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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
This was really good. I miss reading Michael Crichton novels and this is one of the remaining few that I hadn't read yet. Fast-paced and exciting.
I'm a woman, and I read this in high school and it thoroughly convinced me that abortion should always be legal and easily accessible to everyone who wants one.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not as good as other novels from this author, but I enjoyed reading it. The style was nice.
The plot and the behavior of the main character were not so plausible, and all the doctors-are-special hints one had to tolerate while reading were annoying.
A readable book.
The plot and the behavior of the main character were not so plausible, and all the doctors-are-special hints one had to tolerate while reading were annoying.
A readable book.
Interesting to follow an "investigation" into how a botched abortion was performed but there were too many twists and turns and new characters for it to be a proper mystery. It was, however a good illustration of the "morals" of the time.
A very good, engaging medical mystery with a doctor as the sleuth.
"A Case of Need" is a very early pseudonymic Michael Crichton thriller. Set in Boston in the 60s, it tells the story of a doctor wrongly accused of a crime, and another doctor trying to clear his name over the objections of the Boston medical community, the police, and the public at large.
Even at this early stage of his career, the author knew how to craft a compelling story and populate it with memorable, believable characters. With its short chapters and no-nonsense plot, this is a good book to keep loaded on your phone's reading app. You can read it for five minutes while you're waiting in line or on hold, and pick it up again with no problem a few days later.
"A Case of Need" won't change your life, but I respect it. It knows what it's about, and it gets the job done.
Recommended for: Michael Crichton fans
Even at this early stage of his career, the author knew how to craft a compelling story and populate it with memorable, believable characters. With its short chapters and no-nonsense plot, this is a good book to keep loaded on your phone's reading app. You can read it for five minutes while you're waiting in line or on hold, and pick it up again with no problem a few days later.
"A Case of Need" won't change your life, but I respect it. It knows what it's about, and it gets the job done.
Recommended for: Michael Crichton fans
Loved all the other books I've read from him- this one was rather meh. Was more of a standard mystery/thriller than what I normally expect from Crichton.
Ugh. I've been sitting on a review for this one for about a week because I just had so many ugly, ugly thoughts swirling around about it.
Dr. Art Lee has been imprisoned. A known abortionist in an age when abortions are outlawed, Dr. Lee has a fair number of enemies. However, this case is special; Art Lee did not perform the abortion that killed Karen Randall. Dr. John Berry, a friend of Lee, sets out to prove his innocence and catch the real perpetrator, if he can.
I'm not bothering with the good points of this book. There are a few, but honestly, I don't want to write about them and detract from the bullshit that is this book.
This is a direct quote of the narrator talking about a song that a (black) band is playing in a club:
"Old enough for me to remember from the days before my marriage, when I took girls to places like this for a wild evening, from the days when the Negroes were sort of amusing, not people at all, just a musical sideshow. The days when white boys could go to the Apollo in Harlem.
The old days."
Michael Crichton what the fuck.
This is only one of numerous instances where the author is blatantly and disgustingly racist. Some of the examples, like when the prison guard refers to Art Lee as a "chink", are played off for characterization - "Ooo, look how bad this man is." However, many more are simply the thoughts of our good Dr. Berry, who is honestly an incredibly arrogant douche without the racist bits thrown in. However, we are supposed to like him.
There are an equal number of examples (actually, probably more) of characters being blindingly sexist towards women. Even Art Lee, who is put up as this sort of early feminist because of his commitment to reproductive rights, has to put in his two cents about how women don't have enough "balls" and if they would just write to their congressmen, they could have all the rights they want! It is that simple, ladies! Michael Crichton is the man we've been waiting for to tell us exactly how we need to act in order to get the laws changed. God bless you, Mikey.
Seriously, this book is a dumpster fire and I've only gotten madder the more I've thought about it. The ending is par for the time period, with the most marginalized suspects being the guilty ones, of course. There is also some insane Dr. House-level ethics violations; Dr. Berry pretends to murder someone with opiates to get the information that he wants out of them. His insane arrogance at the end of the book, where he is a medical superhero who can do no wrong and should not be questioned, is hard to read.
I would never recommend this book, especially if you picked it up thinking, "Oh! How refreshing! Someone who is pro-abortion rights in the 60's!" like I did. Don't be fooled.
Dr. Art Lee has been imprisoned. A known abortionist in an age when abortions are outlawed, Dr. Lee has a fair number of enemies. However, this case is special; Art Lee did not perform the abortion that killed Karen Randall. Dr. John Berry, a friend of Lee, sets out to prove his innocence and catch the real perpetrator, if he can.
I'm not bothering with the good points of this book. There are a few, but honestly, I don't want to write about them and detract from the bullshit that is this book.
This is a direct quote of the narrator talking about a song that a (black) band is playing in a club:
"Old enough for me to remember from the days before my marriage, when I took girls to places like this for a wild evening, from the days when the Negroes were sort of amusing, not people at all, just a musical sideshow. The days when white boys could go to the Apollo in Harlem.
The old days."
Michael Crichton what the fuck.
This is only one of numerous instances where the author is blatantly and disgustingly racist. Some of the examples, like when the prison guard refers to Art Lee as a "chink", are played off for characterization - "Ooo, look how bad this man is." However, many more are simply the thoughts of our good Dr. Berry, who is honestly an incredibly arrogant douche without the racist bits thrown in. However, we are supposed to like him.
There are an equal number of examples (actually, probably more) of characters being blindingly sexist towards women. Even Art Lee, who is put up as this sort of early feminist because of his commitment to reproductive rights, has to put in his two cents about how women don't have enough "balls" and if they would just write to their congressmen, they could have all the rights they want! It is that simple, ladies! Michael Crichton is the man we've been waiting for to tell us exactly how we need to act in order to get the laws changed. God bless you, Mikey.
Seriously, this book is a dumpster fire and I've only gotten madder the more I've thought about it. The ending is par for the time period, with the most marginalized suspects being the guilty ones, of course. There is also some insane Dr. House-level ethics violations; Dr. Berry pretends to murder someone with opiates to get the information that he wants out of them. His insane arrogance at the end of the book, where he is a medical superhero who can do no wrong and should not be questioned, is hard to read.
I would never recommend this book, especially if you picked it up thinking, "Oh! How refreshing! Someone who is pro-abortion rights in the 60's!" like I did. Don't be fooled.
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love Michael Crichton's writing because he knows how to keep the story moving without alienating us from a world most people would not be familiar with.
I'm ambivalent towards books with medicine and its dramas as its focus. There are so many terminologies, concepts, and lore that goes with the profession that a less skilled writer may glaze over essential details about medicine or a doctor's behaviors that we end up observing the story rather than empathizing with the protagonist. With his background in medicine, Crichton knows when to explain and when to pull back when it comes to surgical procedures and relevant medication.
A Case in Need is a great medical thriller because we are presented with the same facts that the protagonist encounters and we are given enough tools to try to piece together the entire story. Although an understanding of medicine might've helped us better grasp the severity of some events, it doesn't detract from the pacing or the importance of the story at all. Not to mention the main plot point of abortion and the arguments for it remain relevant today, despite this novel being published around 1969.
He includes footnotes and an appendix on concepts or terms that require a more in-depth explanation and I really appreciated that, since I have had no experience with some of the jargon or abbreviations that were used. It's like being let in on a secret, with a little wink and a nudge in the right direction.
I gave it 3.5 stars because there were a couple of elements that I cannot agree with.
I am not from the US. I'm not sure what the prevailing sentiment or behavior is in the country at the time of writing of this book. I'm not quite sure if the usage of the N-word, the racist subtext, and the sexism that Crichton portrays to be rampant in hospitals is a personal quality or an objective observation of the state of the world at that time. There are plenty of sections in this book that made me raise an eyebrow and wonder if this is really how Crichton sees the world or if this was how the world was back when he was 26 and fresh from the hospital. Despite that, it didn't make for a fun read to see how women were objectified and reduced to become supporting characters with no substance or that POCs were eitherthe victim or the perpetrator, destined to be saved or condemned by a white man .
