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Dr. Knox
Dr Adam Knox returns from serving with an NGO in the Central African Republic in disgrace. His attempt to protect patients from a brutal militia ended in disaster. he's a little rougher, a little wiser, and a lot more cynical.
His new clinic tends to the vagrant, vulnerable and victimized of LA's streets. It earns from the villains willing to pay for discretion.
His cynicism remains, until the night a beaten Romanian woman abandons her son on his operating table. She seems to be on the run. And in trying to return the boy to her, Knox can't help but try to figure out from whom she's running. He's going to wish he hadn't.
Helping other people won't help him much when his struggle to rescue the woman and her boy leads Knox into a tangle of human traffickers, Russian mobsters and directly into the cruel business of LA's most powerful family.
His new clinic tends to the vagrant, vulnerable and victimized of LA's streets. It earns from the villains willing to pay for discretion.
His cynicism remains, until the night a beaten Romanian woman abandons her son on his operating table. She seems to be on the run. And in trying to return the boy to her, Knox can't help but try to figure out from whom she's running. He's going to wish he hadn't.
Helping other people won't help him much when his struggle to rescue the woman and her boy leads Knox into a tangle of human traffickers, Russian mobsters and directly into the cruel business of LA's most powerful family.
368 pages, Paperback
First published July 12, 2016
103 people are currently reading
1649 people want to read
About the author
Peter Spiegelman
25 books110 followersPeter Spiegelman is a twenty-year veteran of the financial services and software industries. He retired in 2001 to devote himself to writing. He lives in Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 125 reviews
September 6, 2016
This is one hell of a thrill ride, and a engaging crime thriller set in Los Angeles. Dr Adam Knox has a colourful history as an NGO medic in some of the most troubling places on earth. His marriage broke down and he is now running a clinic for down and outs, the poor and the rest of society's great unwanted. He is struggling to keep the clinic financially afloat. His best friend, ex special forces operator, Ben Sutter, has helped Adam to provide a discreet medical service for the rich and those who want to remain below the radar, for a handsome price. The landlord of the clinic wants to sell and there is just no way that Adam has the means to buy it. Adam's problems skyrocket when he administers to the medical needs of Alex, a boy whose mother, Elena, runs for it when threats arise.
Adam is reluctant to call Child Services or the police, and despite his nurse, Lydia's objections, he arranges to have Alex looked after till Elena is found. This brings the forces of hell to Adam's doorstep. A number of dubious and ruthless parties want to get their hands on Elena and Alex. This includes the Russian Mafia, human traffickers, corporate security men, and the twisted, criminal, corrupt, and deranged Bray family. The Brays have their own private army and believe the law only exists for the little people, certainly not for them. Adam and the clinic staff find life as they knew it going out of the window as dangers engulf them. Ben proves to be a critical friend, with his special expertise, to Adam. Adam is a principled man who, despite the horrors that befall him, has absolutely no intention of giving up either Elena or Alex. Where will it all end?
You always know that you are reading an excellent novel when you cannot bear to put it down, even when there are things that need doing. Peter Spiegelman has written a totally gripping and compelling story that you cannot stop reading. I found it was well written and superbly plotted for maximum tension. Cannot recommend it enough. Brilliant read. Thanks to Quercus for an ARC.
Adam is reluctant to call Child Services or the police, and despite his nurse, Lydia's objections, he arranges to have Alex looked after till Elena is found. This brings the forces of hell to Adam's doorstep. A number of dubious and ruthless parties want to get their hands on Elena and Alex. This includes the Russian Mafia, human traffickers, corporate security men, and the twisted, criminal, corrupt, and deranged Bray family. The Brays have their own private army and believe the law only exists for the little people, certainly not for them. Adam and the clinic staff find life as they knew it going out of the window as dangers engulf them. Ben proves to be a critical friend, with his special expertise, to Adam. Adam is a principled man who, despite the horrors that befall him, has absolutely no intention of giving up either Elena or Alex. Where will it all end?
You always know that you are reading an excellent novel when you cannot bear to put it down, even when there are things that need doing. Peter Spiegelman has written a totally gripping and compelling story that you cannot stop reading. I found it was well written and superbly plotted for maximum tension. Cannot recommend it enough. Brilliant read. Thanks to Quercus for an ARC.
May 2, 2017
Dr. Adam Knox has spent his entire professional life tending to the needs of patients on the margins of society. After a stint in Africa with Doctors Without Borders, he now runs a clinic in the slums of L.A., seeing patients that few other doctors would. It's a shoe-string operation clinging to life in a run-down building that may be sold out from under him at any given moment, and Dr. Knox pays the bills by working for cash under the table at night, meeting the needs of patients who don't dare go near a hospital.
When a panicked woman brings a desperately sick child to the clinic, Dr. Knox realizes that the boy is suffering an allergic reaction to peanuts. He treats the child and the crisis passes, but in the midst of it all, the young woman who brought the child to the clinic, and whom Dr. Knox believes to be the child's mother, disappears.
Dr. Knox's nurse, who may be the only adult in the room, tells him to do the right--and legal--thing, and turn the child over to the Department of Children and Family Services. But Dr. Knox doesn't trust the bureaucrats and convinces the nurse that they--meaning she--should hold onto the child at least for a couple of days, so that his mother has a chance to reclaim him.
