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The Organ Takers
Failed surgeon David McBride is in exile from the surgical community after making a costly error in judgment. Down but not out, he perseveres and is given a second chance to establish a career in surgery. But, as McBride stands on the threshold of a new life, the malignant underside of his fellow man intervenes. Under the threat of violence, David is forced to perform illegal organ harvests in a makeshift operating room hidden in a dilapidated meatpacking warehouse in lower Manhattan. Unable to resolve the excruciating moral dilemma faced each time he invades the body of an unwilling victim, David McBride fights to free himself from the situation and in the process, loses everything. When he finally loses the last shred of his humanity, he seeks revenge with surgical precision ... and instrumentation.
306 pages, Hardcover
First published October 23, 2014
98 people are currently reading
1169 people want to read
About the author
Richard Van Anderson
8 books22 followersI’m a former heart surgeon turned fiction writer. I write what can be described as medical mysteries, medical thrillers or novels of medical suspense, but I prefer to think of them as novels of surgical suspense.
What is surgical suspense? Surgeons, surgical diseases and the operating room are inherently dramatic. As a former surgeon, I’ve experienced this drama first hand and thought it would make for good fiction. My surgery training took me from the "knife and gun club" of LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, to the famed Bellevue Hospital in Midtown Manhattan. My education as a writer includes an MFA in creative writing where I was mentored by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane, among other accomplished faculty.
I know a lot about medicine and surgery, I know a lot about writing and storytelling, and I believe that combining this vast and unusual right-brain/left-brain experience will make for interesting reading and discussion, so please visit often.
What is surgical suspense? Surgeons, surgical diseases and the operating room are inherently dramatic. As a former surgeon, I’ve experienced this drama first hand and thought it would make for good fiction. My surgery training took me from the "knife and gun club" of LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, to the famed Bellevue Hospital in Midtown Manhattan. My education as a writer includes an MFA in creative writing where I was mentored by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane, among other accomplished faculty.
I know a lot about medicine and surgery, I know a lot about writing and storytelling, and I believe that combining this vast and unusual right-brain/left-brain experience will make for interesting reading and discussion, so please visit often.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
July 28, 2024
Author Richard Van Anderson’s former career as a heart surgeon really shows in this tense and gripping surgical thriller.
David McBride is a former heart surgeon who is exiled from the medical community after a lapse in judgement - a very costly error indeed. He is about to be given a second chance when he's approached by a stranger and forced ( through threat of violence to his family ) to perform illegal harvesting of human organs from unwilling donors. What takes place within these pages is really scary. The implications are horrifying. The pace though is just right and the author maintains a menacing, edgy feel throughout. The ending was good, even though it wasn't what I expected.
This was a really good read and I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Richard Van Anderson for my signed copy. * I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
David McBride is a former heart surgeon who is exiled from the medical community after a lapse in judgement - a very costly error indeed. He is about to be given a second chance when he's approached by a stranger and forced ( through threat of violence to his family ) to perform illegal harvesting of human organs from unwilling donors. What takes place within these pages is really scary. The implications are horrifying. The pace though is just right and the author maintains a menacing, edgy feel throughout. The ending was good, even though it wasn't what I expected.
This was a really good read and I would definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Richard Van Anderson for my signed copy. * I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
May 10, 2015
REVIEW The Organ Takers by Richard Van Anderson
Paces the narrative so well, the reader's pulse rises and falls with the action—
Just finished reading THE ORGAN TAKERS by Richard Van Anderson. This is a very good novel, a surgical thriller as the author terms it. It's a suspenseful tale of good surgeons gone bad while trafficking in the illicit sale of human organs. This is a long review, with several points to make, and most of you probably won't read the whole thing so I'll give it away right here: READ THIS BOOK. You won't regret it and there's a better than even chance you will have found a new author to add to your must read list.
This is a story that, well told, could contain a great deal of human drama (read that as moral dilemmas, edge-of-your-seat personal conflicts, life and death decisions, heart-breaking loss, and old fashioned revenge-seeking). Anderson is more than up to the task. At every opportunity he ups the ante, whether it be a surgeon making an incision in the bowels of an illicit OR (with his spell-binding narative—not boring and easily understandable to lay folks) or a man on the run from the cops, the Russian mafia, and the homeboys—all at once. Indeed, his realization of these many and desparate individuals is so believable one wonders how much time he spent in the hood, or homeless on the streets of New York, or riding around with the Russian mob.
Anderson is himself a surgeon and his insights on surgical technique and medical knowledge are thus not surprising. What is surprising is his ability to work this knowledge seamlessly into a scene. As a surgeon myself, and a fiction writer as well, I've read—or more truthfully attempted to read—a great many "novels" written by physicians. Physicians are, almost to a person, bright folks, and many, if not most, have a story to tell. Unfortunately most don't have the abilty to tell it themselves, which doesn't seem to stop them from trying. It's as if they believe writing is as easy as picking up a pen and laying some ink on the page. Well folks, it ain't.
A digression: Two folks are at a party. One, a surgeon, asks the other what he does for a living.
"I'm a novelist," the second fellow says.
"Wow," says the surgeon, "what a coincidence. When I retire, I intend to write a novel."
"Oh," says the novelist, "that is a coincidence, because when I retire I intend to practice surgery."
Preposterous you say? Yeah, probably. But the thing is, it's just as preposterous in the other direction. There's no way the average doc, who has devoted his or her waking time over the years to myriad intracacies of medicine, can suddenly begin to write with any authority or competency.
To do so, one has to spend hours at the keyboard—hours summing to months and years in the long run. One million words plus on the page. Short stories, novels half written, novels thrown in the drawer that will never see the light of day. Long nights and longer early mornings cooped up alone with just you and your keyboard or yellow legal pad to pass the hours. And enough rejections—this from personal experience—to wallpaper a moderate sized home office (all four walls). This requires a dedication most people in general—and most physicians in particular—don't possess. A bright individual does not a writer make. Only time and talent and persistence do.
