What do you think?
Rate this book
Doing Harm
“It's amazing that there are so many different ways to die in a hospital that have nothing to do with being sick…”
Steve Mitchell, happily married with a wife and two kids, is in line for a coveted position at Boston's University Hospital when his world goes awry. His over-reaching ambition causes him to botch a major surgery, and another of his patients mysteriously dies. Steve’s nightmare goes from bad to worse when he learns that the mysterious death was no accident but the act of a sociopath. A sociopath he knows and who has information that could destroy Steve’s career and marriage. A sociopath for whom killing is more than a means to an end: it’s a game. Because he is under a cloud of suspicion and has no evidence, he knows that any accusations he makes won’t be believed. So he must struggle to turn the tables, even as the killer skillfully blocks his every move. Detailing the politics of hospitals, the hierarchy among doctors and the life and death decisions that are made by flawed human beings, Doing Harm marks the debut of a major fiction career.
Steve Mitchell, happily married with a wife and two kids, is in line for a coveted position at Boston's University Hospital when his world goes awry. His over-reaching ambition causes him to botch a major surgery, and another of his patients mysteriously dies. Steve’s nightmare goes from bad to worse when he learns that the mysterious death was no accident but the act of a sociopath. A sociopath he knows and who has information that could destroy Steve’s career and marriage. A sociopath for whom killing is more than a means to an end: it’s a game. Because he is under a cloud of suspicion and has no evidence, he knows that any accusations he makes won’t be believed. So he must struggle to turn the tables, even as the killer skillfully blocks his every move. Detailing the politics of hospitals, the hierarchy among doctors and the life and death decisions that are made by flawed human beings, Doing Harm marks the debut of a major fiction career.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2014
418 people are currently reading
21077 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Parsons
3 books278 followersKELLY PARSONS is a surgeon and professor at the University of California, San Diego. He lives with his family in Southern California.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 655 reviews
Read
April 18, 2014Best damn medial thriller I've read in 25 years. Terrifying OR scenes, characters with real texture.
October 19, 2022
Steve Mitchell is a senior surgical resident at Boston's University Hospital, and hopes to get a permanent position at the institute when he completes his residency next year.
University Hospital is among the best facilities in the country, and Steve wants to be a surgeon at the hospital AND teach at the associated medical school.
As the story opens, Steve is sharing a moment with his daughters, Katie (5) and Annabelle (10 months) before leaving for a cocktail party with his wife Sally. Katie is 'cooking' Styrofoam packing peanuts on her play stove, and when Steve warns her they're too small for Annabelle, Katie protests, "But Bella likes them."
Steve is soon frantically plucking peanuts out of Annabelle's stuffed mouth, who (fortunately) is none the worse for this 'dinner.'
Luckily for Steve, his wife Sally sees the humor in the situation, and he's not scolded for his lackadaisical oversight (though he should be 😮).
At the party, Sally - a charismatic Korean woman - playfully prods Steve's boss Dr. Collier about hiring her husband, and it appears that Steve is on track to get the University Hospital job.
Steve is a skillful surgeon and a competent supervisor to his junior resident Luis Martinez and - barring some calamity - things look like a go.
Steve's crew is then joined by a medical student named Gigi, who's rotating through the department for six weeks. Gigi is smart and ambitious, and it looks like her attitude and abilities will be a boon to the team.
However, things start to go downhill. One of Steve's male patients is slow to recover after an operation, and a woman's tumor surgery goes badly wrong - largely because of Steve's arrogance and overblown self-confidence. (This book will make you think twice about going in for surgery, that's for sure!)
Worse yet, a death occurs, and it looks like it's Steve's fault. There are official inquiries into Steve's botched cases, and the surgical resident - worried and brooding - starts to stay at the hospital night and day.....completely neglecting his family.
Then things REALLY spiral down. Steve discovers that there's a psychopath at the hospital who's purposely killing patients, and the maniac has targeted Steve as a patsy.
Moreover, there's 'evidence' that prevents Steve from tattling, or he'll lose his job. The nutcase challenges Steve to a kind of cat and mouse game - if Steve can prevent the next murder he 'wins' and the killings stop; if Steve can't prevent the next murder, he has to give in to the psychopath's demands.
(In the real world, this is when Steve should go to the cops. But then there wouldn't be a story.....so I'll grant author's license. 🙄)
There's a race against time as Steve maneuvers to save his patients and himself from an opponent who's exceptionally clever and manipulative.
The author, Kelly Parsons - who's a surgeon in real life - includes detailed descriptions of surgical procedures and surgical instruments in the book, which I enjoyed. Some readers, however, will probably find these parts tedious.