Like the nurse, any astute reader realizes immediately that this is a BIG MISTAKE. Before long, some very nasty people are visiting the clinic. Some of them are looking for the boy; some of them are looking for his mother, and they all pose a very serious danger to Dr. Knox, to his clinic, to his staff, and to practically anyone and anything else that the doctor might care about.
Well, in for a penny...
Dr. Knox is not about to cave into the threats, even though he puts a lot of people he cares about at risk. He attempts to track down the mother on his own and reunite her with her son, and the chips will fall where they may.
The result is a high-octane thriller that will keep most any reader riveted to the page. Adam Knox is a great protagonist, and the bad guys are truly scary. Spiegelman writes beautiful prose, and his descriptions of L.A. and its residents put the reader right in the middle of every scene. There's some suggestion that Dr. Knox might appear in a subsequent novel, and I really hope he does. If so, I'll be standing in line to buy the book hot off the press.
When a panicked woman brings a desperately sick child to the clinic, Dr. Knox realizes that the boy is suffering an allergic reaction to peanuts. He treats the child and the crisis passes, but in the midst of it all, the young woman who brought the child to the clinic, and whom Dr. Knox believes to be the child's mother, disappears.
Dr. Knox's nurse, who may be the only adult in the room, tells him to do the right--and legal--thing, and turn the child over to the Department of Children and Family Services. But Dr. Knox doesn't trust the bureaucrats and convinces the nurse that they--meaning she--should hold onto the child at least for a couple of days, so that his mother has a chance to reclaim him.
Like the nurse, any astute reader realizes immediately that this is a BIG MISTAKE. Before long, some very nasty people are visiting the clinic. Some of them are looking for the boy; some of them are looking for his mother, and they all pose a very serious danger to Dr. Knox, to his clinic, to his staff, and to practically anyone and anything else that the doctor might care about.
Well, in for a penny...
Dr. Knox is not about to cave into the threats, even though he puts a lot of people he cares about at risk. He attempts to track down the mother on his own and reunite her with her son, and the chips will fall where they may.
The result is a high-octane thriller that will keep most any reader riveted to the page. Adam Knox is a great protagonist, and the bad guys are truly scary. Spiegelman writes beautiful prose, and his descriptions of L.A. and its residents put the reader right in the middle of every scene. There's some suggestion that Dr. Knox might appear in a subsequent novel, and I really hope he does. If so, I'll be standing in line to buy the book hot off the press.
Read
July 15, 2016With gratitude to Random House and Edelweiss for granting early access to the e-galley published July 12, 2016.
The Hook Enthusiastic recommendation by Ann Kingman Booksonthenightstand, Episode #389. She didn’t exaggerate.
The Sinker – Move over detectives, there’s a new go to guy in town. Doc Knox still makes house calls; cash up front, few questions asked and an unconventional bedside manner. His LA Angeles clinic isn’t one of those clean white medical centers and his patients are either the street life savvy poor or the able to pay high-ranking criminals with an agenda. Either/or they’re no one to mess with but neither is Knox. Yet there is a flip side to his tough exterior. He cares about his patients and upholds his medical oath. Spiegelman has knocked it out of the park with this fast-paced, down right first-rate thriller. Dr. Knox, you can come knocking on my door anytime.
The Hook Enthusiastic recommendation by Ann Kingman Booksonthenightstand, Episode #389. She didn’t exaggerate.
The Sinker – Move over detectives, there’s a new go to guy in town. Doc Knox still makes house calls; cash up front, few questions asked and an unconventional bedside manner. His LA Angeles clinic isn’t one of those clean white medical centers and his patients are either the street life savvy poor or the able to pay high-ranking criminals with an agenda. Either/or they’re no one to mess with but neither is Knox. Yet there is a flip side to his tough exterior. He cares about his patients and upholds his medical oath. Spiegelman has knocked it out of the park with this fast-paced, down right first-rate thriller. Dr. Knox, you can come knocking on my door anytime.
August 19, 2016
“Dr Knox” is a satisfying read, a well-written and witty story that will entertain you from page one.
Dr Knox is a bleeding-heart physician who has a clinic near Skid Row in downtown LA. He sees anyone who walks through his door whether they have the means to pay or not. And he makes house calls! He has motley, albeit dedicated staff. To subsidize his clinic, he works with a friend who is a former Special Forces Operator, Ben Sutton. Sutton is fluent in multiple languages and well connected. Sutton finds “clients” who will pay upfront in cash with no questions asked. Those clientele are filthy rich and able to pay excessive fees to keep their medical issues private.
The story gets rolling when a woman and her son come to the clinic because the boy is suffering an acute breathing issue. Once the boy is treated, the mother runs away when two thugs appear at the clinic looking for the woman and the boy.
Dr Knox gets involved in the boy and woman’s lives and we got a suspenseful story going. As with all suspense stories, one cannot get too much into the plot without spoilers. All I can say is that it’s a wonderful page turner that gets the reader involved in the gritty streets of LA along with the absurdly wealthy people of Hollywood and LA. It’s an entertaining read that’s perfect for the times you want a fast, well written, and amusing read. I thank GR friend Carol for reviewing it and giving it an enthusiastic recommendation, with which I concur. It’s a great story!
Dr Knox is a bleeding-heart physician who has a clinic near Skid Row in downtown LA. He sees anyone who walks through his door whether they have the means to pay or not. And he makes house calls! He has motley, albeit dedicated staff. To subsidize his clinic, he works with a friend who is a former Special Forces Operator, Ben Sutton. Sutton is fluent in multiple languages and well connected. Sutton finds “clients” who will pay upfront in cash with no questions asked. Those clientele are filthy rich and able to pay excessive fees to keep their medical issues private.
