Customer Reviews

Bloodstream: A Novel of Medical Suspense

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As someone who's read all of Ms. Gerritsen's romantic mysteries and medical thrillers, "Bloodstream" was a true thrill. This is the book I've been waiting for her to write, to show mainstream readers what she's capable of. I actually bought it last September, but put off reading it because I was worried about being disappointed again. I shouldn't have worried. Unlike the painfully predictable "Harvest" (apparently my review was so negative Amazon refused to post it) or the relentlessly depressing "Life Support," "Bloodstream" is a tense, engrossing read that never reveals too much of its hand and always keeps you on the edge of your seat. It never fails to shock, and the hospital scenes and science at its core give it a solid grounding in reality that's impossible to ignore. Real characters and understandable dilemmas add extra dimension to the tale. My only concern was that the ending was awfully abrupt (was I the only one who wanted to know what would happen to the town, the reaction of the townspeople, etc. after everything?), and yes, the worms were a bit much (why do parasites always turn out to look like worms?). For anyone looking for truly spine-tingling, can't-put-it-down escapist entertainment, this is the one for you. Ms. Gerritsen, welcome back.

I bought this book used and written inside the front cover was "Exceptional! 8/2/00." I agree. The first six pages give you an inkling of how you will feel as the story progresses.

The characters are well defined and the physical setting reminds me of a place where I spent my childhood summers and some winter holidays in upstate New York. Remembering the polio epidemic and later times from illnesses said to have been caused by goose droppings or septic overflows made it difficult for me to separate fact from fiction. Even the attitude of the local doctor was a reminder of something that had tragic consequences in our family.

There were times when I held my breath and times when I actually gasped as I was reading this book. Occasionally, it does get unpleasantly descriptive but hang in there because it's worth it to get the picture of what is going on.

I started reading medical thrillers a few years ago. I started with Michael Crichton, then onto Robin Cook and Michael Palmer. Tess Gerritsen has entered the rankings of a top medical thriller author. I love this book! The rural settings, the characters, and the plot come together for a riveting ride! I highly recommend this book!

Bloodstream, by Tess Gerritsen, is an awesome book. It is about a mother and son who move to a new town called Tranquility after the tragic death of their husband and father. The mother is the new town physician.
After about eight months of living there, very weird things start to happen. A virus starts to infect the blood of the younger teenagers who later go berserk and kill or hurt other people. For instance, one boy who is infected goes to school, shoots and kills a teacher, and shoots two other kids.
Later on, the doctor's son is infected and goes psycho. She puts him in the hospital to have tests run, to see what is wrong. The tests come back normal, so the reason for kids going berserk is still unknown.
I like this book because the descriptions of the events are good. It tells exact details of every incident that occurs. Booklist calls it "a fascinating, well crafted, fast-paced medical thriller" with "a crdible, creditable ending."
Another book the author has written is Harvest, which I plan to read next. I've heard from some of my classmates that this is as good as Bloodstream.

This book is very unusual. I found it very difficult to get through the first 100 pages because the horror aspects were so gruesome and seemingly gratuitous. Then the plot seemed to be pointless. But a medical emergency scene came in that was quite good, and then another. After a few hundred pages, the plot got better and the horror less gruesome. The final 50 pages were absorbing to read. This makes grading difficult. I gave the beginning a one-star, the end a four-star, the medical emergencies a five-star, and the bulk of the dialogue and portrayal of the town of Tranquility, Maine a one-star. Unless you are dying for a horror-medical mystery, I suggest you skip this one. Ms. Gerritsen can write emergency room scenes quite well, but regular dialogue is difficult for her to do smoothly and make interesting. There's a lot more dialogue in this book than emergency room scenes.

Dr. Claire Elliott moves to Tranquility, Maine with her teenage son, Noah, to get away from the evils of the big city, Baltimore. She soon finds that she is shunned as an outsider, assumed to be incompetent, losing patients and money, and unable to make headway against a mystery disease. All of this seems to tie together into something that has been going on for hundreds of years. What is it?