Author Kelly Parsons
I like the book's finale and epilogue, which are fitting and pull everything together nicely. I think many fans of medical thrillers would enjoy this suspenseful (if not entirely realistic) story.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
December 5, 2013
My sincere thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan publishing for the opportunity to read Doing Harm" before its February 2014 debut.
As a fan of both Robin Cook and Michael Palmer I was thrilled to learn there was a new doc on the block. Kelly Parsons, a board-certified urologist has proven himself worthy to join this team. Parson's medical knowledge is apparent from the get-go as he explains treatments and procedure like any good doctor should.
Stephen Mitchell, Chief Resident at prestigious Boston University gets caught up in a medical nightmare when one patient goes south and a botched surgery has horrid results. To complicate his quest for a permanent spot at Boston U, he begins an affair with a smart, seductive intern under his watch. But playing footsies is not all this temptress wants from Steve. She challenges him to a game where if he wins someone lives, if he loses, well, they're dead. Cat and mouse, mouse and cat; believable; enough to keep me breathless. Some small quibbles with dialog between characters. Things like Doctor Steve using the phrase "you guys" and "jazzed" but that could just be me. I do know this is a solid beginning to what I hope is a new or dual career for Kelly Parsons. BTW, Kelly is a guy in case you were wondering.
Doing Harm is a heart pumping medical thriller pairing a "do the right thing" doctor and a psychotic intern. It's one of the best life or death races in hospital corridors I've read since Cook's Coma.
As a fan of both Robin Cook and Michael Palmer I was thrilled to learn there was a new doc on the block. Kelly Parsons, a board-certified urologist has proven himself worthy to join this team. Parson's medical knowledge is apparent from the get-go as he explains treatments and procedure like any good doctor should.
Stephen Mitchell, Chief Resident at prestigious Boston University gets caught up in a medical nightmare when one patient goes south and a botched surgery has horrid results. To complicate his quest for a permanent spot at Boston U, he begins an affair with a smart, seductive intern under his watch. But playing footsies is not all this temptress wants from Steve. She challenges him to a game where if he wins someone lives, if he loses, well, they're dead. Cat and mouse, mouse and cat; believable; enough to keep me breathless. Some small quibbles with dialog between characters. Things like Doctor Steve using the phrase "you guys" and "jazzed" but that could just be me. I do know this is a solid beginning to what I hope is a new or dual career for Kelly Parsons. BTW, Kelly is a guy in case you were wondering.
Doing Harm is a heart pumping medical thriller pairing a "do the right thing" doctor and a psychotic intern. It's one of the best life or death races in hospital corridors I've read since Cook's Coma.
February 9, 2017
Kelly Parsons' DOING HARM, a medical thriller, which kept me listening, on the edge of my seat, until the Epilogue and closing interview, with the author. A gripping debut for a major fiction career for Parsons!
The audiobook narrator, Robert Petkoff, was a solid reader with a soothing voice, and his performance of some of the patients - a total riot with his sarcastic tones and character private thoughts. Would highly recommend the audiobook, as a narrator can make or break a book, and in this case, Petkoff was on the mark.
Kelly Parsons, a board certified urologist definitely knows the medical jargon, and apparently gets the writer and mystery thriller diagnosis on the money, with DOING HARM. Will keep you second guessing hospitals and doctors, for sure.
The main character, Dr. Steve Mitchell, a senior surgical resident at a prestigious Boston University Hospital loves power and control, is ambitious, cocky, and as most residents, overworked and sleep deprived. He is married to a smart and intelligent wife, Sally, who gave up her high-powered job to stay home with the two young daughters, and finds out she is pregnant soon after the book begins.
Two strong powerful women characters - protagonist (Sally) and antagonist (Gigi) –both interacting with the main character Steve, who finds himself in the middle of a nightmare from hell, and is unsure how to escape and save his reputation and family.
With an array of medical complications, botched surgery and deaths coming one after another – all pointing towards him, the competent and powerful doctor begins to second-guess himself, especially with the lethal dosage of potassium, which seems to be ordered by no other than himself.
As his patients begin dying, Steve realizes that the deaths are not accidents, and he has to stop the deaths before his professional future is irrevocably destroyed…but he can’t tell anyone what is happening without risking both his career and his family.
Worn down, Steve has a one-time affair before he realizes she is a dangerous femme fatale intern, sociopath, with a vindictive and psychotic plan to further her career, holding all the cards with an extensive blackmail scheme, involving, even more, deaths.
Steve does not know whom to trust. The stakes are high, adrenaline rush kicking in, fear, and mystery. She challenges him to a game,where if he wins someone lives if he loses, well, they're dead. Steve is aware he is being set up by this cold-blooded psychopath who is forcing him to play a game of cat and mouse (even though he hates cats), strategy before they kill another patient.
