Table of Contents
A Note from the Author
Okay, if this is the first book of mine youre going to try, stop now. Return it. Grab another. Its okay. Ill wait.
If youre still here, please know that I havent read Miracle Cure in at least twenty years. It is my second published novel, one I wrote in my early twenties when I was just a naive lad working in the travel industry and wondering if I should follow my father and brother go to (shudder) law school.
Im hard on it, but arent we all hard on our early stuff? Remember that essay you wrote when you were in school, the one that you got an A plus on, the one your teacher called inspiredand one day youre going through your drawer and you find it and you read it and your heart sinks and you say, Man, what was I thinking?
Thats how it is with early novels sometimes. This one is a bit preachy in spots and sometimes dated (though in truth, I wish the medical stuff was more dated, but thats another matter). You might think I based part of this on a real-life situation. I didnt. This book predates that event. I wont say more because it could be a spoiler.
Finally, flawed and all, I love this book. There are an energy and risk-taking in Miracle Cure that I wonder if I still have. Im not this guy anymore, but thats okay. None of us is stagnant with our passion and our work. Thats a good thing.
Enjoy
PRAISE FOR HARLAN COBEN AND HIS BESTSELLING NOVELS
Coben again keeps the reader off-balance with innovative story lines and diabolical bad guys.
People
More twists and turns than an amusement park ride.
USA Today
Every time you think Harlan Coben couldnt get any better at uncoiling a whip snake of a page-turner, he comes along with a new novel that somehow surpasses its predecessor.
San Francisco Chronicle
An exhilarating, bang-up Porsche Turbo of a novel that you absolutely will not put down.
Dennis Lehane
Coben twists story lines into psychological thrill rides. The pages flip so fast, its a wonder you dont develop paper cuts.
The Orlando Sentinel
Truly surprising.
Entertainment Weekly
The action unfolds with the intensity of TVs 24.... Nobody writes them better than Coben.
The Associated Press
Lively, fast-moving entertainment, jam-packed with the bizarre plot twists that are his stock-in-trade.
The Washington Post
Coben is one of the best authors around at writing page-turning suspense.... He has a knack for hooking readers right away and holding their interest as they zoom through his plots.
Chicago Sun-Times
Most thriller authors only wish they could write like Coben. The guy has a way of grabbing you from the first paragraph and never turning you loose till the ashes have settled. Coben takes chances; he pulls no punches.
The Madison County Herald (MS)
Harlan Coben thrillers are precision-tooled pageturners. If youre looking for immediate immersion in a book that will not let go until its done, then Cobens your man.
London Lite
ALSO BY HARLAN COBEN
Play Dead
Deal Breaker
Drop Shot
Fade Away
Back Spin
One False Move
The Final Detail
Darkest Fear
Tell No One
Gone for Good
No Second Chance
Just One Look
The Innocent
Promise Me
The Woods
Hold Tight
Long Lost
Caught
Live Wire
For Corky,
the best mommy in the world
PROLOGUE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30
D R. Bruce Grey tried not to walk too fast. He slowed his pace, fighting off the temptation to sprint across the soiled floor of Kennedy Airports International Arrivals Building, past the customs officials, and out into the humid night air. His eyes shifted from side to side. Every few steps he would feign a soreness in his neck to give himself the opportunity to glance behind him and make sure he was not being followed.
Stop it! Bruce told himself. Stop lurking around like a poor mans James Bond. Youre shaking like a malaria patient, for chrissake. You couldnt look more conspicuous if you wore a sign.
He strolled past the luggage carousel, nodding politely at the little old lady who had sat next to him on the flight. The old woman had not shut her mouth during the entire trip, gabbing on about her family, her love of flying, her last trip overseas. She was sweet enough, just somebodys grandmother, but Bruce still closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep in order to get a little peace and quiet. But, of course, sleep had not come to him. It would not come for some time yet.
But maybe she wasnt just some sweet, little old lady, Brucie boy. Maybe she was follo wing you...
He dismissed the voice with a nervous shake of the head. This whole thing was turning his brain into sewer sludge. First, he was sure that the bearded man on the plane had been following him. Then it was the big guy with the slicked-back hair and Armani suit at the telephone booth. And dont forget the pretty blonde by the terminal exit. She had been following him too.
Now it was a little old lady.
Get a grip on yourself, Brucie. Paranoia is not what we need right now. Clear thinking, old palthats what were looking for.
Bruce moved past the luggage carousel and over to the customs official.
Passport, please.
Bruce handed the man his passport.
No luggage, sir?
He shook his head. Only this carry-on.
The customs officer glanced at the passport and then at Bruce. You look quite different from your photograph.
Bruce tried to force a tired smile to his lips but it would not hold. The humidity was almost unbearable. His dress shirt was pasted against his skin, his tie loosened to the point of being nearly untied. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead. I... Ive gone through a few changes.
A few? Youre a dark-haired man with a beard in this picture.
I know
Now youre a clean-shaven blond.
Like I said, I went through a few changes. Luckily, you cant tell eye color from a passport photo or you would want to know why I changed my eyes from brown to blue.
The customs official did not appear convinced. Were you traveling on business or pleasure?
Pleasure.
You always pack this lightly?
Bruce swallowed and managed a shrug. I hate waiting for checked luggage.
The customs official swung his line of vision from the passport photograph to Bruces face and then back again. Would you open your bag, please?
Bruce could barely keep his hands steady enough to set the combination. It took him three tries before it finally snapped open. There you go.
The customs officials eyes narrowed into thin slits as he rummaged through the belongings. What are these? he asked.
Bruce closed his eyes, his breath coming in short gasps. Some files.
I can see that, the official replied. What are they for?
Im a doctor, Bruce explained, his voice cracking. I wanted to review some of my patients charts while I was away.
