Rating: 
Summary: A rightful Edgar Award winner!
Review: Sci-fi wizard Michael Crichton wrote this novel when he was still in medical school. In fact, he wrote many such novels under pseudonyms to pay his way through college. Then, this book won an Edgar Award, and everything changed!'A Case Of Need' is a medical thriller along with a murder mystery thrown in. The story revolves around Dr. John Berry who works in a Boston Hospital. His best friend Dr. Arthur Lee is arrested and charged with murder caused by an abortion gone wrong. The deceased is the daughter or Dr. J. D. Randall, one of the most prominent doctors in town. Was it deliberate murder? Was it accidental malpractice? The police are under a lot of pressure, and finally slap charges on Dr. Lee. John Berry is convinced that Lee is innocent. He sets out on his own investigation into the matter. It's a fast-paced mystery with the hero uncovering shocking secrets about the girl's life. Of course, it isn't as good as other mystery writers. After all, this was Crichton's first attempt at such a topic, and hardcore mystery fans may not find it much exciting. But the fact that Crichton is a doctor himself, makes up for this. The book has quite a few medical details about surgical procedures and the functioning of hospitals and also a lot of arguments on medical ethics. Quite reminiscent of Robin Cook's medical thrillers but with a very different writing style, the story moves quickly, and seems to have lots of unexpected twists. All in all, it's a superb novel, combining elements of mystery and authentic medical detail making it one of the best books of it's kind. Any fan of Crichton should not miss this book. Originally written under the pseudonym of Jeffery Hudson, this one's a rightful Edgar Award winner. Michael Crichton deserves all the praise he gets. Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Overall, very suspenseful and intriguing to read.
Review: A Case Of Need : by Michael Crichton 4½ Stars It has been three decades since the release of this captivating novel written by Michael Crichton. Originally, in 1969, this breathtaking novel was so 'hot', it was originally written under the alias of Jeffrey Hudson. Today, millions of readers acknowledge Crichton's mastery that begun long ago with this novel. Stephen King himself praised the novel as "Fantastic...I loved it!". I thought was a little confusing so that's why I gave it the last half star. Other than that the, plot was exhilarating and kept me going until the very end. I recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in stories about medical thrillers and constant suspense. Crichton most probably wrote under the pen name Jeffrey Hudson because he anticipated a mixed reaction from the public. At the time, as it is today, abortion was a very controversial subject that raised many eyes. In this book both opinions of the matter are represented in different characters. The ethics of Art Lee can be matched with someone who believes for abortion while the strict opinion of the public at the time believed against it.- Carlos Encalada
Rating:
Summary: This must be the first book to read...
Review: I like all kind of medical thrillers, I like Palmer, Cook, Sheldon (Nothing Last Forever) and of course Crichton, when I started to read these kind of novels, many times I had to go to the dictionary to understand many medical descriptions, or ask some friends what does it mean this or that in the hospital, this book explain all that and after you read it you will understand many things about hospitals and doctors, this book doesn't say anything against any doctor as other medical thrillers, in this book you see how the doctors try to help themselves and their medical friends.
The case of the abortion is good, nevertheless you will not know exactly how John knew who was the bad guy, he just found it, so, at the end you will be a little disappointed but you will learn many things about doctors, for example: do you really know why the clothes of the M.D. are white?
Rating: 
Summary: NOT AS GOOD AS OTHER CRICHTON-NOVELS, BUT INFORMATIVE
Review: This is very much an average book, with nothing new to offer but for a lot of explanation of a great deal of technical terms used in the field of medicine; and it is these details, which give this book some value. Crichton, I feel is surely one of the best contemporary writers, and is the best, when it comes to writing science-fiction novels. Each one of his books, very different from each other, are not only gripping and entertaining, but also are very informative, with all the importance Crichton gives, to explain in detail, the science, he involves in these books. It is this unique quality of his writing-style, which makes him so different from other contemporary authors. 'A CASE OF NEED' is one of his older novels, and is nothing like his later ones. The novel is basically about this pathologist, who tries to save a fellow-pathologist, who is accused of accidentally killing a young girl - the daughter of a leading doctor, while performing an illegal abortion on her. Though this medical-thriller, in itself, is quite an interesting page-turner, however, in no way does it match the brilliance of his other novels. Being a brilliant page-turner is one thing; but being a brilliant page-turner by Crichton is something else, having a league of its own, and this particular page-turner just doesn't belong to this league. The book proceeds through its course in the most mundane fashion, and builds up to the end, which, in itself, is quite trite. This book is nowhere close to his later medical thriller, 'THE TERMINAL MAN', which undoubtedly, is Crichton's best novel to date. On one hand, this book is a bit of a disappointment. On the other hand, however, not everything about this book is bad. Though in each and every novel of his, Crichton tries to give a detailed description / meaning of the scientific terms / scientific concepts used in the book, in this particular novel of his, however, his explanations to the scientific / medical terms used are to the greatest detail, more than any other novel of his. Moreover, his explanations are so simple, that these explanations can interest even the person, who is most indifferent to medicine. Though this book has a very little entertaining value, (considering the standard of Crichton's other novels) it is really informative. Since this book was one of Crichton's earliest books, (infact, it wasn't even originally written under the name, 'Michael Crichton') he was more of a doctor, than an author, as the book shows. But, in the case of his later books, he developed into a better writer, and hence, as in the case of those novels, he is more of a writer than a doctor.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and Consciousness-Raising
Review: Crichton focuses his microscope on the medical profession in this story of a butchered abortion performed on the daughter of a prominent Boston physician. John Berry is a Boston pathologist who has been helping to cover up the illegal abortions performed by a Dr. Arthur Lee. When Lee is arrested for murder, Berry has to unravel the case before the consequences of his own actions catch up with him. There's a lot of the technical medical terminology that Crichton has made popular on the hit TV show "ER", and a lot more of the serious analysis of the moral dilemmas that face medical practitioners in the real world, particularly as they relate to abortion. Like "ER" this is not science fiction, but a very compelling story (actually a murder mystery) informed by substantial scientific knowledge. (Crichton was a medical student at the time this novel was written). As such, there is no speculation here, just the facts as Crichton sees them, in the context of a juicy potboiler that includes licentiousness and loose living among the rich and privileged. The end result is a thoroughly compelling can't-put-it-down page-turner that seems certain to please a mass audience. The down side is that apart from the (admittedly even-handed) discussions on abortion, there really isn't any substance to this novel. The characters are pretty generic, and only the hero really manages to make any claim on our sympathy. Mystery lovers are sure to enjoy this book, as are fans of "ER", but science fiction fans should not be expecting to find any far-out ideas here. Very entertaining, but not mind-boggling, this book will raise your consciousness about the abortion issue. Just don't expect a whole lot more from it.
