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Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:A husband and wife race to find a cure for the disease that has inspired a serial killer to terrorize Manhattan in this classic medical thriller from the bestselling author and creator of the hit Netflix drama The Stranger. They�??re one of the country�??s most telegenic couples: beloved TV journalist Sara Lowell and New York�??s hottest basketball star, Michael Silverman. Their family and social connections tie them to the highest echelons of the political, medical, and sports worlds�??threads that will tangle them up in one of the most controversial and deadly issues of our time. In a clinic on Manhattan�??s Upper West Side, a doctor has dedicated his life to eradicating a divisive and devastating disease. One by one, his patients are getting well. One by one, they�??re being targeted by a serial killer. And now Michael has been diagnosed with the disease. There�??s only one cure, bu… (more)
User reviews
When Michael Silverman, NBA star, is diagnosed HIV positive, things change dramatically. Someone has been
A very good medical mystery in the vein of Robin Cook, I did not see the explosive ending coming.
MIRACLE CURE
So I was disappointed in spite of his warning. But MIRACLE CURE did end, as all Coben’s books do, with a surprise.
It is true that this is one of Coben's earlier works, republished, and there are a few spots where that shows through in awkward-ish dialogue and scenes moving a bit too quickly or slowly, but in general, this is a smart and well-developed suspense novel. And, early or not, it's enough to ensure that I'll be picking up quite a bit more work from Coben.
Absolutely recommended.
When Michael Silverman, NBA star, is diagnosed HIV positive, things change dramatically. Someone has been
A very good medical mystery in the vein of Robin Cook, I did not see the explosive ending coming.
Recommended.
Sara is a reporter. She is married to pro-basketball player Michael. Her father is a doctor, researching cancer. Friends of Sara and Michael’s are researching AIDS and, though this has been kept a secret, they think they’ve found a cure. But, some of the cured patients are turning up
This was good. This is one of Coben’s earlier novels and my edition has a brief introduction by the author that he realizes it is dated, but he still likes the book. It is dated. It’s early in the fight against AIDS and gay men are more openly mocked. But, it’s still a good story. Not as good as his later books, but still good. At the start, I had a bit of a hard time figuring out some of the characters and where each fit in. But, I think I had who was who figured out by the end. I was surprised at the ending, which almost brought it up to 4 stars, but not quite.
Michael is moved to
Doctors are vying for more funding, an overzealous evangelist is calling the AIDs virus a sign from God that end of times are near, and all is not what it seems. Family members can't be trusted. Friends aren't really friends.
Miracle Cure was that one.
This is Coben's second novel
We all start our journeys somewhere and this novel is part of the journey that makes Coben the writer he is today. For that reason I made the effort to follow it to the end. Its hard to know whether my opinion would have been different had I not had later books to compare it to.
In general this took me longer to read than a HC book would, the writing style a bit more clumsy and not as well edited as his later works so it just didn't read as well.
The story follows a doctor on his quest to find a cure for the AIDS virus, the people trying to stop him and the normal murder, mayhem and twists that are Coben's trademark style. It is important to place yourself back in the early 90's when a lot less was known about the AIDS virus and fear of contracting it was rampant. Looking at the story with modern eyes will almost certainly impacts the way the story is viewed.
You can definitely see the beginnings of what would become a great career in the 'Thriller and Suspense' genre
I hate when authors do that.
But over to the story. This is the sort of fast-moving twisting-turning fiction we have come to expect from Harlan Coben, and considering it’s the work of a “naive lad” in his twenties it’s not half bad. Harking back to the early days of the AIDS crisis, it surrounds an apparent cure for the disease and a murderer apparently targeting those who have been successfully treated. The trademark jocularity is sparse but used effectively (the character Michael is asked whether anything unusual has appeared in his urine, and reports that “there was a Datsun Hatchback in there this morning”. Bravo).
As with this type of mystery novel it’s probably a case of picking the least likely person to have “dunnit” and you may well get it right (though I didn’t). Guessing the “why” is more tricky, and the explanation section that every such book has to go through tied my brain in knots, but I understood enough. More of the same please, but would it kill you to write a new foreword?