Doing Harm
"My patient is dying . . . And it's all my fault." An attention-grabbing opener to a suspenseful medical thriller.
To have a career you love, a family you adore, and the chance to make a difference in the lives of others is a dream come true for Dr. Steven Mitchell. Employed at Boston's prestigious University Hospital, he is a surgical chief resident working toward the goal of a permanent staff position.
Steve is training GiGi "GG" Maxwell as a medical student and finds her to be exhibiting exemplary success at this early stage in her career. A beautiful young woman, GG mesmerizes not only the higher ups and her colleagues, but the patients as well. She is not as pretty inside as out.
Things turn ugly when a patient dies unnecessarily due to GG's psychotic machinations, and the blame is pinned on Steve. Dismissed of his surgical duties until a complete investigation ensues, suddenly his career, his family life, and his reputation are jeopardized by her deadly schemes.
Against his better judgment, Steve confides GG's actions to his colleague, junior resident Luis Martinez. Luis, a former Marine who worked in Intel, believes Steve's allegations and suggests they meet in secret to discuss how they can expose her. Luis ends up dead, apparently of a suicide, making Steve realize he's in this fight alone. The temptation to walk away from the whole situation, leave the hospital, and search for other employment is tempting, but Steve's principles and the reason he became a doctor get the better of him; he cannot allow GG to kill more innocent people. He knows he must fight her—even alone.
Fighting GG one-on-one initially appears fruitless, and Steve’s frustration mounts as GG's manipulation increases. The insidious dialogue between the two illustrates her deviousness.
"I told you last week. I don't want any part of your or your insane game, GG. I just want to be left alone. And if you're wondering what I'm doing here, it's no big mystery. I'm on my way over to see Mrs. Samuelson."
"The woman you almost killed. Sure. I can only imagine the guilt you're feeling. She's improving, you know. She might just make it." She sighs and looks disappointed. "Too bad. I was really hoping it would be more interesting this time. Your guilt over what you did to Mrs. Samuelson is going to be nothing compared to what you'll feel after this next patient dies. And the one after that. I guarantee it."
Steve is desperate to figure a way to beat GG at her game. In the interim, his marriage becomes strained; his wife Sally believes he is having an affair because he is never home. Pregnant with their third child, Sally cannot know details of the whole scenario—especially since GG could ruin his family and career.
Written in Steve's first-person voice, this medical thriller, similar to those of Robin Cook, draws in the reader with the sheer horror of the scenario. While the central plot is somewhat mind-boggling, the intense and dramatic descriptive medical scenes along with the detailed machinations of the antiheroine deems this narrative a page turner.
A debut for Mr. Parsons, Doing Harm shows enormous with his chilling plot and colorful characters. Powerfully depicted, this spine-tingling and shocking novel is one medical thriller readers will thoroughly enjoy.