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Avg. Rating: 4
Tragic Wand
Have read all three James Tucker books, loved them and have looked for more. Can't find any. What happened to James Tucker????? Has he passed away? Has something happened to him that he can't write any more? Anyone know anything?
Hocus Corpus - Are you kidding me?
This is the second volume in the Jack Merlin murder mysteries and I have to admit that I was irritated by it.
A good murder mystery should have several elements that work together to create a fun read. The storyline has to have mysterious elements to it to keep you guessing about what is going on; the characters should be believable; if it is part of a series then the main characters should be appealing and their lives should evolve in a manner that makes sense; and finally, the whole story should be reasonably believable and make sense.
Hocus Corpus fails on many of these counts. The main characters are Jack Merlin and Tory Welch. He is a doctor - the Chief Resident of Surgery at Pittsburgh University Medical Center; She is an Assistant District Attorney with Allegheny County. Both of them have gotten some pretty serious promotions in the year that passed since the last book in the series, but no mention is made of how that happened. In Jack's case, his predecessor as Chief Resident was an obnoxious, self serving jerk so it would have been interesting to see how that happened.
The storyline is completely unbelievable. A small insurance company that is seeking out a buyer, doctors its financial numbers to be better by killing off expensive patients. Corporate Greed at its utmost if you will. Within the first two or three chapters the reader figures out how the whole ring is set up and who are the main culprits. So, there is no real mystery. There are plenty of murders though. Starting with four patients who have simple surgeries and then leading through several more people as the book progresses. Every single one of the victims is completely innocent and has no relation to the culprits - with one exception.
The next major irritant is that as the book fiddles and faddles with resolving the non-mystery, Jack and Tory are the only investigators. The police department has a very minor role to play even though Tory is an Assistant DA and could probably get as much police action as is needed. But that is not all, what Jack and Tory pull are illegal actions as they pursue the truth. Jack tortures one of the bad guys; Tory and Jack break into someone's office; A police detective is manhandled and has connections to some upstart reporter which leads to false arrests, a distraught father threatens Jack with a gun after his daughter is one of the victims but Jack manages to convince him that he is on the trail of the real killers, and on and on and on.
Another problem that I had was that Jack Merlin cottons on to the scheme with very few clues. I mean, we the readers have the advantage of knowing we are reading a murder mystery so we are looking for connections, while Jack is supposedly innocently doing his job. However, Jack manages to put together most of the story by the time the first four patients have died. Not credible. Then, the story shifts to Tory who has her own problems. One of which is that the bad guys decide to kill her off so they hit her with a car while she is jogging. Now, the driver of the car is portrayed throughout the book as a big lumbering idiot, but in this scene he not only manages to hit Tory just hard enough to rupture her spleen, but he is also cool headed and smart enough to throw red herrings at the people who observe the accident, deliver Tory to Jack's hospital and arrange to have his accomplice doctor the operating room so that Tory would be killed. Later on in the book, the bad guy becomes an idiot once again. Huh? Of course, Jack figures out that something is wrong and arranges to switch operating rooms while collecting incriminating evidence. Now, tell me, in what hospital that you know of would they let a doctor operate on his girlfriend? Normally the assumption is that the surgeon in that case would be too emotionally involved and they are NEVER allowed to do these operations.
I did finish reading this, but as I said earlier, the whole setup was unbelievable and fairly irritating. In some respects this book was better than the first one because some editing must have taken place either by James Tucker or the people at the Publishers. On the other hand, this was filled with so much nonsense and obvious situations (the drugged up bad kid who is completely turned around by Jack's simple magic trick) that I was not a happy camper when I put it down.
I hope the third one in the series is much better or I will give up on this series altogether.
Nothing very special, just a junky mystery novel...
I read this book and _Abra Cadaver_ (also by Tucker) while on vacation and snowed in for a couple weeks. I was initially quite interested in the book, as the first few chapters happened quickly and the protagonist (Merlin, again) is a likeable guy. The rest of the book, however, is just not too well written, and not too believeable. The plot devices are unimaginable, the dialog is choppy, and often times the author forgets to inform the reader of crucial details. After all, a murder novel isnt a mystery if the author has not posed the "whodunnit" question with any talent; it's merely an obfuscated tale of events. Skip this book, or pick it up second-hand and read it on a long plane flight. Its not particularly entertaining.
Give us more Jack Merlin Mysteries!
In his second Jack Merlin Mystery series, physician/author James Tucker has penned another hit! From the first page until the last, Tucker pulls his readers into a tale of galloping corporate greed, professional treachery and murder most foul. Dr. Tucker knows his way around a hospital, a murder and he's well on his way to becoming quite a storyteller, too. In HOCUS CORPUS, Jack Merlin has been promoted to chief resident at the prestigious Pittsburgh University Medical Center. He's still practicing magic and charming his patients. His relationship with Assistant District Attorney and fellow crime solver has progressed smoothly and things are going his way. However, Jack's orderly life begins to unwind when he loses a young patient after a relatively simple procedure. The child's powerful father holds Jack responsible for her death and Jack must once again prove his innocence and find out who's behind the tragedy. While trying to solve the child's death, Jack discovers a pattern in several unexpected and completely unnecessary patient deaths. Patients make it through surgery but die of massive infections just days later. As they dig further into the mysterious deaths, Jack and Tory uncover a diabolical plot involving involves crooks of the worst kind, insurance companies and ruthless men who will stop at nothing to line their own pockets with the misery of others. How Tucker keeps all the story lines headed toward a plausible and ultimately satisfying ending is quite impressive. I look forward to more Jack Merlin mysteries. And, as mentioned by others, I don't think I'll be eating any Jell-O for a long, long time! Enjoy!
Tucker is back and better than ever!
James Tucker's novel Hocus Corpus brings back Dr. Jack Merlin and this time the doctor-magician has his hands full. Tucker's brilliant writing style gives Merlin's character a real-life persona, the kind of doctor everyone needs.This book took me just over a day to finish and like Abra Cadaver, I was kept guessing right to the very end. Tucker really knows how to put a suspense and mystery into words and this book a great read for everyone who loves a real thriller. Dr. Merlin takes what seems to be four completely unrelated deaths and unravels a mystery that delves into the world of high priced insurance companies. Watching the novel unfold you read how Merlin puts his career and life in jeopardy to find out who is infecting these and other patients and the answers will really surprise you. As with Abra Cadaver, this book has movie written all over it. I am beginning to become a real James Tucker fan and I cannot wait until I read his next novel. Again another excellent job!!!!!!
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