Tag: End of Life Issues

Hey, everyone. No, it’s not Tuesday but since I had a tour stop yesterday, I decided to delay my book review post one day.

This week’s review is a medical thriller, something I don’t often read. The author also mixes in an amateur sleuth, so there’s an element of mystery. She also delves into the question of end-of-life care. Interested? Read on.

Blurb

When her elderly patients start dying at home days after minor surgery, anesthesiologist Dr. Kate Downey wants to know why. The surgeon, not so much. “Old people die, that’s what they do,” is his response. When Kate presses, surgeon Charles Ricken places the blame squarely on her shoulders. Kate is currently on probation, and the chief of staff sides with the surgeon, leaving Kate to prove her innocence and save her own career. With her husband in a prolonged coma, it’s all she has left.

Aided by her eccentric Great Aunt Irm, a precocious medical student, and the lawyer son of a victim, Kate launches her own unorthodox investigation of these unexpected deaths. As she comes closer to exposing the culprit’s identity, she faces professional intimidation, threats to her life, a home invasion, and, tragically, the suspicious death of someone close to her. The stakes escalate to the breaking point when Kate, under violent duress, is forced to choose which of her loved ones to save—and which must be sacrificed.

My Review

Despite working in healthcare, I haven’t read a lot of medical thrillers. I learned of Fatal Intent through a BookBub recommendation, so I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did.

The author is an anesthesiologist, and her knowledge of the medical scenario shows. Being familiar with the procedures when unanticipated deaths occur, I can attest.

The book is well-written and suspenseful enough to have kept me turning the pages. The only reason I give this book four stars rather than five is a few areas where I questioned the lead character violating HIPAA laws. Otherwise, it’s a great story and I would read this author again.