap
about the detective's history; the doctor's friends; his dating... show more all
kinds of nonsense that added nothing to the story. There was not one
character that I sympathized with and felt I could root for. They all
seemed so pathetic.

Overall, I was not very moved by this story and would not be inclined
to read another from this author.

I don't know which book came first, but it felt like he was going for something like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo... but failed miserably. At least with TGwtDT, you have Lisbeth; who is supreme kick-ass and really carries the book. In Knife Music, I felt that there was no one to root for, or even like.
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This was an amazing suspense story. Ted Cogan is a great character to get to know. He is a surgeon with a a sense of humor and both feet on the ground. Being good looking doesn't hurt him either but does it make him a rapist? You will ask yourself this over and over as you read. I changed my mind more than once.The writing flows very well and the author manages to not only take us into the mind of a gifted surgeon but the minds of teens as well, boys and girls. That is no easy feat if you ask me. Each chapter tells the story from a different character which I liked.I particularly enjoyed reading the snippets from Kristen's Journal. The author hit it right on the head with the style a teen uses while talking. I admit annoying to read at show more times but dead on.Example from page: 145"She was like did he say anything about me? And I was like,yeah, he asked me where my partner in crime was. And I was like, she's over talking to the Gap guy."If you are a mystery, suspense, thriller lover pick up this book. It's hard to believe it's the author's debut novel. I sure want more! show less
The catchy title, Knife Music refers to the music Dr. Ted Cogan likes to play while he’s performing surgery. There are not many layers to this straightforward mystery, which makes it an easy fast read. The intrigue starts almost immediately when events surrounding a young girl’s suicide implicate Dr Cogan in a crime. The way the book is plotted keeps you guessing until the identity of the guilty party is revealed in the final chapter; at times I was certain of the doctor’s guilt, then with the next revelation equally certain of his innocence. The author also did an excellent job creating real characters and intrigue. I particularly enjoyed the way the author captures Dr Cogan’s emotions and shows him to be very human. As he show more struggles to convince authorities of his innocence he also evolves into a better more compassionate person. In summary, this is a satisfying read and although it starts and ends strong, the middle third of the book was flat. Definitely an author to keep an eye on.

Review previously posted at: www.princetonbookreview.com
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This had a nice mix of police procedural, legal maneuvering, medical background, and character development. It kept me engaged.
Great story with a fabulous twist at the end!

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Knife Music

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Mystery
DDC/MDS
813.6Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English2000-
LCC
PS3603 .A7654 .K65Language and LiteratureAmerican literature
BISAC

Statistics

Members
206
Popularity
158,781
Reviews
7
Rating
½ (3.64)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
ISBNs
13
ASINs
6