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Dr. Gideon Box, world-famous surgeon, is extremely good at his job. He’s never lost a patient…but he has issues. He’s antisocial. Doesn’t mix well with others. Breaks into people’s homes and assumes their identities. Occasionally kills other doctor’s patients. He’s had bad luck with women his entire life. Big surprise, right?
278 pages, Paperback
First published July 24, 2012
89 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
John Locke
55 books390 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information. This is the novelist (2x spaces), not the philosopher (1x space).
New York Times best-selling author John Locke is the international best-selling author of sixteen books in four different genres. He is the 8th author in history to have sold one million eBooks on Kindle. Locke has had four books in the top ten at the same time, including #1 and #2. His Donovan Creed thriller series has sold more than 1,700,000 copies since January, 2011, and foreign rights have been acquired by six major publishers for Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, and Lithuanian translations. (Amazon's brief biography)
NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR!
8th MEMBER of the KINDLE MILLION SALES CLUB!
First self-published author to hit #1 on Amazon/Kindle!
First self-published author to hit Kindle Million Sales Club!
John sold 1,100,000 eBooks in 5 months by word of mouth!
John wrote and published 6 best-selling books in 3 separate genres in 6 months, part-time!
John has had 4 of the top 10 eBooks on Amazon/Kindle at the same time, including #1 and #2! He’s also had 6 of the top 20, and 8 of the top 43 at the same time!
Every eBook John Locke has written and published has become a best-seller.
New York Times best-selling author John Locke is the international best-selling author of sixteen books in four different genres. He is the 8th author in history to have sold one million eBooks on Kindle. Locke has had four books in the top ten at the same time, including #1 and #2. His Donovan Creed thriller series has sold more than 1,700,000 copies since January, 2011, and foreign rights have been acquired by six major publishers for Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Hungarian, and Lithuanian translations. (Amazon's brief biography)
NY TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR!
8th MEMBER of the KINDLE MILLION SALES CLUB!
First self-published author to hit #1 on Amazon/Kindle!
First self-published author to hit Kindle Million Sales Club!
John sold 1,100,000 eBooks in 5 months by word of mouth!
John wrote and published 6 best-selling books in 3 separate genres in 6 months, part-time!
John has had 4 of the top 10 eBooks on Amazon/Kindle at the same time, including #1 and #2! He’s also had 6 of the top 20, and 8 of the top 43 at the same time!
Every eBook John Locke has written and published has become a best-seller.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
August 25, 2012
What can I say? I mean, Locke breaks all the rules. There is no characterization except that which shows up through the more than abundant dialogue. There is no setting. The events can really take place anywhere, right? I mean...it's ridiculous!
And yet, reading Locke's books (see my other reviews) is inordinately satisfying, hilarious, if not totally crude, engrossing and addicting. How the man does it is a mystery (but I like his book prices). He's smart, selling books cheap and thereby gaining more readers and therefore making more money as compared to jacking up the price for a single read but less volume in sales.
Locke is a writing machine, spitting out novels every few months or so. He has a master plan (all the novels including the Westerns are tied together, however vague, and he's very busy building his Locke universe). And this reader looks forward to everyone of them.
Assessment: read this in a day and was sorry to see it go.
And yet, reading Locke's books (see my other reviews) is inordinately satisfying, hilarious, if not totally crude, engrossing and addicting. How the man does it is a mystery (but I like his book prices). He's smart, selling books cheap and thereby gaining more readers and therefore making more money as compared to jacking up the price for a single read but less volume in sales.
Locke is a writing machine, spitting out novels every few months or so. He has a master plan (all the novels including the Westerns are tied together, however vague, and he's very busy building his Locke universe). And this reader looks forward to everyone of them.
Assessment: read this in a day and was sorry to see it go.
May 21, 2014
First, an apology of sorts: When I read and absolutely fell in love with John Locke's Bad Doctor featuring sociopathic and world-renowned pediatric surgeon Gideon Box, I thought it was the first in the series. Apparently, I was wrong - this one is. And I'll share something else: Had I read it first, I would have stopped right there.