The story gets rolling when a woman and her son come to the clinic because the boy is suffering an acute breathing issue. Once the boy is treated, the mother runs away when two thugs appear at the clinic looking for the woman and the boy.
Dr Knox gets involved in the boy and woman’s lives and we got a suspenseful story going. As with all suspense stories, one cannot get too much into the plot without spoilers. All I can say is that it’s a wonderful page turner that gets the reader involved in the gritty streets of LA along with the absurdly wealthy people of Hollywood and LA. It’s an entertaining read that’s perfect for the times you want a fast, well written, and amusing read. I thank GR friend Carol for reviewing it and giving it an enthusiastic recommendation, with which I concur. It’s a great story!
July 27, 2019
Having enjoyed Spiegelman's John March trilogy years ago, I was excited to find another of his novels to read. Dr. Adam Knox is a do-gooder: he runs a free medical clinic in a Los Angeles slum by day, being able to afford this by providing "no questions asked" medical care by night, accompanied by his ex-Special Forces pal, Ben Sutter. The two met while Knox was serving in Africa in a Doctors without Borders-type organization. One afternoon, Knox saves a young boy from an allergic reaction to peanuts, only to have his mother abandon him at the clinic when some thugs appear. Knox cannot bear to ruin the quiet kid's life by turning him over to Child Services, thereby endangering himself, his clinic, and his co-workers as a Russian trafficker and an even more dangerous, politically connected family seem to want the child and/or mother. Sutton is a classic bad guy (e.g., Hawk, Joe Pike, Bubba Rogowski, Win Lockwood) and Spiegelman does as good a job of covering seedy L.A. as Michael Connelly or James Ellroy.) A thrilling page-turner.
July 24, 2016
Very well-written. Gorgeous noir, without overselling it. Great balance between Chandler-esque descriptive phrases, truthful dialogue, pops of action, and compelling characters, including some wonderful killer-dames and a doctor with a nasty adrenaline habit at the center. This book is probably five stars instead of four, but who the hell is Peter Spiegelman?
This guy has serious potential for me.
Tasty narrative tidbits:
1) It had been a long while since I’d watched any television, and things had only gotten weirder. Beauty pageants for infants; ruddy men in trucker caps fighting over abandoned storage lockers; public shamings of compulsive hoarders and pre-diabetics; affluent suburban women made up like transvestite hookers, competing with each other in feats of coarseness and cruelty; barely literate pregnant teens with tattoos, unfocused eyes, and futures like wrecked cars; apoplectic crypto-fascists spitting bile and paranoia; a carnival midway of weight loss devices, hair growth creams, erectile dysfunction potions, and pottery from which herbs grew like green hair. It was like the day room of a surrealist mental hospital, or any big city ER on a summer Saturday night.
2) Through the tinted windows, the cloudless sky was mauve. [AND] The sky was a supersaturated orange in the west, and still full of heat. [Another time he tells us the sky is a chemical yellow. We get these shifting updates on the sick LA sky, like a barometer for the plot or a big fat lens to watch the story through.]
3) The noodle shop was on Sawtelle…It was a new place – sharp-edged and colorful, like something made from Legos – and I’d pulled in when I noticed that my hands were shaking and I had no idea at all where I was driving.
4) Antipsychotics were Ashe’s friends.
5) [All of Chapter 40 is sublime. He describes his depressing personal mail on the floor (isn’t it always!), turns on the TV, onto a nature channel with chittering monkeys that he feels are going through his pockets, lol. Then he watches a grizzled old sea turtle on the screen drag her barnacled ass across the sand to go lay some eggs somewhere. (Life IS a struggle, man!) Then he gets an epiphany, a vital piece of the puzzle, to figure out this tale of a parent and child.]
Shit, I’ve got to change this rating from four stars to five.
This guy has serious potential for me.
Tasty narrative tidbits:
1) It had been a long while since I’d watched any television, and things had only gotten weirder. Beauty pageants for infants; ruddy men in trucker caps fighting over abandoned storage lockers; public shamings of compulsive hoarders and pre-diabetics; affluent suburban women made up like transvestite hookers, competing with each other in feats of coarseness and cruelty; barely literate pregnant teens with tattoos, unfocused eyes, and futures like wrecked cars; apoplectic crypto-fascists spitting bile and paranoia; a carnival midway of weight loss devices, hair growth creams, erectile dysfunction potions, and pottery from which herbs grew like green hair. It was like the day room of a surrealist mental hospital, or any big city ER on a summer Saturday night.
2) Through the tinted windows, the cloudless sky was mauve. [AND] The sky was a supersaturated orange in the west, and still full of heat. [Another time he tells us the sky is a chemical yellow. We get these shifting updates on the sick LA sky, like a barometer for the plot or a big fat lens to watch the story through.]
3) The noodle shop was on Sawtelle…It was a new place – sharp-edged and colorful, like something made from Legos – and I’d pulled in when I noticed that my hands were shaking and I had no idea at all where I was driving.
4) Antipsychotics were Ashe’s friends.
5) [All of Chapter 40 is sublime. He describes his depressing personal mail on the floor (isn’t it always!), turns on the TV, onto a nature channel with chittering monkeys that he feels are going through his pockets, lol. Then he watches a grizzled old sea turtle on the screen drag her barnacled ass across the sand to go lay some eggs somewhere. (Life IS a struggle, man!) Then he gets an epiphany, a vital piece of the puzzle, to figure out this tale of a parent and child.]
