Allen Wyler

I'm generally not a fan of medical mystery/thrillers but I gave this one a go because it's a first novel by a Seattle brain surgeon set in Seattle. I'm sure glad I did. Dr. Tyler Matthews is trying to put his life back in order after a job set back and a separation from his wife. But now things are piling up again. The computer program at the new hospital is either showing him errors that no one else is seeing or he's just flat going nuts. He was falsely accused of drug use before and now, once again, drugs - not his - are found in his locker. Who can he trust? Wyler puts together an amazingly credible story for a first timer and he wraps it with excellent characters.… (mais)

3.5 Stars:

What worked for me:


Medical thriller - I liked the idea of a neurosurgeon finding the cure for Alzheimer's disease. And the idea of using stem cells was brilliant. It was a new, fresh idea. I also enjoyed the fact that the reader gets to learn some history on stem cells. My knowledge on that subject is limited, so it was very interesting finding out more about the subject.
Multiple POVs - Like I said in the past, multiple characters and their POV make me see the big picture and to see the plots in a lot more detail than usually. So I loved that every major character in this boom got to "share" his side of the story.
Pacing - This book is really fast-paced. I didn't get bored reading it, there wasn't a moment where the plot stopped developing or where the action wasn't moving forward. It's not too fast that you lose some important detail, it's just the right kind of fast, if that makes sense.


What didn't work for me:

Because there were multiple POVs, you know from the very start who, why, when and how is trying to intimidate Jon Ritter. That made the suspense sort of fade for me. It made me anticipate more than I felt comfortable. I would've wanted more mystery surrounding the person who tried to make Jon Ritter not continue with his research.


I liked this book and I'm sure I would've liked it even more had it not been for the fact that we find out from the very start who is doing what. Even so, the story was great and it kept me reading and it kept me wanting to know how the book ended. So if you're a thriller fan, you should check this book out :)… (mais)

Deadly Odds by Allen Wyler

Arnold Gold, a computer geek and hacker decides to fly to Las Vegas for some fun. Soon he finds himself in a whirlwind of trouble. A man ends up dead and Arnold finds himself dodging a lawyer, has terrorists, the police and FBI looking for him. It becomes apparent that Arnold has no choice but to try to help stop this bomb from going off, getting himself killed and the City blown up.

A fast aced thriller. Arnold is very likable,even though he basically has no life besides his computer. He makes the story more intense since he is an ordinary young man. There is plenty of action, and suspense. The story is well written. Allen Wyler really knows how to pull his readers into the story. I highly recommend Deadly Odds to those who love a great thriller, I was hooked from the first page.… (mais)

I read this book to completion but I was not really impressed. The book is well researched with the medical aspects of caring for person who suffered lower body trauma and the difficulties decapitation of a human's head. Actually this description occupies a good percentage of the book.

The scenario though is totally unbelievable [Spoiler Alert] from the response of the FBI, the ability to assemble necessary equipment in a government lab and keep it secret, to make the decapitation act successful after such little preparation.

There are implications of national threat but you never really know what the bad guys want to do until the end. The main character seems to be quite whiny...

Luckily it was a fast read with an unsatisfying end. I doubt I will read more of Wyler's books.… (mais)