No, it's not awful (the most noticeable difference is that Box seems to have started as a cardio-thoracic surgeon who inexplicably morphed into pediatrics). In fact, it's rather entertaining - that is, if your idea of entertainment is following the good doctor's escapades through the back woods of Kentucky chasing down three women he met on an online dating service. Every country bumpkin cliche you've ever heard is in there (plus a few you probably haven't), and along the way Box gets beaten up, hung, arrested and held at gunpoint yet manages to live to brag about it. At no time, though, does he do any real doctoring, nor does his tendency to kill people who've done him wrong back in his hospital setting show up anywhere.
For the most part, the book is silly. Sometimes, I admit, silly is funny (my favorite is the retort Box's young, shapely girlfriend makes to an older, portly ex-girlfriend who's just made a reference to the former lady's need for a training bra: "At least I get measured for my bras...instead of surveyed."
Mostly, though, silly is just silly, and the best I can say beyond a few chuckles is that it's short - I read it in under three hours. Based on my love of what I thought was the first book in the series - which I got free at Amazon.com - I was willing to ante up $2.99 for this one and another $2.99 for the third, Outside the Box. I'll put it this way: If Outside the Box is at least half as good as Bad Doctor, I'll figure I got my money's worth.
Now here's a P.S.: I just started reading the third book in the series, Outside the Box, and I was right the first time. This book Box really is the second - turns out the doctor specializes in both cardiac and pediatric surgery. And based on what I've read of the latest one so far, I recommend reading this book first even though it isn't, IMHO, nearly as good as the first. I'll also venture an early-on opinion of Outside the Box: Yep, my money was well spent. Stay tuned!
No, it's not awful (the most noticeable difference is that Box seems to have started as a cardio-thoracic surgeon who inexplicably morphed into pediatrics). In fact, it's rather entertaining - that is, if your idea of entertainment is following the good doctor's escapades through the back woods of Kentucky chasing down three women he met on an online dating service. Every country bumpkin cliche you've ever heard is in there (plus a few you probably haven't), and along the way Box gets beaten up, hung, arrested and held at gunpoint yet manages to live to brag about it. At no time, though, does he do any real doctoring, nor does his tendency to kill people who've done him wrong back in his hospital setting show up anywhere.
For the most part, the book is silly. Sometimes, I admit, silly is funny (my favorite is the retort Box's young, shapely girlfriend makes to an older, portly ex-girlfriend who's just made a reference to the former lady's need for a training bra: "At least I get measured for my bras...instead of surveyed."
Mostly, though, silly is just silly, and the best I can say beyond a few chuckles is that it's short - I read it in under three hours. Based on my love of what I thought was the first book in the series - which I got free at Amazon.com - I was willing to ante up $2.99 for this one and another $2.99 for the third, Outside the Box. I'll put it this way: If Outside the Box is at least half as good as Bad Doctor, I'll figure I got my money's worth.
Now here's a P.S.: I just started reading the third book in the series, Outside the Box, and I was right the first time. This book Box really is the second - turns out the doctor specializes in both cardiac and pediatric surgery. And based on what I've read of the latest one so far, I recommend reading this book first even though it isn't, IMHO, nearly as good as the first. I'll also venture an early-on opinion of Outside the Box: Yep, my money was well spent. Stay tuned!
July 6, 2014
What happens when the worlds biggest narcissist goes hunting horny women in the south? Everything you'd come to expect from Dr. Gideon Box and MORE!
It's hard to review a book like "Box" without ruining some of the fun, so I'm going to be intentionally vague. As per usual, Dr. Box has gotten himself in a heap of trouble. When you think things have hit rock bottom for him, they get worse.
Imagine, the homecoming queen (young and beautiful, the belle of south) dares you to steal a policeman's handcuffs, then lets you handcuff her to the fence behind the diner, and kiss her. This is the kind of thing Dr. Box lives for ... though he wants more than a kiss ... and the cop turns out to be the girl's father!
