Diagnosis Death

On further research, I learned that this is the third book off the Prescription for Trouble series, but it's not completely dependent on the first two books and you can read this on its own. This digital advanced reader's copy was sent to me by NetGalley. I did not have any expectations up front when I requested for a copy of this book, although the fact that it's got euthanasia as one of its topics got me interested but that was just it. Reading through the first few pages got me hooked and I somehow knew this would be a really fun and intense ride.

According to Amazon.com

"When her comatose husband dies in the ICU while on life support, the whispers about Dr. Elena Gardner begin. Another death during her training puts her under show more suspicion. When the pattern is repeated in the hospital where she is attempting to start over, the whispers turn into a shout: “mercy killing.”

What is the dark secret that keeps Elena’s lips sealed when she should be defending herself? Despite her move to a new city, the midnight phone calls that started after her husband’s death follow Elena. Who is the woman who sobs out, “I know what you did?” What does she mean by “You’ll pay?” And what can Elena do to prevent it?

Two physicians, widowers themselves, offer support, telling Elena they know what she is going through after the death of her husband. But do they? And is it safe to trust either of them with her secret?"

This book totally blew me away! It possessed everything I have been looking for in a thriller: Mystery, suspense, some psychological kicks. This could be one of the scariest thrillers out there to be released in 2011. While reading this book, I couldn't help but think to myself, This is totally up there with Hannibal. There aren't any gruesome murders or inconceivable torturing but the fear that each chapter conveys - the mysterious calls, the anonymous letters, all those harrowing events that haunt Elena's life is so surreal yet very realistic. I could never begin to figure out how anyone confronted with such threats could cope, and yet in this well-written story, I think I almost could.

Euthanasia has been the topic of much debate over the years in Bio-Ethics. In this book, it covers the legal, emotional, and psychological ramifications for the people that will survive the patient once life support is withdrawn. The grief and the guilt caused by making that major decision to allow a loved one to die is so inconsolable and overwhelming, and this story attempts to portray all those emotions with logical and spiritual balance.

The writing is snappy, demanding, and well-paced. You begin to read this and you do not put this down. The voice of the narration is neutral but laced with excitement and pulls the reader deeper into the story until all questions are answered, all mysteries solved. It did not also attempt to hold off on the suspense too much, unlike other stories that try to string the reader along until the very end to reveal every answer that turns out to be too simple or bland that it becomes an anticlimax. But it did not, however, expose everything right away, the timing is impeccable, that once I got into some of those parts, I would try to cover the lower page with my hand just so my eyes wouldn't cheat and try to peek and see the answers. It was exciting to solve the mystery and it was exciting to understand the mystery.

The characters are all well-rounded, well-thought of, their personalities very human and realistic. I felt a lot of sympathy for Elena, for all her losses and misfortunes, but I was totally with her to the end. I loved her courage and her strength, and somehow she reminded me of her mother, nothing fazes them. As for the other characters, they are all very likable and relatable, although I would have wanted to torture some characters a bit more. But that's just the sadist in me talking.

Overall, I could not wait for this book to be out in bookstores next year. Even if I'd read this already, I would love to pick up a copy and read it all over again. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Watch out for this one and don't forget the date this will be published: April 1, 2011! show less

Elena Gardner is a young doctor, just finishing her residency in a ditinguished Dallas hospital. She's also a young widow, whose husband Mark suffered an aneurysm that caused brain death. After struggling with the decision for weeks, Elena violates protocol by writing a Do Not Resuscitate order on his chart herself--and shortly thereafter, someone turns off Mark's respirator.

Elena thinks she may have done it herself, but she doesn't remember doing so. This is merely a private grief and mystery, however, until another patient, whose care she was involved in, dies in remarkably similar circumstances. Hospital officials conclude that, since both patients were brain-dead, what happened was possibly unethical but not a crime. With her show more residency just a few weeks from its end, though, and a senior hospital official up for a promotion, they're suddenly eager to have her out of Dallas so that, if an embarrassing pattern is developing, it won't be associated with their institution.

And so Elena finds herself signing on as the temporary, and hopefully permanent, associate of Dr. Cathy Sewell, in the alarmingly named city of Dainger, Texas. Dr. Sewell's pregnancy is near term, and whose practice is growing enough to support a second doctor even after she returns to work. Elena quickly finds she has not left her troubles behind her. The troubling weekly midnight phone calls that started after her husband's death continue. She gets anonymous notes that appear to be from the same source. She's making new friends and new enemies, and it's by no means clear who is who. Sheriff's deputy Frank Perrin seems friendly, pleasant, and helpful--but Cathy doesn't like him, and he seems almost disturbingly persistent. Dr. Marcus Bell is also a widower, and is interested in more than just friendship. A senior nurse at the local hospital has something painful in common with Elena: her husband is brain-dead and being kept alive on a respirator. The hospital administrator, Dr. Norman Godwin, is arrogant, abrupt, focused on the bottom line--and unexpectedly hostile.