The conflicts between the characters are pretty predicatable, so it is impressive that Ms. Gerritsen can keep the mystery working through the obvious plot complications and setbacks. You can figure out the mystery though. There are many clues, decently scattered at large intervals along the way, but it is a fairly interesting premise as medical mysteries go. The medical mystery solution made me glad that I finished the book.

After you read this book, you should think about what you can do to be more friendly and cooperative with other people. Many chances to have a more beneficial and positive relationship are lost when both sides aren't open enough. Assume the best about the other person's motives and competence, and you'll be pleasantly surprised to find out how often you are correct.

Build a better world, one relationship at a time!

For those who fancy their thrillers fraught with forensic detail and mixed with medical information best-selling author Tess Gerritsen (Harvest and Life Support) has proffered another page turner.

Heroine Dr. Clair Elliot is attempting to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. Her predicament and the challenges that follow are vividly traced by champion voice performer Jan Maxwell.

Primary in Clair's mind is her 14-year-old son, Noah. It is with his good in mind that she chooses a small town, Tranquility, Maine, as the perfect spot to relocate. There, she reasons her impressionable son will be removed from the potentially damaging influences of big city Baltimore.

We mentioned that the name of the town is "Tranquility" - what a misnomer! It's not long before teenage violence is running rampant through these once quiet streets. It seems that such an episode occurs once every half century. What causes this, could the culprit be a supernatural force?

Claire works in tandem with the local police chief in order to solve this mystery.

Another home run for author Gerritsen and one more listenable chiller for audio audiences.

- Gail Cooke

Bloodstream takes place in a small town in Maine where every 50 years the teenagers in the town become extremely violent for no apparent reason. Dr. Claire Elliott, recently arrived with her teenage son from the big city of Baltimore after the death of her husband, suspects that there is a biological cause for the epidemic of violence and is determined to find it no matter the risk to her life if she continues to search for the truth.

Overall, I didn't find Bloodstream quite as gripping as Life Support, also by Gerritsen, which is the main reason I gave it three stars instead of four, but it is still well worth reading.

Dr. Claire Elliot has moved from Baltimore to the small village of Tranquility, Maine to make sure that her adolescent son does not get into trouble. However, what is gets is not exactly "tranquility": after a wet spring and a warm summer autumn arrives and all the teenagers in the village seem to go berserk: there is violence everywhere and the reason for it is totally unclear at first. In addition, the locals do not trust the "outsider" Claire and that only gets worse when she tries to convince the population that the problem is coming from one of their main income-generating landmarks. Finally, she finds the solution, but it nearly costs her all that is dear to her.

A good book: the suspense slowly builds up and the possible solutions keep coming up and being turned down all through the book. Comparable to such medical detective authors as Robin Cook.

This is the first book by Tess Gerritsen that I read. After much soul searching I have decided that I love this author! Must be why I pick up a copy of her books as soon as they hit the market.

This is a story about a doctor (Claire) and her son (Noah) who move to a small town in Maine as they try to rebuild their lives after the death of Claire's husband and Noah's father. Claire is the outsider trying to establish her medical practice and sees an outbreak of violence among the juveniles in town. She feels there's a biological reason for the violence and is met with skepticism. Many of the locals are trying to cover everything up, including the history of a similar outbreak 42 years before. As Claire struggles for answers to these questions, she also struggles with rebuilding a relationship with her son.

This story has a little bit of everything -- romance, intrigue, mystery and medical thriller subjects. Gerritsen shows a tremendous amount of skill in pulling most of the sub-plots together in a way that doesn't leave the reader wondering why they are on a bumpy road type of book. There are a few loose ends that she doesn't tie up that does leave the reader wondering who and why.

Bloodstream is definitely a smooth ride and a very enjoyable book. I agree that this is definitely an author to add to your reading list!

I have read Harvest and Life Support by Gerritsen, and I was anxiously waiting for this to be released. I was just as impressed with this novel as I was with her others. I love her medical thrillers and I can't wait for her next one. I have read a ton of books in this genre - Patricia Cornwall, Michael Palmer, Kathy Reichs, etc. - and Gerritsen is my favorite. If you haven't read anything from her yet, you will be in love with her writing once you do.