This is the start of Dr. Box's trip, landing him in hot water before he makes it to even one of the three women he's supposed to hook up with. When things go bad does he stop? Nope. But by the end of the book it's clear he should have.
What John Locke does well with Box is what he did even better in "Bad Doctor" (my hands down favorite of the Box books), he keeps you turning the page with outlandish scenarios and engaging dialogue. The books feel short, but if you look at the page count, you'll see they aren't. They're just so fun that they read at lightning speed.
These aren't "thinking" books, they're suspend disbelief and have fun books.
In "Box", every southern trope was done, every stereotype explored, and still, it was a good read. I miss the medical aspect that was present in "Bad Doctor" and am disappointed that the book didn't pick up where "Bad Doctor" left off, but those are the breaks I guess.
Oddly, an excerpt from "Bad Doctor" appears at the end of "Box", which is out of order since "Bad Doctor" (I believe) came first. "Box" ends at 87%. Always a bummer.
But the book was a good time. I like the characters, the off-the-wall plot, and John Locke has an undeniable knack for pulling a reader in and dragging them along for a speedy ride. His pacing is fantastic, his dialogue perfect, and he's original. Seriously, kudos for making this stuff up.
A recommended read if you're looking for a good time.
There's this lady ... and she's waiting to show you her horses.
It's hard to review a book like "Box" without ruining some of the fun, so I'm going to be intentionally vague. As per usual, Dr. Box has gotten himself in a heap of trouble. When you think things have hit rock bottom for him, they get worse.
Imagine, the homecoming queen (young and beautiful, the belle of south) dares you to steal a policeman's handcuffs, then lets you handcuff her to the fence behind the diner, and kiss her. This is the kind of thing Dr. Box lives for ... though he wants more than a kiss ... and the cop turns out to be the girl's father!
This is the start of Dr. Box's trip, landing him in hot water before he makes it to even one of the three women he's supposed to hook up with. When things go bad does he stop? Nope. But by the end of the book it's clear he should have.
What John Locke does well with Box is what he did even better in "Bad Doctor" (my hands down favorite of the Box books), he keeps you turning the page with outlandish scenarios and engaging dialogue. The books feel short, but if you look at the page count, you'll see they aren't. They're just so fun that they read at lightning speed.
These aren't "thinking" books, they're suspend disbelief and have fun books.
In "Box", every southern trope was done, every stereotype explored, and still, it was a good read. I miss the medical aspect that was present in "Bad Doctor" and am disappointed that the book didn't pick up where "Bad Doctor" left off, but those are the breaks I guess.
Oddly, an excerpt from "Bad Doctor" appears at the end of "Box", which is out of order since "Bad Doctor" (I believe) came first. "Box" ends at 87%. Always a bummer.
But the book was a good time. I like the characters, the off-the-wall plot, and John Locke has an undeniable knack for pulling a reader in and dragging them along for a speedy ride. His pacing is fantastic, his dialogue perfect, and he's original. Seriously, kudos for making this stuff up.
A recommended read if you're looking for a good time.
There's this lady ... and she's waiting to show you her horses.
August 19, 2012
This is the first John Locke book that I am not giving five stars. The Gideon Box explanation of his evening with Trudy Lake alone gives the book four stars. I absolutely love everything that John Locke writes but I did not particularly like the last 25% of this book. Locke goes into great detail about the women Dr. Box is going to see but he never really explains much more. In fact, the girl (Zander?) that cons him is never mentioned again after the con. I would imagine this girl will pop up in later John Locke books but we never know. She may be one of Donovan Creed's women for all we know.
This is what makes me come back to John Locke books every single time. You never know what is going to happen and you will laugh your ass off the whole time you read the book. John Locke is the only author I will stop all other reading to read his newest book as soon as it is released. I have introduced Locke to many friends and some love him but others do not get the crude humor. If you like the TV show Archer or you enjoy reading Reddit.com you will love John Locke books.