Shit, I’ve got to change this rating from four stars to five.
June 2, 2019
This was fun! It reminded me a bit of the Orphan X series and Joe Ide's IQ series. I think if you like those, you would also like this. I hope there's another Dr. Knox on the way.
August 13, 2019
What a ride!!
Thanks to my GR friends' reviews, I have found another author that goes to my MUST read list.
This was a real high octane, high tension compelling read for me. Reminiscent of Elvis Cole & joe Pike, as well as Peter Ash & Lewis to some extent. The characters were all fully developed and relatable, most were even likeable. Plotting was great, so many bad guys on two different teams -- the hits just kept on coming. Add a wonderful wrap-up, and add Peter Spiegelman to my must read list.
Thanks to my GR friends' reviews, I have found another author that goes to my MUST read list.
This was a real high octane, high tension compelling read for me. Reminiscent of Elvis Cole & joe Pike, as well as Peter Ash & Lewis to some extent. The characters were all fully developed and relatable, most were even likeable. Plotting was great, so many bad guys on two different teams -- the hits just kept on coming. Add a wonderful wrap-up, and add Peter Spiegelman to my must read list.
August 3, 2016
Peter Spiegelman’s Dr. Knox is an immensely satisfying noir thriller. Though the details of the plot add up to your typical potboiler story of conspiracy and corruption, of the rich and powerful preying on the poor, Spiegelman’s slight (but distinctive) twist on the formula elevates Dr. Knox above its competition.
Dr Adam Knox is a hero in the Philip Marlowe mould — but armed with a stethoscope instead of a gun. Abiding by the tropes of the noir hero, he is a well-intentioned man with a dark past, using his skills and his limited facilities to provide medical care for prostitutes, junkies, and other street dwellers of Los Angeles for whom visiting a hospital is not an option. To help make ends meet — to pay his staff, as well as rent — Knox provides an ambulatory service for LA’s shadier elements, working alongside his friend and former Special Forces operative Ben Sutter.
Knox’s life — and quite literally everyone he knows — is thrown into turmoil when a young woman named Elena deposits her son at the clinic, rushing out the door before questions can be asked. Clearly frightened, and visibly injured, Knox is certain Elena’s life is in danger — and therefore her son’s, too �� so instead of contacting child services or the police, he hides Alex, and decides to unravel the mystery of Elena’s whereabouts, and her reasons for abandoning her child. The trail leads Knox into the path of violent Russian gangsters and an overtly corrupt corporation —both of whom will stop at nothing to terminate Knox’s investigation, and locate the mother and son.
Adam Knox is an enjoyable and compelling lead. We are in his headspace for the entirety of the novel, and’s the right mix of capable and completely out of his depth to make him likable. And while some of his past is unshrouded during proceedings, there’s plenty left for Spiegelman to uncover in future novels. The action and medical procedures are suitably hard-core, but never gratuitous (or overplayed), and while there’s some occasional monologuing, it’s thankfully never plodding.
Gritty, intense, and wildly entertaining, Dr. Knox is a damn fine crime novel. If Peter Spiegelman wasn’t on your radar before, he should be now.
Dr Adam Knox is a hero in the Philip Marlowe mould — but armed with a stethoscope instead of a gun. Abiding by the tropes of the noir hero, he is a well-intentioned man with a dark past, using his skills and his limited facilities to provide medical care for prostitutes, junkies, and other street dwellers of Los Angeles for whom visiting a hospital is not an option. To help make ends meet — to pay his staff, as well as rent — Knox provides an ambulatory service for LA’s shadier elements, working alongside his friend and former Special Forces operative Ben Sutter.
Knox’s life — and quite literally everyone he knows — is thrown into turmoil when a young woman named Elena deposits her son at the clinic, rushing out the door before questions can be asked. Clearly frightened, and visibly injured, Knox is certain Elena’s life is in danger — and therefore her son’s, too �� so instead of contacting child services or the police, he hides Alex, and decides to unravel the mystery of Elena’s whereabouts, and her reasons for abandoning her child. The trail leads Knox into the path of violent Russian gangsters and an overtly corrupt corporation —both of whom will stop at nothing to terminate Knox’s investigation, and locate the mother and son.
Adam Knox is an enjoyable and compelling lead. We are in his headspace for the entirety of the novel, and’s the right mix of capable and completely out of his depth to make him likable. And while some of his past is unshrouded during proceedings, there’s plenty left for Spiegelman to uncover in future novels. The action and medical procedures are suitably hard-core, but never gratuitous (or overplayed), and while there’s some occasional monologuing, it’s thankfully never plodding.
Gritty, intense, and wildly entertaining, Dr. Knox is a damn fine crime novel. If Peter Spiegelman wasn’t on your radar before, he should be now.
August 3, 2016
“Dr. Knox” is a fast-paced thriller from Peter Spiegelman. It keeps the reader guessing page after page. Adam Knox runs a clinic in run-down area of Los Angeles. He sees patients too poor, too disadvantaged, or too undocumented to seek medical help any other place. To pay the bills, he also runs a concierge medical practice for those who are willing to pay the price of quick and extremely confidential medical service.
Dr. Knox, his clinic, his friends, and his employees become entangled in a web of complications when a young boy is abandoned by his mother in the clinic after being treated for a life-threatening allergic reaction to peanuts. The story unfolds layer after layer as Dr. Knox tries to reunite the boy with his mother and untangle the mess surrounding them. Page after page is filled with suspense, action, and non-stop twists and turns.
