I had a hard time getting into this book at the start but kept plugging along, determined to "get through it". However, somewhere, early on, I got hooked and couldn't put this book down. The characters were interesting and well-developed, without a lot of extraneous background or small time characters. The plot kept me guessing until the very end, which I never guessed. I'm usually a good guesser, so I love a book that can still completely surprise me with a plot twist that I never saw coming. As the patient seems to be making progress, the reader begins to root for the young doctor to make a breakthrough, to see them both come out on the other side. This was one of those books I forced myself to stay up reading....looking forward to this author's next book.