Anderson has an MFA in creative writing, which of course isn't necessary to be a published author. But it does indicate more than a passing commitment to the cause, a dedication to the written word if you will. A suggestion he might just be worth a read. So I picked him up and I'm very happy I did.
He's the real thing all right.
In THE ORGAN TAKERS, as well as his previous short story THE FINAL PUSH, Anderson aptly demonstrates he knows how to tell a story. He doesn't just recount a scene, he paces the narrative so well the reader's pulse rises and falls with the action. His descriptions are so spot on the reader never doubts their veracity (as if any of us have ever run down a dark subway tunnel or stood in a lab surrounded on all sides by human organs pulsing and writhing in artificial baths). He evokes human emotions the way a surgeon parts the layers of a wound: with finese and certainty. This is writing folks. This is talent with the written word. This is the real thing.
He's a little rough in the first one hundred pages, until the story reaches a critical mass or finds its own level if you like (picture water spilling over a cofferdam—it's unstoppable). There were a few passages that suggest he hasn't quite found the right mix of medical jargon and lay description, but these are few and never detracted from the story, never took me—the reader—out of the moment. But I'm a surgeon and others will have to decide this for themselves. I'm betting it won't be a problem.
As a bonus, there is a glossary of medical terms up at his website. It isn't necessary for reading the novel, but it's well worth reading if you've ever had any interest in things surgical.
My overall sense of this book was John Grisham meets Robin Cook. It was a bit formulaic in places, and I did get tired of being told what the main character's goal was at any given moment—the two reasons I give it four stars instead of five. But the sense of drama was fabulous just the same, and the suspense never wavered down to the last paragraph.
I highly recommend this novel. I will read his next work and await it with high expectations. For a first novel, this read a helluva lot like a fifth novel—which is high praise in my book.
Paces the narrative so well, the reader's pulse rises and falls with the action—
Just finished reading THE ORGAN TAKERS by Richard Van Anderson. This is a very good novel, a surgical thriller as the author terms it. It's a suspenseful tale of good surgeons gone bad while trafficking in the illicit sale of human organs. This is a long review, with several points to make, and most of you probably won't read the whole thing so I'll give it away right here: READ THIS BOOK. You won't regret it and there's a better than even chance you will have found a new author to add to your must read list.
This is a story that, well told, could contain a great deal of human drama (read that as moral dilemmas, edge-of-your-seat personal conflicts, life and death decisions, heart-breaking loss, and old fashioned revenge-seeking). Anderson is more than up to the task. At every opportunity he ups the ante, whether it be a surgeon making an incision in the bowels of an illicit OR (with his spell-binding narative—not boring and easily understandable to lay folks) or a man on the run from the cops, the Russian mafia, and the homeboys—all at once. Indeed, his realization of these many and desparate individuals is so believable one wonders how much time he spent in the hood, or homeless on the streets of New York, or riding around with the Russian mob.
Anderson is himself a surgeon and his insights on surgical technique and medical knowledge are thus not surprising. What is surprising is his ability to work this knowledge seamlessly into a scene. As a surgeon myself, and a fiction writer as well, I've read—or more truthfully attempted to read—a great many "novels" written by physicians. Physicians are, almost to a person, bright folks, and many, if not most, have a story to tell. Unfortunately most don't have the abilty to tell it themselves, which doesn't seem to stop them from trying. It's as if they believe writing is as easy as picking up a pen and laying some ink on the page. Well folks, it ain't.
A digression: Two folks are at a party. One, a surgeon, asks the other what he does for a living.
"I'm a novelist," the second fellow says.
"Wow," says the surgeon, "what a coincidence. When I retire, I intend to write a novel."
"Oh," says the novelist, "that is a coincidence, because when I retire I intend to practice surgery."
Preposterous you say? Yeah, probably. But the thing is, it's just as preposterous in the other direction. There's no way the average doc, who has devoted his or her waking time over the years to myriad intracacies of medicine, can suddenly begin to write with any authority or competency.
To do so, one has to spend hours at the keyboard—hours summing to months and years in the long run. One million words plus on the page. Short stories, novels half written, novels thrown in the drawer that will never see the light of day. Long nights and longer early mornings cooped up alone with just you and your keyboard or yellow legal pad to pass the hours. And enough rejections—this from personal experience—to wallpaper a moderate sized home office (all four walls). This requires a dedication most people in general—and most physicians in particular—don't possess. A bright individual does not a writer make. Only time and talent and persistence do.
Anderson has an MFA in creative writing, which of course isn't necessary to be a published author. But it does indicate more than a passing commitment to the cause, a dedication to the written word if you will. A suggestion he might just be worth a read. So I picked him up and I'm very happy I did.
He's the real thing all right.
In THE ORGAN TAKERS, as well as his previous short story THE FINAL PUSH, Anderson aptly demonstrates he knows how to tell a story. He doesn't just recount a scene, he paces the narrative so well the reader's pulse rises and falls with the action. His descriptions are so spot on the reader never doubts their veracity (as if any of us have ever run down a dark subway tunnel or stood in a lab surrounded on all sides by human organs pulsing and writhing in artificial baths). He evokes human emotions the way a surgeon parts the layers of a wound: with finese and certainty. This is writing folks. This is talent with the written word. This is the real thing.
He's a little rough in the first one hundred pages, until the story reaches a critical mass or finds its own level if you like (picture water spilling over a cofferdam—it's unstoppable). There were a few passages that suggest he hasn't quite found the right mix of medical jargon and lay description, but these are few and never detracted from the story, never took me—the reader—out of the moment. But I'm a surgeon and others will have to decide this for themselves. I'm betting it won't be a problem.
As a bonus, there is a glossary of medical terms up at his website. It isn't necessary for reading the novel, but it's well worth reading if you've ever had any interest in things surgical.
