Marker by Robin Cook (unabridged audiobook read by George Guidall): Healthy patients are dying mysteriously, and medical examiners Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton are on the case. I liked the plot – I wasn’t able to guess the twists ahead of time and I learned a bit about medicine and the medical industry in the process – but some of the language got a little tedious. Perhaps doctors are different, but ordinary people do not regularly use that many four-syllable words per sentence. Cook also has an irritating habit of using “questioned” instead of “asked”, and having a character get impatient at the silence should there be a pause in the narration for a brief bit of description. Taking in someone’s appearance does not cause a noticeable lull in conversation. Most people’s brains work more quickly than that. Overall, however, it’s a pretty good story. I was indeed on the edge of my seat in parts (which is made worse in audiobooks since you can’t read faster to get to the resolution), and the ending was mostly satisfying. Not a deep or especially memorable read, but a nice diversion during my daily commute.
Leave a Comment