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Remains Silent (Jake Rosen & Manny Manfreda #1)
When a body is found beneath a construction site near the Catskill Mountains, New York City deputy chief medical examiner Jake Rosen is called to the scene, where he meets his match: Philomena “Manny” Manfreda, a beautiful crusading attorney. Together they stumble upon a decades-old mystery involving a long-shuttered mental institution, shocking medical experiments, and a...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
September 26th 2006
by Vintage
(first published 2005)
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When a trio of skeletons are unearthed at the construction site of a shopping mall, NYC medical examiner Jake Rosen is called to the scene in hopes that he'll label the remains as too ancient for legal action. Of course that doesn't happen, despite specific threats from the developers. When the bodies are found to be former mental patients at a nearby mental hospital, Jake calls attorney Manny Manfreda to help relatives decide if a lawsuit is in order. Jake and Manny are soon swept into an inves...more
This book had a lot of potential, and I read it mainly because it sounded like it could really be along the lines of the Kay Scarpetta books.
I guess the word that could really describe this would be 'unsophisticated'. It was almost as if you were reading the pitch for this book and not the actual book. The rough outline. The character development was pretty lazy, and there was no real build-up...the portions that were supposed to leave you breathless barely registered a change in heart-rate.
I h...more
I guess the word that could really describe this would be 'unsophisticated'. It was almost as if you were reading the pitch for this book and not the actual book. The rough outline. The character development was pretty lazy, and there was no real build-up...the portions that were supposed to leave you breathless barely registered a change in heart-rate.
I h...more
This extremely thin book is disappointing in that it degenerates into the old “blame the mean old U.S. government for running cruel and illegal experiments on human beings” plot gimmick. There was a decent plot twist at the end in that Jake’s (Baden’s) best friend Pete was involved in the experiments, and that Pete’s daughter Elizabeth was, too, and actually killed (by poison) her father. The dialogue was pedestrian, and the female protagonist (Manny) was given to italicized thoughts interjected...more
This book takes the gruesome forensic details we see on CSI and Bones and combines it with the lawyers from Law and Order, throws in the main character attraction for each other and makes a decent read. Jake Rosen, a medical examiner is called in to examine a skeleton found in a site for a new mall. The family of said “skeleton”(who disappeared from a mental hospital) calls in Manny Manfreda, attorney, to help tie up loose ends. Simple, till evidence disappears, clients drop cases, threats pile...more
Even taking into account that this was the first novel for the team of Baden and his wife, I had to struggle to finish the book. The characters are no doubt taken out of the daily experiences of the authors, but there is a forcible injection of romance/sexual tension that doesn't go deep enough into the characters, leaving them a bit lumpy and unconvincing.
I won't go into plot, but having read some of the non-fiction work of Baden already, the story seemed a little simple. Clue A leads to B, le...more
I won't go into plot, but having read some of the non-fiction work of Baden already, the story seemed a little simple. Clue A leads to B, le...more
While there is a decent mystery within this volume, I found it unfortunately buried amongst heavy handed writing, thin characterisation, too many plot elements and a wealth of detail about the medical/forensic process. The medical/forensic details were well detailed and clearly came about through professional knowledge and experience. There were one or two nice twists in the tail, but overall the book did not have the sophistication or polish to combine all the elements into a great book.
I would give this a solid 3.5 stars. It's a fast, page-turner mystery. I found the case fascinating and stayed up until 1 am reading "just one more" page. The book has an emphasis on forensic science w/o getting gory or technical. The ending is okay. It's 99% clean.
I enjoyed the plot and mystery. It was very interesting and very suspenseful. I didn't really warm to either of the main characters and thought the abrupt resolution at the end was a bit off kilter. Overall, this was a fun read, but not amazing.
I enjoyed the plot of this story. A good who-done-it. Quick read. For some reason, I had some difficulty remembering the different character's names. I also like that it took place in the "Catskills."
I must say that I was really disappointed in Baden's fictional work. I would have expected more from this book, given his writing in his non-fictional books, plus I really enjoy seeing him interviewed and such on news programs, etc. This book was really weak and amateurish though...I really had to choke it down. If I didn't need it for a challenge and it wasn't only 196 pages, I probably would have stopped reading it.
FUN - This is a easy mystery book. It is written by a couple and is about a couple of sleuths. One is a pathologist and the other is a lawyer. It passes the time when I don't want to read anything deep.
pretty much what you expect from a murder mystery. Didn't love it; didn't hate it. Wouldn't recommend or dissuade from reading it. How is THAT for a nondescript "What did you think?"
Sorry Dr. Baden, but I think you should probably stick to non-fiction. This book is lame and poorly written. There are many better fiction titles in the same subject.
Could not stop reading. I had heard of Baden as a medical examiner so I wanted to see what he was like as a writer. I think perhaps they make an excellent team.
Interesting first fiction for non-fiction writer Baden. There's a bit too much internal thought, but an enjoyable cozy mystery.
This book remains on my short list of the worst books I've read. Ever.
I liked it, well written with a good story.
A really nice debut.
The debut novel written by a married couple, he a forensics expert and she a civil rights attorney, about, guess what? A forensics expert and a civil rights attorney trying to figure out the story on several bodies found in a pauper's grave, while they are falling for each other. Kind of an amateur writing attempt about these amateur sleuths, but still some good story lines. Kind of "hokey" overall.
Don't waste time on this husband and wife writing team despite the glowing jacket blurbs. Trite, contrived, unbelievable, cliched...
Aug 08, 2008
Sara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who watch Forensic Files on TruTV
This is the first book written by these authors, so the quality leaves a little bit to be desired. But that didn't stop me from not being able to put it down! I love murder mysteries and forensics, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is an entertaining fast read as long as you don't take it too seriously. I recommend it.
Listened to this on tape, cheesy dialog at times but an engaging mystery.
There's a good story, good set-up in this book if you get past the silly dialogue and pretty ridiculous main female character. Relatively clean, easy murder-mystery read.
This was a good book. It was easy to read, and took no time to get through it but it was enjoyable.
this book just sucked ass by the time i got halfway through it. i didnt bother finishing it
An interesting crime novel written by an actual medical examiner.
I love the New York City references throughout this thriller.
catching up on a book club selection through the local library
At times cheesy, but a page-turner nonetheless.
Nov 14, 2009
Carrie
is currently reading it
Pretty catchy so far....
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Jul 29, 2009 08:35pm