The end also hints that we might see more of Dr. Knox in the future.
Dr. Knox, his clinic, his friends, and his employees become entangled in a web of complications when a young boy is abandoned by his mother in the clinic after being treated for a life-threatening allergic reaction to peanuts. The story unfolds layer after layer as Dr. Knox tries to reunite the boy with his mother and untangle the mess surrounding them. Page after page is filled with suspense, action, and non-stop twists and turns.
The end also hints that we might see more of Dr. Knox in the future.
August 21, 2016
I really enjoyed this book and read it quickly. I don't think it was "noir" as it purports to be, but the story was enjoyable, fast paced, and Dr. Knox was a great character that you rooted for. And I especially liked his friend Sutter and the woman who started it all, Elena. If you want an enjoyable read about dirty LA, this is it. I hope to see more Dr. Knox from Peter Speigelman. 4.5 stars even though I gave 4.
March 7, 2016
3.5 stars
This is the sort of novel that could become a nice series. Dr. Adam Knox himself is the reason why it works: he runs a clinic on LA's Skid Row and makes "house calls"--which doesn't mean he brings Kleenex if you have a crappy cold. He and his pal Sutter patch up people too famous or too criminal to drop by the nearest ER. It helps keep the clinic running. His job gets even more interesting when a woman comes in with a little boy in anaphylactic shock. Doc and Co. help the little guy while the woman jumps out the bathroom window and disappears. Not wanting to send the boy to the mega morass of LA's child protective services, he decides to wait until the woman comes back. Whoops. Lots people are looking for them both, and they are not nice folks.
Okay, so why do so many mild mannered types in the mystery/thriller genre have a ninja pal? Dr. Knox met Ben Sutter when he was working at an NGO in the Central African Republic. It's a pretty plausible connection, but author Spiegelman doesn't rely on Sutter to solve all the issues in the plot--yes, he's good for some pretty useful recon or poor Doc Knox would be squashed by baddies like a bug--but the doctor works it out himself. It's a nice balance.
I love the way Michael Connolly knows LA, and I get the same real feel from Peter Spiegelman. The Skid Row scenes ring true. This is a good read and I'm happy to see that Spiegelman has several other novels I have not yet enjoyed.
This is the sort of novel that could become a nice series. Dr. Adam Knox himself is the reason why it works: he runs a clinic on LA's Skid Row and makes "house calls"--which doesn't mean he brings Kleenex if you have a crappy cold. He and his pal Sutter patch up people too famous or too criminal to drop by the nearest ER. It helps keep the clinic running. His job gets even more interesting when a woman comes in with a little boy in anaphylactic shock. Doc and Co. help the little guy while the woman jumps out the bathroom window and disappears. Not wanting to send the boy to the mega morass of LA's child protective services, he decides to wait until the woman comes back. Whoops. Lots people are looking for them both, and they are not nice folks.
Okay, so why do so many mild mannered types in the mystery/thriller genre have a ninja pal? Dr. Knox met Ben Sutter when he was working at an NGO in the Central African Republic. It's a pretty plausible connection, but author Spiegelman doesn't rely on Sutter to solve all the issues in the plot--yes, he's good for some pretty useful recon or poor Doc Knox would be squashed by baddies like a bug--but the doctor works it out himself. It's a nice balance.
I love the way Michael Connolly knows LA, and I get the same real feel from Peter Spiegelman. The Skid Row scenes ring true. This is a good read and I'm happy to see that Spiegelman has several other novels I have not yet enjoyed.
June 23, 2016
Dr. Knox is one helluva good read. Peter Spiegelman knows how to write an intriguing, absorbing, and colorful novel. Dr. Adam Knox is not like any doctor you know. He lives in downtown Los Angeles amongst the pimps, dealers, whores, and homeless. He patches them together and hopes for the best. To pay his bills he makes house calls on those who pay cash because they are too notorious or famous to go to a hospital or conventional clinic.
We find Dr. Knox rescuing and treating an abandoned child after doing the same for child’s presumptive mother. People are looking for the kid and his mom. And not people like you and me. What ensues is dangerous, exciting, horrible, and terrific.
Pick up Dr. Knox. I promise that you will experience a fascinating look at people who you do not run into during your everyday life.
We find Dr. Knox rescuing and treating an abandoned child after doing the same for child’s presumptive mother. People are looking for the kid and his mom. And not people like you and me. What ensues is dangerous, exciting, horrible, and terrific.
Pick up Dr. Knox. I promise that you will experience a fascinating look at people who you do not run into during your everyday life.
August 15, 2016
Over plotted or under plotted. I can't tell. I was extremely into it at first, but then the doctor turned out to have zero flaws except for the old "I care too much" song and dance. Not only did the good guys always win, but the good guys were boring. Might be more fun on a long flight or something....
April 30, 2016
Sun-baked contemporary LA Noir with a vivid cast of characters and a plot that barrels ahead toward its inevitably bloody (though less bloody than it could have been) final confrontation. It works great as a standalone, but I would love to see more of Knox and Sutter should Spiegelman decide to make it a series.
August 5, 2016
I'm sorry that I started on a weekday and had to spread the reading out over several days: I could not put this book down and was constantly sneaking a peak at the next few pages. This is a great mystery for people who like gritty crime.
