Review by Booklist Review
Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital is the oldest public hospital in the United States, dating back to the late eighteenth century. You have to figure it's seen its share of shady goings-on over the years, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the protagonist of Cook's new medical thriller, a young surgical resident at Bellevue, has some trouble settling in. For one thing, people under his care are dying; for another, he's plagued by unsettling visions. He soon realizes that Bellevue's past and his present are inextricably intertwined. The book is more Gothic than Cook's usual fare, more horror-adjacent than most of his books, which tend to be somewhat predictable thrillers involving massive conspiracies. So, yes, it's something a bit different, which is good; on the other hand, the writing is pretty much the same as it always is, which is not so good. Bellevue has an interesting story, but Cook's characters are thin, and his dialogue clunky. While Cook's loyal fans will surely enjoy it, the book is a missed opportunity to find new readers with its change-of-pace story.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Cook (Viral) proves better at describing the day-to-day work of a medical resident than in generating scares in this limp horror novel set in Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital. Mitt Fuller has landed a spot in Bellevue's prestigious surgical residency program, following in the footsteps of multiple generations of his family. He's not just a nepo hire, though; Mitt was an academic prodigy, graduating from med school at 23. His first days at Bellevue prove nightmarish, however, as he has hallucinatory visions of a young blonde girl dressed in clothing from the mid-20th century, and thinks he sees operating room instruments, such as forceps, move on their own. These disorienting moments pale in comparison to a string of unexpected deaths of patients whose care he'd been assigned to oversee. Mitt's also stunned to learn that two of his ancestors' careers were controversial; one opposed using anesthesia after it was widely accepted, on the grounds that "denying natural pain was the devil's work," and the other mocked germ theory. Cook peppers the narrative with medical jargon most lay readers will have to look up and telegraphs what's behind the possibly supernatural phenomena, lessening the suspense. This falls flat. Agent: Erica Silverman, Trident Media Group. (Dec.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young doctor's surgical residency at New York's iconic Bellevue Hospital mires him in murder, mystery, and mayhem. Cook, the acclaimed founder of the medical-thriller genre, begins this standalone novel with a horrifying scene, set in 1949, in which a Bellevue doctor performs a lobotomy on an 8-year-old girl who is being treated for behavioral issues. The scene and the setting should be the perfect start to what could be a cringe-inducing horror story, but a weak, cliche-riddled narrative drags the novel down. Michael "Mitt" Fuller, a descendant of the doctor who performed the girl's lobotomy, is excited to follow in the professional footsteps of four generations of Fullers who practiced medicine at Bellevue, but on day one of his residency, strange things begin to happen. Lights flicker, horrible odors come and go, surgical tools seem to have a mind of their own, patients die. Soon, he also learns that his ancestors were on the wrong side of evolving medical standards, including the now rejected lobotomy procedure, the use of anesthesia, and surgical theater antiseptics. He also sees dead people. This should be a page turner, but stilted dialogue and one-dimensional characters who can't stop using worn out expressions such as "Good Grief," "My Gosh," and "Whoa!" are way too distracting, as are the descriptions of medical equipment, procedures, and illnesses that require a textbook to understand. What is interesting is the history of the centuries-old Bellevue, its architecture, and its famous patients, including Sylvia Plath and Norman Mailer. The ending, which rolls out in another perfect setting--the basement of an abandoned building--is spot on, but getting to it means slogging through page after page of dull writing. Intriguing premise and spooky setting don't make up for lackluster storytelling. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