My overall sense of this book was John Grisham meets Robin Cook. It was a bit formulaic in places, and I did get tired of being told what the main character's goal was at any given moment—the two reasons I give it four stars instead of five. But the sense of drama was fabulous just the same, and the suspense never wavered down to the last paragraph.
I highly recommend this novel. I will read his next work and await it with high expectations. For a first novel, this read a helluva lot like a fifth novel—which is high praise in my book.
March 9, 2016
A solid medical thriller with a great premise. Plus, it managed to surprise me with a direction I didn't expect--so five stars for that. Dark, gritty, and suspenseful.
June 13, 2018
From www.instagram.com/my.book.portal
Audiobook version
THE ORGAN TAKERS⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️THE ORGAN GROWERS⭐️⭐️⭐️.75(B+) by Richard Van Anderson. I decided to review this duology together because I finished listening to both before I got the chance to review it. I really liked these books and the main character. I didn’t realize how often I listen to books that have a female main character!! These both follow the life a young doctor, and this poor guy!!! There is ALOT of medical lingo in both of these books, so be prepared. The good thing is it doesn’t detract from the story. If you don’t understand it, it won’t affect your ability to understand what is going on in the story. I am a nurse and it is definitely above my pay grade. Now to give the narrator his due...great job #joelrichards. This is the first book from him that I have listened to. Excellent narrator and 🙌🏼 on the Russian accents!! @playstermedia #richardvananderson #joelrichards #theorgangrowers #theorgantakers #playsteraudiobook
Audiobook version
THE ORGAN TAKERS⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️THE ORGAN GROWERS⭐️⭐️⭐️.75(B+) by Richard Van Anderson. I decided to review this duology together because I finished listening to both before I got the chance to review it. I really liked these books and the main character. I didn’t realize how often I listen to books that have a female main character!! These both follow the life a young doctor, and this poor guy!!! There is ALOT of medical lingo in both of these books, so be prepared. The good thing is it doesn’t detract from the story. If you don’t understand it, it won’t affect your ability to understand what is going on in the story. I am a nurse and it is definitely above my pay grade. Now to give the narrator his due...great job #joelrichards. This is the first book from him that I have listened to. Excellent narrator and 🙌🏼 on the Russian accents!! @playstermedia #richardvananderson #joelrichards #theorgangrowers #theorgantakers #playsteraudiobook
January 11, 2015
David McBride lost his medical license because of remaining silent about an ethical violation; his silence was deemed to be innocent in one sense but complicit in another. So now he works as a lab tech, doing surgery on animals for a wretched salary. His wife has been supportive but she’s beginning to lose patience as David mopes about his error and the loss of his surgical career which he loved, was very good at and which provided him with dreams and plans of a brilliant future. Add to that the miniscule apartment in a low-class neighborhood and his wife’s announcement of pregnancy and the reader gets the full picture of a distraught couple on the brink of disaster. Then after numerous rejections to reenter medical school and the surgical profession, David gets not one but two offers that will bring financial success and allow him to work again in the field of surgery! The problem is one’s legal and the other one is illegal! The problem one has a caveat of perfect performance and the other a caveat of bribery that could ruin David McBride forever!
David makes a choice that involves performing organ harvests in a surgical suite set up in a ramshackle warehouse in downtown New York. It supposedly is only for a few months but it turns out to be far worse. It also turns out that the donors are not willing participants. So the story begins to spin out of control until David knows he must do something drastic, no matter the cost to his own future. That choice results in what could be catastrophic consequences to his physical and mental well-being! Or it could be that he is the weapon wreaking revenge for all he lost!
The Organ Takers is exactly what it says in its title – a novel of unbridled surgical suspense that will keep the reader up all night, unable to stop reading this very real criminal and/or medical thriller. Richard Van Anderson knows exactly where to ramp up the intensity and tone it down so the reader doesn’t come down with a stress-related physical problem. The black market for organ donations is probably a very real debacle hidden away from the public eye. Van Anderson raises the issue, demanding why this very noble, life-saving surgical procedure, involving various organs vital for life depends on how much money one can afford to spend to literally “live.’
Yes, most of us personally know or know about someone whose life was saved by an organ transplant or about someone who voluntarily gave life to another human being because of a sacrifice of an organ like the heart, the lung, kidney or other necessary part of the physical body. The Organ Taker… reminds the reader how control and regulation needs this issue to stop becoming a “rich man’s salvation” and possible for anyone and everyone, with no strings attached. It also deals with the ethical abuses motivated by greed for money that may exist in far too many places. Superb story that raises as many questions as it answers, Richard Van Anderson!
David makes a choice that involves performing organ harvests in a surgical suite set up in a ramshackle warehouse in downtown New York. It supposedly is only for a few months but it turns out to be far worse. It also turns out that the donors are not willing participants. So the story begins to spin out of control until David knows he must do something drastic, no matter the cost to his own future. That choice results in what could be catastrophic consequences to his physical and mental well-being! Or it could be that he is the weapon wreaking revenge for all he lost!
The Organ Takers is exactly what it says in its title – a novel of unbridled surgical suspense that will keep the reader up all night, unable to stop reading this very real criminal and/or medical thriller. Richard Van Anderson knows exactly where to ramp up the intensity and tone it down so the reader doesn’t come down with a stress-related physical problem. The black market for organ donations is probably a very real debacle hidden away from the public eye. Van Anderson raises the issue, demanding why this very noble, life-saving surgical procedure, involving various organs vital for life depends on how much money one can afford to spend to literally “live.’
Yes, most of us personally know or know about someone whose life was saved by an organ transplant or about someone who voluntarily gave life to another human being because of a sacrifice of an organ like the heart, the lung, kidney or other necessary part of the physical body. The Organ Taker… reminds the reader how control and regulation needs this issue to stop becoming a “rich man’s salvation” and possible for anyone and everyone, with no strings attached. It also deals with the ethical abuses motivated by greed for money that may exist in far too many places. Superb story that raises as many questions as it answers, Richard Van Anderson!
