After the Fall-Patricia Gussin

After the Fall

Patricia Gussin

Oceanview, Jan 6 2015, $26.95

ISBN 9781608091270

In 1992 in Florida, billionaire philanthropist Paul Parnell, due to Tampa City Hospital chief of surgery Dr. Laura Nelson diligent work on the clinical trials of Immunone offers a job to her to replace retiring Dr. Fred Minn as Vice President of Research.  At the same time Food and Drug Administration worker Jake Harter has personal needs for the drug tests to fail.  If Immunone passes, brilliant Iraqi scientist Adawia Abdul, who discovered it, must return home to create bioweapons of mass destruction instead of becoming Jake’s wife.  Thus Jake must rid himself of two women (his spouse and Laura) and one man (Minn). 

On that same night that Keystone Pharma made their offer, Laura slips on the ice; suffering a concussion and a severe hand injury; the latter ends her career in surgery.  As Jake becomes desperate to delay approval, he rigs data and eliminates one of his two female barriers to achieving his obsession.  Meanwhile, Fred dies in a hit and run just outside the Four Seasons while Laura begins to analyze what is going on which she ties to Immunone and Jake to killing his only remaining obstacle. 

The fourth Dr. Laura Nelson medical thriller (see Weapons of Choice, Shadow of Death and Twisted Justice) is an exciting cat and mouse tale due to a powerful cast especially the vigilant doctor; but particularly brilliant is the lunatic FDA employee’s descent into deadly obsession.  Anticipating the showdown, readers will relish this winning drama.

Harriet Klausner