Then another patient with brain damage, less severe and seemingly on the slow road to recovery, dies in frighteningly familiar circumstances. Elena has to sort out friend from foe, find out how her husband and the other patient in Dallas really died, and whether she really has killed three patients--or whether she has a dangerous enemy who has followed her from Dallas.

Elena and the other major characters are very nicely developed, interesting, and worth spending the time with. Some of the lesser but still important characters are a bit more two-dimensional, but not enough to detract from a well-plotted and solid mystery. It's also worth mentioning that the publisher bills this as Christian fiction. The Christian faith and beliefs of the characters flow naturally from who they are as people, and should be satisfying to those for whom this is a plus, and not intrusive or grafted on in a way that would be off-putting to those simply looking for a good mystery to engage the brain and the heart, and while away a few enjoyable hours.

Recommended.

I receive a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. show less

I just finished reading this book about half an hour ago and I must say I was impressed. Before I did the request for this book at NetGalley I asked myself a million questions about it. I was afraid this was some ER/House M.D. medical drama. I am really sorry I believed that. While it is a medical drama, it's also a mystery novel.


At the center of this novel is Elena Gardner. She is a few weeks before she completes her residency and will be able to start her own practice. Her husband, Mark, died a few months before due to a stroke, after being for two weeks in a coma. She's a very complex character. She's a very good doctor and she knows how to interact with both patients and their families. I also liked that she admitted her mistakes, show more when she made them. I think that in makes her look more...let's say human. Instead of the "I can never get it wrong" attitude that some doctors have, she realized she did a mistake and she accepted it. I liked that very much.


You can also tell that she really loved her husband and that his death was something that was really hard for her to deal with. She's almost scared to move on with her life, feeling that "her sense of security died with her husband".


Her "shoulder to cry on" is David. They met in the resident school and they've been very good friends ever since. He's the one that knows her better than anyone and the person she goes to when she needs an advice, a friendly face or just someone to eat dinner with. He also has very strong feelings for her, but I think he waited for a sign that she was ready for his feelings. I think her decision to accept to move to Dainger was his sign and he finally tells her how he feels.


I really liked how the author managed to keep the mystery up until the last 30 pages or so of the book. I really didn't guess who the killer/stalker was. I liked that a lot and also the fact that it wasn't predictable to me.


What I didn't particularly like was the fact that the novel was a little slow at first. It didn't really bother me, I was just anxious I guess.


I liked the book and the author's writing style. And since I learned it's the third book in the series Prescription for Trouble I think I'll go hunting for the other books to read them. show less

Although billed as a “medical suspense” book, I actually didn’t find this book suspenseful in the slightest. The main character, Elena, is contending, first and foremost, with the death of her husband. She’s also receiving mysterious phone calls every Tuesday at midnight from an unidentified woman, and she believes she has been framed for the death of one of her patients. Things worsen after she moves to Dainger, Texas (yep, Dainger), where the phone calls continue, she believes she is being followed, and she discovers a plot to frame her for the murder of one of her new patients.
Things come to a head when the husband of her new colleague finally identifies the woman who has been making the phone calls, which (spoiler alert) show more turns out to be a character so minor I had to search through the book to figure out who she was. Elena later confronts her, and, in classic obvious-plot fashion, the woman spills her guts, telling Elena exactly why she was calling and giving her background on her grudge with little to no prompting on the part of Elena.
Elena also discovers who is framing her for killing her patients, another character minor enough that I had to wrack my brain to figure out who she was. Elena manages to figure the whole thing out with little to no evidence, catch the woman in the act, and promptly save the woman’s life after they struggle and the woman accidentally injects herself with the poison she intended for Elena’s patient.
Through all of this, Elena constantly encounters patients who have the same condition as her husband had, which seems quite unlikely. These patients are an obvious plot device to highlight the fact that Elena is unable to deal with her husband’s illness and death, and these patients do nothing to move the story along. Elena’s suffering, while understandable, is just not written very well, and she comes off as pathetic and whiny rather than as a strong woman dealing with a difficult event. There is also an unbelievable number of widows and widowers throughout the book, again obviously designed to enunciate Elena’s situation.
Aside from these plot points, the writing is also simplistic — distractingly so. Seemingly the only complex words used are medical terms, which, admittedly, the author does a terrific job of explaining to those of us who are not doctors. The rest of the writing is very plain, with dialogue that just doesn’t quite sound like the way real people talk.
In the end, I was disappointed with this book. I expected suspense, mystery, and an interesting character study of a woman who has just lost the most important person in her life. Instead, the suspense was sorely lacking, the mysteries were contrived and too easily solved, and Elena’s characterization did more to demean her than elevate her. While Dr. Mabry is very obviously knowledgeable about his medical subject matter and write successfully to the level of readers who do not have his level of expertise, this does not make up for the poor plot and writing in the rest of the book. show less

Diagnosis Death is written by Richard Mabry, a qualified doctor who specialises in ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat), and has practiced in several major hospitals in Texas. Since retiring he has turned his hand to medical thrillers, and as a medical thriller fanatic, I had to take a look at this, the third book in his Prescription for Trouble series.

