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james7634's review against another edition
2.0
Story was ok. Narrative was too claustrophobic to allow reader to understand how event affected other people. Weak protagonist. Final act was terrible.
whit_knee's review against another edition
3.0
A Cure for Madness was interesting but to me it read like a first time author read it. At times the dialogue seemed a little cheesy and some of the twists were predictable. There were a few times I was caught off guard and overall it's a good story about a viral outbreak with no cure. It was an easy read and the ending seemed a little rush but overall a decent book.
vahyso's review against another edition
5.0
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book I've read in quite a while that actually pulled me in. I enjoyed the writing, and it's one of few books I've read that doesn't try to glamorize mental illness in any way. The ending was subtle yet strong, which I really appreciated. Overall really enjoyable.
This is the first book I've read in quite a while that actually pulled me in. I enjoyed the writing, and it's one of few books I've read that doesn't try to glamorize mental illness in any way. The ending was subtle yet strong, which I really appreciated. Overall really enjoyable.
longtimereader's review against another edition
4.0
Claire's brother is a schizophrenic. Wes isn't in the same world the rest of everyone else is. Claire has run from her home town and her brother as long as she can. Now she can't run anymore because her parents have been murdered by a very unlikely suspect. A long time church friend has take their lives. That is plenty to deal with, but it isn't close to all of it.
Returning home Claire finds her home town has more and more people becoming skitzo. This is shocking, and difficult and scary too. Wes could be the cure, but at what price?
Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and nothing more.
Returning home Claire finds her home town has more and more people becoming skitzo. This is shocking, and difficult and scary too. Wes could be the cure, but at what price?
Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and nothing more.
yoongles89's review against another edition
4.0
Recieved from Netgalley for an honest review :
I’m sure we all have moments in our lives that we cannot look back on without regret, without physical revulsion, without a burning in our cheeks. My Modus Operandi has always been to try and pretend these moments never happened, to wall them off with the other unpleasant aspects of my life. But there’s also something powerful about embracing the worst parts of yourself, the part you hope no one ever finds out about. To admit that you are not all light and hope and bravery, that you are both hero and villain in your own story.
Clare Campbell receives a call from her Uncle to tell her that her parents have been murdered. Clare returns to her childhood home to sort out their affairs and to become guardian of her older brother Wes who is currently in a psych ward being treated for his schizophrenia.
Once Clare arrives home she discovers something strange is happening in the town, many people have begun to exhibit bizarre behaviour very similar to her brother’s.
A Cure for Madness is a fast paced medical thriller that really captures the sinister feel of a community about to collapse in on itself.
The writing was gripping and the characters were very well developed and likeable. I was drawn into this book from the first page and couldn’t put it down, absolutely loved this, 4stars!
I’m sure we all have moments in our lives that we cannot look back on without regret, without physical revulsion, without a burning in our cheeks. My Modus Operandi has always been to try and pretend these moments never happened, to wall them off with the other unpleasant aspects of my life. But there’s also something powerful about embracing the worst parts of yourself, the part you hope no one ever finds out about. To admit that you are not all light and hope and bravery, that you are both hero and villain in your own story.
Clare Campbell receives a call from her Uncle to tell her that her parents have been murdered. Clare returns to her childhood home to sort out their affairs and to become guardian of her older brother Wes who is currently in a psych ward being treated for his schizophrenia.
Once Clare arrives home she discovers something strange is happening in the town, many people have begun to exhibit bizarre behaviour very similar to her brother’s.
A Cure for Madness is a fast paced medical thriller that really captures the sinister feel of a community about to collapse in on itself.
The writing was gripping and the characters were very well developed and likeable. I was drawn into this book from the first page and couldn’t put it down, absolutely loved this, 4stars!
pleasuretoburn's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book more. The concept is so interesting, but I personally think that blaming the Russians in a roundabout way is pretty lame storytelling. I read a good amount of post apocalyptic fiction and yeah, in that genre often the Russians were the bad guys. But that was decades ago. I mean, McIssacs had the perfect "the US government is all kinds of bad" setup since Clare's roommate worked for the freaking NSA. Instead, it's because of the Russians. Okay. Likewise, the fact that the parents could or could not have been murdered by someone with this disease is never resolved in spite of the fact that he also died, so the authorities could have given an autopsy, since it happend before the hospital got overwhelmed. It is just a lingering question that really does nothing for the plot except create pathos for poor Clare. 2 stars just because there were some good parts (like the attic full of dead bird skeletons, the lady setting herself on fire, etc.) I wanted and expected a lot more, and I was left completely disappointed.
fictionofthefix's review against another edition
4.0
There was only numbness, a strange acceptance that this was the way things were.
HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING.
this is a fast-paced thriller about a strange and terrifying pathogen outbreak in a small town. the symptoms resemble those of schizophrenia: hallucinations, paranoia, and bizarre, even violent, behavior. but it's also an intense story of brother and sister. clare has done all she could to remove herself from her mentally ill brother wes' life, and in doing so may have also sabotaged her own life. so it's also a story of redemption and forgiveness, because A Cure For Madness gets under your skin.
one thing i especially liked was how this was a post edward snowden apocalypse tale; there was even a character inspired by him: a girl working at the NSA providing vital information to people who deserved to know the truth.
i kept expecting this to go all Walking Dead on me, to get gory and horrifying and there is some of that, some startling and upsetting images being painted but it mostly focuses on survival. it's about being your own hero and saviour. it's a story about family, about losing and gaining and then losing again, and boy i did not see that loss coming. i'm going to mourn the ending for a while. SHE SAVED THE FUCKING WORLD.
btw FAVORITE COVER + TITLE COMBO OF 2016. i mean, just look at that!!! it's so darkly beautiful, i can't look away.
HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING.
this is a fast-paced thriller about a strange and terrifying pathogen outbreak in a small town. the symptoms resemble those of schizophrenia: hallucinations, paranoia, and bizarre, even violent, behavior. but it's also an intense story of brother and sister. clare has done all she could to remove herself from her mentally ill brother wes' life, and in doing so may have also sabotaged her own life. so it's also a story of redemption and forgiveness, because A Cure For Madness gets under your skin.
one thing i especially liked was how this was a post edward snowden apocalypse tale; there was even a character inspired by him: a girl working at the NSA providing vital information to people who deserved to know the truth.
i kept expecting this to go all Walking Dead on me, to get gory and horrifying and there is some of that, some startling and upsetting images being painted but it mostly focuses on survival. it's about being your own hero and saviour. it's a story about family, about losing and gaining and then losing again, and boy i did not see that loss coming. i'm going to mourn the ending for a while. SHE SAVED THE FUCKING WORLD.
btw FAVORITE COVER + TITLE COMBO OF 2016. i mean, just look at that!!! it's so darkly beautiful, i can't look away.
errantdreams's review against another edition
3.0
There are quite a number of details, particularly early on, that I couldn’t quite buy into. People failing to notice obvious things; unbelievable chains of events. For example, “erratic behavior” has gotten so bad that psych ward intake has gone up 57% in one week, and yet they’re still assuming that whatever the illness is, it isn’t contagious. Seriously?! This sort of lack of forethought is common to the book. When Claire finally does go to the hospital for a blood test, I fail to understand how she could get a room to herself to pace in, under the circumstances. It felt like the background characters in A Cure for Madness lacked normal common sense, and highly unlikely things happened just because it was necessary to the plot, not because they made sense.
I have a problem with where the story takes Wes’s illness. He ends up with the whole he has a “special brain” thing, the trope of mental illness as magic. They came close to using it well, but it still grated at me.
The late parts of the book helped to make up for the former parts. I can’t really explain since I don’t want to give the events away, but I did come out of the end of the book liking it rather more than I did the beginning and middle parts.
NOTE: Book provided free for review by publisher
For a longer review including premise, visit my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/01/review-a-cure-for-madness-jodi-mcisaac/
I have a problem with where the story takes Wes’s illness. He ends up with the whole he has a “special brain” thing, the trope of mental illness as magic. They came close to using it well, but it still grated at me.
The late parts of the book helped to make up for the former parts. I can’t really explain since I don’t want to give the events away, but I did come out of the end of the book liking it rather more than I did the beginning and middle parts.
NOTE: Book provided free for review by publisher
For a longer review including premise, visit my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/01/review-a-cure-for-madness-jodi-mcisaac/
theawkwardbookw's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
*I received this copy from a goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review*
Clare Campbell has done everything in her power to distance herself from the small town of Clarkeston, Maine where she grew up. After her parents were murdered by a friend, she must now return as the legal guardian to her older brother, Wes, who suffers from schizophrenia. When the people of Clarkeston begin to show symptoms of schizophrenia without warning, the government steps in, taking a special interest to Wes and his mental illness. Now Clare must decide whether to protect her brother from countless tests and procedures or to hand him over to authorities in order to help save the world.
The book was extremely fast paced and thrilling. Clare bothered me on many different occasions because of some of the actions and decisions she made. She treated those around her poorly most of the time which was frustrating at times to read. I found her to be too self-centred and impulsive for my liking. Although I did end up warming to her by the end of the book. I thought the writing was very well done and I was hooked right from the prologue of the book and didn't want to put it down!
I only gave the book a 3.5 instead of 4 because of the ending. I felt it was too rushed and did not tie the whole story together. I have my theories of what I think it means, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone so I won't discuss them here.... I do wish that there was a sequel though to maybe tie things together and explain a bit more.
Also, can we just take in how awesome this cover is though?
*I received this copy from a goodreads giveaway in exchange for my honest review*
Clare Campbell has done everything in her power to distance herself from the small town of Clarkeston, Maine where she grew up. After her parents were murdered by a friend, she must now return as the legal guardian to her older brother, Wes, who suffers from schizophrenia. When the people of Clarkeston begin to show symptoms of schizophrenia without warning, the government steps in, taking a special interest to Wes and his mental illness. Now Clare must decide whether to protect her brother from countless tests and procedures or to hand him over to authorities in order to help save the world.
The book was extremely fast paced and thrilling. Clare bothered me on many different occasions because of some of the actions and decisions she made. She treated those around her poorly most of the time which was frustrating at times to read. I found her to be too self-centred and impulsive for my liking. Although I did end up warming to her by the end of the book. I thought the writing was very well done and I was hooked right from the prologue of the book and didn't want to put it down!
I only gave the book a 3.5 instead of 4 because of the ending. I felt it was too rushed and did not tie the whole story together. I have my theories of what I think it means, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone so I won't discuss them here.... I do wish that there was a sequel though to maybe tie things together and explain a bit more.
Also, can we just take in how awesome this cover is though?
kdowli01's review against another edition
4.0
**I received a free copy of this book from GoodReads in exchange for an honest review**
I flew through this book, it was incredibly fast-paced and exciting, and raised some interesting questions about sacrificing an individual for the sake of society. I did find that I had to suspend disbelief a decent amount, the conspiracy theory was a bit hard to swallow, and who ended up being the "bad guy" kept changing. But I did really enjoy it and would recommend for anyone who enjoys thrillers.
I flew through this book, it was incredibly fast-paced and exciting, and raised some interesting questions about sacrificing an individual for the sake of society. I did find that I had to suspend disbelief a decent amount, the conspiracy theory was a bit hard to swallow, and who ended up being the "bad guy" kept changing. But I did really enjoy it and would recommend for anyone who enjoys thrillers.