LOVED the funny and sarcastic brilliant lines of Steve’s thoughts throughout the book, keeping me laughing through all the intense scenes. I can only image doctors’ thoughts about patients and their families. With Steve’s undergraduate degree in computer science and hacking, came in handy with his hunt to nail this crazy intern, along with his partner in crime, Louise, and his intriguing background.
The plot was well developed, full of suspense, action packed, realistic, page-turning, and fascinating medical terms explained, and character development was right on. An accurate behind the scenes of a hospital, where doctors hold your life in their hands – no wonder they are on a power trip.
Makes you wonder what is in the IVs and if you can trust anyone in the medical field – surgeries "gone wrong" – wonder why? Keeps you guessing . . . hope there is a sequel.
With the insights into the real world of doctors and hospitals, Kelly definitely gave this thriller life, with all the ingredients for a successful career as a mystery medical thriller author (dual career), as good as James Patterson, and the best of the best -- one I plan on following.
Check out: Under the Knife , Coming Feb 7, 2017.
JDCMustReadsBooks
The audiobook narrator, Robert Petkoff, was a solid reader with a soothing voice, and his performance of some of the patients - a total riot with his sarcastic tones and character private thoughts. Would highly recommend the audiobook, as a narrator can make or break a book, and in this case, Petkoff was on the mark.
Kelly Parsons, a board certified urologist definitely knows the medical jargon, and apparently gets the writer and mystery thriller diagnosis on the money, with DOING HARM. Will keep you second guessing hospitals and doctors, for sure.
The main character, Dr. Steve Mitchell, a senior surgical resident at a prestigious Boston University Hospital loves power and control, is ambitious, cocky, and as most residents, overworked and sleep deprived. He is married to a smart and intelligent wife, Sally, who gave up her high-powered job to stay home with the two young daughters, and finds out she is pregnant soon after the book begins.
Two strong powerful women characters - protagonist (Sally) and antagonist (Gigi) –both interacting with the main character Steve, who finds himself in the middle of a nightmare from hell, and is unsure how to escape and save his reputation and family.
With an array of medical complications, botched surgery and deaths coming one after another – all pointing towards him, the competent and powerful doctor begins to second-guess himself, especially with the lethal dosage of potassium, which seems to be ordered by no other than himself.
As his patients begin dying, Steve realizes that the deaths are not accidents, and he has to stop the deaths before his professional future is irrevocably destroyed…but he can’t tell anyone what is happening without risking both his career and his family.
Worn down, Steve has a one-time affair before he realizes she is a dangerous femme fatale intern, sociopath, with a vindictive and psychotic plan to further her career, holding all the cards with an extensive blackmail scheme, involving, even more, deaths.
Steve does not know whom to trust. The stakes are high, adrenaline rush kicking in, fear, and mystery. She challenges him to a game,where if he wins someone lives if he loses, well, they're dead. Steve is aware he is being set up by this cold-blooded psychopath who is forcing him to play a game of cat and mouse (even though he hates cats), strategy before they kill another patient.
LOVED the funny and sarcastic brilliant lines of Steve’s thoughts throughout the book, keeping me laughing through all the intense scenes. I can only image doctors’ thoughts about patients and their families. With Steve’s undergraduate degree in computer science and hacking, came in handy with his hunt to nail this crazy intern, along with his partner in crime, Louise, and his intriguing background.
The plot was well developed, full of suspense, action packed, realistic, page-turning, and fascinating medical terms explained, and character development was right on. An accurate behind the scenes of a hospital, where doctors hold your life in their hands – no wonder they are on a power trip.
Makes you wonder what is in the IVs and if you can trust anyone in the medical field – surgeries "gone wrong" – wonder why? Keeps you guessing . . . hope there is a sequel.
With the insights into the real world of doctors and hospitals, Kelly definitely gave this thriller life, with all the ingredients for a successful career as a mystery medical thriller author (dual career), as good as James Patterson, and the best of the best -- one I plan on following.
Check out: Under the Knife , Coming Feb 7, 2017.
JDCMustReadsBooks
December 16, 2013
Now this is what I call a medical thriller!
Doing Harm is Kelly Parsons' debut novel and it is an excellent start for the physician turned writer. In fact I would call it the best medical thriller I've read since Robin Cook in his Coma days and that's going back a bit.
The premise involves surgeon Steve Mitchell who is seen as an excellent doctor looking forward to an outstanding future. But a bad call in judgement threatens his career. When one of his patients dies after what seems to be another bad call he starts to question the facts and finds out that someone else may be responsible. What follows is a suspenseful cat and mouse game that may destroy his career and family not to mention his life.
