- Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Harper; Reprint edition (July 21 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060008873
- ISBN-13: 978-0060008871
- Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.7 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 567 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,107,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Division chief of emergency services at UCLA hospital, David Spier is just as horrified as his colleagues when a madman wielding a beaker of drain cleaner attacks an ER nurse who happens to be the sister of an LAPD cop. But when he uncovers the abuse the assailant suffered as a child in a psychological experiment Spier's own mother signed off on decades ago, David puts his career in jeopardy to keep Clyde Slade safe from a policeman bent on vengeance, even after Slade attacks the woman David loves and threatens his life. Gregg Andrew Hurwitz packs the pages with enough medical details and procedures to keep ER fans satisfied until summer reruns are over with this foray into Jonathan Kellerman territory. Spier's no Alex Delaware, at least not yet, but while Hurwitz has a way to go before he approaches Delaware's creator in plotting and pacing, he's on the right track. --Jane Adams
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
After two page-turners distinguished mainly by their lurid action and intrigue (The Tower; Minutes to Burn), Hurwitz shows a more serious side in this adeptly researched, well-constructed tale about science gone awry. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the authors knack for creating distinctive villains. Here, its a psychologically damaged young man who is terrorizing the staff of a Los Angeles hospital by throwing flesh-burning alkali in the faces of nurses and doctors. After the second attack, police finally figure out the assailant is Clyde Slade, a disgruntled former hospital worker who was let go months earlier for trying to steal drugs. Emergency room physician David Spier believes that Slade may be motivated by something deeper. He launches an investigation of his own, eventually determining that Slade was an unwitting participant in a hushed-up medical study decades earlier that ended in disaster. The study, designed to foster fear in young boys, wound up traumatizing most of them for life. Slade's current behavior, Spier reasons, represents not only a way to exact revenge against the hospital but fulfills a psychological need to generate fear and torment in others. As the cops close in, Spier finds himself advocating for Slade even as he hunts him down. In his most ambitious book to date, Hurwitz delves convincingly into the world of medicine, psychology and investigative techniques. Some characters, a gleeful embalmer, a Nazi construction worker, are a bit over-the-top, and several scenes serve as little more than showcases for Hurwitz's research. But the action comes fast and steady, and by the end, Hurwitz has almost made the case that an alkali-throwing loonie deserves our sympathy.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
FACE white and blistering, eyelids swollen nearly shut, hair falling from the front of her scalp in thin clusters, the nurse stumbled blindly through the UCLA Medical Center Emergency Room doors, both hands waving in front of her. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
FACE white and blistering, eyelids swollen nearly shut, hair falling from the front of her scalp in thin clusters, the nurse stumbled blindly through the UCLA Medical Center Emergency Room doors, both hands waving in front of her. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A truly fun read,
By
This review is from: Do No Harm (Mass Market Paperback)
David Spier is an ER physician at the UCLA Emergency Room. He is on duty when nurses are brought in with severe facial burns due to an attack with lye. It appears a man has targeted nurses for these brutal assaults. When the assailant, named Clyde, is actually apprehended, he is wounded and under David's care. The police want him in custody. However,David hesitates in releasing Clyde because he fears for Clyde's safety. One of the detectives on the case has a sister who was severely injured by Clyde. David wants Clyde brought in under his terms. Unfortunately, Clyde escapes and David is the scapegoat. David feels especially guilty when the attacks continue. He feels personally responsible and wants to do all he can to stop Clyde. This leads to a very dangerous cat and mouse game.Gregg Hurwitz has written a very clever thriller albeit on the lengthy side. David Spier is a man of great principles and it can be quite a bit irritating to see him fear for Clyde's safety which, predictably, leads to his escape. It is an unrealistic character flaw in David and, as such, makes him almost a comic book hero. Other characters are stereotypic. However, the pacing of the plot makes up for any character flaws. The bottom line is the author tells a great story-- perfect for pure entertainment. A truly fun read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, more mystery than thriller...,
By Frederoil (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Do No Harm (Mass Market Paperback)
There wasn't much "action" in the book for supposedley being so scary and heart-pounding. I did enjoy the book, it was well-written in terms of medical terms and psychological issues. The author did a fantastic job at showing us how the bad guy became so psychopathic and heartless. I found the role of the Doctor (David Spier) to be a great character as well, due to the fact that he was straddling the fence between wanting to kill the villain and wanting to help him out of his self-imposed hell. I'm glad I read it, the only downside is I really never got a good sense of fear that the book's cover was hyping.
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCITING, HEART RACING ACTION,
By
This review is from: Do No Harm (Mass Market Paperback)
AT FIRST I WAS NOT SURE IF THIS BOOK WOULD BE ENTERTANING. HURWITZ IS ABLE TO INTERMINGLE TWO VERY DIFFERENT LIFESTYLES INTO A NOVEL THAT TURNS OUT TO BE EXCEPTIONAL. IT IS FILLED WITH ACTION AND SUSPENSE. DO NOT HARM OFFERS THE READER THE CHANCE TO VIEW LIFE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOMEONE WHO REALLY HAD NO CHANCE AT LIFE TO BEGIN WITH. TRULY A GREAT READ!
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