MALPRACTICE

Perry (REAP 23, 2017, etc.), a cardiologist, takes a scalpel to the issue of medical malpractice in this medical and legal thriller.

Readers may think twice about heading to the emergency room after finishing this tale of a dedicated physician who gets caught up in multiple lawsuits after the death of one of his patients. In 2004, Sarah Thompson, a 30-something single mom, is admitted to a Salt Lake City, Utah, hospital with a mysterious heart condition. Hugh Harrison, one of the state’s leading cardiologists, takes charge of her care. But as he heads off for a weekend trip, he hands her off to his egotistical colleague Stan Blackstone, who promptly adjusts the course of her treatment. Days later, she’s dead. This tragedy leads Thompson’s distraught family to file suit against Harrison. His legal problems are compounded by another case involving his ouster from the cardiovascular clinic he co-founded—and where Blackstone still works. Throw in some shady dealings involving that clinic and the local hospital system, and you have the makings of an engrossing, if overly complicated, drama. Perry’s everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach weighs the novel down, and the jumble of subplots, such as those involving Harrison’s love life and Thompson’s loser ex-husband, can be confusing. The arrogant Blackstone and hospital executives, who care more about profit than patients, are painted in cartoonishly broad strokes, with dialogue that comes off as unintentionally comic at times: “It is my mission to destroy this man,” Blackstone declares at one point; “I love eating not-for-profits,” proclaims another character as he strategizes about ways to make a competing hospital go under. However, the central story, about a grieving family and a well-meaning doctor stymied by a dysfunctional health care system, still packs an emotional punch. The scenes in which Sarah’s elderly father deals with the loss of his daughter and struggles to care for his granddaughter, who has Down syndrome, highlight the real lives behind the legal wrangling.

A sometimes-engaging thriller that’s hampered by some clunky moments.