Limited Time

by Robert Greer

The author of the CJ Floyd novels has won over readers and critics with the adventures of one of the most compelling and colorfully drawn private-eye heroes in years. Now in the best tradition of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton, Robert Greer-a nationally prominent physician and research scientist-turns to the world he knows best with stunning results... LIMITED TIME. For centuries it has been the holy grail of medical science, in pursuit of which the human race has violated nature, launched explorations, and waged war. Now one rogue doctor has dared to unlock the power of one of the most potent substances ever swirled inside a test tube-and stands on the verge of cracking the code of nothing less than the legendary fountain of youth.A world-class collegiate swimmer breaks a record at the women's U.S. Olympic trials, then seconds later succumbs to a sudden, violent seizure. A brilliant, maverick molecular biologist stumbles onto a drug that can both enhance athletic performance and accelerate the average lifespan past every imaginable barrier, until death cuts his experiment brutally short. There is a hidden but devastatingly real link between the two tragedies. Few see the connection, until the expanding and shocking web of fatalities draws in research pathologist Dr. Henry Bales.Bales, dedicated to answering questions inside the safe confines of a lab, now tackles a mystery in the dangerous, unscientific world of unchecked greed and power. To assist him he enlists several allies, including a rival scientist of exotic good looks and penetrating mind, and a certain local bounty hunter who brings a welcome battery of battle-tested street smarts to the rarefied realm of high thinkers and earthshakers. Together they must penetrate a conspiracy that stretches from the high, open training fields of Denver to the cramped, darkened gyms of Cuba. Hurtling toward a deadly climax in a desperate race against time, Bales, a supreme man of reason, knows that none of them may make it to the finish line.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2000

About the author

Robert Greer, author of the CJ Floyd mystery series, lives in Denver, where he is a practicing surgical pathologist, research scientist, and Professor of Pathology and Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He also edits the High Plains Literary Review, reviews books for National Public Radio, and raises Black Baldy cattle on his ranch near Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Series:
* C. J. Floyd

Reviews

[Leslie Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story told many individual stories in the first few chapters. Eventually I understood how they connected. It started out frustrating as a reader but I was relieved as they started to make a bigger picture and flesh out the characters and their significance. It’s an interesting topic and scientifically relevant to this day and age of medical discoveries.

[Ellenbeth Wachs · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is billed as amedical mystery but is more about science and the fountain of youth and dna sequencing. It was well-written which is big these days as I am coming across more and more books with really terrible dialogue. The problem I found was it just didn't hold my attention which is saying a lot. A book doesn't have to be that great for me to want to finish it.

This book was a story about scientists looking for the fountain of youth and/or the ability to be great athletes. It doesn't ever really make a distinction. There is a distractiong side story that is rather irrelavant about a cuban boxer taking this elixir and his mother that are involved in a plot to smuggle bogus cuban cigars.

While the storyline was interesting in a bland way, the scientific aspect could have been done in a manner that was more compelling. The death of the athlete in the beginning was so underwhelming as to make you have no connection to her or the plot.

eh- so so

[Ray Pettiford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walter Mosley meets Robin Cook which is not surprising since Robert Greer the mystery writer is also a professor of pathology, medicine, surgery, and dentistry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.