With everything we have gone
through from a medical standpoint, I absolutely stay away from books marketed
as medical thrillers. Kaye George kicks off February with her review below…
Patient One by Leonard Goldberg
I hope this medical thriller doesn't
deter someone from going to the emergency room when they need to go. Believe
me, the people in this book shouldn't have.
A group of Chechen terrorists have
planned it just right so that the poisoned President of the United States and
his family are sent to the specific hospital they can control. A group of
dignitaries, including the leader of Russia are having their state dinner at
the Beverly Hills Wilshire Hotel because the Russian leader's wife is enamored
of movie stars. Security forces grumbled about having two hundred fifty people
in an area they weren’t used to securing, but the diplomats bowed to the
opportunity to entertain the guests and perhaps sway their opinions. Up until the
guests started getting sick, the biggest concern of the visit has been a
friendship pact, soon to be signed, that would liberate America from OPEC
control of the oil market.
Luckily, forty-five-year-old John
Merrill, the youngest president since John F. Kennedy, is, everyone thinks, in
excellent health. He should be able to weather the effects of the poison like
everyone else is predicted to do. His gastric problems have been kept from the
public, but he's in danger of dying from the poison.
Meanwhile, the terrorist have taken
control of the hospital and are holding the first family and several others
hostage. It's up to Dr. David Ballineau, the emergency room physician on call
that night, and the very capable nurse Carolyn. Neither of these two are quite
what they seem.
Warning: I enjoyed the book very much,
but this is not reading for the squeamish. The effects of the poison are
vividly and often portrayed using blood, orifices, and bodily functions.
Reviewed by Kaye George, Author of Smoke for Suspense Magazine
A frightening but timely scenario. It sounds like a really good read. (Anyone who made it unscathed through last night's episode of Downton Abbey ought to be unsqueamish enough to tackle the book.)
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