Miracle Cure Audio CD – Audiobook, June 4, 2013

I am a tremendous fan of Harlan Coben. This book, Miracle Cure, is not his usual area of expertise. Coben usually has a couple of characters named Myron and Win, who get into crime solving in unique ways.But this time it’s different. Doctors trying to save the lives of homosexuals are getting funds cut. Then their patients are suddenly killed, murdered to be exact.Read the book and enjoy the turns and twists of a brilliant author.

If you bought the newly reissued Paperback version of "Miracle Cure", you probably noticed a letter from Coben, just inside the Front Cover. He asks readers who are reading him for the first time to return the Book. The Book was Coben's second novel. I wonder why he wrote that note. Does he want to hide the fact that his books have regressed, rather than Improved."Miracle Cure" is a fine read. Outside of "Caught" I THINK this is better than anything Coben has since written.The book was written around the time that "Magic" Johnson announced that he had AIDS, and Coben "Borrows" from that event. Also there is a religous leader who may (or may not) be based on Jerry Falwell.Book moves right along and holds the readers interest. And unlike most Coben's books has a satisfactory ending.

I’ve have read all of yours books. I just stumbled upon this one. Your first ? I think maybe your best !

"Miracle Cure" is the second novel by Harlan Coben. In the preface written by the author, he states he does not feel this work is representative of his later works. I am glad it is available, and I am glad I had a chance to read it. However, I agree with the assessment of the author.This novel has an unlikely plot. It is about the hysteria surrounding a specific disease. In that regard the story is based on history. But the novel is a somewhat unwieldy story about individuals involved in the research of the disease and various intriques.This novel is a marginally better novel than the author's first novel, "Play Dead". There are times that the story held my interest and was a "page turner". There were times that the novel had twists that completely surprised me. At other times the story drags. At times I felt it was a public service announcement in the guise of a novel.Additionally there is a part of the story that takes place in a "red light district". There are times that part of the story descends into unnecessarily graphic descriptions of sexual activity that seems little more than salacious and added essentially nothing to the story. Speaking for myself, as an adult, I would never consider recommending this novel to a youth.In summary, as I am studying this author, I am very glad to have had a chance to read this early effort. It is a somewhat better novel than the author's first novel. However if one simply wants to enjoy the writing of a mature, accomplished author, one might skip this novel and select a later one. Thank You...

Another triumph for Harlan Coben. He does not disappoint. I still thank my daughter for sending me my first book by him. My favorite author.

As Harlan Coben states at the beginning, "If you haven't read any of my books, you might want to pick another one"Apparently he wrote this when he was in his 20's, which means it was one of his first. While this is a good book, it's definitely not his best. I read it with an open mind because of his opening statement. That made it fun to read. Having read almost all of his books, I could see what he was talking about. I am glad I read this after I had read most of his books because I can see how much he has grown. He is one of my favorite authors. That being said, this book, like his others, still pulls you in, makes you love and hate character, not always the right ones, and makes you want to know what happens next.

I enjoyed reading Miracle Cure. It had a lot of twists and turns and kept me guessing to the end. I was very surprised to learn the identity of the killer.

Miracle Cure. Yes, the title says it all. One thing that interested me about the book is the fact that it was published in 1991, the same year that Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV positive, which, at its core, is pretty much the very same plot of the novel. Like Play Dead, Harlan’s first novel, the book has a central theme of the world of basketball, and also both books make use of hiding or changing one’s identity, somewhat similar to the same kind of schtick that we see in the Mission Impossible movies.That said, I was taken by the prescient aspect of the book which took on and handled the very difficult topic of homosexuality in relationship to the changing norms in relationship to that issue.From a structural point of view, I was quite taken by the extremely well-crafted choreography of organization, following so many threads and doing it in a pretty much seamless fashion. If I had two complaints, I would say 1) that for the first 250+ pages of the book, only two of the three business partners are really described; and 2) the extraction scene in Bangkok truly lacked believability. Nevertheless, I could not put the book down and highly recommend it.

Very good story. Keeps you reading until finished.

While I know little about Aids research (so I cannot comment on that aspect of the novel), I enjoyed the read and yes it is one of his first books so the twists and turns aren't quite as effective as they are in later stories. Overall, I am satisfied and would recommend this book.

Who was the bad guy? Wasn't sure until the end

I read this book in 2 days. could not put it down !!!

Firstly for all Harlan Coben fans this book was written years ago, originally published in 1991, its published in this country for the first time. Secondly for all non-fans there is a note from the author that if this is the first work you are going to read , don't, go and start on another book as he wrote this at the begnning of his career and its not very polished. I think thats a bit harsh, I found it an engaging read, a bit preachy as he says but you can easily skim over that. Its a hell of a lot better than recent works from such accomplished writers as Patricia Cornwell. I didn't work out whodunnit and I read a LOT of crime thrillers. The story is about an AIDS clininc and people who were treated there being murdered, its clever with lots of twists and turns and although some of the attitudes towards AIDS and homosexuality seem of the times its still relevant today. I've never come away from one of Cobens books feeling let down, or why did I bother, or that wasn't very good and I didn't with this one either.