January 24, 2015
First things first, this is book one of a trilogy. Even though there are quite a few loose ends, you don’t feel like everything has been left unresolved when you get to the end of the book. I like some sort of closure in a first book of a series. If I don’t get that, I just am kind of put off. The Organ Takers was interesting enough that I will read the next volume when it becomes available.
Dr. Anderson is a former heart surgeon and it shows in this novel. The surgical procedures are extremely detailed. He probably goes a bit overboard on the minutia, but that is his background, so I’m sure that it is accurate, and that is what feels right to him. Most readers will be skimming though some of it. He does a good job with his first novel.
The main plot-line of the novel is realistic and believable. The basic idea, that there is a black market for stolen organs is a scary proposition, but rings true. Some of the sub-plots and character’s thought processes are a little far-fetched, but not inconceivable. The action drives the story and keeps you reading. You will finish The Organ Takers very quickly, because it is easy to get into and the prose is quite straight forward, and you won’t want to stop reading it. Characterization was a little shallow, but that is what you expect in an action driven thriller.
All in all, The Organ Takers was an exciting, and engaging book one of a trilogy. The author draws you into the story, and when you finish it, you will be anticipating book two. I enjoyed it, but wish that I had known going in that The Organ Takers was the first book in a trilogy. It doesn’t say that anywhere on the book, or on the Amazon page, except in the reviews. I think that the publisher needs to correct that. Some people don’t want to read a trilogy, and they should know up front what they are getting into.
Ignoring the trilogy issue, I thought that The Organ Takers was a good debut novel, and will try to read the next book. I give it 4 Stars out of 5, and recommend it to fans of Robin Cook, especially since there doesn’t seem to be many good medical thrillers out there lately.
I received a review copy from the publisher, White Light Press.
Dr. Anderson is a former heart surgeon and it shows in this novel. The surgical procedures are extremely detailed. He probably goes a bit overboard on the minutia, but that is his background, so I’m sure that it is accurate, and that is what feels right to him. Most readers will be skimming though some of it. He does a good job with his first novel.
The main plot-line of the novel is realistic and believable. The basic idea, that there is a black market for stolen organs is a scary proposition, but rings true. Some of the sub-plots and character’s thought processes are a little far-fetched, but not inconceivable. The action drives the story and keeps you reading. You will finish The Organ Takers very quickly, because it is easy to get into and the prose is quite straight forward, and you won’t want to stop reading it. Characterization was a little shallow, but that is what you expect in an action driven thriller.
All in all, The Organ Takers was an exciting, and engaging book one of a trilogy. The author draws you into the story, and when you finish it, you will be anticipating book two. I enjoyed it, but wish that I had known going in that The Organ Takers was the first book in a trilogy. It doesn’t say that anywhere on the book, or on the Amazon page, except in the reviews. I think that the publisher needs to correct that. Some people don’t want to read a trilogy, and they should know up front what they are getting into.
Ignoring the trilogy issue, I thought that The Organ Takers was a good debut novel, and will try to read the next book. I give it 4 Stars out of 5, and recommend it to fans of Robin Cook, especially since there doesn’t seem to be many good medical thrillers out there lately.
I received a review copy from the publisher, White Light Press.
May 1, 2016
I think I heard about this novel on Book Bub and bought it on sale. Don't let the 2 week reading time fool you. I was on vacation and for some reason thought I would actually read a book while I was traveling, lol. The Organ Takers: A Novel of Surgical Suspense was a fast-paced and fairly well written medical drama and yes, had me on edge a few times waiting to see what was going to happen. I had to overlook a few timeline issues, don't know that very many papers ever report events that happened after 11 pm in a newspaper delivered before 8 am, and there are always the frustrating moments when you want to slap the protagonist for a less-than-brilliant decision which alas, is necessary to further the plot in the direction the author is headed.
David McBride, a surgical resident stripped of his license for ethics violations during his residency, works as a lab assistant and all hope of a future in medicine seems distant, when along comes another opportunity. He finally has another chance to get out of debt and provide a better life for his pregnant wife, Cassandra and father who has dementia. Almost immediately he encounters the mysterious Mr. White and suddenly, he finds his family and future threatened unless he crosses ethical and legal boundaries once again, and participates in the harvesting of organs, in a for-profit scheme. Torn between family and what is right, he once again has to figure out how to get himself out of this dilemma and still protect his family. Some of it is predictable, but with a nice flowing writing style, it is a great weekend read. I did feel like I was missing something in the end and was not surprised to find it was part of a trilogy. As a novel, it can stand alone, but if you want to know what happens next--you will have to read the second one. Will I? I don't know if it's memorable enough to withstand months or years between novels to make a second book worth reading, unless there is a brief recap of the first novel, but probably.
David McBride, a surgical resident stripped of his license for ethics violations during his residency, works as a lab assistant and all hope of a future in medicine seems distant, when along comes another opportunity. He finally has another chance to get out of debt and provide a better life for his pregnant wife, Cassandra and father who has dementia. Almost immediately he encounters the mysterious Mr. White and suddenly, he finds his family and future threatened unless he crosses ethical and legal boundaries once again, and participates in the harvesting of organs, in a for-profit scheme. Torn between family and what is right, he once again has to figure out how to get himself out of this dilemma and still protect his family. Some of it is predictable, but with a nice flowing writing style, it is a great weekend read. I did feel like I was missing something in the end and was not surprised to find it was part of a trilogy. As a novel, it can stand alone, but if you want to know what happens next--you will have to read the second one. Will I? I don't know if it's memorable enough to withstand months or years between novels to make a second book worth reading, unless there is a brief recap of the first novel, but probably.
December 28, 2014
BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Failed surgeon David McBride is in exile from the surgical community after making a costly error in judgment. Down but not out, he perseveres and is given a second chance to establish a career in surgery. But, as McBride stands on the threshold of a new life, the malignant underside of his fellow man intervenes. Under the threat of violence, David is forced to perform illegal organ harvests in a makeshift operating room hidden in a dilapidated meatpacking warehouse in lower Manhattan. Unable to resolve the excruciating moral dilemma faced each time he invades the body of an unwilling victim, David McBride fights to free himself from the situation and in the process, loses everything. When he finally loses the last shred of his humanity, he seeks revenge with surgical precision...and instrumentation.
