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Miracle Cure
by
Harlan Coben
Coben’s second novel – now back in print.
They were looking for a miracle cure . . .
Sara and Michael. The ideal celebrity couple, darlings of the media - until their lives are shattered by a mystery illness.
Dr Harvey Riker. His clinic has found the miracle cure that millions seek. One-by-one his patients are getting well. One-by-one they are targeted by a serial killer m...more
They were looking for a miracle cure . . .
Sara and Michael. The ideal celebrity couple, darlings of the media - until their lives are shattered by a mystery illness.
Dr Harvey Riker. His clinic has found the miracle cure that millions seek. One-by-one his patients are getting well. One-by-one they are targeted by a serial killer m...more
Paperback, 470 pages
Published
June 1st 2011
by Orion
(first published June 9th 1991)
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I beggan reading Harlan Coben with his breakout book Tell No One. Wow! I found a new author whom I followed with each successive stand alone book he wrote. Then one day, very out of character for me, I read Long Lost,the newest book in the Myron Bolitar series. I have since began the series from the first book and look forward to each title in the series. Recently I came across a Coben book, Miracle Cure, which was written over 20 years ago and had not read. While I enjoyed it, it lacked the sar...more
Harlan Coben - Miracle Cure 3.5 Stars
Michael Silverman is a famous basketball star, and his wife, Sara Lowell, is a TV journalist. They are connected politically and medically by her father. An AIDS clinic in Manhattan seems to be making great strides towards a cure, but now the cured patients are being murdered by a serial killer. Michael has been diagnosed with the disease and they must put an end to this murder spree before Michael becomes just another victim.
Harlan Coben has an introduction...more
Michael Silverman is a famous basketball star, and his wife, Sara Lowell, is a TV journalist. They are connected politically and medically by her father. An AIDS clinic in Manhattan seems to be making great strides towards a cure, but now the cured patients are being murdered by a serial killer. Michael has been diagnosed with the disease and they must put an end to this murder spree before Michael becomes just another victim.
Harlan Coben has an introduction...more
So, I guess three stars is a little at odds with the title of the review, and it reflects my initial puzzlement with the book. Coben says in his intro that it's a very early book, and a bit rough in places... so why publish?
I didn't really finish it, I skipped through the last 20% to check what happened, and that's pretty serious. The book's characters aren't terribly real, the plot twist is a little hackneyed, the writing is average and some of the political stuff is self-indulgent...
But. And i...more
I didn't really finish it, I skipped through the last 20% to check what happened, and that's pretty serious. The book's characters aren't terribly real, the plot twist is a little hackneyed, the writing is average and some of the political stuff is self-indulgent...
But. And i...more
This story revolves around the AIDS epidemic from the 1980s and unfortunately many of the themes are still very relevant today. Three doctors run a somewhat secretive clinic in NY that is working on a cure for AIDS. One is killed because he has found some evidence of something gone terribly wrong. He is one of many murders that are tied eventually to the clinic. This leads to a conspiracy of powerful men who want to prevent any such cure from coming to market. Each has a different agenda, but th...more
Feb 27, 2012
Dlora
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adventure-action,
murder-mystery
Not a bad effort for a second published novel and I did find it intriguing that Coben's soapbox (that he admitted was too evident in this novel) still is relevant today--there is only so much research grant money to go around and the popular diseases of the day are the ones that get it. He makes a pretty good argument, both pro and con, for funding AIDS research, but of course the arguments in the mouth of the good guys are the ones we are supposed to believe. Actually, maybe his soapbox had to...more
Coben is easily one of my favorite authors. The joy of discovery I felt while reading books like NO SECOND CHANCE and THE INNOCENT is something I hope for every time I read a book by a new author. Unfortunately, this early book by Coben is not really worth reading. Coben says as much in the intro when he urges readers to put the book away if they've never read his books before. Why? Because it is so bad, you probably won't finish it.
Knowing how good Coben was, and enjoying his other rereleased e...more
Knowing how good Coben was, and enjoying his other rereleased e...more
Be aware that this is not a new book, but a re-release. While the book says "A Harlan Classic - Now Back in Print", I didn't notice that until after I had purchased the book. I focused on the description of the book which mentioned a beloved TV journalist and a basketball star facing a deadly disease and a serial-killer which sounded intriguing. I didn't realize the disease was AIDS and that the book was originally written in 1991 and was just re-released in 2011. Some of the characters opinions...more
A doctor is working on finding a cure for Aids. His patients are getting better but are being killed by a serial killer. This book brought up some major problems the world has now and one of them is money and where it should be allocated. If you are working on a cancer cure and you lose millions of grant money to Aids research you might question the decisions that are made. This is the quote I liked from this book: "You see: focus can be a dangerous thing. your view of the world narrows. You gro...more
Miracle Cure is a book revolving around a Couple. The Man, Micheal Silverman, is a renown basketball player with the NY Nicks and his wife, Sara Lowell, is a popular TV Network news reporter. Their family, friends and acquaintances all seem to be connected to a conspiracy involving serial murders, lies, suicides and other such gruesome acts all apparently related to a top secret AIDS clinic.
