Member Reviews
I love medical thrillers and this book did not disappoint! This book is part of a series but I had no problem catching up and understanding all the characters.
Dr Jack Stapleton is having a heck of a time at home. His wife, Dr Laurie Montgomery has just been promoted and bringing the boss mentality home – his kids are struggling, and the icing on the cake – his mother in law has moved in seemingly indefinitely. Dr Stapleton is an ME and gets to work begging for a challenging case but is disappointed to find out that there aren’t any and he will be stuck on the case of his wife’s friend who apparently had a heart attack. However as Jack delves deeper into the case he is stumped. This woman was perfectly healthy. With not much to go on Jack starts looking for answers by asking the woman’s co-workers questions. Doesn’t help that the lady was also a Dr, and working for the company Jack vehemently hates. As Jack digs deeper into this mystery strange things start happening and he himself seems to be at risk. Will he be able to solve this mystery and make it out alive?
This book was very detailed and at points I appreciated the writing, but at others I got frustrated. This book is set in our current post but still active COVID world and a lot of that makes it into the book. There are lots of mask and vaccine references. I’m not sure if its just because we’re living this time, or what but reading about it just was a turn off for me in a way. This book was intriguing and while this book is long, it did keep me engaged. I was able to quickly read it in about a day and a half and found myself not wanting to put it down. Things really picked up about the half way point and then it was un-put-down-able. Overall this book worked, I liked the story, and it was interesting. I gave it a 4/5 and would read his author, and perhaps another Dr Jack Stapleton and Dr Laurie Montgomery book in the future. Special thanks to the publisher and @netgalley for my e-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
I love medical thrillers, so I though I'd give this a try despite not liking previous novels by Cook. Unfortunately, yet again, Cook's over-explaining, dumbed down writing style irked me to quitting. Just not my cup of tea.
I love Robin Cook's books! I also love these two characters, and enjoy reading about them again.
Overall this was an enjoyable book
Ive been a Robin Cook fan for longer than I care to admit, since then you'd know my age! Night Shift is the 2nd book in the Jack Stapleton series but could easily be a stand alone. Its pretty obvious the author is a medical doctor. The drama/ thriller is enriched by having REAL medical analysis. When this outstanding medical examiner family "speaks for the dead", readers are in for an excellent read.
Medical thriller at its best…the author who never fails…talented and gifted…his books are innovative…thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my electronic copy to review…it was difficult to guess…red herrings abound…the protagonist is a likable family man with problems at home…what will happen next? I kept wondering as I turned the pages…a cannot put down book…do miss this one…
Night Shift by Robin Cook is part of a series featuring the characters of Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton. I felt I might have better enjoyed it if I had had more familiarity with the characters. Without more of a history with the characters I do think the threats had less immediacy.
It was a quick page turning medical mystery and as my first introduction to Robin Cook it was pretty good. The main plot deals with "When Laurie’s longtime friend, by all accounts healthy Dr. Sue Passero, dies mysteriously in the hospital parking garage, an autopsy is required, which falls squarely under Laurie’s purview as newly appointed chief medical examiner. So when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the case, he can hardly refuse." This is one of the places where I was curious if Sue had been more of a character in previous novels. I don't know.
I did enjoy that there were mentions of current events, namely Covid 19 and vaccination, in the book something I haven't seen reflected in movies and books that often and it helped to tie it into the "real world" instead of an alternate universe where the last 3 years never happened.
I will probably look into some of the earlier books in the series.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #PenguinGroup and Robin Cook for the ARC of Night Shift.
I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
What a great medical thriller!
Someone is killing the patients. When a healthy doctor dies in the hospital parking lot Dr. Jack does the autopsy which begins to look like a murder. Who would kill her and why?
As Dr. Jack gets closer to the answer things begin to get very dangerous. Can they find the killer before he kills again?
Fast-based page-turner. With a Jack, Laurie and Lou on the case, the suspense keeps rolling. Great book.
I was craving a medical thriller and this definitely did the job. I liked the setting, but didn't really enjoy reading about the pandemic and all that stuff. Just a personal issue. I'm interested in picking up more books from this series in the future.
This was #13 in the series and I didn’t realize that when I requested. I was worried that I wouldn’t understand what was going on because of that but it was easy to follow along and get into the story.
I loved the two MEs being married. One (the wife) being more ruling following and the other (the husband) being more rebellious.
The writing was fantastic and really drew me into the city. I really felt like I was in New York in December and following along Jack while he tries to figure out if his wife friends death was an accident or murder.
The only thing I was not a fan of was all the COVID talk it felt like everything was centered around that. Jack couldn’t talk to anyone until he asked if they were vaccinated. Every other sentence was someone putting on a mask. It was kind of annoying.
But overall great book and I’ll be starting the first book of this series next.
This is the newest entry in the series about husband/wife team Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery, NYC medical examiners. It is very similar to an earlier Cook book, which is even mentioned by the characters in this book. A medical serial killer appears to be murdering suffering patients. Jack, of course, breaks the rules trying to discover the guilty party. The dialog here feels very artificial, especially between husband and wife, something I never noticed in previous Cook books. Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing an ARC.
Happy to realize that prolific author Dr. Robin Cook is still writing medical thrillers — I’ve read many of them through the years and they still never disappoint.
From the first chapters we, the audience, know that Dr. Susan Passero was murdered. However, when she’s found it appears as if she had a heart attack. So, it’s up to Dr. Jack Stapleton, medical examiner, and his wife, Laurie Montgomery, the Chief Medical Examiner (and good friend of the victim), to slowly realize what we know already and determine the perpetrator and the motive. We know early on that Dr. Sue was up against a trio of narcissistic guys and we also know that she was researching medical serial killers for some reason.
Which is why Robin Cook thrillers are so entertaining — a straightforward whodunit with lots of medical clues (and explanations) to sort through and clear cut heroes like Jack and Laurie. I have loved Robin Cook thrillers for nearly forty years (!) and this novel confirms why I continue to love them. 4 stars!
Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam, G.P, Putnam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Laurie has blue-green eyes
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO It’s December in NYC and the trees are leafless.
If you're a Robin Cook reader, you're already familiar with Laurie and Jack and their work environment. This latest addition to the series does not disappoint. It takes place during the pandemic, masks and all, and is a smooth read with a logical conclusion that leaves plenty of possibilities for the next book.
Good book! Definitely got the heart pumping in certain spots! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, and a thrilling chase with a serial killer! The storyline was very interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I will definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!