August 28, 2016
Dr..Knox
Washed up doc vs a Russian mobster AND a rich powerful autocrat? What could go wrong? Great read, fast and furious.
Washed up doc vs a Russian mobster AND a rich powerful autocrat? What could go wrong? Great read, fast and furious.
March 12, 2018
Yawn. this book is so boring. I cared nothing for any of the characters. And slow! I got to almost 60% before I abandoned it.
June 2, 2017
Dr. Know has a clinic in the worst part of Los Angeles and here he treats the lowest level of people, many of them homeless. A young boy is abandoned at his clinic by his mother who is clearly afraid of someone. Dr. Know is determined to find the boy's mother rather than put the boy into child welfare system where he is convinced he will no be treated well. It turns out he is not the only one looking for her. A Russian mobster and man who is the top of the "elite." The book goes through all kinds of twists and turns as Dr. Knox tries to keep the boy safe, find the mother and right any other wrong he finds.
March 5, 2025
Dr. Knox has a clinic on Skid Row helping the underserved community. One day a woman comes in with a child having an allergic reaction. She doesn’t seem to speak much English and vanished out the back door while the team was helping her child. Dr. Knox is worried about her and the child and feels something is up with the whole situation so he decides to keep the child safe until she returns. This decision leads to way more than he bargained for.
This was fun and felt like a movie. I loved the characters and all the action. Definitely recommend. The audiobook narration was great!
This was fun and felt like a movie. I loved the characters and all the action. Definitely recommend. The audiobook narration was great!
December 18, 2016
What is this about?: Adam Knox, the doctor at a clinic in LA, treats a boy one afternoon for an allergic reaction to peanuts, and finds himself embroiled in what amounts to a brutal custody battle outside of the courts. He decides to help the boy, Alex, and his mother Elena, but doesn’t realise the absolute crap he’s about to find himself embroiled in.
What else is this about?: What makes a hero? What makes a man drop everything to help a boy and his mother, people he doesn’t know at the expense of those he knows and cares about in his life? This is also the story of who Adam Knox is.
Stars: 3.5/5
Dr Adam Knox isn’t a hero, that much he makes clear. He may be an adrenaline junkie hiding in the guise of an emergency department doctor at a local clinic, but there’s something to him that he himself hasn’t acknowledged when Dr Knox begins. When Elena and Alex rush into the clinic asking for his help the story quickly becomes about him as much as Elena and Alex trying to escape the havoc in their lives.
Said havoc is Kyle Bray, a drunk and a drug addict, who wants his son, Alex, in the Bray family fold. When you think Bray, think money, legacies and almost maniacal desire to have a perfect bloodline AKA a perfect son. That’s what Harris Bray, Kyle’s father, is after when he focus all his energies and Kyle’s on getting Alex from Elena. This involves kidnapping him from Elena overseas, until Elena finds them a year later in the US and takes her son back.
Which is where this book begins: When Alex experiences an allergic reaction to peanuts, Elena rushes him to Knox's clinic, but leaves him there when she discovers people are still after them. And Knox can't bring himself to turn Alex over to the police. This is when the book starts to peel back his layers, to the time he spent with a medical organisation overseas and his experiences in war-ravaged countries. These are the hints that make it easier to understand Knox, like why he is so emotionally remote at times.
When Knox goes searching for Elena, he discovers the truth of Alex’s and her connection to the Brays and he resolves to help them. That involves dragging everyone he knows into a fight with a very influential, ruthless family without asking them. Sutter, his BFF in a way, is a mercenary and points this out a couple of times in the book – that this is all his doing, but the consequences are everyone's to bear. Knox doesn’t waver though – he wants to help Elena and Alex, but I couldn’t help but wonder at his ability to ignore the danger he was putting his own friends in and yet he persisted. Is that what heroes are made of? They sacrifice their own, without letting them know of the danger, in an effort to help someone? Or does Dr Knox crave danger that the mundane life of a clinic doctor can’t give him? Sutter makes these points several times over and it poses some interesting questions about the character of Dr Knox.
The plot may be straightforward in a way, the Spiegelman throws in some delicious twists and turns, and characters like Nora, Mandy Bray, Sutter and Lydia who all orbit Knox. They are well-developed, compelling characters and they force Knox into facing some harsh truths he’s not ready for. Will he be ready in book two? Don’t know. But I’d definitely pick it up if it ever does happen.
What else is this about?: What makes a hero? What makes a man drop everything to help a boy and his mother, people he doesn’t know at the expense of those he knows and cares about in his life? This is also the story of who Adam Knox is.
Stars: 3.5/5
Dr Adam Knox isn’t a hero, that much he makes clear. He may be an adrenaline junkie hiding in the guise of an emergency department doctor at a local clinic, but there’s something to him that he himself hasn’t acknowledged when Dr Knox begins. When Elena and Alex rush into the clinic asking for his help the story quickly becomes about him as much as Elena and Alex trying to escape the havoc in their lives.
Said havoc is Kyle Bray, a drunk and a drug addict, who wants his son, Alex, in the Bray family fold. When you think Bray, think money, legacies and almost maniacal desire to have a perfect bloodline AKA a perfect son. That’s what Harris Bray, Kyle’s father, is after when he focus all his energies and Kyle’s on getting Alex from Elena. This involves kidnapping him from Elena overseas, until Elena finds them a year later in the US and takes her son back.
