Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
I liked this story, but I had to agree with Coben's "Note from the Author" that it wasn't his best. It was interesting to read it, though, if for no other reason than to see a take on the AIDS crisis when it was in its first years of having become a "crisis."
Good story and a quick listen. Nothing groundbreaking or spectacular, but fun.
Clearly one of Cohen's earlier books. Lacks the depths of later works. But, as a "collector" I want to read them all and it seems as entertaining enough to finish.
Had to re-check this book out of the library 3 times and I still didn't finish it. Time to move on.
This is both the actual second novel from Harlan Coben and the second one to be re-released as a paperback. Initially published in 1991, Miracle Cure was reprinted in 2011, complete with a suggestion by Coben to first-time readers that they should pick up one of his later books instead.
There's something to that. Even more than his first novel, Play Dead, which was also reprinted some 20 years later, Miracle Cure is a product of its time. It focuses on a clinic whose research offers promising signs of a complete cure for the AIDS virus. Today, as different drug treatments allow persons with HIV to live many years beyond their original diagnosis, both the idea of the AIDS cure being a "breakthrough" and the stigma and mystery surrounding the disease seem a little mystifying themselves.
A secretive clinic may have indeed discovered the cure for the virus, but the three patients whose clinical results seem to prove it works have been viciously murdered. One of the researchers has committed suicide...or has he? Reporter Sara Lowell and her husband, NBA star Michael Silverman, are pulled into the matter when her network does a story on the clinic and Michael himself is diagnosed with HIV (Cure was in fact published before Magic Johnson went public with his own diagnosis in late 1991). Will the killer now target Michael, even if the treatment cures him? Will the powerful forces opposing the clinic's goal go too far in their prejudiced and misguided efforts? What secrets are the clinic staff themselves keeping?
Coben's disclaimer note on the reprint suggests that Miracle Cure is preachy, and boy howdy is he right. Several times we stop the story in order for different characters to offer Important Commentary on the real-world equivalents of some of its own events, such as prejudice against people with HIV, bigotry by those who see the virus's early isolation to gay men and IV drug abusers as a kind of Biblical judgment, and so on. Other than its protagonists, Cure offers a cast of cardboard cutouts, such as the Important Senator With a Secret, the Man-Hungry Hot Babe Who Gets Too Close to the Action for Her Own Good, the Close-Minded Religious Leader Whose Public Piety Covers His Greed and Hatred and the Vicious Killer With an Odd Character Quirk (he's really into clothes and his appearance).
But when he isn't stopping to sermonize, Coben deploys these standard pieces with the style and skill his later readers would grow to appreciate, and he keeps his story humming in between lectures. His focus on family and relationships is already apparent, and he also already had his knack for using them in his narratives. Read in 1991, Miracle Cure probably would have put Coben on the "give him a couple more chances" list. Read twenty years later, it's an interesting look at both the upside and downside of what he would be doing over the course of his career.
Original available here.
There's something to that. Even more than his first novel, Play Dead, which was also reprinted some 20 years later, Miracle Cure is a product of its time. It focuses on a clinic whose research offers promising signs of a complete cure for the AIDS virus. Today, as different drug treatments allow persons with HIV to live many years beyond their original diagnosis, both the idea of the AIDS cure being a "breakthrough" and the stigma and mystery surrounding the disease seem a little mystifying themselves.
A secretive clinic may have indeed discovered the cure for the virus, but the three patients whose clinical results seem to prove it works have been viciously murdered. One of the researchers has committed suicide...or has he? Reporter Sara Lowell and her husband, NBA star Michael Silverman, are pulled into the matter when her network does a story on the clinic and Michael himself is diagnosed with HIV (Cure was in fact published before Magic Johnson went public with his own diagnosis in late 1991). Will the killer now target Michael, even if the treatment cures him? Will the powerful forces opposing the clinic's goal go too far in their prejudiced and misguided efforts? What secrets are the clinic staff themselves keeping?