MY REVIEW:
Oh-my-word!!!! This was THE most suspenseful, sit at the edge of your seat, harrowing, eye popping read I've had in a long while. The action just never stopped in this novel from the very first page until the very last. I don't remember a book ever holding my attention as much as this one did. My mind kept telling my eyes to read faster and faster, I just couldn't get through it quick enough to know what was coming next. The writing is unbelievable, Richard Van Anderson has given an outstanding performance in The Organ Takers.
The ending was so abrupt that it tells me there is definitely a sequel in the works and I sincerely hope it's not too long before that is forthcoming. I just have to know what happens to David McBride and the others involved in aiding him.
Please, DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!! You'll be doing yourself at great disservice if you do. You won't be able to put this down for a second to even make a cup of tea. Totally enthralling and eye glueing!! I will be highly recommending this one to everyone and anyone who will listen.
Failed surgeon David McBride is in exile from the surgical community after making a costly error in judgment. Down but not out, he perseveres and is given a second chance to establish a career in surgery. But, as McBride stands on the threshold of a new life, the malignant underside of his fellow man intervenes. Under the threat of violence, David is forced to perform illegal organ harvests in a makeshift operating room hidden in a dilapidated meatpacking warehouse in lower Manhattan. Unable to resolve the excruciating moral dilemma faced each time he invades the body of an unwilling victim, David McBride fights to free himself from the situation and in the process, loses everything. When he finally loses the last shred of his humanity, he seeks revenge with surgical precision...and instrumentation.
MY REVIEW:
Oh-my-word!!!! This was THE most suspenseful, sit at the edge of your seat, harrowing, eye popping read I've had in a long while. The action just never stopped in this novel from the very first page until the very last. I don't remember a book ever holding my attention as much as this one did. My mind kept telling my eyes to read faster and faster, I just couldn't get through it quick enough to know what was coming next. The writing is unbelievable, Richard Van Anderson has given an outstanding performance in The Organ Takers.
The ending was so abrupt that it tells me there is definitely a sequel in the works and I sincerely hope it's not too long before that is forthcoming. I just have to know what happens to David McBride and the others involved in aiding him.
Please, DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!! You'll be doing yourself at great disservice if you do. You won't be able to put this down for a second to even make a cup of tea. Totally enthralling and eye glueing!! I will be highly recommending this one to everyone and anyone who will listen.
January 30, 2015
This is a quick read and holds your attention well. I was slightly frustrated by some of the choices made by the law enforcement people - I think I watch too much Law & Order ("That's not what Lenny Briscoe would have done"), but it has nice twists at the end that make up for all that, and it's well written overall. There's medical jargon, so going through the author's glossary beforehand is recommended, but it's also brought into context enough that you don't really need to do that. I enjoyed it, and am now anxiously waiting for the next one.
January 9, 2015
I don't put spoilers in my reviews. I really enjoyed this book. Even with a lot of technical surgical talk, the story was easy to follow. I wish it had been longer as I read quick and before I knew it, it was over. I hope to read another book by this author along the same story line. Very interesting and not what I usually read. Will pass my copy to my dad who will enjoy it as well!
April 22, 2015
Mesmerizing
This author fills the gap that Robin Cook has created. Never a dull moment in this brilliantly suspenceful, at times mind blowing, medical mystery. There is a good depiction of human nature at its worst and best, presented with very believable medical descriptions and terminology. You won't be able to put it down until the last page is read.
This author fills the gap that Robin Cook has created. Never a dull moment in this brilliantly suspenceful, at times mind blowing, medical mystery. There is a good depiction of human nature at its worst and best, presented with very believable medical descriptions and terminology. You won't be able to put it down until the last page is read.
May 12, 2015
As the title implies this is a thriller of the worst kind. You can be on top of the world and the next moment all crashes down and you are at the deepest, darkest bottom. This is happening for the second time and this time it is worse than ever. May this type of book always only be fiction.
December 9, 2017
The Organ Takers is a superbly penned novel written by former heart surgeon, now author, Richard Van Anderson. It is so good that I rank it with The Firm and The Green Mile. Needless to say, this is a five-star review.
The Organ Takers is the author’s first full-length novel and it is flawless which in itself is remarkable. There are no typos, misspelled words, omissions or punctuation errors. There is nothing to distract readers from the story (other than the glossary…see below). The pace of the novel is perfect and forced me to continue reading even though I was bleary eyed and tired.
I never disclose more than what is in the synopsis in my reviews as it doesn’t help the author and potentially spoils the novel for future readers. This novel is incredibly well written and will have you hanging on for dear life.
My only criticism is that the author directs readers to a glossary of medical terms on his website. Like the novel, the glossary is comprehensive and, in addition, there are pics of instruments and medical charts. In adopting this methodology, I think the author was ill advised. I found myself riveted to this novel and then oops, I had to go to the author’s website to gain an understanding of a medical term. So the author produced a superbly paced, suspense novel only to throw annoying roadblocks in the way of readers. I just don’t get why? The solution was that the glossary should have been in the front of the book and easily accessible via Kindle’s ‘Go to’ function. Further, the descriptions did not need to be anywhere near as detailed as they were. They needed to be just detailed enough to take the reader back to the story.
I do not want the penultimate paragraph to deter readers. Many of the medical terms can be accessed using Kindle’s dictionary function thus avoiding the switch to the author’s website. The Organ Takers is a brilliantly told, captivating story that I cannot recommend more highly.
The Organ Takers is the author’s first full-length novel and it is flawless which in itself is remarkable. There are no typos, misspelled words, omissions or punctuation errors. There is nothing to distract readers from the story (other than the glossary…see below). The pace of the novel is perfect and forced me to continue reading even though I was bleary eyed and tired.
