Zero Cool is a a rapid-fire thriller from Micheal Crichton written under his pen-name of John Lange while he was in med-school. A riff on the ordinary man caught up in extraordinary circumstances that seems to have shades of North by Northwest to it, the tale follows Dr. Pete Ross, a radiologist on his first vacation in years, so it’s off to the Continent in search of sun, surf and some sensual, beautiful company.

He finds all that and more when, after meeting Angela, he gets pulled into a vast-reaching game of cat-and-mouse, stolen treasure and betrayals.

A fairly short novel, this is a great little beach read, that sees Ross bouncing from incident to incident involving organized crime, a dangerous falcon, and even more dangerous women, and two nefarious villains referred to as The Professor, and The Count.

Ross is in all manner of trouble, unsure of who to trust, unsure of what is going on, it will take some time until he completely figures out what is going on, but when he does, he will make the best of the situation and perhaps he and Angela will survive everything that the villains have lined up for him.

Crichton keeps things coming fast and entertaining in this one. The chapters are short, easily digested and push the narrative and the characters further along. It’s a bit of a romp, and doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t. There’s sex, violence exotic locations, and consequently, it’s just a fun and captivating read.

And with its short length, it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

I like the way Crichton crafts his thrillers and doles out his story, everything just moves along at a bit of a breakneck clip, and nothing lets up until the last moment. It’s not quite cinematic in nature, but you could definitely see the story playing out on the big screen. He’s got his storytelling down, and there is so much more to come from him yet.

While he still has four more John Lange books to come, his next one put his actual name on the map and I can’t wait to dig into it, The Andromeda Strain. It’s at this point that he really begins combining science and storytelling, and it’s going to be a fun ride exploring all of them, and revisiting some stories I’ve not read in decades.

Until then, keep reading, and let me know what is on your bookshelf!