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| View Larger Image | Life Support
by Tess Gerritsen
| | List Price: | $7.99 |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 53423 | | Studio: | Pocket | | | Binding: | Mass Market Paperback | | Number Of Pages: | 400 | | Publication Date: | August 01, 1998 | | Publisher: | Pocket |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen weaves authenticity into another novel of searing medical suspense, as a dedicated woman doctor probes into the cause of a mystifying and lethal outbreak. The quiet overnight shift at Springer Hospital ER suits Dr. Toby Harper just fine -- until she admits a man in critical condition from a possible viral infection of the brain. The delirious man barely responds to treatment -- and then disappears without a trace. Before Toby can find him, a second case occurs, revealing a terrifying fact: the virus can only be spread through direct tissue exchange. Following a trail of death that winds from a pregnant sixteen-year-old prostitute to her own home, Toby discovers the unthinkable: the epidemic didn't just happen -- someone let it loose.... |
Amazon.com
Former romance author and medical doctor Tess Gerritsen is writing in a new genre: medical suspense. Advertised as her "first novel," Harvest jumped onto the New York Times bestseller list and thus legions of new fans were introduced to the work of this talented author. Gerritsen's second thriller, Life Support, is as moving as any of her romances. Dr. Toby Harper works the night shift in an emergency room. More comfortable with the steady horror and tedium of emergency care than with a normal lifestyle, Toby alienates herself socially from her peers and from her sister. She spends her daytime hours alone with her mother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. When elderly Alzheimer's patients from the same retirement home start dying mysteriously, Toby is the only one suspicious enough to investigate. As a result she finds herself, her mother, and her own sanity at risk. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 65 reviews)
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Disappointing medical thriller 
Tess Gerritsen's LIFE SUPPORT is a disappointing medical thriller. While the medical jargon lends authenticity to the read, it quickly overwhelms the very thin story. It's easy to guess who done it and why and since the lead doesn't get into any real jeopardy along the way, the ride isn't even particularly interesting. If you're looking for a good mystery writer, try Lisa Gardner instead. She understands pacing, character development, and her stories will get your heart pumping.
June 02, 2008 | |
Two thumbs down 
This was, I believe, the second Tess Gerritsen book I have read. Now, you should know that I love medical thrillers. Robin Cook is one of my favorites. But Tess crosses the line: with scientists creating chimeras of various body parts, inserting them into prostitutes, wait for the chimera to grow, then kill the prostitutes (and then catch the chimera as it slithers across the floor, so you can harvest its parts). It was all just way too graphic for me.
If you find the concept of cloning reprehensible, then you will NOT enjoy this book. If you want to read about scientists doing the above things in the name of science, then maybe you would like this book. But I don't recommend it.
June 29, 2007 | |
Not your typical, everyday science-fiction romantic horror medical thriller 
First, a warning. My copy of this book originally published in 1997 includes an `introduction' by the author written in 2006. If yours does too, do not read it until after you have finished the story! In my case I was unaware how much it could spoil my enjoyment, which it did for hundreds of pages because before the tale begins Tess has kind of told you what it's about. Maybe it wasn't her idea to add this piece of information but to be blunt it's a pretty dumb idea to put it at the beginning when it would have done no harm at all at the end.
You see, this story starts off in fascinating fashion in the form of a prologue involving a surgeon about to perform a major operation on an anaesthetised female patient. What happens as he opens up her body is a mixture of horror and hilarity in equal measure, but the reasons for his bizarre actions are almost completely neutralised because thanks to the unwanted introduction, we now know exactly why he did it. What a shame, because this could have been a first-rate thriller if not for that. It's like reading the last chapter of a whodunit mystery FIRST. Where are the thrills once you know what's going on?
Otherwise this story reminded me of the superior HARVEST by the same author. Attractive female thirty-something doctor in a Boston hospital unearths ghoulish medical conspiracy and fights to deliver justice against all the odds. It's pretty good, to be fair, well worth reading before or after any of the Rizzoli/Isles episodes for which Tess Gerritsen has found fame and fortune. Quite a few names in that series, however, appear in this novel - for example there's a Jane, a cop called Moore, a love-interest called Daniel.....any of these sound familiar to you Rizzoli/Isles fans? They're totally different people but it made me wonder why the writer chose to, in effect, resurrect these names in her crime thriller series of more recent years.
Definitely worth buying whether you're a fan or not. Just make sure you give that intro a miss!
June 14, 2007 | |
Classic Gerritsen
If you reach for a Tess Gerritsen novel, you know what you're going to get -- a psychological thriller cloaked in enough medical terminology to have you sounding like an ER doc, with some graphic blood-and-guts scenes thrown in for good measure. While Gerritsen's books are not for the faint of heart, they are well-plotted and well-written, with strong characters and plenty of action. Because they're all written from that recipe, they do tend to run together, and "Life Support" is another one that fits that bill. The storyline involves tracing a killer virus whose roots lie in "fountain of youth" hormone transplants. With all the recent talk about biochemical warfare and killer viruses, this book is sure to strike a chord with the public.
One question -- what's with the naked babe on the cover of the book? I guess Gerritsen's having a hard time letting go of her romance roots.
May 28, 2007 | |
Suspenseful Medical Thriller
Tess Gerritsen is becoming one of my favorite suspense authors. I'm currently reading another one of her books.
Life Support is about a woman doctor named Toby who comes across a small mystery at the ER room were she works, an elderly patient who is well to do comes in naked and confused, and then mysteriously disappears. Another elderly man also gets very confused all the sudden and then dies...both patients are tied into a upscale retirement center, Brant Hill. Other plot elements tie in together bringing a suspenseful and interesting ending. The characters are very lifelike and Gerritsen's writing style is very easy and enjoyable to read.
May 18, 2007 | |
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