Fatal Trauma

If you are in need of an adrenaline-laced romantic suspense novel for your summer reading pleasure, then look no further than Richard Mabry’s Fatal Trauma. Filled with twists and turns against the backdrop of a busy ER, this novel has it all — great characters, sweet romance and a strong faith message. This is a recommended read!

Mark Baker hasn’t had time for God since his high school days. The rigors of college and medical school and the demands of a career as an emergency room doctor have left him little time for anything beyond getting from one day to the next. Even his relationships consist of superficial events. But when he comes face to face with his own life and death, Mark decides he needs some time for reflection. show more Unfortunately, his encounter with a gunman is just the beginning of his troubles.

Although Fatal Trauma plunges its characters into danger and stress most of us don’t encounter, it does present true to life emotions and reactions. A life-altering event causes main characters Mark and Kelly to examine and reevaluate what is important in their lives. They learn that even when we are not seeking God, He is there waiting to enter into our lives. The suspense takes off from the opening scene and never lets up throughout the book. I came to suspect EVERYBODY, even the preacher! People are definitely not what they seem and Mabry kept this reader on her toes. I especially liked that superficial judgements of characters often proved very wrong.

Fatal Trauma will certaintly take you away and is a perfect vacation or staycation read.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to the author and Abingdon for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less

Fatal Trauma had my heart in my throat from the first page forward, and made me keep turning the page, and I was not disappointed.
We have a you ER doctor and nurse busy working and taking care of patients, when a gunman arrives with a man in a wheelchair having been shot, the man pushing the chair has a gun to the head of the nurse, and threatens everyone on the room. Oh my, this is just a taste of what you are about to experience as you enter the world and mind of Dr. Mabry.
The twists and violence didn’t make sense to me, but when drugs are involved nothing makes is too much and of course there is a lot of money involved. This is not just one sweet romantic book, no, but it does have some romance, you just won’t be sure who is show more involved for a while.
I never saw a lot of what happened coming, and some that I thought were the criminals turned out to be one of the good guys, and others, oh my they sure fooled me. Who can be trusted, just one and that is God, and yes there is a Christian focus in this book, and made my enjoyment of this book even greater.
If you love suspense as I do, this is going to be a favorite book for you, a real page-turner, and don’t let your guard down, you will be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I received this book through Litfuse Publicity Blog Tours, and was not required to give a positive review. show less

I loved this book as I love all the books that this author writes. From the beginning pages, you know you are in for a bumpy, heart thumping ride. The doors to the ER burst open with a man in a wheelchair bleeding. The other man screams for help. Before the staff has a chance to fully respond, a gun is being held to the head of a nurse.
Will the man be saved ? Is this man someone important, or someone associated with a criminal family ?

As the story progresses, the characters will experience terror, helplessness, mistakes and perhaps a chance to change their life. I enjoyed how the Dr and nurse become dependent on each other and find themselves looking for answers from God. No one really knows when danger is upon you , how you would show more react. It seems that people in the world demand revenge for things they have no control over. This books touches on that subject and takes the characters on a journey of forgiveness and helps them find strength they didn't know they had.
Thank you for another edge of your seat thriller. show less

The author is a retired doctor so expect a lot of medical knowledge to underpin this dramatic novel about a doctor and a nurse being held hostage in a ER by a gun wielding man trying to get help for his fatally shot brother. Through quick thinking they survive the standoff only to find out that their lives the lives of other hospital staff are still in danger. Dr. Mark Baker and the nurse Kelly Atkinson have been dating casually for a few months, but he is also dating another doctor, and he’s not making any commitments. Now after the intense situation in the ER he begins to look closer at his feelings for Kelly. There is a lot of action, some secrets, and a touch of romance brewing.

Even with the story starting with the hostage show more situation, I had a little trouble connecting emotionally to the characters and it took me a few chapters to get fully engaged, but then it took off. This is the second book I’ve read by Dr. Mabry and I really liked the first one called Diagnosis Murder, the main character Elena is still compelling. Both books have characters struggling with issues of faith during times of crisis. 4 stars show less

lpg-blogger-buttonFatal Trauma opens with an ER nightmare. A gunman enters with his injured brother demanding attending Dr. Mark Baker save him. This is impossible as the gunman, who is a member of a drug cartel, is DOA. The plot of the book unfolds as the drug cartel seeks revenge on everyone who was in the ER including Nurse Kelly Atkinson who has been dating Mark. There is a hospital staff member acting as cartel assassin in the hospital but who is it? And who is El Jefe? Unfortunately, for me, I got to the point I didn't care. Mabry throws too many curve balls so it could be anyone and everyone, including Mark. And Mark is not my favorite fictional doc by far. Very self-centered, he did not appeal to me.

I did like the grappling with show more Old Testament vs. New Testament justice some of the characters face and the reality of their fear vs. Faith. This seemed authentic and relatable, especially in the characters of Kelly and her best friend. Fatal Trauma is classified as Christian Fiction and Mabry presents timely and related issues and conflict.

Did I guess the bad guys? Yes and no. But only because Mabry set everyone, and I mean everyone up as a potential bad guy. Overall, this was a quick and painless read that would benefit from the author giving the reader a little more credit.

Provided by litfuse show less

I love medical suspense stories, and Richard Mabry MB. is definitely my go to guy for this. Having the background he weaves a compelling and believable story. I imagine he has many actual instances to draw from and I always come out of those novels feeling like I have been in the trauma room with the characters, and that I have also learned something new from the world of medicine. I have never aspired to make my career in this field, so other than the times I or my loved ones have needed medical assistance, this is the closest to these situations I have come to,. The plot in this novel is great, the vivid imagery is there. The suspense that I have come to expect from Dr. Mabry was missing, though that might have been his intention, or show more it could have been because I was reading it on my Kindle. I was disappointed in that I could not connect with his characters as I usually can. They seemed to not have the depth of his earlier works.

Thank you to Chris and Amy at Litfuse Publicity Group, NetGalley and For the opportunity to read this novel. I received a free Ebook in exchange for an honest review. A positive critique was not required. The opinions are my own. show less

I read this book for an in-person book discussion. I was surprised to discover so many twists and turns in the plot of this book. I liked how the author would lead the reader to believe that the story was going one direction when it really was heading a different direction. The characters were believable. I think I will seek out this author again in the future.