Coben's disclaimer note on the reprint suggests that Miracle Cure is preachy, and boy howdy is he right. Several times we stop the story in order for different characters to offer Important Commentary on the real-world equivalents of some of its own events, such as prejudice against people with HIV, bigotry by those who see the virus's early isolation to gay men and IV drug abusers as a kind of Biblical judgment, and so on. Other than its protagonists, Cure offers a cast of cardboard cutouts, such as the Important Senator With a Secret, the Man-Hungry Hot Babe Who Gets Too Close to the Action for Her Own Good, the Close-Minded Religious Leader Whose Public Piety Covers His Greed and Hatred and the Vicious Killer With an Odd Character Quirk (he's really into clothes and his appearance).
But when he isn't stopping to sermonize, Coben deploys these standard pieces with the style and skill his later readers would grow to appreciate, and he keeps his story humming in between lectures. His focus on family and relationships is already apparent, and he also already had his knack for using them in his narratives. Read in 1991, Miracle Cure probably would have put Coben on the "give him a couple more chances" list. Read twenty years later, it's an interesting look at both the upside and downside of what he would be doing over the course of his career.
Original available here.
Would have been 4 stars if I hadn't guessed who the bad guy was almost immediately.
Miracle Cure is a book revolving around a Couple. The Man, Micheal Silverman, is a renown basketball player with the NY Nicks and his wife, Sara Lowell, is a popular TV Network news reporter. Their family, friends and acquaintances all seem to be connected to a conspiracy involving serial murders, lies, suicides and other such gruesome acts all apparently related to a top secret AIDS clinic.
Miracle Cure is an old book having first been published in 1991. It was brought back into print last year As a result, a lot of the issues addressed in the book have a dated outlook to them.
For one, the AIDS pandemic was much less widespread at the time and was mostly limited to Gay men and intravenous drug addicts. As a result, attention of the medical community to the disease was minimal.
A lot of societal issues were raised in such a masterful manner in this book that it did not hinder the story telling. You therefore get an excellent story, as well as education, albeit dated, into the goings on of the medical world in terms of AIDS and other pertinent issues.
What I liked the most about this book is the suspense. It is so thick that it can be cut with a knife. The suspense is also consistent throughout the book. As a matter of fact, you do not fully grasp what is going on until the final pages of the book. You might be able to accurately guess at some what is going on, but with the way the story is told, I believe it is almost impossible to figure it all out and when it is finally revealed, you'll just go aaah! as you realize how much sense it all makes.
Miracle Cure is one of those books that you might not want to put down once you pick it up. Thankfully, its relatively small and would amount to a quick read, and so not eat up all your hours of productivity.
I wholly recommend this book and if you can look past its dated nature and some of the touchy issues it addresses, you are in for a very enjoyable read!.
Miracle Cure is an old book having first been published in 1991. It was brought back into print last year As a result, a lot of the issues addressed in the book have a dated outlook to them.
For one, the AIDS pandemic was much less widespread at the time and was mostly limited to Gay men and intravenous drug addicts. As a result, attention of the medical community to the disease was minimal.
A lot of societal issues were raised in such a masterful manner in this book that it did not hinder the story telling. You therefore get an excellent story, as well as education, albeit dated, into the goings on of the medical world in terms of AIDS and other pertinent issues.
What I liked the most about this book is the suspense. It is so thick that it can be cut with a knife. The suspense is also consistent throughout the book. As a matter of fact, you do not fully grasp what is going on until the final pages of the book. You might be able to accurately guess at some what is going on, but with the way the story is told, I believe it is almost impossible to figure it all out and when it is finally revealed, you'll just go aaah! as you realize how much sense it all makes.
Miracle Cure is one of those books that you might not want to put down once you pick it up. Thankfully, its relatively small and would amount to a quick read, and so not eat up all your hours of productivity.
I wholly recommend this book and if you can look past its dated nature and some of the touchy issues it addresses, you are in for a very enjoyable read!.
It was an OK read, didn't like so much. But whoa didn't see that ending coming
'twas "meh" but was also easy and mindless, which was exactly what I wanted right now. So excited to want to really dive into good, hearty books once grad school is over in May