Miracle Cure is an old book having first been published in 1991. It was brought back into print last year...more
Miracle Cure is an old book having first been published in 1991. It was brought back into print last year...more
This was a pretty good medical thriller with a couple of obvious flaws. First, a woman receives a letter from her dead husband near the beginning of the story and then opens it to find the solution to the mystery written there. Why the long delay? And isn't the old dead man leave a note solving the puzzle a bit too simple? Then there is the fact that she does this at exactly the same time the police officer figures out who the killer is (oh, there is a killer or killers). The oddest thing, thoug...more
The "whodunnit" part of this book is what kept me going. I'm glad that I was wrong so that the twists and turns were unexpected, but holycrap, this book could've been half as long as it was. i found it really hard to read for a while, finding the characters irritating and one-dimensional with flimsy attempts at fleshing them out by giving them weird habits or quirks. They all had the same sense of humour - a sarcastic, snappy come-back sort, no doubt the author's own. I actually feel bad talking...more
Coben has recently re-published his first two novels from the early 90’s: “Play Dead” and this one, “Cure”. While he somewhat disavowed the quality of this early novel in a foreword, we found it an acceptable thriller, complete with an emphasis on the issue of AIDS and the discrimination that serious ailment has provoked. Moreover, we found in one of the main characters, the pro basketball player Michael Silverman, a precursor to the Myron Bolitar series – with Myron being a basketball star turn...more
A bit of a slow starter whilst the story started to unfold within the first 100 pages or so. But once the plot started developing a really good thriller. This is one of Coben's early novels that (like Play Dead) has recently come back into print. The similarties between this book and Play Dead are obvious and whilst the story line wasn't as far fetched as Play Dead it was still a little unbelivable at times. This book didn't quite hold the suspense of some of Coben's more recent stand alone thri...more
I loved this one! Thought it was a new release, and didn't realize it was a re-release until I read the letter from Harlan Coben at the very beginning of the book.
Sara and Michael were a celebrity couple..Sara a top reporter for NewsFlash and Michael a top basketball player for the New York Knicks. Their good friend, Dr Harvey Riker, was in charge of the clinic which was looking for a miracle cure to AIDS. But things were going wrong...the patients who were showing up as cured, were being murder...more
Sara and Michael were a celebrity couple..Sara a top reporter for NewsFlash and Michael a top basketball player for the New York Knicks. Their good friend, Dr Harvey Riker, was in charge of the clinic which was looking for a miracle cure to AIDS. But things were going wrong...the patients who were showing up as cured, were being murder...more
Harlan Coben is a smart man...having a fan base, he has gone back to the "vault" and re-released some of his earlier work. Staring last year with "Play Dead" and this latest re-tread "Miracle Cure". Neither has the flair of Coben's more recent works, and reading these, I'm glad that he somewhere along the line found the magic touch he is so well known for now. "Miracle Cure" was written in the late 1990's and focuses on the AIDS epidemic and a clinic that has found a means of curing those afflic...more
Well, first of all, I dig Harlan Coben, and this was no exception. There's plenty of authors that I can't get enough of, but man is there just something about this one. I just get absorbed into the book faster somehow. That being said, this wasn't his finest literary hour, and he tells you that at the very beginning of the book. His later novels do show a maturity that is lacking in this book, but its still enjoyable.
Without giving much away, this book is from the early 90's, when the AIDS scar...more
Without giving much away, this book is from the early 90's, when the AIDS scar...more
I will start off by saying I love Harlan Coben, this was not one of his better books. I did not realize this was a re-release from 1991. The book was long and had a lot of information in it that it could have done without. The whole scene in Bangkok for instance with the descriptions that he gave of the people selling whores and other scenes he portrayed. This book is about AIDS. It is about Mike Silverman and his wife Sara and this clinic that is working on a cure for AIDS. Harry Riker is now t...more
I have started reading all of Harlan Coben books...aiming to be like the biggest fan ever ! Because seriously, his books are simply amazing...they take me to a totally different world...a world of lies and deception...WITH JUSTIFICATION! Coben's characters never deceive without reason..they always have an excellent reason for lying...for deceiving..for disappearing...and even for murdering!
'Miracle Cure' is Coben's second book after 'Play Dead' but it is my 8th or something...and to be fair, I h...more
'Miracle Cure' is Coben's second book after 'Play Dead' but it is my 8th or something...and to be fair, I h...more
He warned me at the beginning... "Okay, if this is the first book of mine you're going to try, stop now." I did not stop. I paid the price. It was not totally awful but it did not grab me from the beginning, I skimmed over a lot of it because it was unnecessary and if they made it into a movie, I would not pay to see it. That said, I would read another one of his books just to see if it was truly better than this one. Harlan Coben does receive a lot of praise and all those people cannot be wrong...more
Jun 01, 2012
Jennifer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
current fans of Harlan Coben
Recommended to Jennifer by:
Sara
Shelves:
read-2012
This is an early work of Harlan Coben re-published in the wake of his successful series and stand alone books. You can see Coben playing with some of the themes that will drive many of his novels--sports, people whose skills are underestimated based on how they look, and witty repartee between characters. It's a solid medical thriller that involves a killer targeting patients at an AIDs clinic , a clinic whose doctors may have discovered a drug that cures the disease. An up and coming television...more
In the front of the newly reprinted copy of Miracle Cure by Harlan Coben that I read there is a note from the author. He warns prospective readers that if this is the first book of his they are going to read to choose another. Miracle Cure is his second novel and he is hard on it, seemingly believing that if it is the first someone reads they will be turned off from his writing forever. Coben could not be more mistaken. While there were a few moments where everything seemed to fit together j...more
I am basing this review on the fact that this book was written 20 years ago by one of my favourite authors. By reading this book I have been allowed a glimpse into the development of Coben's writing and in particular his famous character Myron Bolitar.
It is a slow burner in the first 100 pages which I am not used to when it comes to Coben's books. However, the storyline itself develops quite well and does finish with the classic Coben twist. The twist isn't as developed as the twists he now uses...more
It is a slow burner in the first 100 pages which I am not used to when it comes to Coben's books. However, the storyline itself develops quite well and does finish with the classic Coben twist. The twist isn't as developed as the twists he now uses...more
I can't believe I'm giving Harlan Coben only three stars, but from his note at the beginning of this re-release, I think he would understand. This was Coben's second novel, and it was recently reprinted for those of us who didn't discover him until later in his career. He writes a note at the beginning, almost apologizing for the fact that it's not of the same quality as his later books. It's true. He's definitely gotten better over time, and the writing shows signs of being a bit unpolished and...more
I went through a stage years ago when I first discovered US contemporary crime novels of reading all the Harlan Coben books I could get from the library. Eventually, I felt that his more recent work, particularly the Myron Bolitar series, was starting to feel a bit formulaic for me, and the humour sarcasm was becoming wearisome.
Miracle Cure was completely different. Written back in his early 20's, Coben says in his forward that there is an "energy and risk-taking" in the book which he wonders if...more
Miracle Cure was completely different. Written back in his early 20's, Coben says in his forward that there is an "energy and risk-taking" in the book which he wonders if...more
I feel bad giving this book only three stars. This was Harlan Coben's second book from around 20 years ago. At the beginning, he even warns readers that it's not his best work and to put it down if you've never read anything else of his. He's one of my favorite writers and as he said, it's just not his best. It had a typical awesome storyline with great plot twists, but the writing itself showed his lack of experience. There wasn't really much from the supposed main characters. In fact, I felt l...more
There were a few negative comments about this book, but I really liked it. The book concerns the AIDS crisis, and is somewhat dated since it was written twenty years ago, but I found it very suspenseful, and a very good read. Considering it was one of the auhor's earlier books, I thought that it was very well done. Sara is a reporter and is married to Michael, a professional basketball player. When Michael becomes very ill, the two of them are thrust into a vast conspiracy that goes all the way...more
I bought this book to read on an airplane, and it is a typical Harlan Coben page ripper. What made this interesting is that it was released in 1992; re-released with Coben's growing popularity. It is a reflection of the times...during the AIDs epidemic. The characters reflect some of the prejudices of the time, as well as the leap forward the scientific community hatis made in treating the deadly syndrome. The plot features a professional basketball player who makes a Magic Johnson type of revel...more
I should have followed the instructions of the preface and not read it. I love Harlan Coben, he's one of my favorite mystery authors. I don't know the story behind this book, other than surmising that he wrote it 20 years ago and they just republished it as a "new release".... why? Why would you let them republish something you didn't think was up to par? I lost a bit of respect for the author over this one. I seem to be in the minority here, so maybe it's just me. Generally I enjoy picking up h...more
A potential cure for AIDS lies at the heart of this thriller. Doctors in a NYC clinic have found a cure for AIDS--but it seems someone does not what the cure to be made public because the cured individuals are gradually being killed off by a serial killer. The novel employs a decent cast of characters--a young and prominent couple who make a devastating discovery, a cop who has his own secrets to keep hidden, and a doctor who has given his whole life to finding a cure for the disease that took h...more
3.5 stars, which is lower than I generally rate Harlan's books.
This is a reprint of an early out-of-print book. If you like suspense, I recommend Harlan Coben, but start with something he wrote later like Tell No One. For Coben fans, this is worth reading just to see how he's evolved as a writer. He's much smoother now, although even "back then" he knew how to keep you tense.
The climax of the book is actually quite long and I kept wondering how he was going to resolve the problems satisfactori...more
This is a reprint of an early out-of-print book. If you like suspense, I recommend Harlan Coben, but start with something he wrote later like Tell No One. For Coben fans, this is worth reading just to see how he's evolved as a writer. He's much smoother now, although even "back then" he knew how to keep you tense.
The climax of the book is actually quite long and I kept wondering how he was going to resolve the problems satisfactori...more
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With over 50 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben’s last six consecutive novels, SIX YEARS, STAY CLOSE, LIVE WIRE, CAUGHT, LONG LOST and HOLD TIGHT all debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and lists around the world. His first Young Adult novel SHELTER was just released in paperback, and the second in the Mickey Bolitar series, SECONDS AWAY, was released on September 18th....more
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Feb 23, 2013 07:29am