Rating: 
Summary: A chilling thriller
Review: In Washington DC, Adrienne Cope blames clinical therapist Dr. Jeffrey Duran for the suicide death of her half-sister Nicole Sullivan. She hires a private sleuth, Bonilla, to investigate Duran. He learns that the real Duran died several years ago at the age of two and that the good doctor never went to Brown or Wisconsin Universities as he claims. When confronted Jeff is stunned and thinks Adrienne is a quack and Bonilla a professional forger. However, he follows up and sees evidence that leaves him shaken. He takes a lie detector test that proves he believes he is Dr. Jeff Duran.Not long afterwards, Adrienne asks to see Nico's file, but nothing is inside stunning Jeff further. Two individuals claiming to be detectives arrive and Bonilla challenges their credentials. One of the phony cops kills his partner and Bonilla, but Adrienne and Jeff escape, which is not easy for him as he suffers from agoraphobia. As they try to learn the truth, they are targeted for death by a conspiracy that threatens the future course of the world. THE SYNDROME is an exciting thriller that never slows down on the accelerator. The key to the novel is the reactions of the cast which seem so genuine they take the story line to incredible levels of entertainment. John Case, known for THE GENESIS CODE, employs the concept of whether a person's memories are real or borrowed implants as the basis for a fabulous novel that will garner the writing team many new readers and accolades. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: I really enjoyed the book, but could have been much shorter.
Review: Jeffrey Duran is a Psychologist that has two patients, both with severe psychological problems. One thinks he has a worm that lives in his heart, and tells him what to do... he is totally controlled by it. The other thinks that she was a victim of Satanic Ritual Abuse. Neither stories are true.
Dr. Duran also has a problem, he very rarely leaves his house, even has groceries delivered. Friction between the SRA victim woman and her sister, her sole living family member, becomes great because of the false idea of the SRA. The false victim kills herself, and the sister wants revenge against Duran. An assault on Durans apartment arupts while the sister is there with him, which binds them together in hiding and solving the mystery of the attack, in hiding and searching they discover the attack is part of a much bigger conspiracy involving false pasts and hypnosis mind control. This book was wonderfully enjoyable, but enjoyment is not the only thing you take into account when reviewing a book; so let me explain why there are only three stars. The book seems to linger on the unimportant details in the beginning, before anything really starts happening, ehich stretches it out longer than it needed to be. When you read a book you are investing great amounts of sometimes precious time, so you want to get to the climax, idea, or whatever and not waste time with lenthy life stories. Anyway... if you do have plenty of time, pick up this book, a few chapters in and you will be totally immersed in the great, smart, conspiracy plot.
Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed the book, but could have been much shorter.
Review: Jeffrey Duran is a Psychologist that has two patients, both with severe psychological problems. One thinks he has a worm that lives in his heart, and tells him what to do... he is totally controlled by it. The other thinks that she was a victim of Satanic Ritual Abuse. Neither stories are true.
Dr. Duran also has a problem, he very rarely leaves his house, even has groceries delivered. Friction between the SRA victim woman and her sister, her sole living family member, becomes great because of the false idea of the SRA. The false victim kills herself, and the sister wants revenge against Duran. An assault on Durans apartment arupts while the sister is there with him, which binds them together in hiding and solving the mystery of the attack, in hiding and searching they discover the attack is part of a much bigger conspiracy involving false pasts and hypnosis mind control. This book was wonderfully enjoyable, but enjoyment is not the only thing you take into account when reviewing a book; so let me explain why there are only three stars. The book seems to linger on the unimportant details in the beginning, before anything really starts happening, ehich stretches it out longer than it needed to be. When you read a book you are investing great amounts of sometimes precious time, so you want to get to the climax, idea, or whatever and not waste time with lenthy life stories. Anyway... if you do have plenty of time, pick up this book, a few chapters in and you will be totally immersed in the great, smart, conspiracy plot.
Rating:
Summary: A thriller with attitude.
Review: John Case is a pseudonym for Jim and Carolyn Hougan. Their latest novel is "The Syndrome," which is a new conspiracy thriller. Jeff Duran lives in Washington, D. C. He is a psychologist with two patients and a severe case of agoraphobia. For reasons that elude him, Jeff has no sense of direction and no zest for life. Jeff's memory of his past is weirdly devoid of any emotion or any sense of reality. Jeff suffers panic attacks when he very occasionally ventures out of his apartment; he spends many mind-numbing hours in front of the television. When and how did Jeff become a near-zombie? Why does he have only two patients? Jeff's life takes a turn for the worse when he is attacked by thugs who burst into his apartment. Soon he is on the run from unknown assailants who want him dead. Jeff is accompanied by a beautiful lawyer, Adrienne Cope. Adrienne's sister was a patient of Jeff before her untimely demise. What are the circumstances surrounding the sister's strange death? Jeff and Adrienne travel to such places as New York, Florida, West Virginia and Zurich in an effort to find the individuals who have the information that they need. The Hougans put in quite a few touches of wry humor to liven up the proceedings. Adrienne and Jeff banter with one another amusingly. They are attracted to one another, and we wonder if they will act on their attraction. Unfortunately, the book goes on for 450 pages and it is at least a hundred pages too long. Before the end of the novel, the mystery loses steam, and I longed for the book to come to its predictable conclusion. With tighter editing, and a little less predictability, "The Syndome" could have been a much tidier thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Denouement Let Down Again
Review: John Case, the husband and wife writing duo, have yet again written a powerful and poignant commentary on societal dangers run amok. In this novel, the ability to manipulate the mind with electronics is at issue. Although the scenario plays out in a fast paced plot with its fair share of shocking twists and haunting circumstances, this novel lacks a believability and credibility inherent in The Genesis Code and The First Horseman. For starters, the main characters of this novel, unlike Lassiter from The Genesis Code, survive harrowing and incredibly intense situations that neither is remotely trained to deal with. It was much easier to suspend my disbelief in The Genesis Code knowing that Lassiter, a trained detective, would have been in difficult situations prior, but the characters created in The Syndrome don't ring true.