This is what makes me come back to John Locke books every single time. You never know what is going to happen and you will laugh your ass off the whole time you read the book. John Locke is the only author I will stop all other reading to read his newest book as soon as it is released. I have introduced Locke to many friends and some love him but others do not get the crude humor. If you like the TV show Archer or you enjoy reading Reddit.com you will love John Locke books.
August 14, 2012
By far not the best John Locke book out there. I loved Gideon Box in "Bad Doctor". I felt he was a sex-starved bumbling buffoon in "Box". The most interesting character was Faith Hemphill and her seahorse collection. I felt I didn't really care if Renee killed him or if Trudy ever got out of Kentucky. Naturally there were some laugh out loud moments (the twins - though the twins in Bad Doctor were much better) but this didn't capture my attention like the Donovan Creed books. The books are getting more crass with each one and I did catch the reference to Rose's magic during the post-hanging car "scene". And the references to Creed characters seemed forced. I miss the days of John Locke writing amazingly great thrillers with interesting characters, laugh out loud/shake your head in amazement moments, and manic plot twists - and they only cost $.99. This one cost $2.99 and it wasn't all that good.
February 20, 2015
So funny and quirky. Wouldn't be some people's cup of tea, but is definitely mine!
I didn't appreciate the abrupt ending at 87%, and that's why I docked it a star. Otherwise great though!
I didn't appreciate the abrupt ending at 87%, and that's why I docked it a star. Otherwise great though!
October 6, 2019
Another great book
Plenty of twists and turns with this plot, always something unexpected. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Plenty of twists and turns with this plot, always something unexpected. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
April 5, 2022
Dr Box is a sick individual but he’s so funny and the books are written so well that you have to love him. While all John Locke’s books are funny, my personal favorites are the Box series.
September 9, 2012
Box, the second novella focusing on Dr. Gideon Box, from author John Locke, is a bit of a letdown following on the heels of the series' impressive debut, Bad Doctor. While the concept was solid and the action comic, it simply seemed to be a bit directionless.
It's not clear how the tale in Box advances the tale of Dr. Gideon Box, focusing as it does on his out-of-hospital activities. The installments will seem even more disjointed to those readers who read Bad Doctor, but did not pick up Callie's Last Dance from his Donovan Creed series of novels.
While the character-crossover elements between Locke's series is normally a fun Easter egg for fans of his narratives, rarely have the elements of Locke's narrative so strongly demanded reading all his series simply to keep track of who's who.
While virtually no one from Locke's other series appear in Box, how the novel follows on from Bad Doctor will be frustratingly mysterious to those who only read those two novels and fail to pick up Callie's Last Dance. Only by doing so do some plot threads left dangling at the end of Bad Doctor get picked up for any sort of resolution between Book 1 and Book 2 in the Dr. Gideon Box series.
This sort of disjointedness is exactly the morass Locke has avoided until recently; vague signs of it were detectable in his failure to properly introduce Donovan Creed readers in Callie's Last Dance to Willow Breeland, even though I believe she debuted in Bad Doctor.
What Locke could use is a good continuity editor to help him keep all his characters straight; if hiring such a helper is good for Charlaine Harris, it's good for Locke, who's juggling quite a few more interconnected series... and writing them far faster.
The other disappointment was the vague resolution, which felt more like an, "I've hit my word-count goal" point than a satisfying tie-up of the novel's action.
Box is enjoyable, but not as fully so as previous efforts. Hopefully it's a temporary slump from which he'll quickly emerge.
It's not clear how the tale in Box advances the tale of Dr. Gideon Box, focusing as it does on his out-of-hospital activities. The installments will seem even more disjointed to those readers who read Bad Doctor, but did not pick up Callie's Last Dance from his Donovan Creed series of novels.
While the character-crossover elements between Locke's series is normally a fun Easter egg for fans of his narratives, rarely have the elements of Locke's narrative so strongly demanded reading all his series simply to keep track of who's who.
While virtually no one from Locke's other series appear in Box, how the novel follows on from Bad Doctor will be frustratingly mysterious to those who only read those two novels and fail to pick up Callie's Last Dance. Only by doing so do some plot threads left dangling at the end of Bad Doctor get picked up for any sort of resolution between Book 1 and Book 2 in the Dr. Gideon Box series.