Dr Elena Gardner is a physician in fear, after the death of her husband on ICU a series of phone calls accuses her of performing a mercy killing. When the deaths continue, and Dr Gardner cannot remember where she was when the deaths occurred, rumours start to spread. Is Dr Gardner killing patients or is someone trying to set her up?

Slow to start, the pace picks up quickly and the story is show more beautifully crafted to ensure that there is suspense at every turn, and a ever-present sense of danger and disaster. This makes it a page-turner, and means that it is very easy to read, despite at times an odd-writing style and over-zealous medical exposition. The medical exposition, whilst at times a bit much, is as well-researched and believable as you would expect given Mabry’s medical background. Mabry also avoids the common mistake in many who-dunits of making the plot to easy to guess, and as such it keeps you guessing right till the end.

There was a very strong Christian theme running throughout the book, as well as a romantic sub-plot. The latter makes this a more cozy/happy thriller than most, and whilst the former does not detract from the reading experience for me, it could put off some readers, and should be considered. The story would have worked just as well without the Christian element, but I do understand that the author is staying true to his own beliefs.

Being the third book in the series, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to follow the plot without reading the previous two instalments, thankfully this wasn’t the case and Diagnosis Death works perfectly as a stand-alone novel. The reason why the real killer was committing the crimes was not adequately explained, and this left me feeling slightly frustrated at the end. As I have yet to read the other books in the series I do not know if the motive was implied in the previous novel.

Overall an exciting read, with dollops of suspense, and a creative and intriguing plot. It is a bit frustrating that the killer’s motives are not more satisfactorily explained, and for some hardened genre fans the romance may be a bit much. The Christian theme is strong but does not distract the reader from the plot. I will definitely be keeping an eye on Mabry in the future. show less

DIAGNOSIS DEATH by Richard Mabry, M.D.
Published by Abingdon Press
ISBN: 07814267710216
I received an ARC-EBook Bound galley Edition from NetGalley, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
Synopsis (borrowed from NetGalley): When her comatose husband died in the ICU while on life support, the whispers about Dr. Elena Gardner began. Another death during her training puts her under suspicion. When the pattern is repeated in the hospital where she is attempting to start over, the whispers turn into a shout: “mercy killing.” What is the dark secret that keeps Allison’s lips sealed when she should be defending herself?
Despite her move to a new city, the midnight phone calls that started after her husband’s death follow Elena. Who is show more the woman who sobs out, “I know what you did?” What does she mean by “You’ll pay?” And what can Elena do to prevent it?
Two physicians, widowers themselves, offer support, telling Elena they know what she is going through after the death of her husband. But do they? And is it safe to trust either of them with her secret?
My Thoughts and Opinion: After reading the synopsis, I felt that this would be a good match for me. It had some of the ingredients, suspense and medicine, as it's premise that drew me to this book. However, I had never heard of this author or read any of his books before, but thought I would give it a shot (no pun intended). I must admit, by the first couple of pages and to my surprise, Dr. Mabry had pulled me in. Not only was I so engrossed into the story but he had also transported me to the patient's ICU room through his writing ability. I thought could this be possible? This early in the book? Then something happened on page 111 and I was very disappointed. It appeared to be quite obvious, that the author was exposing "the suspect" or so I thought, but kept reading anyway. I was wrong!!!!!! This book had a cast of characters that had this reader guessing from page 1, past page 111, to the end as to who really was behind the deaths, including the main character, Dr. Elena Gardner. A great read without a lot of medical jargon for those who are not in the medical profession. The suspense a page turner!!!!
My Rating: 4 show less

This book is the third in a series. However, this was the first one that I read. Thankfully, the author did such a superb job that I did not feel lost or like I was missing something.

Having worked in the medical field since the late 80s, I can be a little overly critical of medical dramas and mysteries. I know what is possible and what is just over the top. This book was so well written that I enjoyed every minute and can honestly say that there were no head shaking moments because of medical errors. Since the author is a physician himself, he was able to accurately write this story. Yet, he doesn’t bog the reader down with over use of medical terminology. I know many of my friends who get frustrated by not knowing what things mean. show more This book will surely not cause that type of frustration in the reader.

This was a fast paced thriller that I did not want to put down at all. I kept me on edge. The few times that I had to put it down, I was just itching to run over and pick it back up. I just had to find out what happened next.

You can see the book trailer at Diagnosis Death on Animoto.

In conjunction with the Wakela's World Disclosure Statement, I received a product in order to enable my review. No other compensation has been received. My statements are an honest account of my experience with the brand. The opinions stated here are mine alone. show less