Which is where this book begins: When Alex experiences an allergic reaction to peanuts, Elena rushes him to Knox's clinic, but leaves him there when she discovers people are still after them. And Knox can't bring himself to turn Alex over to the police. This is when the book starts to peel back his layers, to the time he spent with a medical organisation overseas and his experiences in war-ravaged countries. These are the hints that make it easier to understand Knox, like why he is so emotionally remote at times.
When Knox goes searching for Elena, he discovers the truth of Alex’s and her connection to the Brays and he resolves to help them. That involves dragging everyone he knows into a fight with a very influential, ruthless family without asking them. Sutter, his BFF in a way, is a mercenary and points this out a couple of times in the book – that this is all his doing, but the consequences are everyone's to bear. Knox doesn’t waver though – he wants to help Elena and Alex, but I couldn’t help but wonder at his ability to ignore the danger he was putting his own friends in and yet he persisted. Is that what heroes are made of? They sacrifice their own, without letting them know of the danger, in an effort to help someone? Or does Dr Knox crave danger that the mundane life of a clinic doctor can’t give him? Sutter makes these points several times over and it poses some interesting questions about the character of Dr Knox.
The plot may be straightforward in a way, the Spiegelman throws in some delicious twists and turns, and characters like Nora, Mandy Bray, Sutter and Lydia who all orbit Knox. They are well-developed, compelling characters and they force Knox into facing some harsh truths he’s not ready for. Will he be ready in book two? Don’t know. But I’d definitely pick it up if it ever does happen.
June 10, 2017
Awesome read! What a page turner! I can see there being a sequel and/or a movie for this!
September 21, 2018
What a gas it was to read "Dr. Knox." Is there a code or something behind books marketed with yellow dust covers? No even numbered pages. Nice. I was really in the mood for this book. You've got to give me credit for not wimping out by reading another short book to try to catch up with my Goodreads Challenge. Maybe next I'll read a short one.
Dr. Knox scares me a little because I see myself in him: He's sort of an asshole that pushes and pushes but he is sort of not an asshole because in the end he acknowledges the human costs that come along with "doing the hard right over the easy wrong."
In the end this is a LA crime novel. Spielgelman should not be afraid to write crime literature next time; I'm thinking Leonardo Padura. When my Aunt Jeanne died her phamplet at the funeral said that "she liked to read mysteries." I do not aspire to be like Aunt Jeanne in this regard. But I guess there is no shame in it. Is there shame in intellectual arrogance? Yes.
So let's close by acknowledging something that may be the most important thing about this book, something that we just need to look the cover to know. The book is about a doctor. As we read, we find out that it is about a good doctor. Some of us even compare the doctor in the book to the doctors we have in our lives, and to what we have read about the Hippocratic Oath as it figures in the lives of physicians when they graduate from med school.
We all know that "first do no harm" is the heart of the oath, and Dr. Knox doesn't do that. So understand me: when doctors want things for themselves, money, relationships, status, that figures into doing harm. That's because these things are for the docs, and not for the patients that they are there to serve. Medical care is out of control in this country. We spend more money than everywhere else and we die younger.
So maybe next on the hit parade for Dr. Knox isn't another no names house call, but into a change agent job as an healthcare exec in a broken system that he puts his soul and honor on the line to fix. That would be great reading, for those of us who need good stories, even if they are fictional ones, to inspire us to change the world for the better, starting with Healthcare, right at home in these United States of America.
Dr. Knox scares me a little because I see myself in him: He's sort of an asshole that pushes and pushes but he is sort of not an asshole because in the end he acknowledges the human costs that come along with "doing the hard right over the easy wrong."
In the end this is a LA crime novel. Spielgelman should not be afraid to write crime literature next time; I'm thinking Leonardo Padura. When my Aunt Jeanne died her phamplet at the funeral said that "she liked to read mysteries." I do not aspire to be like Aunt Jeanne in this regard. But I guess there is no shame in it. Is there shame in intellectual arrogance? Yes.
So let's close by acknowledging something that may be the most important thing about this book, something that we just need to look the cover to know. The book is about a doctor. As we read, we find out that it is about a good doctor. Some of us even compare the doctor in the book to the doctors we have in our lives, and to what we have read about the Hippocratic Oath as it figures in the lives of physicians when they graduate from med school.
We all know that "first do no harm" is the heart of the oath, and Dr. Knox doesn't do that. So understand me: when doctors want things for themselves, money, relationships, status, that figures into doing harm. That's because these things are for the docs, and not for the patients that they are there to serve. Medical care is out of control in this country. We spend more money than everywhere else and we die younger.
So maybe next on the hit parade for Dr. Knox isn't another no names house call, but into a change agent job as an healthcare exec in a broken system that he puts his soul and honor on the line to fix. That would be great reading, for those of us who need good stories, even if they are fictional ones, to inspire us to change the world for the better, starting with Healthcare, right at home in these United States of America.
March 18, 2017
Meet Dr. Adam Knox, who comes from a long line of Connecticut doctors. Rather than follow the traditional medical practice route modeled by his family, his penchant for humanitarian work drove Dr. Knox to tend to villagers in the war-ravaged Central African Republic. His attempt to save his patients from a ruthless militia backfired and resulted in his leaving Africa and his NGO employer.
Disgraced, he returned to the states and set up a clinic near Skid Row in Los Angeles. To make ends meet, he sidelines making no-questions-asked house calls to the very famous and criminals in return for cash. Dr. Knox’s inability to walk away from a young boy and his mother who visit his clinic leads to close encounters with human traffickers, the Russian mob, and corporate security goons. Ride along with this engaging, well-meaning but flawed doctor in this intriguing thriller that will hold you captive.
