Book Review: Medical Error

Written by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.
Reviewed by Nora St. Laurent –

Back Cover:
Dr. Anna McIntyre’s life was going along just fine until someone else started living it. Her patient died because of an identity mix-up, her medical career is in jeopardy because of forged prescriptions, and her credit is in ruins. She thought things couldn’t t get worse, but that was before she opened the envelope and saw a positive HIV test with her name on it. Her allies are two men who are also competing for her affection. Dr. Nick Valentine is a cynic who carries a load of guilt. Attorney Ross Donovan is a recovering alcoholic. The deeper Anna digs to discover who’s behind the identity thefts, the higher the stakes. Finally, when her life is on the line, Anna finds that her determination to clear her name might have been a prescription for trouble.

Review:
I’m so thrilled to have received a review copy of such suspenseful medical thriller that reminded me of the movie, The Net with Sandra Bullock, but taken to a whole new level.

This book opens with Dr. Anna McIntyre performing emergency surgery on Eric Hatley. It was descriptive and I wasn’t sure where the author was leading the reader. But then the pace picks up and Dr. Anna McIntryre discovers her credit cards have been maxed out and it wasn’t by her. This was not a great way to end her horrible day!

On the same day Anna discovers someone has stolen her identity she also finds out she’s is being sued for malpractice. Could things get worse? Dare she ask the question? She had to find out who stole her identity—the police weren’t making her a priority. “Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? It all seemed unfair?” in Anna’s way of thinking, she wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Why had things gone so wrong, all Dr. Anna McIntyre wanted to do was be a surgeon and help people, she hadn’t signed up for all this. I quickly felt for Anna and her situation. The author’s casts of characters are colorful, likable and believable. I was quickly drawn in by how the author takes the reader to places they haven’t gone before. Dr. Richard Mabry’s experience in hospitals and the system makes this medical mystery scary and believable and has you look at the ER, doctors and the hospital in a whole new way.

This author shows the non-glamorous side of being a doctor along with all the red tape they go through and how it can be horrific at times. Doctors don’t have lots of time and information to go on when a patient arrives in the ER unconscious! They have to depend on their medical experience, information in the computer of their patience and what they are told about the situation the patients got  into before they arrived.

Richard Mabry did a great job of pacing of the events that unfold, allowing me to experience this story to the fullest. Richard’s plot twists and turns definitely kept me up late wanting to know what happened next. I enjoyed and was surprised at the wit and humor used by this author. He had masterfully woven well timed humor into the suspenseful parts of his book. I didn’t expect to laugh out loud while reading a medical mystery. I loved it.

Dr. Anna McIntyre is forced to take a look at her life and tries to figure out what she holds dear. She worked so much she hadn’t stopped long enough to have this thought before. I was intrigued with her journey through this process and beyond. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this medical suspense thriller with heart. It’s made me want to check out Richards’ first book Code Blue. I’m also looking forward to reading the next book in this series, Diagnosis Death. This is one author I’ll be keeping an eye out for. You will too.

Nora St. Laurent
The Book Club Network
www.bookfun.org

Unwilling Warrior

Written by Andrea Boeshaar
Reviewed by Lena Nelson Dooley

Back Cover Copy:

Will the war force her to abandon her newfound love?

The War Between the States has Valerie Fontaine frightened about her future. And when her wealthy father is charged with supplying Federal gunboats in order to save his shipping business, Valerie is suspected of conspiracy. Suddenly she’s forced to flee her upscale New Orleans home or be taken into custody by Confederate troops.

Benjamin McCabe has a noble dream to make his mark on the world and has decided that photographing the Civil War is the way to accomplish it. But since the Battle of Bull Run, his brother Luke has been missing, and Ben is determined to find him. His stop in New Orleans is supposed to be a temporary one–until he meets and falls in love with Miss Valerie Fontaine.

When Valerie’s father is arrested, Ben secures a way for her to leave the city and travel to his family’s home where she’ll be safe. He promises that as soon as he finds Luke, he’ll be home and they can begin their life together. But once Valerie steps off the train, she finds herself caught up in a web of lies that threaten to imprison her more than Yankee steel bars ever could.
My Review:

I’ve read Andrea’s books for years, and enjoyed them. This one is even better than those that went before. The way she crafted this store was so beautiful and seamlessly pulls emotions and events together with words that paint more of a picture than most books do. I loved reading it. I found it hard to put down and kept going back to the story as quickly as I possibly could.

