The Price
Non-series
Alexandra Sokoloff
St. Martin's Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-35751-6 (0312357516)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-35751-1 (9780312357511)
Publication Date: February 2008
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis(from
the publisher): Boston's Briarwood Medical Center is a bewildering maze
of six separate hospitals symbiotically entwined, connected by glass
bridges, underground tunnels, indoor and outdoor gardens -- its own
self-contained city. But Briarwood, like every hospital, is also a
threshold ... to the other side.
Idealistic Boston
District Attorney Will Sullivan has it all: a beautiful, beloved wife,
Joanna; an adorable five-year old daughter, Sydney, and a real shot in
the Massachusetts Governor's race. Then Will's life is shattered when
Sydney is diagnosed with a malignant, inoperable tumor. Now Will and
Joanna are living at Briarwood Hospital, waiting for their daughter to
die. Joanna is slowly losing her mind with grief and Will himself
starts to question his own sanity. He has begun to see bizarre and
inexplicable things around him -- patients disappearing from elevators,
monstrous nuns watching from the shadows.
The strange occurrences seem to center around a charismatic counselor
named Salk, who befriends Will and talks mysteriously about the power
of faith to heal. But when Sydney suddenly, miraculously begins to
improve, Will suspects that Joanna has made a terrible bargain to save
their daughter's life. Now he must uncover the truth in order to save
them all.
Review: Alexandra Sokoloff's second thriller, The Price, ponders the question: for what price, and at what cost, is one willing to pay to save someone they love.
Will Sullivan, the son of a former governor of Massachusetts, has
announced his candidacy for the same office when his daughter, Sydney,
is diagnosed with stomach cancer. Both he and his wife Joanna are
devastated. The tumor is inoperable and there seems to be nothing the
doctors can do other than make her comfortable. While Will wonders the
halls of the hospital in which his daughter is dying, he sees and hears
what he can only believe are hallucinations ... or miracles. A young
boy suffering from advanced leukemia that has but hours to live is, the
following day, dressed and ready to go home, apparently cured. A
policeman shot several times in the head and chest, not only survives
but is up the next day awaiting his discharge papers. A man, just skin
and bones dying of AIDS, is later seen walking around, the picture of
health. Is prayer the answer? In the hospital chapel, Will goes to pray
but is met by a man named Salk who tells him there is a way to save his
daughter. But would Will be willing to pay the price?
The Price is
simultaneously a mesmerizing yet decidedly eerie novel. It penetrates
the mind to the depths of irrational fear then spawns an optimistic
sense of euphoria. Most readers will be able to picture themselves in
the position of Will or his wife Joanna and quickly answer that yes,
whatever it takes, no matter the price, save my daughter. And yet, can
the price be too high?
This suspenseful novel reads much like an episode from The Twilight Zone, a real situation in a surreal environment. The Price is fascinating, absorbing, and hard to put down.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Price and to St. Martin's Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Omnimystery keywords for The Price ...
Location(s) referenced: Boston.