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Still: A Medical Murder Mystery
Dr. Amy Sinclair is invited to give a medical conference out of town. Her husband and son accompany her as the Sinclairs decide to turn this opportunity into a little R&R over a long weekend. But Amy's worse nightmare confronts soon after their arrival. Her son collapses and is taken to the local hospital. The Sinclairs learn their son was poisoned with a toxin with no known antidote and has less than 12 hours to live. Who? How? And most importantly, why would someone do this to their teenage son? The Sinclairs race to save their son's life and to get answers to their questions about the monster who forever changed their lives.
Audiobook
First published December 7, 2012
18 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
L. Jan Eira
6 books11 followersL. Jan Eira is a cardiologist who discovered a passion to write mystery and thrillers. He has published multiple novels. He is also a playwright having had multiple of his plays on stage.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 29, 2015
Loved it. Wrote it.
February 12, 2013
Not as bad as expected with a self published novel.
First the good:
- interesting plot with some not unbelievable twists
- reasonable sounding science and medicine, which is often not the case in fiction.
The bad:
- the characters felt somewhat fake and bland, found it the worst when they had conversations, especially those where any kind of strong emotion was supposed to be expressed.
- strangely even though Amy is a doctor and seems to be the head of a research center SHE has to stay at their son's bedside and cannot help the search for an antidote because she's his mother and the police officer (who happens to also be the father) who has only investigated one domestic-related homicide just HAS to be part of the investigation. Seems ridiculous.
- each uniformed officer is like a brainless automan where the only response to even the most important, well-reasoned sounding plea is "don't make me shoot you" or "don't make me cuff you and throw you in jail". Maybe things are different in Canada but I'm not sure the author has met a cop based on their depiction in this story.
- every time I read the words 'mass murderer' I cringed.
"Generally, mass murder was described as a number of murders (four or more) occurring during the same incident, with no distinctive time period between the murders. These events typically involved a single location, where the killer murdered a number of victims in an ongoing incident (e.g. ...the 2007 Virginia Tech murders...)." From: http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/pub...
Wouldn't serial killer, spree killer or even just murderer be more appropriate since the killings occurred over multiple months in multiple different incidents? Maybe I watch too much Criminal Minds but it annoyed the crap out of me.
So yeah, the underlying storyline was good. It's nice to read a "murder mystery" that doesn't feel like something I've read before. I did enjoy this novel more than it sounds like from my list of nit picks above. It feels like it needs a good editor and it would all come together.
First the good:
- interesting plot with some not unbelievable twists
- reasonable sounding science and medicine, which is often not the case in fiction.
The bad:
- the characters felt somewhat fake and bland, found it the worst when they had conversations, especially those where any kind of strong emotion was supposed to be expressed.
- strangely even though Amy is a doctor and seems to be the head of a research center SHE has to stay at their son's bedside and cannot help the search for an antidote because she's his mother and the police officer (who happens to also be the father) who has only investigated one domestic-related homicide just HAS to be part of the investigation. Seems ridiculous.
- each uniformed officer is like a brainless automan where the only response to even the most important, well-reasoned sounding plea is "don't make me shoot you" or "don't make me cuff you and throw you in jail". Maybe things are different in Canada but I'm not sure the author has met a cop based on their depiction in this story.
- every time I read the words 'mass murderer' I cringed.
"Generally, mass murder was described as a number of murders (four or more) occurring during the same incident, with no distinctive time period between the murders. These events typically involved a single location, where the killer murdered a number of victims in an ongoing incident (e.g. ...the 2007 Virginia Tech murders...)." From: http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/pub...
Wouldn't serial killer, spree killer or even just murderer be more appropriate since the killings occurred over multiple months in multiple different incidents? Maybe I watch too much Criminal Minds but it annoyed the crap out of me.
So yeah, the underlying storyline was good. It's nice to read a "murder mystery" that doesn't feel like something I've read before. I did enjoy this novel more than it sounds like from my list of nit picks above. It feels like it needs a good editor and it would all come together.
November 4, 2023
Still
By: Dr. L. Jan Eira
Narrated by: Roberto Scarlato
4.5 STARS
This book was released several years ago. For some reason I overlooked it until recently. I feel grateful that it was offered for review.
A couple’s sixteen year old son has been poisoned, his parents are rushing trying to find an antidote. At the same time a serial killer is stalking the hospital. Will they solve all the mysteries before it's too late? How many will die? Who is the killer? Why???
Lots of twists and turns. The ending was surprising.
The narration was well done, Roberto Scarlato has a pleasing voice. He put in plenty of emotion into the performance.
This team of author and narrator are a winning combination.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have
voluntarily left this review.