Strang Publishing has done a wonderful job of choosing the authors to launch their new Realms historical fiction line. I look forward to more of the same quality of books, especially the next one in this series. I give this book 5 stars.

To read more of Mrs. Dooley’s reviews, visit http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

Book Review of Priceless

Written by Tom Davis
Reviewed by Nora St. Laurent

Back Cover:

Photojournalist Stuart Daniels has found purpose in life. After suffering the fallout of a tragic assignment, Daniels rediscovered his faith while helping a young African orphan. Now his photo work carries a greater mission: To educate people about social injustice happening around the world.

Daniels’ next assignment carries him back overseas and into the heart of Russia. Once there, Daniels is persuaded by an old friend to help save two girls from a desperate situation. Soon he becomes a key player in a dangerous campaign to rescue helpless women trapped in the sex-slave trade. What Daniels encounters during his journey will shake his faith, test his courage, and even threaten his life. Yet as Daniels gets deeper and the stakes get higher, he will discover that hope can be found in the darkest of places.

My Review:

I’m thankful to have received a review copy of this captivating, surreal, suspenseful book that could have been ripped out of today’s headlines. It was horrific to think the topic of this book is real and happening in current time. Although the story concentrates on the sex-trafficking business in Russia, this unthinkable industry is thriving world wide. Tom Davis states in his book Russian girls are taken and sent out of their country with promises of going to America, to enjoy the good life. Only one catch, they do go to American but end up in some of the booming sex-trafficking places such as Atlanta, Dallas and Seattle.

You might be tempted not to read this book because of the subject matter and the fact that it might make you feel uncomfortable. It’s not easy to read about little girls being promised one thing and forced into another. My heart ached for these dear ones as these evil doers promised them the moon, only to get sold into a lifestyle of no return. The only way out was death.

Stuart Daniels returns in this book and is sent on another job. Stuart agrees to go to Russia because he feels this assignment is not as life threatening as the one he went to in Africa (in the last book Scared). After meeting his contacts in Russia, he’s whisked into an unthinkable mission – one he can’t turn down – not after having his world turned upside down in Africa, after meeting Adanna.

“Adanna may not have meant much to many in this world. But meeting her was the beginning of life for me. It changed the way I saw God. It changed the direction of my life. She taught me that the small things I do matter. My decisions today can save a life tomorrow.”

I believe I’ve been disturbed to the core of my being while reading this book and I hope that you are gloriously disturbed too. Just as bothered as Stuart was when he met Adanna.  Troubled in such a way it moves you into action and keeps you from turning your eyes and pretending this isn’t happening to innocent children every day. Stuart Daniel’s describes Adanna (above), a child he met in Africa who rocked his world, I pray your world is rocked as mine was and you begin to tell others about this novel and its message in hopes of bringing awareness to this global disturbance – a disturbance of epic proportions. Author Tom Davis lists ways we can get involved here in the states and overseas in the back of Priceless. He gives practical ways for us to love our neighbor as ourselves and shine the hope these children desperately need. Be Jesus’ hands and feet! I believe Priceless is a must read novel for everyone.

Find Nora St.Laurent at The Book Club Network www.bookfun.org and Finding Hope Through Fiction www.psalm516.blogspot.com.

Book Review: Through the Fire

Thorough the Fire
Written by Shawn Grady
Reviewed by Nora St. Laurent –

Back Cover: Firefighting burns in Aidan O’Neill’s blood. The son of a fireman, O’Neill has a sixth sense about fire and often takes dangerous risks. When one act of disobedience nearly gets a rookie killed, O’Neill is suspended. His weeks off are supposed to be a time to reflect, but instead he escapes to Mexico, where another rash act of bravery actually kills him. But only for a few minutes.

Review: Wow, I just finished reading Through the Fire.  I’m thankful for the review copy of this fascinating, enlightening book. I realized how clueless I was as to what firefighters go through day-in and day-out to save peoples lives and risk their own! It’s astounding!

