Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons fulfills the category “Medical Thriller” for the PopSugar 2020 Reading Challenge. At first, I read Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw for the blog. I enjoyed the story of a doctor caring for supernatural creatures and the spin on the mythology regarding those beings—vampires, mummies, ghouls, and the like. But Dr. Helsing’s medical knowledge, though interesting, didn’t solve the case. I still recommend the book, but Doing Harm was a better choice for the prompt.
Oh, so many spoilers ahead.
Dr. Steve Mitchell is a resident at University Hospital in Boston. He’s on the fast track to a distinguished career as a surgeon. But one mistake causes a cascade of problems resulting in a patient death. He’s in hot water, desperate, and “accidentally” has an affair. (It’s not quite rape, but he’s certainly manipulated.) Then the woman from the affair reveals she’s actually a psychotic killer. She’s murdering patients to help make the hospital more efficient and safer, ironically. Does he want in? What follows is a race against time to save patients, stop the killer, and save his career, family, and ego.
A medical thriller, for sure.
The problem was, I hated the protagonist. He was the most arrogant asshole I’ve ever read. (And I’ve read American Psycho.) His selfishness and ego left little sympathy for the character. I never wanted him to win.
Nope, not once.
I kinda laughed when the author revealed the med student was setting him up. I was like “Ha.” Though the book was fast-paced and had a good premise, I had a hard time enjoying it. Steve Mitchell was a dick to his coworkers, his wife, and kids, and to that med student. There was some transition toward the end to a more sympathetic characterization. People don’t change their stripes, at least not overnight. At the finale, even when he saved the day, I didn’t like him one bit.
I stayed with the story because the medical element ran throughout, fulfilling the prompt. Steve had skills as a hacker, and his helper Luis (who would have made such a better hero) had military/spy skills. In the end, medical knowledge and skill won the day. It’s abundantly clear the author did her research and gave us the right amount of technical knowledge on the med side. I understood most of it, never felt overwhelmed, or spoken down to. It was like watching House, except I can forgive House his arrogance because he’s Sherlock.
And I LOVE Sherlock.
As I mentioned, the medical aspects were great, the thriller component well-thought-out and interesting, but other things niggled at me. I had a serious problem with Steve as a father. He was practically indifferent to his children until they were threatened. Then he’d give a token “Not my kids” response. That didn’t win me over. Also, the main character was male, and the story was in first-person point of view (so told with I, instead of he/she). I could tell a woman wrote the novel. The lingering descriptions of the male characters pointed to a female author, especially his friend on the Safety Team. I sensed a bit of bromance when Steve described his handsome features and cut body more than once.
Bow-chicka-wow-wow.
That love story might have made the personal part of the story more interesting, says the romance author.
I can forgive a jerk hero. I mean, I love Peter Quill from The Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Wizard of Once by Cressida Cowell (read by David Tennant) has an arrogant fool of a hero. But a jerky doctor (not House) that’s so full of himself that he almost kills patients? Nope, can’t do that.
I give Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons Three Medical Syringes.
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