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 Review
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 70 reviews)

Medical Thriller at its best by Maureen Mielcarek (Lancaster, California)

5 Stars
January 29, 2009
I reallly love Tess Gerritsen's books. She writes wonderful stories that scare you to death and that are very fast paced. Aptly described as a page turner, they are very hard to put down. Where she shines in the genre is in character development. Somewhere on the roller-coster ride story, you come to know and care about her characters. This story is about a single, thirty-something ER doctor, who is also taking care of her vulnerable, alzeheimer's afflcited mom. The local ER is a small town type where there are ups and downs in activity, but usually on the low to mid area. Her life takes its first turn when in one night she loses a cardiac patient to death and loses a confused elderly patient to (well no one knows). He was in the ER strapped to a bed when the cardiac patient arrived, and then he was no where to be found. From there the pace revs up until Dr. Toby Harper is being attacked from all sides. She is being attacked at work for incompetence, and (well I won't give up the whole plot to you), leave it to say, she is even being accused of murder and the police have a warrent out for her arrest. I will tell you that Toby is a caring and tenacious lady. She is smart and not easily thwarted when she senses that something is very very wrong. This is why she is in trouble. The forces out to get her are real, rich, well respected in the community, and will do anything to shut her up. (Sort of reminds you of Coma). I would recommend this book for anyone intersted in a fast paced, well written medical thriller.

So-so medical thriller by Louise (Copenhagen V, Denmark)

3 Stars
December 07, 2008
Just finished Life Support by Tess Gerritsen this evening. I read my first Tess Gerritsen 4 years back and reviewed it here. It was book # 2 in her Jane Rizzoli-series and it was called The Apprentice. I wasn't impressed. Later on I picked up a couple of other Gerritsen-books and found that I enjoyed them. So it didn't take long to pick up Life Support and get reading. The story is about ER doc Toby Harper and about how a normal and perhaps a little boring life can deteriorate in a matter of weeks, which is was happens to Toby when she stumbles across a conspiracy involving a luxurious retirement home, young prostitutes and her own mother, suffering from Alzherimer's. One slow night in the ER, Toby receives an elderly man who is naked and confused and found wandering the streets of Boston. Before Toby can diagnose him, he has disappeared into thin air and no matter what Toby and her staff do, he remains missing. Toby cannot get him out of her head and finds out that he was a resident in the luxurious retirement home Brant Hill. Soon she smells something fishy going on in the Brant Hill retirement home and she begins her own investigations, going against the wish of several colleagues and doctors from Brant Hill. Then unpleasant things begin to happen to Toby herself, and in a matter of a few weeks, she doesn't know whom to trust and whom not to trust. All in all this is a pretty good plot and the book is also relatively well written. BUT! I like a medical thriller as much as the next girl, but this one wasn't fast paced at all. It was also too easy to guess the plot and the character development was lacking. It was hard to find any sympathy with the main characters who just felt one-dimensional and slightly annoying. Still, Life Support is an easily read and entertaining little medical thriller, but I am sure Tess Gerritsen can do much better than this.

Powerful medical thriller by F. J. Harvey (Birmingham England)

4 Stars
September 24, 2008
Life Support see its author in medical thriller mode ,and regular readers will know what this portends -lots of surgical procedures complete with visceral detail ,heroines in peril ,and in this case ,a medical cover-up by powerful and over ambitious Doctors.The heroine is Boston ER doctor ,Toby Harper who is having personal and professional problems .She lives with her mom ,Ellen ,who is ravaged by Alzheimer's and is under pressure at work as the result of having clashed with an egotistical surgeon who wants her dismissed from her post as an act of petty revenge .So ,it is not good news when an elderly ,confused patient ,one Harry Slotkin simply disappears from the ER after being picked up by cops while wandering around Boston naked . He is one of several cases of elderly men ,all residents of an upscale treatment facility named Brant Clinic who have suddenly developed such symptoms -dementia and erratic ,even violent, behaviour.She supects Creutzfeld-Jakobs disease ,and that it is the result of treatments received at the facility under the auspices of the arrogant and financially ambitious Doctor Wallenburg.She joins forces with pathologist Doctor Dvorak and seeks to expose the malpractice .The clinic strikes back using her most vulnerable point -her ailing mother. The sub plot revolving around a teenage hooker,Molly ,aids pathos to the strongly driven and tightly plotted tale . The book is quite gory in parts ,especially the operating theatrs scenes and the tale build to an exciting ,sweaty palmed climax .It is slickly told and exciting ,with characters you can root for but beware-it is quiter bloody at times and should be avoided by those who dislike such things in a novel

The Plot Thickens by D. Meyers (Grand Rapis, MI)

4 Stars
September 07, 2008
I really liked this book for a light read. It was exciting and the pace kept the reader's interest. I agree that the main character was a little shallow. She jumped to conclusions, was too hystrionic, and sometimes came across as a "blonde" (I wonder if she was) for me. I enjoy a story in which everyone spots the bad guy right from the first. That lets the reader in on the plot. There continued to be surprises, however, that enriched the experience through their unexpected appearances. The flavor of conspiracy kept everyone guessing. I agree with some critics that stated the ending was weak. It was fast and aburpt and did not tie up loose ends. When the reader knows the bad guy and waits for him to get his just desserts, there is some relish in prolonged revenge. It would also have been nice to know if the romance came to fruition and what happened to the corporate organization. Oh well, it's worth the reading.

Exciting Sci-Fi/Medical Thriller by A. RayChaudhury (IL)

4 Stars
September 01, 2008
This is more a science fiction mystery than a medical thriller. Good believable likable characters, interesting plot-twists, the bad guys a little too much but still, overall another book that satisties the reader, no loose ends or absurd explanations. I think Tess Gerritsen is at her best in these kind of novels rather than sociopolitical-themed thrillers like Vanish or Harvest (where honestly, the real news is often more chilling than any fictionalization).

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