I never disclose more than what is in the synopsis in my reviews as it doesn’t help the author and potentially spoils the novel for future readers. This novel is incredibly well written and will have you hanging on for dear life.
My only criticism is that the author directs readers to a glossary of medical terms on his website. Like the novel, the glossary is comprehensive and, in addition, there are pics of instruments and medical charts. In adopting this methodology, I think the author was ill advised. I found myself riveted to this novel and then oops, I had to go to the author’s website to gain an understanding of a medical term. So the author produced a superbly paced, suspense novel only to throw annoying roadblocks in the way of readers. I just don’t get why? The solution was that the glossary should have been in the front of the book and easily accessible via Kindle’s ‘Go to’ function. Further, the descriptions did not need to be anywhere near as detailed as they were. They needed to be just detailed enough to take the reader back to the story.
I do not want the penultimate paragraph to deter readers. Many of the medical terms can be accessed using Kindle’s dictionary function thus avoiding the switch to the author’s website. The Organ Takers is a brilliantly told, captivating story that I cannot recommend more highly.
December 18, 2017
Procedurals, whether police or medical, have always held a certain fascination for me. Here we have a melding of both. Almost Bond-like in its twisting plot, complete with super villain who sees himself as the answer to humanities's problems, we are led through the underbellies of corporate arrogance and seedy underbellies of the world as we know it. To steal is one thing; to steal from those who have no way to fight back is something else entirely, even if the claim is one of philanthropy. I will be watching for the other books in this series.
December 22, 2017
Great book
I love to read medical mystery books and this one wIas fantastic. There was some medical info but it wasn't difficult to understand. I've read some that have so medical terminology it confusing.
The author has written another book which continues the story of the main character. I just purchased it.
I love to read medical mystery books and this one wIas fantastic. There was some medical info but it wasn't difficult to understand. I've read some that have so medical terminology it confusing.
The author has written another book which continues the story of the main character. I just purchased it.
February 5, 2018
I wasn't too sure as I began this book, but soon after I was convinced it was a good read. I stayed up late to finish it which is always a good indicator of a good book. The story was not predictable which I like with a small twist at the end. I am going to begin the second in the series as I didn't want it to end. The ending was a natural connection to the next. Well done!
January 26, 2023
I don’t even know what to say. This book started great but dragged on. Which is saying something for a paperback less than 300 pages. There was so much that happened but by mid book I was bored. The writing was good but also over explained too much that I stopped caring. I wanted more of the the initial premise. By the third act so much was going on that made little sense.
August 12, 2018
A new genre for me. Good suspense even with some predictability. Some cliches as well with the Russian goons, surgeons with a God complex, and the urban gang members but over all enjoyable. Maybe enjoyable is the wrong word considering the organ taker plot but, it did keep my interest.
June 25, 2020
Excellent
A very good read , I was pleasantly surprised how engrossing a read. Very good storytelling, some complicated medical terminology but, most of this was explained. That said it did not distract from a hard hitting enjoyable read.
A very good read , I was pleasantly surprised how engrossing a read. Very good storytelling, some complicated medical terminology but, most of this was explained. That said it did not distract from a hard hitting enjoyable read.
February 13, 2021
Mesmerizing medicine and murder
This book was action packed from beginning to end with characters that you understand and care about. At least the quasi and actual good ones. Definite medical thriller of massive and exciting proportion. Can't wait to read the next in this trilogy!
This book was action packed from beginning to end with characters that you understand and care about. At least the quasi and actual good ones. Definite medical thriller of massive and exciting proportion. Can't wait to read the next in this trilogy!
June 27, 2025
Pretty good medical thriller about a surgeon who gets involved in the black market organ trade. I didn’t give it a 5, because there were a couple of areas that I felt should’ve been developed a little more and the ending was a bit abrupt. Overall though, it was an engaging read!
December 18, 2017
Good story line. Started off a little slow but built throughout. You'll want to read the second book in the trilogy as soon as you finish this one.
December 26, 2017
Organs for sale!
This was one exciting book. There was never a dull moment. One of the best hospital suspence novels I've ever read. Can't wait to start on book 2.
This was one exciting book. There was never a dull moment. One of the best hospital suspence novels I've ever read. Can't wait to start on book 2.
May 11, 2018
Mesmerizing!
Written like my favorite books of old, the medical and dire repercussions draw one onward!. I loved this book! Great read!!
Written like my favorite books of old, the medical and dire repercussions draw one onward!. I loved this book! Great read!!
May 13, 2019
Exciting story telling
I have enjoyed the pace of this story. I recommend this to all readers of medical mystery and slow revelations. It could happen and is poignant
I have enjoyed the pace of this story. I recommend this to all readers of medical mystery and slow revelations. It could happen and is poignant
April 16, 2015
The novel opens up with a man waking up in an ally. As he struggles to get to his feet he feels a pain so severe he doesn’t know if he can get up. He falls to the ground in excruciating pain. When he comes to he manages to stagger out of the ally to the street corner where he collapses. The paramedics find him and rush him to the hospital where he dies in the ER.
NuLife is a company that is trying to create perfect organs for transplant. They want to grow them and have them so that people on the transplant list don’t have to wait endless months for a match. Andrew Turnbull, once a highly rated surgeon who was caught in a scam of moving patients to the top of the transplant list for money, is the head researcher and owner of NuLife. His dream is to win the Nobel prize and he’ll stop at nothing to reach his dream.
David McBride was going to be one of the best transplant surgeons in the nation. Then he discovered what Andrew Turnbull was doing and didn’t report him. He lost his medical license and the chance to be a doctor. He is now a lab technician and he and his wife are living in a tiny apartment in a bad neighborhood with his father who has dementia. Life is not going well for David.
Then one night a man named Mr. White sees him in the park. He offers him $20,000 per surgery to remove organs from patients at a secure location. It seems of to David and he refuses. Unfortunately Mr. White has photos of David, his wife, his father, and knows things he could only know from bugging the apartment. David has no choice but to remove the organs from the patients.