By: Dr. L. Jan Eira
Narrated by: Roberto Scarlato
4.5 STARS
This book was released several years ago. For some reason I overlooked it until recently. I feel grateful that it was offered for review.
A couple’s sixteen year old son has been poisoned, his parents are rushing trying to find an antidote. At the same time a serial killer is stalking the hospital. Will they solve all the mysteries before it's too late? How many will die? Who is the killer? Why???
Lots of twists and turns. The ending was surprising.
The narration was well done, Roberto Scarlato has a pleasing voice. He put in plenty of emotion into the performance.
This team of author and narrator are a winning combination.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have
voluntarily left this review.
May 21, 2015
Imagine you’re the director of a research laboratory and that you’re asked to go out of town to give a medical conference, something you do often. This time, you take your family, for a long weekend of R&R. When you get there, your sixteen year-old son collapses and is taken to the hospital. He’s diagnosed with acute poisoning. Somehow he’s been given a toxin with no known antidote and you’re told he has ten hours to live. Twelve at most.
You'll be running to hug your children and loved ones after reading this one. Author Dr. L Jan Eira takes you deep into the soul of a brilliant but deranged scientist who will stop at nothing to get revenge. Revenge for the death of his wife who died in his arms from a deadly heart rhythm. A death he perceives was caused by Dr. Amy Sinclair.
Dr. Eira has crafted a medical thriller that cuts right to the chase and keeps on going from the start to the last page and grabs on to you and won’t let you go. A definite page-turner.
If you like murder mysteries, especially those with a medical background, STILL is most definitely a book not to miss. I loved everything about it. A must read!
You'll be running to hug your children and loved ones after reading this one. Author Dr. L Jan Eira takes you deep into the soul of a brilliant but deranged scientist who will stop at nothing to get revenge. Revenge for the death of his wife who died in his arms from a deadly heart rhythm. A death he perceives was caused by Dr. Amy Sinclair.
Dr. Eira has crafted a medical thriller that cuts right to the chase and keeps on going from the start to the last page and grabs on to you and won’t let you go. A definite page-turner.
If you like murder mysteries, especially those with a medical background, STILL is most definitely a book not to miss. I loved everything about it. A must read!
March 29, 2015
It isn't often that one is treated to a fixed genre type novel that was actually written by someone so immersed in the field that they drown the reader in the nuances and minutiae of their world. Tom Clancy or Le Carre spring to mind as a good examples of novelists with a background of expertise in a particular field that allow the worlds they portray within the novel to be as fleshed out as humanly possible.
Now, I'm not a mystery fan in particular, and I'm especially ignorant of the genre of the "medical thriller" but this must surely serve as an exemplary work in that field. Eira, a medical professional, weaves an engaging tale of a sadistic poisoner/serial killer and mad dash of the hapless parents of a poisoned teenager to find the cure and the killer. I'll keep this unspoilery, but the novel moves along at an almost madcap pace, a true race against time as the police and parents (the mother is an established doctor) try to figure out what the heck is going on!
Yet another example of a self-published author who deserves more darn recognition!
Now, I'm not a mystery fan in particular, and I'm especially ignorant of the genre of the "medical thriller" but this must surely serve as an exemplary work in that field. Eira, a medical professional, weaves an engaging tale of a sadistic poisoner/serial killer and mad dash of the hapless parents of a poisoned teenager to find the cure and the killer. I'll keep this unspoilery, but the novel moves along at an almost madcap pace, a true race against time as the police and parents (the mother is an established doctor) try to figure out what the heck is going on!
Yet another example of a self-published author who deserves more darn recognition!
October 18, 2015
Audiobook
Narration - Roberto Scarlato - Pretty Good - Good range of character voices. LOVED his voice for the bad guy!
So, I really enjoyed this story and the way it was told (even though at times it confused me). There are some flashbacks, and it switches to different characters and different storylines - but stick with it. For a bit, you'll be wondering why we are suddenly here and learning about this little story line and then all the sudden you find out why. I kind of like that style of story - so many things that intertwine and you have to keep your wits about you as your reading/listening.
I couldn't tell you if the medical talk was accurate or not, or if the police actions were realistic and believable. The ending could have used some more explaining - I could insert some spoiler material here, but I think I'll just leave it at that. It's a great listen!
I received a copy of this audiobook free of charge from audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review
Narration - Roberto Scarlato - Pretty Good - Good range of character voices. LOVED his voice for the bad guy!
So, I really enjoyed this story and the way it was told (even though at times it confused me). There are some flashbacks, and it switches to different characters and different storylines - but stick with it. For a bit, you'll be wondering why we are suddenly here and learning about this little story line and then all the sudden you find out why. I kind of like that style of story - so many things that intertwine and you have to keep your wits about you as your reading/listening.
