- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Headline Feature; New edition edition (6 Jun 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747253110
- ISBN-13: 978-0747253112
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11.2 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,317,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Life Support
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
When an elderly patient with a critical viral infection of the brain mysteriously vanishes from the emergency room, ER resident Toby Harper finds her job and home life coming under intense scrutiny. Her search for the missing patient uncovers a frightening epidemic and a nightmarish conspiracy.
About the Author
Bestselling author Tess Gerritsen was a physician and brings to her novels her first-hand knowledge of emergency rooms and autopsy procedures.
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A scalpel is a beautiful thing. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
A scalpel is a beautiful thing. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
'Life Support' is a fast moving medical thriller that stars Dr Toby Harper, a (female) doctor working in a small community hospital. When one of Dr Harper's patients vanishes mysteriously from the hospital and another dies of an unusual viral disease, she sets out to try and find out exactly what is going on. However, someone doesn't want Toby to find out the truth, and will do anything in their power to stop her.
This is an exciting, original and well written thriller that drops you straight into the action immediately, rather than taking ages to get going. Toby is a likeable heroine struggling to balance her career against the care of her elderly mother, rather than being overly perfect. There is plenty of suspense and some surprising twists along the way, building to a dramatic conclusion when all the pieces fall into place. The book keeps you guessing right through to the end, as it's not just a case of whodunnit but howdunnit, whydunnit and what exactly did they do?
If there is a downside to this book it is this: as with all medical thrillers there is a fair amount of medical terminology involved which may put some readers off. It is an American novel, and the American system is slightly different from ours which also doesn't help. However, I have never had any form of medical training and I did not find it at all difficult to understand what was going on. The other possible downside is that it is slightly graphic in places in terms of descriptions of surgical procedures and attacks, and also quite sad once or twice as well. However, I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys fast paced, suspenseful books.
If you have never read a medical thriller before, this is a great one to start with. I find Tess Gerritsen's writing more original and her plots less predictable than Robin Cook's. If you like this book, you should also read Michael Palmer.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
While better than the thoroughly predictable "Harvest," Ms. Gerritsen's second medical thriller still isn't that great. She sets off with a great creepy prologue and builds continual suspense throughout, yet the book is so relentlessly downbeat it's a little hard to take. Basically, everything that could go wrong for our heroine does: she's accused of abusing her mother, all of her allies end up dead, and the whole world basically turns against her. I personally read for enjoyment, and I found it hard to enjoy one horrible thing happening to this woman after another. Maybe people who get off on the endless suffering on "Party of Five" will enjoy it. I don't know. The medical detail is superb and Gerritsen keeps you on your toes, but the book's so painful (even the ending) that I left it more depressed than satisfied. Proceed at your own risk.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Tess Gerritsen doesn't fall victim to the sophomore slump with her second medical thriller, Life Support. A peaceful evening in the ER is broken by the arrival of a delirious elderly man. Dr. Toby Harper does her best to treat the patient, but he mysteriously disappears from the hospital when left unattended. Toby searches for her lost patient and tries to determine the cause of his behavior when another patient with similar symptoms dies under her care. Her concern is deepened when the cause of the patient's death is determined to be Creutzfeldt- Jakob, or mad cow disease. Following this disclosure, Toby is beset by personal tragedies as someone is trying to prevent her from discovering the evil truth and unthinkable research responsible for this outbreak.
Life Support is a fast-paced medical mystery full of intrigue and suspense. The plot-driven story grabs the reader and never lets go. I couldn't put this book down. Gerritsen effectively uses medical terminology that's not over the average reader's
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Well Written Medical Thriller
Tess Gerritsen is one of my favourite authors within this genre. I seem to go through every emotion when I am reading one of her novels. Read more
Published 6 months ago by S.Duncan
another great Gerritsen read
Life Support is the 10th stand-alone novel by Tess Gerritsen. Springer Hospital's night-shift ER doctor, Toby Harper, finds her job is on the line when she literally loses a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Cloggie Downunder
LIFE SUPPORT
This is the eighth novel I have read by TERR GERRITSEN, and they keep getting better. I like to make sure that I read her novels in sequence just in case there is a mention of... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Auckland
cant put it down!!!!10/10!!!
As a Tess Gerritsen fan and the fact I work in the medical industry i thought this book was FAB!!!! Its a bit wordy when it comes to the medical side of things but she explains the... Read more
Published on 23 April 2010 by Ms. J. Raine
Enjoyable but missing something...
This was a good read, but not a great one. To be honest some other books of Gerritsen's are much better, but Life Support still holds its own. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2009 by Ms. M. Cheung
harvest, life support
I think this is a wonderfull read Harvest/life support it's exciting from start to finish can't wait to read the other books in the series thank you.
Published on 23 July 2009 by book worm
Good, but too much medical jargon and a poor ending
This is a fast-paced thriller with a very good storyline and characterisation.
However, it contains far too much medical jargon than is necessary and one section in... Read more
However, it contains far too much medical jargon than is necessary and one section in... Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2009 by Al
better then some, lots of twists and turns
I quite like Tess as a novelist but I have struggled to enjoy some of her other books in the past (though Vanish was very good). Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2008 by bumblebec03
A good medical thriller but somethings missing
This is my second Gerritsen medical thriller (the other being Bloodstream, which I much preffered). I'm a big fan of Tess' Rizzoli and Isles series but these earlier efforts arent... Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2008 by molko
Great medical thriller
This is what Mrs. Gerritsen does best. I love it when a book grips me like this! Well written, creepy and masterfully written. Read more
Published on 19 Feb 2008 by CC7
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