Beat The Reaper

Beat The Reaper is not a book for the squeamish or the faint of heart. Packed full of unpleasantly gory events, both medical and criminal, the author seems at times intent on testing the reader's tolerance of violence and bloodletting, allowing events to build up to a grand-guinol third act that involves everything from shark attacks to self-mutilation, all of which are described in stomach churning detail. Add in language that is the harsh side of fruity and a smattering of sex and readers of a more sensitive disposition may struggle to get through the book.For those that do there is much to recommend Beat The Reaper. Josh Bazell has created a hard, punchy novel that moves at a pace that reflects the non-stop, hectic working life of the lead character, mob assassin-turned informant-turned doctor Peter Brown. Its packed full of incident, both medical and criminal, and inside knowledge of the US medical world, all of which is revealed as we follow Peter through the events of one fateful night on duty when his post-criminal life begins to fall apart and multiple chickens come home to roost. As we follow Peter's increasingly desperate attempts to protect his new identity and save the lives of both his various patients and himself we are also shown, via flashbacks, how this young man of Polish descent went from school kid to mob-killer to doctor. It's a fascinating, exciting, at times repulsive and often darkly comic tale that will keep you gripped even if it often turns your stomach.

I must say I'm using my husband's account as he bought the book for me. I also must apologize about my writing, as I'm spanish. As one of the reviewers above, I usually don't have much to say about books apart from love/hate it, but I feel compelled to say I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it in record time. Never had read a book like this before. It made me laugh and it actually made me dizzy (oh that walk-in freezer scene!), I don't know if it was because I was on a bus. It feels like a Tarantino film; and I guess maybe we'll see it on the big or small screen some time soon.My only criticism is when the book starts taking off from reality, like the shark-tank part and again that memorable walk-in freezer part. It reminds me of those old films where the good guy fights fifty really mean guys, wins and doesn't even get a wrinkle on his perfect suit or a hair out of place (I know that Dr Brnwa ends up with a bit more than a hair out of place, it's just a manner of speaking) I also found the 'avenging angel' attitude a bit stale. Well, maybe I still need a few more books like this to get used to, I'll keep trying.

I really like books that both entertain and educate. Using flashbacks and flashforwards, Bazell constructs an entertaining narrative around a doctor in the witness protection programme and gradually reveals how he came to be there.But my favourite parts were the ones where I learned about other things only tangentially relevant to the plot - the story of IG Farben and Monowitz concentration camp, the medical insurance industry and more. Great stuff.

Saw this book before and decided to have it now on lightning deal.The humor is very nice throughout the book and it is well worth your time.Easy reading for the morning commuter or if you just enjoy a laugh.Get it, you won't regret it.

A very 'different' and dramatically exciting book. Fast-paced and exciting and just within the realms of possibility enough to be believable. It's a page-turner for sure. The footnotes add to the medical detail and are interesting additions. However, if you are put off or sickened by gruesome detail, beware this one. There is much gruesome detail, particularly in the last bits, and it may leave some readers a little queasy.

Wow. It was impossible to put down! So darkly funny that I've never felt so good and do bad at the same time!

I enjoyed this, it was easy to read and gripping. It was a bit unrealistic at points but it didn't ruin the story to have those moments in there.

AS someone says, The Sopranos meets Scrubs. Fast, funny, modern and televisual. A great read in its way.Was it really necessary to go on quite so much about Poland being anti Semitic though? I'm not sure it did much for the plot.