When David goes to his first surgery it’s in an old warehouse. When the patient arrives he is combative and homeless. David now realizes they are not just operating on patients being paid for their organs, they are illegally obtaining the organs they are selling. He wants out but he can’t endanger his pregnant wife or his father.
Kate is a police office. Her father was the chief medical examiner for the county and she knows a lot about both police work and medical work. When she gets a call from a nurse to check out a homeless, schizophrenic man who says his kidney was stolen she doesn’t know what to think. After meeting him and speaking to him she thinks he’s right. Someone is stealing the kidneys of people who are homeless and mentally ill in hops that no one will believe them. Now Kate is determined to figure out who is doing it and why.
This is an action packed book that has a lot of unknowns. Mr. White is a person with much knowledge and power but we don’t know who he really is. There are other doctors and nurses working on the transplants as well and they are all being forced or blackmailed into it. Who is pulling the strings of this illegal operation and for what reason? Will Kate be able to stop them?
I found David McBride to be a kind but sad individual. He wants to do right by his wife and his father but he keeps being placed in situations that are illegal but he can’t do anything about them. He tries his best to find out who is behind the stolen organs but he gets into more trouble than he can imagine. He’s one of those people always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Kate is a strong female character. She’s smart, knows a lot about the medical field, and has a knack for knowing when someone is lying and when they are telling the truth. She knows someone is stealing the organs and after some interviews she knows who. The only problem is she can’t prove it. Working with her partner, she tries to connect the dots so that they can make an arrest and stop the harvesting of organs from the homeless.
This is a great book if you like medical thriller. I learned a lot from it and it was interesting to read. I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen next and if Andrew Turnbull was finally going down. The only thing I didn’t like was the extent of the medical talk. It was often way over my head and I didn’t understand it which only made it confusing.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
NuLife is a company that is trying to create perfect organs for transplant. They want to grow them and have them so that people on the transplant list don’t have to wait endless months for a match. Andrew Turnbull, once a highly rated surgeon who was caught in a scam of moving patients to the top of the transplant list for money, is the head researcher and owner of NuLife. His dream is to win the Nobel prize and he’ll stop at nothing to reach his dream.
David McBride was going to be one of the best transplant surgeons in the nation. Then he discovered what Andrew Turnbull was doing and didn’t report him. He lost his medical license and the chance to be a doctor. He is now a lab technician and he and his wife are living in a tiny apartment in a bad neighborhood with his father who has dementia. Life is not going well for David.
Then one night a man named Mr. White sees him in the park. He offers him $20,000 per surgery to remove organs from patients at a secure location. It seems of to David and he refuses. Unfortunately Mr. White has photos of David, his wife, his father, and knows things he could only know from bugging the apartment. David has no choice but to remove the organs from the patients.
When David goes to his first surgery it’s in an old warehouse. When the patient arrives he is combative and homeless. David now realizes they are not just operating on patients being paid for their organs, they are illegally obtaining the organs they are selling. He wants out but he can’t endanger his pregnant wife or his father.
Kate is a police office. Her father was the chief medical examiner for the county and she knows a lot about both police work and medical work. When she gets a call from a nurse to check out a homeless, schizophrenic man who says his kidney was stolen she doesn’t know what to think. After meeting him and speaking to him she thinks he’s right. Someone is stealing the kidneys of people who are homeless and mentally ill in hops that no one will believe them. Now Kate is determined to figure out who is doing it and why.
This is an action packed book that has a lot of unknowns. Mr. White is a person with much knowledge and power but we don’t know who he really is. There are other doctors and nurses working on the transplants as well and they are all being forced or blackmailed into it. Who is pulling the strings of this illegal operation and for what reason? Will Kate be able to stop them?
I found David McBride to be a kind but sad individual. He wants to do right by his wife and his father but he keeps being placed in situations that are illegal but he can’t do anything about them. He tries his best to find out who is behind the stolen organs but he gets into more trouble than he can imagine. He’s one of those people always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Kate is a strong female character. She’s smart, knows a lot about the medical field, and has a knack for knowing when someone is lying and when they are telling the truth. She knows someone is stealing the organs and after some interviews she knows who. The only problem is she can’t prove it. Working with her partner, she tries to connect the dots so that they can make an arrest and stop the harvesting of organs from the homeless.
This is a great book if you like medical thriller. I learned a lot from it and it was interesting to read. I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen next and if Andrew Turnbull was finally going down. The only thing I didn’t like was the extent of the medical talk. It was often way over my head and I didn’t understand it which only made it confusing.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.
June 24, 2016
Loved it! Medical thrillers are my all time favorite genre and this one was a great read. I appreciated the fact that author knew and used medical terminology appropriately as it created the real feel of being enmeshed in the medical world. As a non medical professional, I did like that he included glossary of words but I only found myself having to reference it once or twice as he used the terms in contextual manner that allowed reader to understand the meaning.
What truly made this such a thrilling book, but at the same time a scary read, is that it's not unrealistic as organ selling to the highest bidder has been illegally going on for a long time. If that's all book was about then it wouldn't have been as interesting but the author added in so many different elements that truly drew you into wanting more. The way the doctors and medical staff were coerced into becoming a part of something that they adamantly opposed was what made you want to cheer for each of them to find a way out of such a horrific position.
I don't want to put out any spoilers but I will say that just when you think that you've gotten a firm handle on where the plot is going, suddenly an unexpected twist is thrown in to keep you on your guard.
This was one of those "can't put down books". By combining enough real life situations with fictional elements, you realize how true to life something like this could easily happen when ego or desperation take hold of someone and that's what's so scary in reading this.
Yes, I acid I loved it so why only 4 stars, not 5, you ask? I have a process for books in a series. No matter how great I find them when I read book number one I always drop down one star in rating to save for after I read the 2nd book. my rationale for this is to see how well the author manages to create a cohesiveness between the books. If done well then I go back and upgrade the initial books review to reflect it.
