Doing Harm by Kelly ParsonsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Even if you didn't know, it wouldn't take long to figure out that author Kelly Parsons is also a trained surgeon. His detailed descriptions of medical procedures are fascinating, in depth, and occasionally spill over into the area that makes you queasy and inclined to turn away.
But Kelly Parsons writes very well, tells a plausible story, and brings to life characters that you care about as much as his narrator Chief resident Steve Mitchell does. It's a compelling look at the world inside a hospital and underscores the phrase 'practicing' medicine. (That alone is a little scary.)
Everything seems to be working out for Dr. Mitchell. He has a family he loves and is almost in reach of the job he has always wanted. Then things start going wrong.
You have to suspend disbelief from time to time to enjoy the story and there are some red herrings that aren't addressed in the end, thrown in to keep the reader wondering. But those are all forgivable and maybe even to be expected in this genre.
Doing Harm is the Gone Girl of medical thrillers. During the couple of days it took me to read this book, I was constantly aware of a sense of dread. This is the author's debut novel (available February 4, 2013) and he hits it out of the park. If it isn't immediately optioned for a movie, I will be very surprised. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Title: Doing Harm
Author: Kelly Parsons
Genre: Medical Thriller
Publisher:St. Martin's Press
No. of Pages: 368 pages
Copyright: February 4, 2014
ISBN: 1250033470
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalleyFrom AMAZON: "KELLY PARSONS is a board-certified urologist with degrees from Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins, and he is on the faculty at the University of California San Diego. He lives with his family in Southern California. Doing Harm is his first novel."
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I'll definitely keep this one in mind since you described it as the Gone Girl of medical thrillers.
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