Beat the Reaper
Josh Bazell certainly knows a lot about medicine. That's because the author of the thriller/mystery Beat the Reaper is a doctor. Inspired by noir writing past and present, he wrote his book during his internship, and on the subject of medicine and hospital politics, he's very, very funny. As a noir, however, it's less successful. The protagonist is Peter Brown, an intern at a large hospital who's sleeping through Attending Rounds, dealing with patients who complain of vague "ass pain" and struggling to stay away from hot pharma reps who have samples and sex on offer. The story takes an abrupt turn when a patient recognizes Dr. Brown as "Bearclaw," a former mob killer who's working at the hospital under the Witness Protection Program. And that's where things get strange: The book delves into an extremely implausible backstory about Brown's childhood that reads a lot like Bruce Wayne's--and things get more cartoonish from there. The problem isn't that the book is implausible in large part; novels don't have to be true to life, and noirs even less so. It's that the precision of the medical detail and the credibility of Dr. Brown's voice is such a contrast, the new development feels borderline incoherent. Bazell may have been inspired by James Ellroy, but there's a singularity of tone he just can't manage. I'd love to see him write a funny, reality-based novel--the stuff that's in between the preposterous in Beat the Reaper.
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