This sort of disjointedness is exactly the morass Locke has avoided until recently; vague signs of it were detectable in his failure to properly introduce Donovan Creed readers in Callie's Last Dance to Willow Breeland, even though I believe she debuted in Bad Doctor.
What Locke could use is a good continuity editor to help him keep all his characters straight; if hiring such a helper is good for Charlaine Harris, it's good for Locke, who's juggling quite a few more interconnected series... and writing them far faster.
The other disappointment was the vague resolution, which felt more like an, "I've hit my word-count goal" point than a satisfying tie-up of the novel's action.
Box is enjoyable, but not as fully so as previous efforts. Hopefully it's a temporary slump from which he'll quickly emerge.
June 25, 2015
Fast, funny, outrageous and a protagonist who can't catch a break. But he's clever, and as much as circumstances catch him off guard, he whips those circumstances around with his intelligence, only to spin around and end up in another mess. This book takes place in the backwoods of Kentucky where the old world of hillbillies and rednecks, con men and women, are alive and just as outrageous as they've always been. As flawed as Box is, he's got a heart that wants to be loved and turns to the internet to find it. Dumb move for a smart big city attorney. The poor buy is looking for love in all the wrong places, and yet he stumbles on it and can't get the girl out of his mind. Or his life. Doesn't want to, despite all the unsavory things he discovers about her.
I ripped through this book at lightening speed, and not just to get to the next juicy sex scene--plenty of those without hurrying to find them. I've never read Locke before and wasn't sure from the blurb if I'd like it. I'm sure glad I took it for a spin. It's a tight book that keeps you stabbing the Kindle to get to the next page. I'll definitely be reading the rest of this series. I should probably mention that as entertaining as this book was, it's part of a series that ends with a cliffhanger. This has been one of the few books of this type where I've enjoyed the tease.
I ripped through this book at lightening speed, and not just to get to the next juicy sex scene--plenty of those without hurrying to find them. I've never read Locke before and wasn't sure from the blurb if I'd like it. I'm sure glad I took it for a spin. It's a tight book that keeps you stabbing the Kindle to get to the next page. I'll definitely be reading the rest of this series. I should probably mention that as entertaining as this book was, it's part of a series that ends with a cliffhanger. This has been one of the few books of this type where I've enjoyed the tease.
August 15, 2012
Oh, there is nothing like the crazy ride through John Locke's imagination! And I just can't get enough! I love Dr. Gideon Box and the strange, outrageous situations he gets himself into. It is amazing how all these characters and scenes mix together and circle back to end in such a remarkable finale. This seems to be one of Locke's signature traits--all these twists and turns that straighten out and for some reason make perfect sense by the end of his books. This sequel to Bad Doctor starts off with Dr. Box traveling to visit 3 women he met on an internet dating site--at the advice of his therapist. Of course, it won't work out as planned for him, but why would it? This is our Bad Doctor, right? Box is another laugh a minute, a riot roller coaster, and you just never know what may happen and who these characters turn out to be. Box is so much fun to read, and I hope John Locke has a lot more future adventures in mind for Dr. Box.
October 16, 2012
There is no way anyone can guess what the next page will bring in this absolutely laugh-filled-wonderfully-addicting book by John Locke. After every page you think to yourself that it can't get any more wild or amazingly funny then the page you just finished - but, it does! You will find yourself writing down all the great one-liners in the book - just hoping you can use them somewhere - anywhere! The main character of Dr. Gideon Box is beyond comparison with any other character you've ever read. How Locke thinks of these scenarios is incredible - it's almost beyond anyone's imagination. All I can say is, I hope John Locke keeps writing!
January 6, 2015
Audiobook Review
I'd heard a lot about John Locke Dr. Box books, and thought ok, I'll bite. Sorry I did. Although the writing mechanics are there, the subject matter - horny guy chases women, seduces them, then gets out of sticky (ok, let's let the pun ride) situations with the law - is pretty much trash. Reviews say 'Oh, Locke is sooooo funny!' There might have been 2 gags in 4 hours of reading. You can get more humor from reading the headlines of the NY Post.