Nothing bothers me more than reading an amazing book that leaves you with a few dangling questions only to find that the 2nd in series failed to address them or felt sloppy.
In reading The Organ Donors and seeing how meticulously it was written and how it managed to captivate my attention throughout, I can't imagine anything less then the same attention to Book 2. Can't wait to read it it.
A MUST READ for any one who enjoys realistic, fast paced, plot twisting medical thrillers. You won't be disappointed.
What truly made this such a thrilling book, but at the same time a scary read, is that it's not unrealistic as organ selling to the highest bidder has been illegally going on for a long time. If that's all book was about then it wouldn't have been as interesting but the author added in so many different elements that truly drew you into wanting more. The way the doctors and medical staff were coerced into becoming a part of something that they adamantly opposed was what made you want to cheer for each of them to find a way out of such a horrific position.
I don't want to put out any spoilers but I will say that just when you think that you've gotten a firm handle on where the plot is going, suddenly an unexpected twist is thrown in to keep you on your guard.
This was one of those "can't put down books". By combining enough real life situations with fictional elements, you realize how true to life something like this could easily happen when ego or desperation take hold of someone and that's what's so scary in reading this.
Yes, I acid I loved it so why only 4 stars, not 5, you ask? I have a process for books in a series. No matter how great I find them when I read book number one I always drop down one star in rating to save for after I read the 2nd book. my rationale for this is to see how well the author manages to create a cohesiveness between the books. If done well then I go back and upgrade the initial books review to reflect it.
Nothing bothers me more than reading an amazing book that leaves you with a few dangling questions only to find that the 2nd in series failed to address them or felt sloppy.
In reading The Organ Donors and seeing how meticulously it was written and how it managed to captivate my attention throughout, I can't imagine anything less then the same attention to Book 2. Can't wait to read it it.
A MUST READ for any one who enjoys realistic, fast paced, plot twisting medical thrillers. You won't be disappointed.
July 25, 2015
David McBride is working an unfulfilling job and is not satisfied with his current living situation. His wife is a nurse who works hard and is trying her best to support him. They live in a tiny, cramped apartment with his father, whose health is failing. David, once on his way to being a successful surgeon, lost it all because of an ethical dilemma that he did not come forward with right away.
Just as his luck seems to turn around and he may be a surgeon again. His life is changing for the better when he is put in another ethical situation. This one is much different, he is being asked to harvest kidneys out of a medically prepared warehouse, which will be transported to another location where they will be transplanted into the waiting recipient. It's all about money to them and when David tries to tell them no, because he is just getting his life on track, they threaten his wife and father. They prove that they have been watching him and know everything that he does.
David's character is developed well, showing the ethical and compassionate side of him. We follow him as he struggles internally and externally to perform these organ harvests, especially once he finds out that they are not willing donors. David doesn't want to do it, but he wants his family to be safe. David does push the limits which leads down a catastrophic path.
The storyline is well developed and the author gives just enough action and suspense to keep you reading. Once I started reading, it was tough to put this one down. I had to find out what was going to happen.
There are twists in the story that I did not see coming and we watch David as he has to choose which path to take. This is filled with suspense, action and a very intriguing story.
Cannot wait to read more by this author.
Just as his luck seems to turn around and he may be a surgeon again. His life is changing for the better when he is put in another ethical situation. This one is much different, he is being asked to harvest kidneys out of a medically prepared warehouse, which will be transported to another location where they will be transplanted into the waiting recipient. It's all about money to them and when David tries to tell them no, because he is just getting his life on track, they threaten his wife and father. They prove that they have been watching him and know everything that he does.
David's character is developed well, showing the ethical and compassionate side of him. We follow him as he struggles internally and externally to perform these organ harvests, especially once he finds out that they are not willing donors. David doesn't want to do it, but he wants his family to be safe. David does push the limits which leads down a catastrophic path.
The storyline is well developed and the author gives just enough action and suspense to keep you reading. Once I started reading, it was tough to put this one down. I had to find out what was going to happen.
There are twists in the story that I did not see coming and we watch David as he has to choose which path to take. This is filled with suspense, action and a very intriguing story.
Cannot wait to read more by this author.
April 27, 2016
I had to take a day before writing the review to really think about how I liked the book. Part of me disliked it and part of me loved it. David McBride, a surgical intern, was fired from his program after being involved with organ donor fraud. The gifted, once promising surgeon is now reduced to the life of a lab tech, until one day he is approached by a man offering to pay him to harvest illegal organs. David struggles with his ethics and the methods the man using to convince him to perform the surgeries. I sometimes had issues with the decisions David made, but at the same time, found them to be clever. I didn't realize this was book one of a trilogy until the very end when I was left hanging. I again struggled with my feelings about whether I liked the way the author wrote the outcome, but since I found myself wanting to read more with the next installment, I figured my rating should be a star higher.
February 4, 2015
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway a few months ago. I just now got around to reading it. I wish it hadn't taken me so long - the book was really good!
It was sent to me really quickly, and came with a bookmark, the author's card, and a nice personalized autograph on the title page.
The story itself was riveting. Lots of action, lots of violence, lots of surgery, lots of revenge. All the good things one would expect from a novel of "surgical suspense."
It was a quick read. I actually finished and wrote a review for it last night, which for some reason never posted. I found myself really feeling for the protagonist, and all of the awful decisions he was repeatedly being forced to make. I really want to read the other entries into the series now!
It was sent to me really quickly, and came with a bookmark, the author's card, and a nice personalized autograph on the title page.
The story itself was riveting. Lots of action, lots of violence, lots of surgery, lots of revenge. All the good things one would expect from a novel of "surgical suspense."
It was a quick read. I actually finished and wrote a review for it last night, which for some reason never posted. I found myself really feeling for the protagonist, and all of the awful decisions he was repeatedly being forced to make. I really want to read the other entries into the series now!
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