Rating:
Summary: Another Crichton Masterpiece!
Review: This is another one of those books that I found very difficult to put down. It is a definite page-turner! The story plot became more and more convoluted as the mystery continued forward and made for very interesting and entertaining reading. I really enjoyed reading this novel. The novel was extremely informative and educational (in terms of medicine/healthcare). Since I have always been interested in medicine/healthcare and worked in healthcare for 16 years, this book was very appealing and most of the medical terminology/jargon made sense. However, I can see where, in some cases, the less informed reader could potentially be confused by all the medical jargon. Crichton attempts, via footnotes, to give brief explanations where due--however, the novel could have used a few more footnotes to clarify some confusing areas, especially in paragraphs that are loaded with medical jargon. Granted, there aren't too many of these paragraphs. Nonetheless, the book was very good. I enjoyed this book almost as much as I enjoyed "The Terminal Man" (also by Crichton). It would be great to see more medical mysteries from Crichton. This novel is definitely worth the read!
Rating:
Summary: Crichton's first "official" novel is a page-turner!
Review: I found MC's new introduction to his earliest breakthrough novel, A CASE OF NEED, quite interesting. He talks about the controversy the book stirred when it came out, and how his pseudonym -- Jeffery Hudson -- was used so that nobody in the medical world would know who wrote it. He never planned to be a writer -- he was in Harvard Medical School at the time and needed cash (so he turned out paperback spy stories about the cold war) -- but when he won an award for the novel, he had to accept it in person and his so-called secret was out. If you enjoyed JURASSIC PARK, SPHERE, RISING SUN, or any of MC's other truly fabulous novels (I've read 'em all along with thousands of other classical and modern works of literature), you'll love this oldie from the late 60s. It's like reading a film noir -- told in first person perspective, it's about a doctor investigating the murder case of a fellow employee of a local hospital who has been arrested for aborting a young girl's unborn child and, in turn, unintentionally killing the girl later, after she suffered blood loss from the operation. But did he really do it? That's the question that our protaganist tries to solve -- and the outcome of it all is so simple, and yet also so stunning. As the final page turns, you'll wonder how you never solved it beforehand. It has its flaws. Michael Crichton's early work shows signs of minor problems he would solve later -- whether it be plot mistakes or simply story flow. Plus, I doubt whether a doctor would turn himself into Sherlock Holmes quite so well as he makes the character in this book. That all doesn't matter, because you'll absolutely love this novel, especially if you're a fan. If you're new to Crichton, I suggest JURASSIC PARK, the first novel of his I read (and which totally took me by surprise). But if you're a fan, or you want a good medical thriller from the creator of ER, check this out. It's one of Crichton's better quick-reads.
Rating:
Summary: Good, But Not His Best
Review: A Case of Need was an alright book with a so-so book, but I felt that it could have been better, All of Crichton's other novels such as Rising Sun and Jurassic Park have been great so why not this one? Maybe because he wrote it when he was much younger. I think this was published in the 1960's? Whoa! That's a long time ago.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Genius
Review: This book is amazing. It has everything - suspense, drama and a throlling ending. Pick up a copy and read it today!
Rating: 
Summary: Trite
Review: This is the first, and at this point only, book written by Mr. Crichton that I have read. It hasn't exactly inspired me to read any others. The story, as the other reviewers have mentioned, is a medical murder mystery. One thing the curious reader should keep in mind, however, is that the book also is very much involved in the abortion controversy. If memory serves, it was written and originally published in the early 1970s (but sometime before the Roe v. Wade decision), and you can certainly tell Mr. Crichton's opinion on the matter. If you are pro-life/anti-abortion/etc., keep in mind that this book will be at times rather teeth-grinding. But, even with the political/moral issue aside, this work is dreadful. The characters having a stunning resemblence to cardboard cut-outs, the plot meanders like a drunken sailor, all leading up to a conclusion both compressed and totally out of left field (not as in "oh, that's inventive!" but in a more deus ex machina "deadline's coming - I have to wrap this up quick"). Looking at the other reviews, apparently Mr. Crichton's writing has since improved. One can only hope.
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