Crichton's sketch of a hospital's lifestyle and culture was unique and eye-opening. I don't know if much is still retained today or if the overall movement of hospital culture has changed today compared to when this book was written. What I do know is that the culture in hospitals, which may not be the same for all hospitals in all countries, has a tendency to lean towards tradition. Conservative doctors are common and they are often strict, imposing, and dominating especially toward those who work under them. I have heard that surgeons are the 'hot-shot' doctors in a hospital and tend to have personalities that are more untenable to work with, idiosyncrasies that either help or hinder their own practices but are sometimes overlooked if they are as good as they say are. Or if they've been there long enough to gather enough acclaim from the industry or the hospital.
These were all shared with me by friends and friends of friends, those who actually are part of the industry and have witnessed some of these happen. It is anecdotal so I can't really say for sure if how Crichton portrayed it is a good view into the world of doctors or if it's been exaggerated to fit the narrative of a high-stakes tension-filled novel.
Overall, it's a great book to read if you're fond of medical thrillers but are not familiar with medicine or have not worked in the medical field. If you enjoyed Crichton's other works and the medical elements he uses for science-fiction, this novel shows you his expertise and understanding of medicine before he learned how to extrapolate to improve the quality of the story.
I'm ambivalent towards books with medicine and its dramas as its focus. There are so many terminologies, concepts, and lore that goes with the profession that a less skilled writer may glaze over essential details about medicine or a doctor's behaviors that we end up observing the story rather than empathizing with the protagonist. With his background in medicine, Crichton knows when to explain and when to pull back when it comes to surgical procedures and relevant medication.
A Case in Need is a great medical thriller because we are presented with the same facts that the protagonist encounters and we are given enough tools to try to piece together the entire story. Although an understanding of medicine might've helped us better grasp the severity of some events, it doesn't detract from the pacing or the importance of the story at all. Not to mention the main plot point of abortion and the arguments for it remain relevant today, despite this novel being published around 1969.
He includes footnotes and an appendix on concepts or terms that require a more in-depth explanation and I really appreciated that, since I have had no experience with some of the jargon or abbreviations that were used. It's like being let in on a secret, with a little wink and a nudge in the right direction.
I gave it 3.5 stars because there were a couple of elements that I cannot agree with.
I am not from the US. I'm not sure what the prevailing sentiment or behavior is in the country at the time of writing of this book. I'm not quite sure if the usage of the N-word, the racist subtext, and the sexism that Crichton portrays to be rampant in hospitals is a personal quality or an objective observation of the state of the world at that time. There are plenty of sections in this book that made me raise an eyebrow and wonder if this is really how Crichton sees the world or if this was how the world was back when he was 26 and fresh from the hospital. Despite that, it didn't make for a fun read to see how women were objectified and reduced to become supporting characters with no substance or that POCs were either
Crichton's sketch of a hospital's lifestyle and culture was unique and eye-opening. I don't know if much is still retained today or if the overall movement of hospital culture has changed today compared to when this book was written. What I do know is that the culture in hospitals, which may not be the same for all hospitals in all countries, has a tendency to lean towards tradition. Conservative doctors are common and they are often strict, imposing, and dominating especially toward those who work under them. I have heard that surgeons are the 'hot-shot' doctors in a hospital and tend to have personalities that are more untenable to work with, idiosyncrasies that either help or hinder their own practices but are sometimes overlooked if they are as good as they say are. Or if they've been there long enough to gather enough acclaim from the industry or the hospital.
These were all shared with me by friends and friends of friends, those who actually are part of the industry and have witnessed some of these happen. It is anecdotal so I can't really say for sure if how Crichton portrayed it is a good view into the world of doctors or if it's been exaggerated to fit the narrative of a high-stakes tension-filled novel.
Overall, it's a great book to read if you're fond of medical thrillers but are not familiar with medicine or have not worked in the medical field. If you enjoyed Crichton's other works and the medical elements he uses for science-fiction, this novel shows you his expertise and understanding of medicine before he learned how to extrapolate to improve the quality of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Abortion
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt