| View Larger Image | The Syndrome | Mass Market Paperbackby John Case (Author)
| List Price: | $7.99 | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Mass Market Paperback | | Publisher: | Fawcett | | Page Count: | 512 Pages | | Publication Date: | October 29, 2002 | | Sales Rank: | 123,130rd |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780345433107
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
“A GLASS-SHATTERING, DIESEL-FUELED, HARD-CHARGING THRILL RIDE OF A READ . . . [John Case is] a confident master working at peak performance.”–LORENZO CARCATERRA Author of Street Boys and SleepersDr. Jeff Duran suffers from severe panic attacks whenever he ventures outside his home office. And he is inexplicably haunted by mysterious memories. Then, after a troubled patient commits suicide–and her half sister, Adrienne Cope, blames Duran–his life spirals out of control. Suddenly targeted by unknown assassins, he and Adrienne must run for their very lives. Forced to trust each other, they must now work together to unlock the reason why one or both of them is marked for death. For beneath the intrigue lies a dark conspiracy that stretches halfway around the world–and a sinister plot that could change the course of history. |
Amazon.com Review
What if you weren't who you thought you were, and behind the screen of false memories that convinced you of your identity was another, even more terrifying set of equally false memories, so awful that if anyone or anything made it past the first, artificially induced "firewall," you'd kill yourself rather than live with the horror of what you thought you'd done? That's the intriguing, if somewhat muddled, setup for John Case's (The Genesis Code) new thriller, which starts with the disappearance of Lew McBride, a young research psychologist, and the suicide of a beautiful but troubled young woman soon after she inexplicably guns down an old man in a wheelchair. Adrienne Cope blames her sister Nico's death on Jeff Duran, the psychologist who's been treating Nico for the after-effects of the satanic sexual abuse she supposedly suffered in childhood, abuse that Adrienne has reason to know is a complete fiction. When the detective Adrienne hires to investigate Duran turns up proof that he's an impostor, Duran himself is baffled; his belief in his own identity is so convincing that he passes a lie detector test without breaking a sweat. Someone has stolen his mind: is it the same shadowy cabal that stole Nico's, too? When he and Adrienne finally join forces, their first stop is a neurologist, whose tests reveal an anomaly in Duran's brain, an implant that leads them to a Swiss clinic where a ruthless scientist has taken up experiments in brainwashing and mind control that the CIA shut down decades ago. Or did it? Case mixes neuroscience and geopolitics in a Manchurian Candidate-like scenario that's scary enough to make you wonder whether you ought to trust your own memory, let alone anyone else's. Both Adrienne and Jeff are likable innocents, caught up in a terrifying web spun by a faceless man with a Messiah complex. His plan to destroy anyone who gets in his way is exciting enough to keep the narrative from bogging down in all the technical details Case uses to buttress his suitably scary plot. --Jane Adams |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 48 reviews)
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Never knew what was coming next by L. Taylor (Chapel Hill, NC)  4 Stars
January 23, 2009
This was the first book by John Case that I read and instantly got hooked. He has a great way of building up suspense, twisting the story in unexpected ways, etc. It was a lot of fun to read, as I never knew what was coming next.
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Entertaining by Bo Østergaard Jepsen (Beijing, China) 4 Stars
April 04, 2007
As with other Case books, "The Syndrome" starts with a bang. Thereafter the action is kept at high levels through the bringing together of seemingly unconnected events and characters. The story is very interesting, along the lines of "the Manchurian Candidate", and is very well told. The language is good and interesting, even if the author(s) have a tendency to overuse some words and put in a British word here or there.
One of the things I enjoy the most about the book is the fact that Case seems to have made quite a lot of research into the subjects of the book. This makes the complex story seem more realistic and indeed more interesting. Case also has a good way of upholding suspension throughout the book. Almost that is. The last chapters of the book are quite foreseeable. There are not really any surprises and the big climax is really not that climactic. It's a bit dull really.
Also I think that the characters are a bit too two dimensional at times. Given a situation they interpret it exactly as is best for the story, as is best for keeping up suspension, not necessarily as is most logical or "normal". Sort of like teenagers in a horror film.
Nonetheless it is a very entertaining book and John Case is a good author. No soubt about that. 3,5 stars
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WOW!!! John Case does it again. Best of their first 3 by G. Stewart (Chesapeake, VA USA)  5 Stars
February 10, 2007
John Case, now revealed to be the pseudonym for a husband and wife (Jim & Carolyn Hougan) writing team, can really knock you off your seat.
If you are looking for thriller's that come at you from a completely different angle (let's call it the educated angle for both the Hougan's are writer's, having released solo works, but Jim is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post which definitely gives him an inside look at many oddities that most people don't see), look no further. I have been reading the John Case books in order of release and have yet to be dissapointed. Both of the first 2 books (The First Horseman, The Genesis Code) were great, and Case has raised the bar once again.
This story about a psychologist that (hint # 1, suffers from agoraphobia and is acutely attuned with electronic devices) discovers that his life is not what it seems after one of his clients commits suicide. He is suddenly thrust in to a race for his life and that of his not-so-happy-to-be-included companion (the sister of the suicide victim) who is holding him personally responsible for her sister's death.
Both quickly realize that they are involved in a hidden plot to cover up something. They can't trust anyone, they can't trust each other, and worst of all, they learn that they can't trust themselves; but they are forced to work together to come to an amazing discovery about a conspiracy that is far-reaching and controlled by global powers.
The book is a taut thriller. It will have you hooked by the end of the epilogue. From Chapter 1 on, it is a spiraling death ride in which you, the reader, can see the future (knowing slightly more than the characters), but still can't figure out how the people all tie together.
By far the best John Case book yet which leaves me very excited, and a little nervous because I have several more books by Case to read, but I have not been disappointed since the first book.
John Case, or Jim & Carolyn Hougan, have a special gift for taking very real, very scary, very possible situations and making them in to scary books that make you think twice about who you can trust.
As I have found with the other 2 Case novels that I have read, the scariest thing about this book is that it is possible, most likely probable, and if you are a conspiracy theorist, definitely happening even as I type this review.
I will read all books by John Case and then I will move on to the works by the individuals, the husband and wife known as John Case. They have earned my lifelong dedication as a reader.
WELL DONE, ONCE AGAIN!
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Story grabs you and doesn't let up - until the end by C.J. Leber (Lafayette, IN) 4 Stars
June 20, 2006
This is the second book by "John Case" that I have read. My first was "The First Horseman," and I really enjoyed it. I love reading thrillers that have a scientific slant to them. I picked up "The Syndrome" based on my prior read, not knowing what to expect. "The Syndrome" has a great hook in the beginning to grab your attention and then doesn't let up. This book was sequenced similarly to "The First Horesman" in the respect it takes a few chapters to get a handle on the main characters.
Lew McBride is a research psychologist at the opening of the novel is meeting with the director of the insitute that provides him with the grant money and funding to do his research, most recently in Haiti, studying trance states. The next thing you know the building is overtaken by a menacing figure and McBride is gased and ends up in an ambulance. He is semi-concious when the terrifying operation begins and since the anestesia is local is awake when the doctor slices into his face above the gum line.
We are then introduced to Nico Sullivan, a beautiful (as are all women in thrillers) woman on vacation near the Florida keys. She causually checks into a resort on a secluded island with special luggage that couldn't be carried on an airplane. It turns out she is an assassin gets her orders via a stange interactive website, "theprogram.org." When Nico returns home to DC, she catapults into a severe depression (she suffers from bipolar disorder) and commits suicide after visting her therapist, Jeff Duran.
Duran is a semi-recluse who appears to be addicted to television when not meeting with clients. He seems out of touch with himself and even attends a high school reunion in hopes that he will be able to remember some of his past more vividly. His world is disrupted when Adrienne Cope, Nico's sister, confronts him with the accusation that he is the cause of Nikki's suicide. It turns out Duran is not who he officially says he is and she plans on suing him for liability in Nikki's death due to the fanatasies he was treating her for that Adrienne claims never happened.
The rest of the plot involves Adrienne and Jeff's search for the truth regarding her sister's death. The fact that Duran cannot remember his past is coupled with the realization he has been implanted with a neurological device designed to control it's subjects. Once that part of the plot is revealed, the book turns into the standard "race against time to discover the truth and stop the evil plot."
The ending was a bit of a letdown, just in the respect it happens so fast and casually.
Overall, I would recommend this book.
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Good like the Genesis Code by brbie ann (Grand Rapids, MI) 4 Stars
March 28, 2006
I've read almost all of Case's works and have like about half of them. I did like this one. You are very curious for 3/4ths of the book because you don't understand why some things are happening to the characters. But it all gets flushed out in the end. So far Genesis code is my favorite Case book and this would be number two.
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The bestselling author of The Genesis Code and The Eighth Day now strikes his most harrowing chord, with a chilling novel that pushes suspense to nearly inhuman limits.
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| The Eighth Day: A Thriller
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For Danny Cray, a struggling artist and part-time private investigator, the offer is too good to be true. A wealthy, enigmatic lawyer, Jude Belzer, would like to retain Danny for a little damage control. His...
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| The First Horseman
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On the Norwegian sea, an icebreaker forges its way through frozen waters to a remote island in the Arctic, carrying a scientific team that hopes to unearth the bodies of long-dead miners. Washington Post reporter Frank Daly has the story of a lifetime. But his plan to join the scientists on their historic mission is ruined by a ferocious storm. When he meets up with the ship upon its return to port in Norway, it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong.Fear haunts the faces of the...
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| The Genesis Code: A Thriller
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A phone call in the dead of night brings Joe Lassiter shattering news. His sister and young nephew have died in a fire in their home near Washington, D.C. Yet Lassiter soon learns a chilling fact: His loved ones were brutally murdered before the blaze was set. . . .
The mysterious suspect's identity only raises more questions. Then Lassiter uncovers another crime--another innocent mother and child murdered. The more he unearths, the larger the web of conspiracy grows, as his search for...
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