Disgraced, he returned to the states and set up a clinic near Skid Row in Los Angeles. To make ends meet, he sidelines making no-questions-asked house calls to the very famous and criminals in return for cash. Dr. Knox’s inability to walk away from a young boy and his mother who visit his clinic leads to close encounters with human traffickers, the Russian mob, and corporate security goons. Ride along with this engaging, well-meaning but flawed doctor in this intriguing thriller that will hold you captive.
August 6, 2016
Despite his hard edges, Dr. Adam Knox is a compulsive do-gooder - after a stint in the Central African Republic he has taken over an LA skid row clinic. When a child is abandoned at his clinic, he tries to set things right. He stumbles into a complex (but coherent) web involving Russian sex-traffickers and a highly dysfunctional, powerful, and ruthless family that controls a multinational corporation (they would be comfortable in a Ross MacDonald novel).
Peter Spiegleman's contemporary Los Angeles is reminiscent of Sara Paretsky's Chicago - a complex and crooked environment that can only be navigated with the help of one's connections. Spiegelman has a knack for portraying these connections and the novel's other characters vividly and with great economy. Overall, his writing hooked me in the first few paragraphs and never let me go.
I can't say that Dr. Knox broke any new ground; it is simply an example of genre writing at its best. While Dr. Adam Knox leaves the novel somewhat chastened after risking the lives of his friends and loved ones to help a stranger, I doubt that he has learned his lesson. The next time someone needs help, he will almost certainly repeat the same pattern. If so, I'll be there to read about it.
Peter Spiegleman's contemporary Los Angeles is reminiscent of Sara Paretsky's Chicago - a complex and crooked environment that can only be navigated with the help of one's connections. Spiegelman has a knack for portraying these connections and the novel's other characters vividly and with great economy. Overall, his writing hooked me in the first few paragraphs and never let me go.
I can't say that Dr. Knox broke any new ground; it is simply an example of genre writing at its best. While Dr. Adam Knox leaves the novel somewhat chastened after risking the lives of his friends and loved ones to help a stranger, I doubt that he has learned his lesson. The next time someone needs help, he will almost certainly repeat the same pattern. If so, I'll be there to read about it.
August 15, 2016
DR. KNOX features a look at the lower environs of Los Angeles and its residents who are cared for by the title's physician at a free clinic. Author Spiegelman creates a great mind visual of the area and the surroundings. As a mystery (and likely a new series) it is rather tepid in ingenuity in plot or freshness. Dr. Knox has a good heart, a past aiding war torn civilians, and some hazy past experiences that propel him to make bad decisions to right wrongs (which is a trait of many noir characters). But, his is a very passive hero and, as is usual in other mystery novels, he is aided by a more aggressive and violent natured friend who arrives ALWAYS at the right time to pluck him from the crossfire. This is something you find in Robert B. Parker and Robert Crais novels. Not so original. The story, otherwise, follows the usual 'those with power and money and hearts of ice' up against 'those they abuse with their power' and Dr. Knox is in the middle. He makes A LOT of bad decisions. And he is a bit boring. But he has a good bedside manner. And this is a bedside book. It helps you drift off and forget about your own 'pain'.
July 19, 2016
I'm currently crushing on Dr. Adam Knox, the wry narrator of Peter Spiegelman's noirish Dr. Knox (Knopf, digital galley), which I hope is the first in a series. Knox, who cast aside his patrician pedigree to work for an NGO in Africa, now runs a "Skid Row-adjacent'' health clinic in LA, treating junkies, prostitutes, illegal immigrants and the homeless. To keep the business afloat, he and his Special Ops buddy Ben Sutter make after-hours calls to criminals and celebrities willing to pay big bucks to buy his silence. Knox's quest to do the right thing got him into trouble overseas, and when he tries to find the mother of a young boy left at his clinic, he runs up against Russian mobsters and corporate crooks who dabble in human trafficking. Still, Knox is not about to abandon his white horse or his doctor's bag, even though he's risking his life, as well as the lives of those closest to him. Lots of grit and a few grins -- just what the good doctor ordered.
from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever
from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever
March 20, 2017
this book was very gripping, a gritty crime novel that was pretty dark at times. there were a few areas near the middle where it seemed to drag a bit which lost it a star in ratings, but it was overall a really good read.
November 1, 2016
A prescription for a bad day!
Peter Spiegelman is Very good and consistently satisfying! DR KNOX just grabbed me by kindle and would not let go! This is simply a fantastic book and anyone who loves a great thriller with an amazing cast of characters needs to pick this book up. I just hope this is not the last we see of the DR and his very " oh so cool" friend Sutter. More please!
Peter Spiegelman is Very good and consistently satisfying! DR KNOX just grabbed me by kindle and would not let go! This is simply a fantastic book and anyone who loves a great thriller with an amazing cast of characters needs to pick this book up. I just hope this is not the last we see of the DR and his very " oh so cool" friend Sutter. More please!
November 27, 2018
A do-gooder doctor in LA tries to help save a young mother and her son from criminal forces. I didn't think it was possible for a book to suffer from EVERY literary cliche, but this one sure comes close. The plot is unoriginal, the differentiation between characters is laughable, and the writing itself it just plain painful. The only reason I finished it is because I wanted to see how the stupid thing ended. Heed my warning: avoid this book.
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