I'd heard a lot about John Locke Dr. Box books, and thought ok, I'll bite. Sorry I did. Although the writing mechanics are there, the subject matter - horny guy chases women, seduces them, then gets out of sticky (ok, let's let the pun ride) situations with the law - is pretty much trash. Reviews say 'Oh, Locke is sooooo funny!' There might have been 2 gags in 4 hours of reading. You can get more humor from reading the headlines of the NY Post.
August 20, 2012
I really didnt understand why Gideon kept messing with people when everything always went bad for him. Every stop he made turned out to be a mess he got arrested so much it was a shame. Then the town peoples stories were ridiculous. I really want to know what happens with Gideon becaouse i hope it didnt end like that.
April 16, 2014
What a pleasant surprise. I was expecting a crime and procedure novel (told you I only glance at the blurb) but what I got was a laugh out loud romp with Dr Gideon Box and his uncontrollable libido.
Like him, I fell in love with Trudy just wanted him to see sense and go to her.
Already looking to get more Dr Box stories. This is a movie waiting to happen.
Like him, I fell in love with Trudy just wanted him to see sense and go to her.
Already looking to get more Dr Box stories. This is a movie waiting to happen.
May 5, 2016
I really like John Locke as an author but dr. Box is my least favourite of all his characters. The things that happened in this book were just because the guy was trying to have sex all the time. The humour isn't as good as it is in other series either. I'm not impressed and much prefer Donovan creed
September 3, 2012
I love John Locke's books. The characters are deviant, sexual, and down right fucked up like me. The twist and turns in his books put a big smile on this stupid face of mine. Box was no exception. Can't wait to see what happens next with Dr. Gideon Box.
September 7, 2012
Wow another classic from Mr Locke, the action just does not stop and Dr Box ..... well how many compromising situations and run ins with the law enforcement boys does he have to go through to get the girl !! Bring on the next book soon I hope
November 6, 2012
Not sure if this was supposed to come before Bad Doctor, but I read it after. No one can write about an insane life or time like Locke. Having said this, this book seems to stand out on it's own. Glad I read Bad Doctor first.
May 1, 2014
Great read if....you enjoy funny stories, crazy characters, crazy situations, fun writings, what the hell moments, adult concepts, "red neck" jabs, big city jabs, plot twists, laughing out loud, and an unsuspecting ending. (Great writing and one of the most fun books I've read in a while)
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December 30, 2015Great read!!!
I picked 5 stars because it kept me quite entertained. I had read Bad Doctor some time ago and I have enjoyed the second book in the series. I can't wait to start the third book.
I picked 5 stars because it kept me quite entertained. I had read Bad Doctor some time ago and I have enjoyed the second book in the series. I can't wait to start the third book.
August 11, 2012
These books are so bad but great for reading on my exercise bike I don't have to concentrate and I can finish them in 3 or 4 sessions.
August 13, 2012
Another great read by John Locke. If you want to have a fast read, a book you can't put down, read a John Locke book. Donovan Creed, Emmett Love, or Dr. Box. Love John Locke.
August 17, 2012
A simple sex/comedy, this was a fun read---one that doesn't require a big investment of your time. Not much depth to this, but that is just what the author intended.
September 27, 2012
Fascinating, hilarious read as usual by John Locke; however, not nearly close to one of his better books. I look forward to more.
August 7, 2013
this was a good read. Nice second book to the series. adding another character to the whole Donovan Creed series of characters.
October 7, 2012
Disappointment......
October 11, 2012
First ever Locke novel, very entertaining, though that main character is a bit over-sexed
October 31, 2012
John Locke does it again. This fast paced funny story keeps you turning the page. I highly recommend it.
January 2, 2013
My first Kindle book by John Locke. Bought it to check out his style and had a fun-filled ride. Thanks, John and continued success!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews