Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell 2009 Back Bay Books
A few things bothered me about this book from the get-go. First of all, you see on the front cover that it is a national bestseller. Open the book and the first page is glossy with drawings and one-line positive reviews like "Completely outrageous...Genuinely entertaining - New York Times Book Review". Then the publisher offers us a section called Applause for Beat the Reaper - 5 pages worth. By this point I figured there was a movie deal so I googled: it is rumoured that Leonardo diCaprio will star in the film. Back to the book. I noted the novel has 304 pages but there are lots more pages in the book. What's that all about? Well, first there's a warning page. Next there are two pages of acknowledgments followed by a page for About the Author. Then we have a reading group guide. This starts with a conversation with Josh Bazell (4 pages), and is followed by Questions and Topics for Discussion. (3 pages). Then we have Josh Bazell's suggestions for Further Reading. This has sections: 22 great crime novels;22 great true crime books; 6 great novels about science or medicine; 6 great nonfiction books about science of medicine; and 9 great comedic novels. The publisher puts Mr. Bazell's name directly into the company of all kinds of great authors.
As you might imagine, I was ready to release this one into the wild unread. I can handle being marketed to, but you don't have to hammer me over the head, thank you very much. The only problem was that I decided to read the first few pages. The book is a page turner. It's about a former mafia hit-man in the witness protection program who becomes a doctor. It's all plot but I have to admit, it's terrific plot. The story bounces back and forth between what is happening today, right now, and events of the past that inform today's events. There's lots of interesting medical stuff thrown in to spice it up.
Beat the Reaper is really solid crime fiction. It's a fast junk read and I lapped it up. I would say that if you like a really tasty crime novel, you'll really enjoy it. It's comedic in parts, gritty in others, and is laced with plenty of tough-guy cynicism. Delicious.
2 comments:
Does the author deserve to be in the "company of all kinds of great authors"? I might pick this up if I can find it at the library. It sounds like the kind of book I'd enjoy right now.
He's not Jim Thomson and he's not Raymond Chandler. He's good though. It's been a while since I read a book that propelled me through it the way this one did. There are a few unpleasant parts, so I would say it isn't for the squeamish, but if you can get past that, and you like crime fiction, I think you'll like this one.
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