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Grady Harp is an Amazon Top 10 Reviewer
Joseph J. Neuschatz, author of terrO.R. has a decided edge in writing this highly intriguing and frightening novel about the insidious invasion of terrorist activity within the field of American Medicine.
As a practicing anesthesiologist he witnesses those moments of life/death decisions and crises from the vantage of sitting at the head of a surgical patient, a stance that obviously has opened his imagination to some frightening possibilities. He has the tenor of the OR down pat and the vocabulary and knowledge of medicine as tools on which to build a credible story. And he happens to write VERY well!
Phillip Newman, MD is the kind of anesthesiologist everyone admires: he is bright, thoroughly trained and experienced physician, an excellent technician and a warm human being with a keen sense of humor. Married to a supportive nurse wife Kyra, he seems to have it all. On a seemingly routine case of a tattoo removal by a plastic surgeon on a 19-year-old kid under pressure from his father, Newman approaches the case with his usual excellent skills, until the patient abruptly goes into ventricular fibrillation and dies on the table.
Stunned, Newman must inform the patient’s father who refuses an autopsy and within hours is suing Newman and the hospital for the death.
Pandora’s Box is opened, and because Newman is an astute thinker, he ponders every aspect of the case, looking for the cause of the surprising death, only to discover that similar deaths plus autopsy refusals plus law suits AND fairly new life insurance policies taken out by the families of the deceased create a startling pattern. Research on the internet, email communication with other anesthesiologists (one of whom has a brother who is connected with the FBI), and interaction with the hospitals, insurance companies, and lawyers open the pathway to discover a unique mode of fundraising for terrorist organizations: ’suicide bombers’ in the form of freshly tattooed young men with savvy knowledge as to medication interactions come sharply into focus!
While there are many post 911 terrorist suspense thrillers on the bookshelves, Neuschatz has cornered a topic that is not only compelling, but also one that is delivered in a writing style that makes it wholly convincing.
This is his first novel and in addition to Neuschatz’ already present ability to use ‘medical speak’ in a manner that is sophisticated and never ‘dumbs down’ the reader, and to blend tense reality atmosphere with a good natured sense of humor when appropriate, he does encounter some problems that experience will easily alter. Some of the OR characters need to be fleshed out to allow the reader some insights that seem to belong solely to Newman; the timing of the last third of the novel seems to drop the tension in favor of making sure the reader gets exposure to Newman’s love life with his wife; and there are too many typos that cry for an astute editor’s eye.
But these are minor considerations when the impact of this immensely interesting and conceived page-turner is addressed. Neuschatz has a sparkling wit and enviable vocabulary and knows how to unfold a storyline as well as many of the best authors out there. Let’s hope there will be more novels from him!
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