Finally, Case resorts to a trite - good guys win and save the day - denouement in much the way this was evidenced in the duo's previous novels.
Overall, this is a fast paced read with a decent plot, but in comparison to the other novels written under this psuedonym, this one doesn't come close to being as effective.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable and disappointing :-(
Review: John Case, the pseudonym for a husband and wife writing team that has turned out such incredible thrillers as "The First Horseman" and "The Genesis Code" have stumbled with their latest offering, "The Syndrome". Taking a viable scientific premise, implanted/recovered memory, and giving it a nasty twist, they create an incredibly promising start to a novel that spins its wheels and goes absolutely nowhere. And unfortunately, it takes a long time to get there. The characters are one-dimensional, and the way in which the story revolves around them seems lifeless, without any passion whatsoever. I had a very hard time caring about anything that happened to them, and wished they would just shut up and go away. Better luck next time!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent addition to the thriller genre
Review: No matter that some elements of The Syndrome's plot bear similarities to those found in the classic movie The Manchurian Candidate: the story-telling here is first-rate and feels fresh and original. (Recall that in The Manchurian Candidate the mantra was "Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life"; here it's "Two clients are normal. Two clients are fine.") There's no need to rehearse the plot here, but from the first page, seemingly disconnected and disparate sequences of ghastly or eerie events or conditions grip the reader. The novel's menacing psychological overtones foreshadow events effectively, and the characters are plausible and engaging. Moreover, "John Case" leavens the plot with dashes of humor, among them a funny rendering of the dreary world of one of the main characters, a law firm associate forced to overlawyer a minor commercial dispute at the expense of her own life to please an unpleasant firm partner, a regular Colonel Blimp. The first novel by "John Case," The Genesis Code, was also excellent, whereas The First Horseman, though okay, was disappointing by comparison. The Syndrome is equal to The Genesis Code and perhaps better. The characters are lively enough that there's no need for them to be young and good-looking -- when the plot is sufficient, such characteristics and the obligatory sex scene become unnecessary. The novel would have been just as good if the main characters were middle-aged and had weight problems. One thing the novel needed was better copy-editing. What was the Institute of Global Studies throughout becomes the Institute of Global Affairs (p. 371 of the hardcover version). Apartment 6-F of the Capitol Towers (pp. 195, 196) becomes Apartment 6-G (p. 409). Chaise longue is "chaise lounge" (p. 18), though maybe that metathesis is now standard English; and there are some mistakes in French (p. 383). If "John Case" writes another novel, I hereby volunteer to look over a draft to try to catch such mistakes. If it's as good as The Syndrome, I'll welcome the chance to read it in advance.
Rating:
Summary: The Syndrome by John Case
Review: Over the years, I have read so many books that as time passes, plots, characters, and even authors begin to blend together into a pool of anonymous fiction. "The Syndrome" by John Case, however is not one of those works. From the moment that I picked it up until the final page I amazed at the author's ability to create characters so realistic that I felt as though I were a part of the story, as a sideline observer. In the past, I had always thought that the ideas of "mind control" and "false memories" were preposterous and out of the question, but now, I'm not so sure....This, I believe, is the true test of a great author. Bravo, Mr. Case, for making my "Best of the Best" List!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not his best by far
Review: Synopsis: Adrienne Cope and Jeffrey Duran are drawn into a web of intrigue and recovered memories as they both look into the death of Adrienne's sister and Jeffrey's psychiatric patient, Nico. They discover an international conspiracy and the drama ensues.
My review:
This book was pretty boring for the first 168 pages - that's when stuff finally started to get moving - 1/3 of the way through the book. I'd have dropped it long before that except that I'd alread read 'The Genesis Code' by this author and enjoyed it and was waiting for this one to improve. I really was disappointed.
I give this book 2 stars. I would have given it a slightly better score but I know the author can do much better than this
Rating: 
Summary: READ the book; SKIP the audio version
Review: The advantage of audio books is that characters, setting, etc. generally are presented to the reader exactly as the author intends. I doubt, however, that the authors of The Syndrome intended for their female characters to sound so absolutely silly. With due respect for Mr. Hill's talents, he is clearly lost when trying to imitate female voices. The voice of the protagonist Adrienne, in particuar, teeters between that of a grown man mimicking a 4-year-old child and the authentic voice of a 90-year-old woman. I was never able to visualize with any credibility what certainly was intended to be a strong, independent, and sexy 20-or-30-something lawyer. Mr. Hill, on the other hand, does an outstanding job with with the male voices and the narration. So, I'm wondering: Since it took a man and a woman to write this thrilling story, perhaps a man AND a woman should have been hired to read the audio version.
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