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Book Review of Miracle Cure

Miracle Cure
robinmy avatar reviewed on + 2104 more book reviews


Doctors Harvey Riker and Bruce Grey run a research clinic in New York City. Together they've discovered a cure for AIDS. A handful of patients who had the disease are now HIV negative. Federal funding for the clinic is getting scarce. The doctors are scrambling to find grants that will let them stay open while they continue their research.

TV journalist Sara Lowell and her husband, pro-basketball player Michael Silverman, pray their friend, Dr. Riker, gets the funding he needs. After a brief illness, Michael has been diagnosed as HIV positive and the only way he will survive is with the cure that the clinic has developed. But in a matter of weeks, two of the clinic's success stories have been murdered. When a third patient is found dead, police believe that someone doesn't want the doctors to find a cure.

This is one of Harlan Coben's first book. The story felt very dated. It was published in 1991 but it seems to take place before there were any drugs that would treat HIV infection. The politicians and doctors talk about the fact that HIV was a "gay disease" and would not impact the heterosexual community. Of course, we know that is not true.

This book was a page-turner, but it had a few characters that do some crazy things for no apparent reason. It also had an improbable ending which made my eyes roll. This is not Harlan Coben's best, but it is still an entertaining story. My rating: 3.5 Stars.