Serum

by Christopher McDonald

Dr. Lacy Miller is the Chief Medical Examiner for New York City. She sees many murders go unsolved and her need to find the persons responsible for the crimes leads her to develop a serum. A serum that will allow the dead to tell her their story. This highly unethical practice comes crashing down around her as the FBI and CDC become involved. The ripple effect of the serum continues to stack up leaving the world forever changed.

265 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2014

Reviews

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

story 3 stars
audio experience 2 stars.

The main problem with this audiobook was the narration, (by Robert Lee Wilson) for me it ruined the whole audobook.
To start with I thought it was a computer voice, but happily is was not.
I really don't know what happened in the book's 5th chapter (6th on Audible) I don't think the editor could possibly have listened to this chapter, the narator corrected himself several times, and constantly cleared his throat and one time actually said no it says .....and corrected himself again, I have never heard anthing like it in an audioboook.
Fortuanately it was only this chapter that was this bad, otherwise I would have given up.

The story was ok, but as I said I was so distracted by the narrator I had difficulty concentrating on the story.
As with Christopher McDonald's other book (which is very good) the style is in the feel of "Tales of the unexpected " so once again an unusual but clever story with twists in the tale. The author did well getting all this plot into just under 5 hours, without it feeling pressed together.

this audiobook was kindly given to me in exchange for an unbiased review by the author , so I'm really sorry I could not be more possitive about it.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 4 stars
Audiobook narrator Robert Lee Wilson rating: 1 star

This audiobook was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book – I found it interesting and fun, plus it was short. There was a small amount of main characters so it was easy to follow. There was a little bit of predictability within this book but that never bothers me (plus, I am good at not figuring stuff out until it happens – I like to be surprised with books!). This book had a great twist at the end of it that really made it much more interesting (that I did not see coming).

However, I did not enjoy the narration. There was a constant high pitch hum throughout the entire production. In chapter 5 (I think), the narrator has a lot of troubles with repeating words and clearing his throat (plus what sounds like blowing his nose). I thought it was my Audible app being buggy, but I think it’s the narration. I really think this should be edited more. I am unsure of what it takes to produce an audiobook but I would never guess that bodily sounds would be left in the final copy of the recording.

Thanks again, Christopher, for the copy of the audiobook! I look forward to future books that you write.

[Sarah]

This review was originally posted on One Curvy Blogger

If I were trying to give an example of how a narrator can make an audiobook or break it, I'd use Serum. Though the cover may not look like much, I really was excited by the premise of the book. I couldn't wait to dig into this thriller and I probably could have enjoyed the book, if the narrator wasn't such an awful pick. I could have even gotten over the sound issues had McDonald been a little bit more choosy with his voice actor and done any kind of diting.

I'm guessing that Serum Was Wilson's first attempt at narrating, because his performance was far from professional. He was constantly clearing his throat, stumbling over his lines, and correcting himself. It thoroughly distracted from the story and forced me to DNF by chapter five. It was such a disappointment, but it had to be done.

FTC Disclaimer: An audible copy of Serum was given to me free in exchange for an honest review.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Great story line, not prepared narrator"
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Serum is a medical version of zombism, and that's what makes the story interesting. Dr. Lacy Miller wants to collect special viral cells so she can create a serum that "awakens' dead people. In a twist, a good friend is killed and Dr. Miller has to sacrifice her project to "recover" him

If you’ve listened to books by Christopher McDonald before, how does this one compare?
I have generally enjoyed Christopher McDonald's creativity, and this book was no different.

How could the performance have been better?
I may have just received a first copy of this book, but the author kept tripping over his words and cleared his throat a lot.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Serum?
I think the ending was elongated and could have been cut and less dramatized.

[Cyril Patrick Feerick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Serum" by Christopher McDonald was a quick, entertaining read for me. A medical thriller you could say about Dr. Lacy Miller, a Chief Medical Examiner, who develops a serum that allows murder victims to "talk". So unsolved murders could be a thing of the past - or so it seems! The idea behind this book is one that I think is very interesting. The story pulls you in and takes you for a fantastic ride with an array of interesting characters that keeps you turning the pages. Speaking on the characters: The author walks a thin line with character development. If he had spent too much time on character development, he would have been hindered developing the plot. I thought he exhibited a balance that allowed him to tell his story very well indeed.

[Loy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a lot of zombie books and this one starts out pretty interesting. The main character is a medical examiner and invents a serum to "wake the dead " so she can find out who killed them. It of course get out of hand and the story speeds by.

Some of the characters where not fleshed out enough. This felt like the first n a series -I can see more opportunity to do it.

I listen to a lot of audio books and this one was short, with a different take on Zombies

I did receive this from the author but the views are mine

[Deedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok book.The storyline is about a Coroner that develops a serum to bring people back from the dead,for a few minutes,so they can tell who killed them.The narration byRobert Lee Wilson was terible.It was very hard to listen to.This audiobook was provided to me at no cost for a fair and honest review

[Thomas Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the development of the story. It was fast moving and entertaining. The reader had some problems around the 1 hour point but straightened out after that. It ended with room for an other book about the ending subject.