Bellevue

If you enjoy medical thrillers with a supernatural twist, then look no further than Bellevue by Robin Cook. It’s a little different from other books I’ve read by this author, but it was another great thriller filled with suspense, horror, and visions related to historic medical practices.

While the prologue starts with a chilling medical scene from 1949, most of the novel takes place in current times and features twenty-three-year-old Michael (Mitt) Fuller as he starts his surgical residency at the well-known Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He’s following in his ancestors’ steps. Three previous Fullers were surgeons and one was a psychiatrist at the famed hospital.

He is anxious, but excited to start his residency. One advantage is that he’s always had a secret sixth sense. However, when his patients start to die from various mysterious causes, he tries to understand what’s happening while experiencing the demands and lack of sleep of being a first-year resident. Along with this, Mitt begins to have visions and finds himself drawn to an abandoned Bellevue building

Mitt is intelligent, has a precognitive ability that is not constant or controllable, and feels uncertain that medical school adequately prepared him for this job. He tends to be more cerebral than physical, and is feeling anxious and stressed.

Cook’s writing is vivid and enabled me to easily visualize Bellevue as well as the people and the medical procedures and operations. Dynamic characters and fantastic world-building, along with a great plot, intense scenes, and excellent pacing kept me glued to the book. It was also fascinating to see how different the various attending surgeons were in the operating room as well as the high expectations of a first-year surgical resident.

Reading Cook’s novels are always a learning experience. In this case, readers are shown current surgeries for a variety of problems, but also learn about historic medical practices and how those affected the public health.

The author’s writing style hooked me immediately. The prose is well-written and engaging, but the subject matter was sometimes close to horror. Readers can tell the author’s surgical experience and research served to make the surgery details feel realistic. The atmosphere is tense and serious throughout the novel and it has substantial technical details. My only quibble is with the ending. I was hoping for something different. However, I understand why it ended the way it did.

Overall, this suspenseful, engaging, thought-provoking, and tragic medical thriller gripped me from the beginning. It was difficult to put down. I’m a fan of the author and am looking forward to reading his next novel.

PENGUIN GROUP Putnam – G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Robin Cook provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for December 03, 2024.