Customer Reviews

Twice Dying

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Twice Dying, a suspense-filled debut novel begins as Carroll Monks, emergency room physician, finds a special gift left in his car from an old flame, Alison Chapley. Alison, a psychiatrist, living on the edge, has become concerned that her boss, Dr. Francis Jephson, is recruiting and coaching dangerous sociopaths so that they will be found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to his mental facility. Once there, he miraculously "cures" these men in a very short time and sends them back out into society. He receives prestige. His facility receives money and grants. What happens next will keep you reading all night long. This is a dark, compelling, page turner you won't be able to put down. The writing is very gritty, the dialogue, true to life and the characters, interesting, though they could have been fleshed out a bit more. The ending is a big surprise that will keep you on the edge of your seat. A good first novel that's easily read in one sitting. Hopefully, this isn't the last we see of Carroll Monks.

I was a bit disappointed when I received this book in the mail. I'm used to 400 page novels and this was just barely over 200pgs. But was I WRONG! wow, this book just picked up the pace and tone from the very first to the last page. I was hooked from the beginning and kept trying to unravel the plot. But it was just written superbly! The author was very informative with medicine, such as ER with Carroll Monks and Alison Chapley's path with psychiatry.

This novel packs a wallop despite the 200pages! Absolutey must read!

Dr. Carroll Monks works in the emergency room of San Francisco Mercy Hospital. He is a dedicated and responsible physician, but Carroll remains lonely. However, his loneliness ends when Dr. Alison Chapley reenters his life. Carroll shared a brief fling years ago with his colleague, who provides consulting services to the notorious Clevenger Hospital, home of dangerous murderers who have pleaded "not guilty by reason of insanity" (NGI). Founder Dr. Francis Jephson runs the NGI program but doesn't allow Alison to him help him.

Dr. Jephson places sociopaths in his program by labeling them as schizophrenics or manic-depressives. He treats his patients for two years before discharging them as being cured. Thus, cold-blooded killers stalk the streets of San Francisco and other cities waiting for the chance to murder again. Alison once revered Dr. Jephson but now wants the dangerous program ended and asks Carroll to help her attain evidence that will do just that. Unbeknownst to the two physicians, an unknown assailant awaits in the shadows with a strategic plan that includes the pair.

In a relatively short novel, Neil McMahon provides quite a powerful left hook to the gut of lovers who demand high quality psychological suspense thrillers. The seemingly straightforward plot spins into a totally unexpected but clever and welcome path that will shock but please the audience. TWICE DYING stars an interesting protagonist who alternately will receive pity and warmth as his obvious flaws make him feel like a friend. The intense story line is dark, chilling, and belies the fact that this is Mr. McMahon's debut novel. Anyone who enjoys an intense medical thriller with legal overtones will relish this terrific tale.

Harriet Klausner

I just loved this book. It's creepy, suspenseful and extremely well written. The plot involves NGIs (people who can't be found guilty because their crimes have been committed out of insanity), a physician (Carroll Monks) and a psychiatrist (Alison Chapley). Those two team up to get behind this freaky scheme that seems to be going on at the NGI psychiatry ward Alison works in. She thinks her boss deliberately lets NGIs go before they are actually healed and thus lets loose some of the most brutal and screwed-up criminals on an unsuspecting world. But is it really only her boss hatching this plan or is there something much more creepy and more gory out there?

Find your darkest nightmares on the page and enjoy!

The guy, Monks is an ER physician and the woman is a shrink (Alison) in a psych ward, and theyre both damaged goods, but still good characters, so when the twisted business starts--somebody is killing sickos, and Alison finds out--yuo really matter what happens to them. The writing is lean and the ER scenes are EXCELLENT, the best Ive read. No this isn't a medical thriller, believe it or not--more like james Lee Burke. They should bring Monks back for another time, he's good.

A great combination of medical thriller, murder mystery and non-stop action. The characters are wonderfully developed and incredibly real. It's a must read and I highly anticipate reading more about the adventures of Dr. Monk.

The would be good guys in this story were not all that interesting and/or good. The bad guys were NGI's (Not guilty by reason of insanity) and they were being released from their hospital back to an unsuspecting society. Phychologist, Alison Chapley, who works at the hospital heads back to an old lover for help in solving the mysterious disappearances of the inmates that have been released. The ex-lover, an emergency room doctor with his own problems is drawn back to Alison. Their original relationship was less than admirable. The reviews on this book were good; I seem to be the lone voice who didn't think much of it.

Here's a book that takes off at a gallop from the first page and never lets up. Dr. Carroll Monks is a well-developed, wonderfully weary, completely believable character and I hope we'll get to see more of him. I did, fairly early on, twig to the plot but it's a credit to Mr. McMahon's writing skills that I was still driven to read on and find out how he carried it off. He did it very well indeed.

A great thriller-mystery (it's got both a serial killer AND amain guy who spends time alone at home w/ his cats!) but the biggestsurprise of all was how the sexual tension betw. 2 x-lovers builds & feels dangerous and real. THe writing's great, nothing wasted but still evocative. END

A female shrink finds out that her boss is taking bribes and declaring criminals to be "not guilty by reason of insanity" when in fact they aren't criminally insane at all. She comes to her friend (an ER doctor) for help when she discovers that as soon as these violent offenders are released back into society someone is killing them.
Good medical thriller that isn't too medically technical. Enjoyable reading