FLAWED PERFECTION In the rugged mountains of upstate New York, a predator unlike any other is stalking and seducing his prey. Endowed with abilities and instincts far more advanced than any man, he is guided only by the desire to survive, and to feed. Dr. Terri Barnard knows something is wrong. Young women are being found abandoned, barely alive -- only to then die from diseases so rare that they should be an impossibility. In each case, the victims are completely devoid of a single vital nutrient, as if they were literally stolen from their bodies. For while the killer appears as a model of physical perfection, his mind and body are tortured by the truth. With no identity and no past, all he knows is that he needs. He is a monstrous miracle of modern science set loose upon the world, and with him comes a hunger that will never be sated.... THE LESS YOU HAVE, THE MORE YOU WANT.
Andrew Neiderman is the author of over 44 thrillers, including six of which have been translated onto film, including the big hit, 'The Devil's Advocate', a story in which he also wrote a libretto for the music-stage adaptation. One of his novels, Tender Loving Care, has been adapted into a CD-Rom interactive movie.
Andrew Neiderman became the ghostwriter for V.C. Andrews following her death in 1986. He was the screenwriter for Rain, a film based on a series of books under Andrews name. Between the novels written under her name and his own, he has published over 100 novels.
Neiderman's Deficiency was interesting at best. The plot and villain were impressively unique in a time where ripping off everyone else not only seems to be widely
accepted but also encouraged. The villain is a kind of "vitamin vampire" and yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds, but not in a bad way. The thing that kept this one
from getting a better rating from me was the plot twist half way through, if it was supposed to be a twist. On top of the vitamin vampire thing, it was a bit hard to
take and the book rapidly lost steam in its own confusion. Overall, it has the feel of a medical mystery and the descriptions of the victim's deaths and how the docs
tried to work out how they were dying was very interesting. The ending was also surprisingly climactic compared to the other Neiderman books I have read since it did in
fact have a climax, but this does not seem to be Neiderman's forte either since the conclusion was rushed. This brings me to my own conclusion which is that Neiderman
is great at building suspense but, for whatever reason, seems to lose the flow of his own book and, instead of giving up, forces an awkward ending. I understand why his
novels are so short and besides, the man writes several a year for V. C. Andrews and has written over 100 books in all. These are minor reads with not a lot of mental
strain, unless you are realistic and ridiculous plots are not fun for you. In short, Deficiency was fun, but it had many of its own deficiencies that it should have
taken care of before it decided to take up residence on a bookshelf.