Crisis

A thoroughly enjoyable blend of murder, medical mystery and court room drama, Crisis proves once again why Cook is probably the most popular writer in his genre.

On the eve of his marriage to Laurie Montgomery, New York medical examiner Dr Jack Stapleton responds to a desperate SOS from his sister in Boston. Her estranged husband, the renowned, Dr Craig Bowman, is being sued for medical malpractice after a patient died, and they need Jack’s help.

Exciting, gripping and a page turner of note, this book is – unfortunately – ruined by the ending but for a satisfying and enthralling read, simply omit the epilogue. It’s not great writing, but it is great escapism.

I haven't read Robin Cook in a good while. There was a time I was a huge fan of medical mysteries and a fan girl of Cooke. I recently read another book in this genre .... a Kelly Parsons novel......that motivated me to dig into my Robin Cook stash. This is one I didn't remember reading....although I probably did....so I delved in.

Ok, so straight away, I noticed that Jacks character is abit trite and juvenile. His ongoing issues regarding the loss of his wife and children, 15 years prior, has always made up an important aspect of his character and personality. But, seriously, he hasn't visited his sisters children, whom are 15, 11 and 10, and barely even knows them, simply because they remind him of his girls??!! I don't remember finding show more him so exasperating before, maybe because I was younger and more juvenile myself......or maybe my view points and reading taste has evolved over the years.....either way, I found him more than alittle annoying in this book.

The characters, writing style and flow were, otherwise, as I remember and I enjoyed this book. It was like talking with an old friend. Nostalgic. With an interesting plot, a colorful cast of characters and perfect blend of medical technology, and suspense, it rekindled my interest in this genre. I will definitely be adding even more Robin Cook to my bookshelves. show less

I don't read a Robin Cook novel for its literary craftsmanship. I do however expect a plotline that stands up to scrutiny, with cutting-edge science or even borderline science fiction.
Unfortunately, this book wants to be a character study. That makes it a thriller without thrills by an author whose characters are generally as overstated as his prose.
There are very few plot surprises, a lot of utterly irrelevant sitting in traffic jams around Boston, and clues that are so apparent to the experienced mystery reader that I wanted to shout, "You idiot," at Jack. "It's got to have something to do with the..."

Lots of loose ends were never tied up. What happened to the goon in the car crash? Who were the two masked men who tied up the show more children? Why did the plaintiff's lawyer have a henchman?

And I am getting really tired of Cook’s repeated bagging of the "evil" insurance companies.

Worse still, even though I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, I simply didn't understand the ending! I read it twice – loath to admit I’d put in all that effort and missed what was supposedly the whole point of the book. I even spent some time trying to find the pages that had to be missing. Or did Cook paste the ending from another story into this one? Nup. Just not getting it. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Robin Cook's 2007 medical thriller with the short title "Crisis" has received a lot of negative criticism. The lack of character development is often condemned, as is the unsatisfactory open ending. However, when the novel is read in view of all Cook's previous books it becomes clear that this is yet another of the fast-paced criminal whodunnits that have made him so famous, and this book is also certainly worth the read.

To start with the supposed lack of character development, it is indeed true that we do not get an insight into the motivations of most of the characters. The only person we see transforming is the doctor. We see him undergo a midlife crisis and suffer its consequences. At the start we see a brilliant, dedicated doctor show more being brought down by the legal system, but slowly we begin to get a bit weary of him until finally we see him for the arrogant villain that he really is. That's quite a transformation!

The other characters do not show us that much of themselves, and that can be confusing to those who are newcomers to Robin Cook. However, the dedicated readers are already well-acquainted with the agonists Jack and Laury. For them, the suspense lies mostly in the question: will the two of them finally get married? The experienced readers do not need to know their motivations for their involvement in the story anymore.

The unsatisfactory open ending certainly is a valid point. Until the very last chapter the mystery just seems to expand continuously and the reader can get lost in its many storylines. However, this can be said of most thrillers, since they ask for a lot of involvement of their readers. A good mystery does not just present a straightforward story but demands active reading while dropping clues and introducing surprising turns in the story. I find it quite an anticlimax when a story comes to a sudden halt when the author desperately ties all the knots and suddenly presents you with a clear cut solution. By not doing so Robin Cook keeps his readers involved till the very last page.

There is a chance that we might find out the solution in one of the next Montgomery novels, as Robin Cook has the habit of mentioning previous cases in his books. It will be interesting to see our favorite characters again, perhaps struggling in their new marriage and always getting caught up in weird cases. In the meantime, "Crisis" was a joy to read. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery return in Crisis, whilst there had been some wavering level of quality from Robin Cook in the last few books (Chromosone 6 I'm looking at you) the good news is that Crisis is back on track.

Whilst less medical than some of the others in the series it nonetheless is a page turner with all the right ingredients: Dr Craig Bowman the rich doctor separated from his wife living with a young hussy, the rich patients, a sudden death, a sleazy lawyer pushing a malpractice lawsuit.

The story primarily revolves around said malpractice lawsuit and Jack's sister Alexis asks him to fly out from New York to Boston on the eve of his wedding to see if he can aid in saving her marriage, and husband.

Looking forward to show more reading the next installment. show less