Customer Reviews

The Syndrome

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I received this book from amazon.com yesterday. Last night, I intended to read just enough to find out the story line...boy, was I WRONG! Four hours later, I turned the last page and breathed a sigh of relief. I'm really sleepy at work today, but I'm happy to report that this 3rd novel by John Case (synonym for a husband/wife writing team) has lost none of the snap, crackle and pop of the first two (THE GENESIS CODE and THE FOURTH HORSEMAN).

I liked the characters in this book and thought the psychological aspect of the story was well-presented. John Case is poised to take a seat next to the best thriller writers. The stories are current, compelling and raise the hair on the back of my neck.

Enjoy!

As with the two previous novels this husband and wife team has written, this book starts off with a bang that carries the reader away in a tsunami wave of unbelievably and seemingly unconnected events. However, once the suspense climax is reached and the sinister plot puzzled out, the authors have a hard time keeping the reader's adrenaline pumping at the same heart wrenching pace. Somehow, the actual scene where McBride enacts his revenge seems trivial, a necessary part of the story, but one the reader flies through with the hope that there is a twist that will topple what he already believes to be true and again skyurocket his manufacture of adrenaline.

I read this book while traveling via plane; it is more than adequate to keep one's attention, the premise and the facts gathered to offer the denouement are plausible and sufficiently sinister to make one wonder where and when such events actually occur. I will read another John Case thriller in the future.

A young man doing research in Zurich walks into his supervisor's office and gives a detailed report of the project he has been working on, minutes later he is drugged, on an operating table, and had the skin removed from his face so the doctors can work on his brain.

Years later in Florida, a young woman, Nico, enters her hotel room, and from the balcony she shoots, and kills an elderly man on the ground below.

Returning home, Nico goes to see her psychologist, Dr Jeff Duran, a cutting edge psychologist who uses hypnosis to have patients re-live disturbing traumas from their past.

After her session, Nico goes home, watches television, takes a bath, and kills herself!

Adrienne Cope, Nico's half sister, blames Dr. Duran for her sister's suicide, claiming the Doctor put twisted thoughts of sexual abuse into her head. Nico remembers, as a child, her step father sexualy abusing her, and her two sisters, resulting in the one sister's death. Adrienne has no memory of this, and swears it did not happen.

Explaining to Adrienne his work technics, Duran, is in for a tough time, but none so tough as what he is about to be thrust into...as an unknown assailant enters his office and tries to kill both Andrienne, and himself.

Not knowing who was the target, Duran, and Adrienne will have to rely on each other, and work together to find out who wants them dead, and why? Also, the pair must find out why Nico killed the man in Florida, and what is the link to the researcher from Zurich. To find these answers, the pair will have to uncover secrets from Duran's own past, secrets he himself is NOT aware of!

Duran, and Adrienne discover this conspiracy reaches around the world, and underneath it all is a sinister plot that could change the course of history.

'The Syndrome' is a heart stopping thriller, that grabs hold on page one, and doesn't let go until the explosive climax. With well drawn characters, carefully constructed plot, and one shock after another 'The Syndrome' succeeds on every level of being an entertaining read.

John case is the bestselling author of 'The Genesis Code', and no doubt this new novel will sky rocket up the bestseller lists as well.

Put this book on your must read list, it is an absolute page-turning beach read!

Nick Gonnella

The night I bought the book I immediately went home and began to read it. And could not put it down. I finally finished it at 4 in the morning, and immediately wanted to read it again. BTW go to the website and, if you can figure it out it will be well worth your while.

Q

Over the years, I have read so many books that as time passes, plots, characters, and even authors begin to blend together into a pool of anonymous fiction. "The Syndrome" by John Case, however is not one of those works. From the moment that I picked it up until the final page I amazed at the author's ability to create characters so realistic that I felt as though I were a part of the story, as a sideline observer. In the past, I had always thought that the ideas of "mind control" and "false memories" were preposterous and out of the question, but now, I'm not so sure....This, I believe, is the true test of a great author. Bravo, Mr. Case, for making my "Best of the Best" List!!!

John Case, now revealed to be the pseudonym for a husband and wife (Jim & Carolyn Hougan) writing team, can really knock you off your seat.
If you are looking for thriller's that come at you from a completely different angle (let's call it the educated angle for both the Hougan's are writer's, having released solo works, but Jim is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post which definitely gives him an inside look at many oddities that most people don't see), look no further. I have been reading the John Case books in order of release and have yet to be dissapointed. Both of the first 2 books (The First Horseman, The Genesis Code) were great, and Case has raised the bar once again.
This story about a psychologist that (hint # 1, suffers from agoraphobia and is acutely attuned with electronic devices) discovers that his life is not what it seems after one of his clients commits suicide. He is suddenly thrust in to a race for his life and that of his not-so-happy-to-be-included companion (the sister of the suicide victim) who is holding him personally responsible for her sister's death.
Both quickly realize that they are involved in a hidden plot to cover up something. They can't trust anyone, they can't trust each other, and worst of all, they learn that they can't trust themselves; but they are forced to work together to come to an amazing discovery about a conspiracy that is far-reaching and controlled by global powers.
The book is a taut thriller. It will have you hooked by the end of the epilogue. From Chapter 1 on, it is a spiraling death ride in which you, the reader, can see the future (knowing slightly more than the characters), but still can't figure out how the people all tie together.
By far the best John Case book yet which leaves me very excited, and a little nervous because I have several more books by Case to read, but I have not been disappointed since the first book.
John Case, or Jim & Carolyn Hougan, have a special gift for taking very real, very scary, very possible situations and making them in to scary books that make you think twice about who you can trust.
As I have found with the other 2 Case novels that I have read, the scariest thing about this book is that it is possible, most likely probable, and if you are a conspiracy theorist, definitely happening even as I type this review.
I will read all books by John Case and then I will move on to the works by the individuals, the husband and wife known as John Case. They have earned my lifelong dedication as a reader.
WELL DONE, ONCE AGAIN!

