A Case of Need

Not Mr Cricghton's Best Work

First, let me say I was a Michael Crichton fan and an avid listener of his later works. Second, I'm glad I never encountered this early work because it might have put me off reading his later and much better works. The constant use of footnotes explaining the medical jargon that permeated the first part of the book was jarring. The book was written in 1968 and is more about abortion than actual detective work. Most definitely not a thriller.

If you're not familiar with Crichton's works, don't let this one discourage you from reading his later works. You'll be missing out on a great writer if you do that.

Nick Podehi was excellent with the delivery of the story

15 people found this helpful

A Case Of Need

As a OB- GYN nurse for 33+ years, this book was right down my alley.
I found it very enthralling and interesting, I especially liked all of the appendix info at the end!!!!! Good job!!!! 💐

8 people found this helpful

Interesting in unexpected ways

This is one of the early Michael Crichton books he wrote as a med student, but it's clear that his talent for novel writing (the structure and language) is there already. His books zip along with interest and speed, without being too light and frivolous, and without being too heavy and ponderous. Good beach reads, and that's a talent of it's own.

The facts and social opinions of the day are dated and/or outmoded.....pre- Roe vs Wade and the national discussion on abortion, doctors' wives who keep homes, raise children, and gossip with each other, almost everyone smoked (including doctors), and doctors were referred to as almost exclusively male (as was the case in the late 60s, when med students were still 90% male). Still, I find that doesn't matter much to my enjoyment of the book.......none of those things really impact the narrative or the plot of the book except for the hesitancy of people to discuss abortions.

I found some unexpected things to be very interesting - the argument that the one of reason abortions were illegal was that they were relatively safe, and that if the morbidity and mortality rate were higher, there would be more pressure to allow them to be done (and obtained) legally. Also the depiction of how doctors truly do make the worst patients, and how doctors use language, knowledge, and a "one of the guys" code to protect themselves. Oh, and that it seemed everyone, including doctors, smoked.

Listen to the appendices - there's some interesting information and insight that Michael Crichton probably wanted to include but couldn't find a way -- but it's still very interesting.

8 people found this helpful

Classic

One of my very first Michael Crichton books. I've read it twice and really enjoyed listening to it. The narrator made it so vivid for me again like I was just reading it for the first time.

4 people found this helpful

Not too bad

I listened, and I did truly enjoy it. It wasn't a struggle to listen. It wasn't unputdownable. I was glad when it was over. Overall, a mediocre Crichton.
It's difficult to say why I didn't like it as much as I usually like a Crichton, but I'll try.
There's very little real action. It's all detective work. So it's a detective story, not truly a "thriller". (But okay, I can live with that. Higashino wrote pure detective work, without a character so much as running, and I rated Suspect X as perhaps the best book on Audible.)
Unfortunately, the detective work is done by a pathologist. Now if this detective work had been done in the path lab, it could have risen to the level of brilliant. Unfortunately, this was done on the streets, so it could only rise to the level of ordinary.
The plot was nice.
So while the book was interesting, it never became VERY interesting.
Still, I never felt like I'd wasted a credit.

3 people found this helpful

Enjoyable read

I felt like it started a bit slow, and some places were still slow, but it was a very interesting story.

a medical thriller

perhaps not up to the author's usual standards of suspenseful action. did pose interesting questions in the epilogue.

Old

This is very dated Muchael Crichton. Many story lines might not be so impacted, but it was very distracting for me.

A relevant tale of need even for today.

Dated but a telling product of its time and a window into a different era in modern medicine. I also thought the narrator was ingeniously skilled with the myriad of voices he created for the characters. Quite the range! I thoroughly enjoyed it to the end including all the appendices.

Too outdated

I couldn't finish this book. I thought the narrator sounded too fake, too dramatic. The story was definitely very outdated... it goes back to a time when bosses called their secretaries "sweetheart" and asked them to get them coffee.