LURE

by Jeff Marschall

In the cold harsh winter of the Canadian Prairies a secret is about to be unearthed. Medical resident John Mueller finds himself serendipitously in possession of a professor’s coveted research. On the run, John evades enemies and authorities, unsure of who he can trust along the way. John must decode the professors past in order to understand the magnitude of what he has uncovered. While searching for explanations he ignites a new romance and rekindles an old one. But as John begins to realize the magnitude of his discovery, the ultimate decision of how to proceed with this knowledge is far from clear. As he struggles to predict the ramifications of the research, he will ultimately shoulder the responsibility of deciding whether its knowledge will benefit humanity or accelerate its path to destruction.

398 pages, Paperback

Published January 18, 2019

Reviews

[Jane Cairns]

LURE by Jeff Marschall (© 2019) begins on an interesting, fast-paced note. Dr. John Mueller is an intern doing a research project at a university lab in somewhat remote Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Mueller is bored with the dark, cold winter weather as well as his minor research project. His outlook abruptly changes as two supposed “agents” of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accost Dr. David Devilliers, Mueller’s lab director, and demand that Devilliers turn over his research. Mueller witnesses the altercation, takes Devilliers’ laptop and escapes with it, with the bogus agents in hot pursuit.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book does not maintain the fast pace. A close third-person narration that follows Mueller as the protagonist dominates LURE and effectively crimps the story’s style. For most of the book, the reader is subject to Mueller’s uncertainty and indecisiveness about what to do with Devilliers’ research. Such flip-flopping indecision creates an all-too-human, but unsympathetic protagonist.

On the positive side, Marschall takes on hot, current social topics such as population expansion and, to a lesser degree, climate change. (Population expansion comes up because Dr. Devilliers’ research involves a cure for cancer and, thus, a longer life expectancy for some people.) Conversations with some of the folks wanting to steal Devilliers’ research highlight Mueller’s indecisiveness, the reader is never certain what Mueller’s definitive opinion is about these topics. Who gets to decide who lives and dies by withholding medical cures, among other means. (The movie, Avengers: Infinity War, in its way, looks at population control on a universal scale.)

See my complete review at www.janecairns.com.

[Heidi Lynn’s BookReviews]

First, I want to thank Jeff Marschall for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review
.
Jeff Marschall’s medical thriller Lure A Novel by far the best book I have ever read in this genre! This is a must read if you like reading about the medical field, mysteries, thrillers, murders, major twists and turns, investigations, books that are fast paced, stories that take place In Canada and Paris, and major secrets, etc. I couldn’t get enough of it! I loved all of it.

This is my first time ever reading Jeff Marschall’s work. After reading Lure A Novel I hope he continues to write Medical Thrillers. He definitely has a gift in this genre. I would gladly read and review for him again. Plus, I would highly suggest this book to anyone who likes this genre.

Jeff Marshall is an incredible writer who has very gifted eye for detail and descriptions on how he writes. Many scenes I was blown away by.

The detailed medical research Jeff did on this book was outstanding. It blew my mind how in depth he got in his research for Lure. However, It was so incredibly important that he got his facts straight for this particular topic. Just by reading this section you could feel by reading it that this was very close to his heart.

I would absolutely love to see this book be seen on a NetFlix original!! I think many viewers would watch it and it would be a hit.

[Kim]

I found this to be an enjoyable read. The main character, John, finds himself in a terrible situation and still manages to hope that things will work out. His life, his reputation and his beliefs are put under a microscope making him question his purpose.

The major theme of this book is a morality question and I think the author has done a good job of looking at the conflict effectively. I liked the way he used characters to present the problem and make the reader wonder about how they might make a decision that could change the world as we know it.

The medical terminology was necessary and not terribly confusing but perhaps a little technical at times.

The book does wander a bit as we learn bits and pieces of the characters and John tends to escape his surroundings by daydreaming and projecting himself into more pleasant situations.

Johns behavior is foolish and he reacts sometimes without thinking things through. It makes him more human. Just an average guy caught up in a wild and complicated plot that has the potential to destroy him and those he cares about.

I'm conflicted about the ending, but understand there weren't many places to take the story at this point.

Typo on page 44

I received an advance review copy fo free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Taylor Callahan]

Dr. John Mueller’s monotonous existence as a medical resident in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is made only slightly more compelling by his involvement in a solo lab project supervised by Dr. David Devilliers. However, John’s mundane life takes a gripping turn when Dr. Devilliers is bombarded for information by two agents supposedly representing the U.S. Federal Drug Administration. John, despite his ignorance of Devillier’s research and notwithstanding his lack of connection to his supervisor, takes Devillier’s laptop and makes a run for it, agents in pursuit.

To begin on a good note, Jeff Marschall both addresses current and relevant issues concerning society, as well as does extensive research on the topics he handles. By discussing topics that are significant and ongoing societal concerns, Marschall effectively spiked my interest in the conclusion of the story. Not only was I keen on deepening my understanding of the topic, but I was also intrigued to hear John’s take on the issue and opinion on how it should be addressed. Furthermore, when considering the medical and ethical workings of these topics, Marschall offered comprehensive explanations that revealed that he was knowledgeable on the matter and did not leave easily identifiable holes in his commentary.

Be that as it may, I must flip the page and address the many issues I had with this novel. To start with, Marschall’s protagonist, John Mueller, is never allowed to be a character the reader can pull for. Not only is John a wimp with less-than-desirable personality quirks, but he is also well aware of his flaws and never does much to address them. The character flaws of John may have been excusable if there were some character in the story that the reader could pull for; however, every character has some kind of flaw or unrealistic and undesirable trait that does not make for a respectable hero.

Another issue that arose from the inadequate characters were lengthy and hard-to-understand dialogues, some of which were unnecessary and excessively lengthy. These conversations, as well as some of the character’s decisions, made them unrealistic and unrelatable. Many of the female characters fell into common clichés of being overdramatic and vulnerable while not being given many positive traits to make up for it, besides being unreasonably attractive. This portrayal of the female characters also led to unpleasantly explicit sex scenes that contributed nothing to the novel besides a further dislike of John’s character.

All things considered, LURE presents a compelling and thrilling idea based on current issues involving the growing human population and the pros and cons of developing drugs that will contribute to longer human life. The premise is interesting and kept me engaged, and various plot twists kept me wondering what would happen next. Marschall did not fall short on his commitment to research and presented a very relevant case. However, the lack of a noteworthy protagonist and the erratic use of characterization proved detrimental to the stability of this novel.

(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)

[Sbutter]

I don't usually read "thrillers" but a friend recommended this one and I enjoyed it.

[Stacey]

Unique Storyline

A very enjoyable and refreshing read, this novel is fast paced with a unique storyline that provokes one to truly reflect on their own stance and beliefs that the main character is faced with.

[Molly]

I really liked how this book immediately kicked off the action. It does not waste time establishing too much backstory at the beginning but instead scatters characters' pasts into the narrative. It reminded me so much of an Alfred Hitchcock film where an ordinary man gets unexpectedly dragged into extraordinary circumstances. It is the kind of book that makes you keep turning the page hoping for more truths and needing to know the resolution. The book raises the question of population control which was a very interesting debate to find in a noir thriller. I thought both arguments for and against the subject were written very well and made me feel like I could understand both sides. John, the main character, was very wishy-washy, but I felt like he represented the majority of people who would rather leave the important decision making to someone else. He was a very believable character. I recommend this story to anyone who likes a fast-paced thriller.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.