The building on New York鈥檚 East Side that used to house Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital has inspired tales of horror from the likes of and served as the model for Arkham Asylum in fictional For novelist Robin Cook, who interned there in the 1960s, it鈥檚 the perfect setting for his latest medical thriller.
鈥淏ellevue鈥� is set in the present day, but hearkens often to the hospital鈥檚 controversial and storied past. The plot centers around 23-year-old Mitt Fuller, embarking on his surgical residency at the iconic hospital. Mitt鈥檚 鈥渓ong and impressive medical pedigree鈥� goes back more than 400 years and includes three previous surgeons and a psychiatrist. It鈥檚 always been Mitt鈥檚 dream to follow in his forefathers鈥� footsteps.
But this is a Robin Cook novel, so readers shouldn鈥檛 be surprised that Mitt鈥檚 dream slowly becomes a nightmare. Cook does a nice job of drawing readers into the tale, not horrifying them all at once. Mitt possesses a little precognitive power and can sometimes see things before they happen or sense when he鈥檚 in danger. So when forceps start moving of their own accord during a procedure or sutures untie themselves, readers and Mitt get a serious case of the heebie-jeebies.
Readers learn early in the story why the hospital is haunted, but dramatic irony is at play for more than a hundred pages as Mitt assembles the puzzle and unearths his family鈥檚 buried secrets. Mitt鈥檚 medical training and belief in science don鈥檛 exactly square with a haunted hospital, but when he meets another hospital employee whose family has a history at the institution, together they put together the rest of the pieces.
The denouement is jarring, but feels earned. Cook has told a tale that delivers a measure of justice for some patients, while preserving the dreadful mystique spelled out on top of the 鈥渄ecorative rusty wrought iron fence鈥� at the southeastern corner of First Avenue and 30th Street: B-E-L-L-E-V-U-E.
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AP book reviews:
Rob Merrill, The Associated Press
