'Beat the Reaper' by Josh Bazell - Book Review

Pulp ER Fiction. Ever wondered what would happen if Michael Crichton and Quentin Tarantino hatched an idea and then coated it in violence and wit? No worries. Josh Bazell is their offspring. Well, throw in a little Sopranos existentialism and then you might have him covered. But don't short change Bazell. Beat the Reaper is a dash of all these things and maybe something entirely new too. This talented med student/novelist (how does he do it?!) is going to get a following. Fast.

Dr. Peter Brown or Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwa, doctor/ex mafia hit man, is a pretty original amoral hero doing his unconscious best at worldly redemption. That's the gist of Beat the Reaper, Josh Bazell's both tantalizing and gag inducing debut novel, with great cover art and even little Grim Reaper paragraph breakers to scythe you along the way. (Sometimes the little reaper is running; sometimes he is riding a tractor. That's the kind of wink & write style that this novel flirts with at every gasp along the way).

The plot revolves around Dr. Brown's issue of being recognized by a former mob acquaintance and deciding if he's going to stick around to try to save lives even as he knows a contract has been put on his own. Bazell mixes in bits of flashback to get the back story on "Bearclaw," why he became a killer, why he became a doctor. He also includes funny anecdotes with residents, juicy bits of grizzle and scary bouts of drug-induced adrenaline and medically-induced exhaustion that may make you more afraid of going to the hospital than meeting the mafia on the street.

Are you in? 'Cause if you're not, then you might as well be the poor sap who tries to mug Dr. Brown at the beginning of the novel and gets a cold awakening. What kind of doctor calls a mugger a f**khead, breaks his arm, knocks him out, and then takes him to the hospital where he works to get treated? Dr. Peter Brown, er, Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwa, that's who. How many witness protection programs have you heard of where a killer is turned into a potential medical savior of men? This may be the first. Beat the Reaper crackles with the spark of a writer's brain on fire. Whether it's the fire of inspiration or of hell...well, in this case, it could be both.