First off, as another reviewer pointed out, "John Case" is just a pseudonym for writer Jim Hougan and his wife. Using his real name, Hougan wrote another thriller called KINGDOM COME which is one my favorites of the last several years. Definitely get that one if you haven't already.

And I have to say, it's better than this one. I thought THE SYNDROME was a decent enough read, but nothing spectacular. Interesting ideas that aren't developed into anything more. And I found myself constantly irritated by the characters' lack of worry -- big obvious clues turn up that things are amiss, yet the characters either dismiss or ignore them (I guess a forced way to maintain 'suspense'?)

But there isn't much suspense, because Case made a major mistake with his opening prologue. He gave it all away. If he had just left that part out, the story which followed would have been a lot more mysterious. As it is, the reader is always several steps ahead of the characters and pretty much knows what it's all about.

Not a good sign in a suspense-thriller. I'd recommned you pick up KINGDOME COME before this one. Then try Case's first book, GENESIS CODE, but avoid his second, FIRST HORSEMAN. That had the same kind of half-developed quality this one has.

One last thing - this book features a plot-point involving a website. Try logging onto it -- fun stuff (but remember that access wasn't obvious in the book nor is it in real life).

The Syndrome is an excellent novel, full of thrills and chills! I spent one whole day (and into the night) reading this novel, I couldn't put it down. John Case has written an exciting story, part spy thriller, part mystery, part romance, all the elements necessary for a spell-binding, edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting read. It is obvious that Mr. Case's considerable knowledge of his chosen topic (also clearly demonstrated in The Genesis Code and The First Horseman) has allowed him to once again write a very realistic and "scary" novel. I highly recommend The Syndrome.

Dean Koontz wrote a book called "False Memory" that introduced us to mind control through hypnosis. Using a Manchurian Candidate premise, it even used that book as a source of control. The husband and wife team that write together as "John Case" have given us a mind control story that uses mind control through technology as its premise. Very similar, and yet very different, from the Koontz book. In both cases, those under control have false memories, but in this book they even have false lives. Imagine being convinced that you graduated from Brown and did post-grad work at Wisconsin, only to find out that you didn't. Imagine going to a high school reunion where nobody knows who you are. Then to find out that your own name - or what you believe to be your name - winds up on a tombstone years earlier.

Adrienne Cope investigates her sister Nico's suicide and it leads her to her sister's therapist, Jeffrey Duran. Only, as she finds out, all that glitters is not gold as Jeff, you see, isn't really "Jeff". One things leads to another and Adrienne, after finding a rifle in her sister's "effects" and realizing that "assasin" might be one Nico's false personalities, teams up with Jeff and they go from Washington to New York to Florida to Switzerland in pursuit of the group that initiates this Syndrome.

Keep your seat belt buckled for non-stop action. You'll learn some extra benefits along the way, such as how to get out of a strait jacket and what pieces of skull are like falling from the ceiling onto the financial pages of Neue Zurcher Zeitung. You can't beat that! Characterization is great, too. You can see the change in both tone and language from Jeff Duran to Lew McBride.

So why not 5 stars? I hate to be picky, but one character, when referring to the death of a gumshoe named Eddie Bonilla, refers to him as Bobby Bonilla. Bobby B. is a baseball player, alive and well thank you, not a deceased fictional hit man. Also, one of the characters, when talking about Pope John Paul I, says he was "...poisoned after Vatican II". Well, John Paul I died in 1979 while Vatican II took place in the early '60s. It's almost like my saying that my teenage daughter was born after the Korean War. Still, such minor gaffs, and a somewhat blah ending, don't deter from a roaring good ride on the Syndrome express. Enjoy.

The bottom line is that if you want to be swept up into a book quickly, get lost in it, and have a satisfying conclusion, this is for you.

A sinister Swiss clinic, neural implants, assination plots of major world leaders, psychology at its worst and frustrated lawyers all combine to lend themselves to an eeringly plausible thriller that will kinock your socks off and scare you out of your wits.

Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down, and stayed up all night to finish. This is not the most well-written fiction out there, but the prose is snappy and engaging. The characters are well drawn and the plot is, well, well-plotted.

I wouldn't waste your time if I really didn't enjoy this book. Check it out for yourself. You won't be disappointed.