The death of a doctor’s daughter may be malpractice—or murder—in this novel by a #1 New York Times–bestselling author: “I loved it” (Stephen King).
In the tightly knit world of Boston medicine, the Randall family reigns supreme. When heart surgeon J. D. Randall’s teenage daughter dies during a botched abortion, the medical community threatens to explode. Was it malpractice? A violation of the Hippocratic Oath? Or was Karen Randall murdered in cold blood?
The natural suspect is Arthur Lee, a brilliant surgeon and known abortionist, who has been carrying out the illegal procedure with the help of pathologist John Berry. After Karen dies, Lee is thrown in jail on a murder charge, and only Berry can prove his friend wasn’t the one who wielded the scalpel. Behind this gruesome death, Berry will uncover a secret that would shock even the most hardened pathologist.
An Edgar Award–winning novel by the author of such blockbusters as The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park—and creator of the long-running NBC drama ER—A Case of Need is a “superb” medical-thriller mystery (Los Angeles Times).
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“Transports listeners back to 1960s Boston, when smoking was legal and abortions were illegal. Narrator Nick Podehl perfectly renders pathologist John Berry’s fears when his close friend, Dr. Lee, is arrested for the botched abortion and death of Karen Randall. His nuanced portrayal of the girl’s father’s outrage and stunned grief is fully convincing. He uses a measured pace and tone to portray Berry’s investigation to prove his friend’s innocence, which includes a shocking revelation…The medical terminology, which Podehl delivers well, reflects the medicine of the times and is explained in the seven appendices that complete the book.”
— AudioFile
“[This] highpowered account does a work up of the legal and moral aspects of abortion without rubber gloves, namely following the death of the daughter of a prominent Boston family…Not for the lavender and Lavoris readership of Dr. Kildare, but in its drastic fashion quite, quite readable.”
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Michael Crichton (1942–2008) is one of the most prolific bestselling authors of all time with over 200 million copies sold worldwide, in forty languages, including Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Sphere, Next, Prey, Disclosure, Eaters of the Dead, and Congo. His books have been adapted into fifteen films, most notably Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg which launched one of the highest-grossing entertainment franchises of all time. A remarkable and versatile talent, Crichton wrote and directed several films including Westworld, The Great Train Robbery (based on his novel), and Coma and created the television series ER. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. After writing novels under the pseudonyms John Lange and Jeffery Hudson while he was still a medical student, his first bestseller as Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain, was adapted into a classic film.
Michael Crichton (1942–2008) is one of the most prolific bestselling authors of all time with over 200 million copies sold worldwide, in forty languages, including Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Sphere, Next, Prey, Disclosure, Eaters of the Dead, and Congo. His books have been adapted into fifteen films, most notably Jurassic Park directed by Steven Spielberg which launched one of the highest-grossing entertainment franchises of all time. A remarkable and versatile talent, Crichton wrote and directed several films including Westworld, The Great Train Robbery (based on his novel), and Coma and created the television series ER. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. After writing novels under the pseudonyms John Lange and Jeffery Hudson while he was still a medical student, his first bestseller as Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain, was adapted into a classic film.
Nick Podehl is a professional voice actor. He has narrated numerous audiobooks, many of which have won prestigious awards, including fourteen AudioFile Earphones Awards. He currently lives and works around Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife.