Diagnosis Murder #4: The Waking Nightmare

by Lee Goldberg

Book Overview

A new mystery featuring Dr. Mark Sloan. Dr. Mark Sloan saves a would-be suicide victim, but her jump from a building ledge has left her in a coma. Obsessed with learning why she attempted suicide, Sloan stumbles into a manhunt for a cop-killer-who may turn his attention to nosy physicians next.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451214862
• ISBN13: 9780451214867
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 0.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The Waking Nightmare

In The Waking Nightmare Dr. Mark Sloan, Chief of Internal Medicine at Community General Hospital, is confronted with three mysteries: 1) how does he keep a cancer patient from slowly killing herself; 2) how does he solve the suicidal problems of a young woman who attempted to jump to her own death, and; 3) who murdered a millionaire skydiver in mid-jump with a knife to his chest, and how was it done. The three mysteries take charge of Dr. Sloan's life--he can't sleep (a symptom I was able to relate with), or even live a functional life until he solves each mystery to his satisfaction. The Waking Nightmare is everything I expect of a tie-in novel. It is familiar--the characters are correct, the setting is perfect and the storyline just right. But instead of a single episode, The Waking Nightmare is more like a Diagnosis Murder mini-series. The story is longer, and the characters are developed and explained much better. Mr. Goldberg also does an admirable job of capturing the always-present humor of the television series, and the comfortable, almost homey, atmosphere. The plotting is wonderful--he twists the plot and sub-plots into an entertaining web that kept me guessing until the final pages. My only gripe with The Waking Nightmare is that the subplots--at times--overpowered the murder mystery. In fact, when Dr. Sloan solved the mystery of the jumping girl I figured that was it. The book was over, but then in a flash I realized the skydiving murder was not only unsolved, but wasn't much closer to resolution then it had been at the beginning. Although it could be argued, and quite well, that the jumping girl is the main plot thread. It is certainly the most powerful and interesting of the three. The Waking Nightmare proves, without a doubt, that Diagnosis Murder isn't just for the elderly. But rather Lee Goldberg has written a series of novels that can be enjoyed by anyone who wants a fun, light and pleasant mystery. Mr. Goldberg continues to build a world that is both comfortable and invigorating--it is a mix of new and old in both theme and content, and it is very much a place I would like to return. Ben Boulden Gravetapping: a thing for books

A Highlight

He did it again! Mr. Goldberg again topped his earlier Diagnosis Murder books, though I didn't believe this could be possible. The Waking Nightmare fascinated me to the utmost from the first to the last page. In this book we get to know Dr. Mark Sloan in a way we never saw him before. And I like what I get to see. Mark is a human being! The story will not allow you to put the book aside. It keeps your attention, even when you are asleep, though you should be prepared not to sleep until you finished the book. Expect the unexpected! You will not be disappointed!

A Good Dream

Another satisfying mystery in the Diagnosis Murder series. I have enjoyed them all so far, but this was definitely the weakest mystery of the bunch. There are 3 mysteries going on simultaneously, but the `thread' between them all is easy to identify. The reason this book was lacking, in my opinion, is because 2 of the people Mark was helping this time were actually alive; the books work better with a murder where Mark is actively solving something. Still, it was a light and quick read and parallels the show nicely.

Not a Nightmare to Read

Mark Sloan looks out the window to see a woman jump out of the window across the street. Fortunately, she hit a tree branch on the way down and is still alive, albeit in a coma. Unfortunately, this event is haunting Mark. Every time he tries to sleep, he sees the same events playing out again and again. He must figure out why she jumped so that he can keep her from doing it again and get some sleep. Meanwhile, Steve has a baffling case of his own and actually calls on his dad for help. Winston Brant, the publisher behind "Thrill Seeker" magazine has just been murdered. By a knife in the chest while parachuting. Obviously, this is a case that will take Mark's incredible powers of deduction. These two cases flow well together in the book. Both were intriguing, and I found myself constantly trying to read "just a little bit more." As with the others in the series, the characters are spot on. Some of their interaction in the first part was laugh out loud funny, especially for fans of the series. There are a few character arcs taking place in these books, and I'm intrigued to see where they will go. My problem came in the last quarter. It really felt dragged out, like there was one plot twist too many. Maybe that's because I guessed much of those pages early myself. Like the previous books, this was a fun, fast read. If you're a mystery lover, you'll enjoy it. If you'll a Diagnosis: Murder fan, you'll love it.

Hershey bars of mystery lit

Lee Goldberg's "Diagnosis Murder" series are the Hershey bars of the mystery genre. They're fast-paced, traditional mysteries that are meant solely to entertain and keep alive the memory of the TV series starring Dick Van Dyke as the crime-solving Dr. Mark Sloan. Suicides haunt the fourth novel in the series. Dr. Sloan has as patients an actress who has beaten cancer several times but who refuses to quit smoking, and a woman who he saw jumping from a fifth-floor window but survived. Both resist Mark's efforts to help them, and he wants to know why. In addition, his son is investigating the death of a publisher of an extreme-sports magazine, who died from a knife in the chest during a parachute jump. Goldberg was a producer on the series, so he has a thorough knowledge of the characters. Like their TV counterparts, they banter, argue and sass each other, sometimes sidetracking serious conversations into something that sounds like, well, a TV show. There's Steve the detective, caging bear claws from a baker visiting the injured jumper, or a conversation stopping dead because someone says "hinky" ("I watched a lot of seventies cop shows" / "That explains your hair."). Those who like their mysteries earnest will crab about realism. I find these quirks human. Maybe its because I like bear claws. "Waking Nightmare" is a tightly plotted mystery that contains several plot twists and series of false solutions in the Agatha Christie tradition. Goldberg effortlessly carries over the flavor of the series to the written word, so if you liked the show, you'd probably like the books.