Only someone who’s been in a firefighter’s shoes could show the realistic side of this demanding, sacrificial job that most of us take for granted. Shawn Grady’s been in the fire as a firefighter in Reno, for many years, which gives him a unique perspective. As I read, I felt as if I were in Aiden’s skin and the enemy he faced. Shawn describes fire, “The fire danced. It mocked. It shot from the room with wicked lit fingers, clawing and scratching, curling around my air bottle. It tugged at me, pulling me to it. Flame edges whipped down the walls, forming a sickle in the air, swinging in a slow arc down toward my sternum.” Now that’s a perspective only a firefighter on the scene could write. Shawn gives you a glimpse of fire gone crazy; it’s a horrifying, fascinating, terrible thing. The fire’s sole desire is to consume everything in sight. It’s surreal, chilling, and unbelievable.

This author pens a suspenseful, action packed story filled with intrigue as Aiden tries to track down the Arsonist that killed his father. Aiden’s obsession to right a wrong and his self-destructive lifestyle has everyone worried. His dad was good at what he did. He had to make sense of this tragedy.

Aiden was angry at God letting his dad die. Aiden knew his father trusted God and now he was dead! Aiden wasn’t going to go that route. He would stay far away from God. He would be in control of his own life, he didn’t need anyone. It was just him and the fire. Firefighters are a strange breed. While anyone in their right mind runs from fires. Firefighters, on the other hand seem drawn into the flame. In Aiden’s case, he got into the ring with the fire to win one more round. I learned how critical it was for a firefighter to be aware of his surroundings, use all of his senses and think quickly on his feet to save his life and the life of others.

What a fascinating, suspenseful, captivating story, with complex believable characters. I found myself rooting for them to save the victims and for both to live another day. I couldn’t put this book down until the mystery was solved. Can’t wait to read his new book Tomorrow We Die.

Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network
www.bookfun.org

Book Review: Double Minds

Book Review: Double Minds
Written by Terri Blackstock
Reviewed by Nike Chillemi –

In Double Minds, there’s a lot of deceit going on in the Nashville Christian recording community — even murder. Here’s a novel in which author Terri Blackstock doesn’t shy away from presenting Christian characters with all their warts.

Songwriter/singer Parker James, who’s day job is a receptionist position at Colgate Studios is stunned when a young college intern turns up murdered at her desk. Parker wonders if she was the intended victim, but can’t figure why that would be. As it turns out Parker’s brother Gibson is one of the detectives in charge of the murder investigation.

Gibson who moonlights as a studio musician is getting it from both ends. The chief of police wants to remove him from the investigation because the murder happened at his sister’s place of employment. Most annoying to Gibson, his little sister Parker keeps sticking her nose into the investigation.

I enjoyed the character of Parker James as crafted by the author. Her internal conflicts come across as authentic. Parker, totally sold out to the Lord, struggles with desires all Christians face. She’d like to make something of herself, yet she’s been asked to water down some of her Christian lyrics. Since the Christian singing sensation asking her to change the title song into a romantic love story is her best friend, Parker complies. The Lord moves in mysterious ways. The change in lyrics helps to pinpoint the exact time the murder victim broke into Parker’s laptop and stole the previous, Christian version of the song. Who says God’s not in charge?

In Double Minds the reader is introduced to the not-so-lovely side of the Christian recording industry. There is theft of intellectual property (Parker’s songs), a singer starving herself to present the sleek image her manager and producer want her to have, inventive ways to get around the laws against payola, rumor mongering, and murder. Of course, there are wonderful Christian characters walking with the Lord throughout this novel as well.

The character of Serene, the Christian contemporary music star is less than sympathetic. We’re given a glimpse of her abusive upbringing, but that never compensated for her narcissism and manipulative behavior. Perhaps the reader could have used a more in depth look at Serene’s early relationship with her abusive father in order to have more compassion for this character. At any rate, I was happy that after being the victim of a shooting near the end of the novel, this character decides she wants to live and not kill herself slowly via anorexia.

Perhaps the brightest aspect of this novel is the portrayal of the Parker family. With all of its flaws (the alcoholism of the father being one), led by a godly mother, the family members demonstrate powerful love for each other. They pray together, stick together, and have each other’s backs; even the hard drinking patriarch, as much as he can. I appreciated the very real portrayal of Christians and the impact they have on the lives of others in this novel.

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