I couldn't tell you if the medical talk was accurate or not, or if the police actions were realistic and believable. The ending could have used some more explaining - I could insert some spoiler material here, but I think I'll just leave it at that. It's a great listen!
I received a copy of this audiobook free of charge from audiobookblast in exchange for an unbiased review
January 23, 2016
The premise of this story had much potential, but the author failed to pull it off. The characters were flat and stereotypical. Their emotions and behaviors
seemed unnatural and forced. Some of the dialog was artificial and awkward. Many of the actions and events were quite obviously contrived and unrealistic,
especially at the end. Basically, the author tried too hard to force suspense into the story and ended up going over the top.
The floundering story was made worse by the dismal performance of Roberto Scarlato. He made the audiobook nearly unlistenable. He read phrases as sentences,
dropping the tone of his voice and pausing too long at the end of phrases just like one would at the end of a sentence. This was very distracting.
I can't recommend this audiobook and I recommend against Roberto Scarlato reading more audiobooks if he continues to perform this poorly.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for this unbiased review.
seemed unnatural and forced. Some of the dialog was artificial and awkward. Many of the actions and events were quite obviously contrived and unrealistic,
especially at the end. Basically, the author tried too hard to force suspense into the story and ended up going over the top.
The floundering story was made worse by the dismal performance of Roberto Scarlato. He made the audiobook nearly unlistenable. He read phrases as sentences,
dropping the tone of his voice and pausing too long at the end of phrases just like one would at the end of a sentence. This was very distracting.
I can't recommend this audiobook and I recommend against Roberto Scarlato reading more audiobooks if he continues to perform this poorly.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for this unbiased review.
March 24, 2015
A deadly poison. A serial killer on the loose. A race against the clock before more people die.
In this suspenseful medical thriller, author Dr. L. Jan Eira uses his medical knowledge to plunge the reader into a police investigation involving a serial killer and a deadly poison. What starts out at a family weekend out of town quickly becomes a quest to save lives--including the son of the two main characters. Time is of the essence in this fast pace thriller.
The author did a great job capturing my attention from Chapter 1 and he never let go. I finished this in two sittings because I refused to put it down. Similar to the TV show Quincy from the 70s, this book is surely to grip you with it's grasp.
In this suspenseful medical thriller, author Dr. L. Jan Eira uses his medical knowledge to plunge the reader into a police investigation involving a serial killer and a deadly poison. What starts out at a family weekend out of town quickly becomes a quest to save lives--including the son of the two main characters. Time is of the essence in this fast pace thriller.
The author did a great job capturing my attention from Chapter 1 and he never let go. I finished this in two sittings because I refused to put it down. Similar to the TV show Quincy from the 70s, this book is surely to grip you with it's grasp.
December 9, 2015
** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **
I was drawn into this story from the very beginning...and did not want to put it down! Ben and Amy go on a weekend trip with there son Billy, not knowing it was all a setup....Billy ends up poisoned and is quickly dying and they can not figure out why! Well there is a mad man among them, and he has revenge on his mind...with little time the cops and Ben have to figure out who this killer is and how to save Billy...But will it be to late?
Super exciting, and excellently narrated...I highly recommend!!!!
I was drawn into this story from the very beginning...and did not want to put it down! Ben and Amy go on a weekend trip with there son Billy, not knowing it was all a setup....Billy ends up poisoned and is quickly dying and they can not figure out why! Well there is a mad man among them, and he has revenge on his mind...with little time the cops and Ben have to figure out who this killer is and how to save Billy...But will it be to late?
Super exciting, and excellently narrated...I highly recommend!!!!
September 28, 2013
Dr. L. Jan Eira has created a murder mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat. His writing style is fast paced and kept me wanting to read more. If you liked the novel/movie Coma, you will love Still. This is a must read!
August 22, 2015
This was a page turner that I found by chance. It gives you great character development so you feel that you can see through their eyes. The medical aspect was not overwhelming for readers without a medical background. I am anxious to try another one of this writer's books!
October 26, 2015
Too contrived, but that in and of itself is forgivable. What really made me give this book the lowest possible rating is the writing - especially the dialog. If you ever want to do a MST3K of books - this is your meal ticket!
March 6, 2017
Intriguing Storyline
This book will keep you involved and guessing all the way through, with an interesting twist ending. I look forward to reading more books by this author, as this was very well written and engaging.
This book will keep you involved and guessing all the way through, with an interesting twist ending. I look forward to reading more books by this author, as this was very well written and engaging.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews