PRIMORDIAL is a Crichton-like thriller that centers on the plights of two scientists separated by decades and borders but united in their obsessive quests for the physical location of the soul. Jonas, a hospital attorney, begins to suspect that someone is targeting patients in his hospital. With the help of two residents, his search for answers will bring him face to face with a killer.
PRIMORDIAL is a Crichton-like thriller that centers on the plights of two scientists separated by decades and borders but united in their obsessive quests for the physical location of the soul. Jonas, a hospital attorney, begins to suspect that someone is targeting patients in his hospital. With the help of two residents, his search for answers will bring him face to face with a killer.
She had always liked the color blue. Both lofty and cool, the color calmed her.
When she was young and still shy, she would buy Italian ice from the pull cart on the corner of 14th and Avenue A. She would stretch to peer over the lip of the insulated cart and point to her desire. The ice was always blue, its flavor indescribable. She would sit, secretively, on a bench in the middle of the block with her ice wrapped in a white paper bag. On those hot summer days, she would suck on that ice until her lips, blanched and stained, looked like those of a corpse.
She was much older now, and summer was long gone. She was on the eleventh floor of the Bleekman Metropolitan Hospital, one of the oldest hospitals in New York City. The surgical rehab floor, to be exact. She had broken her hip five weeks ago when she slipped and fell. Ice can give, but it can also take away. To her great surprise, she had somehow become one of the frail elderly roaming the Upper East Side of Manhattan, plodding from sidewalk to bus and then back again. She remembered falling. How quickly it happened, and the strange perspective looking up from the dark asphalt. Surgery, hip pinned, post-op pneumonia, antibiotics, deep breaths, blood clot, blood thinners, small steps. So much pain and fear. She hated the helplessness of being a patient.
It was strange to her, then, that she now felt wonderful. She knew it must be late; the bustle of the halls seemed to have quieted. She was dizzy, and this kindly doctor had looked after her and she was calmed. He put something in her IV and talked to her so sweetly. She liked him a lot. He took his time and seemed to care. So many doctors were rushing, but he was slow and deliberate and beautiful. Not dizzy, she thought. I am euphoric. I am a schoolgirl cutting class to meet my friend Mary for a matinee off Broadway. I am a newlywed. I am forever. She tried to lift her head, but could not.
She wasnât scared when he leaned over her to attach that funny contraption to her bed frame. She thought it was a metal spider, but he called it a âHalo.â Was he an angel? He seemed so real, and when he brushed her cheek she actually felt a little thrill down below and she chastised herself for having such thoughts at her age. Especially with someone so assured and . . . lovely. The word came to her from across a field. He was lovely and she wasnât afraid because he was with her. He held her gaze as he talked to her. His eyes were the lightest shade of ice blue and she was, again, calmed.
She thought it was strange when the small drill was positioned just inside her right nostril. When it pierced her mastoid sinus, she found she couldnât move, couldnât speak. Her heart quickened and a single tear escaped, tracing the lines of her cheek. He told her to look at him. So calm. She saw lights around him. Were they stars? No fear. No pain. She thought that she might be dying.
She was right.
I canât believe I am opening this review like this but itâs hard to pin-point what should be praised first. David Sobel has created a medical thriller that surpassed all my expectations. With no stones unturned and only one (very trivial) question unanswered, there was nothing to disappoint and nothing to bemoan.Â
As far as main characters go, Jonas is a wonderful protagonist. Sobel cleverly gave him depth through his family ties but didnât let that dilute his edge and capability to track a serial killer; itâs hard to not root for him. On reflection, Early is a more compelling character and I would love to know more about the downtrodden, hilarious urologist who mirrors the âeverymanâ in all of us. And finally, the wickedly smart Rachel who â unlike female leads in some thrillers â wasnât just a slab of meat to admire, but a force to be reckoned with.Â
Sobel has a few narrative tricks up his sleeve as not only is the plot rooted in both medical and legal knowhow, but also historical. What more could you want? Itâs a perfectly mixed smorgasbord of thriller plots, a plethora of suspense and accurate detail. In short; a triple threat.Â
I admit the medical/historical split in the plot made me wary of skimming over boring pages and back to my preferred arc (like Game of Thrones), but you can colour me wrong because it works beautifully. While either side of the story divide holds different energy, one force feeds the other, and they slowly bleed into one. This technique pushes you deeper into the twisted rabbit hole that is Primordial.Â
I donât want to say this is a âpage turnerâ or that âI couldnât put it downâ, if anything the pages turned themselves and this book glued itself to my palms. It demanded to be read and all I could do was oblige. Sobel wrote in his notes that many people encouraged him to continue writing this book and I would like to personally thank them for doing so. I hope beyond all hope he continues to pen grisly thrillers. This is a must read.