That's all you need to know. There are plenty of tense moments and nice surprises. One of the non-surprises is who did it. We get plenty of clues at first and find out early on who the culprit is. Yet this is not meant to be a whodunnit. The tension is in whether our hero can clear himself and expose the killer. Parsons has made his protagonist flawed but admirable and his nemesis evil but frighteningly clever. The author does an excellent job blending his medical knowledge with the action. A little pharmaceutical knowledge might be helpful to the reader but not essential as Parson explain the more technical aspects in a way that doesn't stop the flow of the novel. One of the things I find essential in a good medical thriller is that the author writes about doctors and hospitals in a realistic way and this is no problem for Parson. A realistic environment combined with edge of your seat suspense is what makes this an excellent example of the thriller sub-genre.
This book is being published in late January of 2014 so I can't call it one of the best novels of this year. But I do feel fairly safe in saying it will be a prime contender next year.
Doing Harm is Kelly Parsons' debut novel and it is an excellent start for the physician turned writer. In fact I would call it the best medical thriller I've read since Robin Cook in his Coma days and that's going back a bit.
The premise involves surgeon Steve Mitchell who is seen as an excellent doctor looking forward to an outstanding future. But a bad call in judgement threatens his career. When one of his patients dies after what seems to be another bad call he starts to question the facts and finds out that someone else may be responsible. What follows is a suspenseful cat and mouse game that may destroy his career and family not to mention his life.
That's all you need to know. There are plenty of tense moments and nice surprises. One of the non-surprises is who did it. We get plenty of clues at first and find out early on who the culprit is. Yet this is not meant to be a whodunnit. The tension is in whether our hero can clear himself and expose the killer. Parsons has made his protagonist flawed but admirable and his nemesis evil but frighteningly clever. The author does an excellent job blending his medical knowledge with the action. A little pharmaceutical knowledge might be helpful to the reader but not essential as Parson explain the more technical aspects in a way that doesn't stop the flow of the novel. One of the things I find essential in a good medical thriller is that the author writes about doctors and hospitals in a realistic way and this is no problem for Parson. A realistic environment combined with edge of your seat suspense is what makes this an excellent example of the thriller sub-genre.
This book is being published in late January of 2014 so I can't call it one of the best novels of this year. But I do feel fairly safe in saying it will be a prime contender next year.
September 2, 2016
I was really excited to read this book because of the amazing reviews. I'm wondering how many of them were paid for it. I'm sorry but this book was ridiculous. First of all I feel like the author has no respect for women. The not very pretty and emotionless wife, the hot crazy murderer, the pale and anorexic ocd lawyer, the other anorexic date at the dinner party... wtf seriously?
Then we have Louis.. if you're going to write about a Marine, do it right. Once a Marine, always a Marine. You never call one an ex Marine ... its former. Also they don't call themselves soldiers either, that's army..
As for the plot... it was just stupid. People like to get the true essence of a killer which was not delivered from Steve's point of view. For a surgeon, he was a moron. Medical terminology went far beyond helpful into making me feel like I was studying for an exam. There was no thrill and no mystery. As soon as he gave Louis the password and GG was hitting on him I was like oh geez .... Zzzzz. whatever. Great idea, terrible execution.
Then we have Louis.. if you're going to write about a Marine, do it right. Once a Marine, always a Marine. You never call one an ex Marine ... its former. Also they don't call themselves soldiers either, that's army..
As for the plot... it was just stupid. People like to get the true essence of a killer which was not delivered from Steve's point of view. For a surgeon, he was a moron. Medical terminology went far beyond helpful into making me feel like I was studying for an exam. There was no thrill and no mystery. As soon as he gave Louis the password and GG was hitting on him I was like oh geez .... Zzzzz. whatever. Great idea, terrible execution.
March 1, 2014
Once upon a time, I was a Robin Cook junkie. I loved psychological thrillers, but give me a medical thriller and it was like getting candy on Halloween. When I saw Doing Harm on NetGalley, the junkie woke up and hit the request button.
Dr. Steve Mitchell is a 4th year surgical resident in a prestigious hospital. His ego is inflated to the size most physicians never attain. Why that is I have absolutely no idea. Yes, he's the chief resident but, he is still just a resident. Residents are put on earth to do the bidding of the attending. They are the minions, if you will, the ones who do all the crap work that the attendings don't want to do. Eventually, the residents will become attendings and have their own residents to boss around. But, until then, a resident is just a resident. In that regard, Steve's hugely inflated God complex makes absolutely no sense. Period.
Add to the ego, Steve (whom I renamed Dr. McDouchie), is a total asshole and a half. He cares nothing for his patients, has the compassion and bedside manner of a flea.That's actually an insult to the flea. His only concern is himself and how things affect him and his career. I would sooner have Steve Martin do surgery on me.
And he plays a dentist.
Basically, Dr. McDouchie has not one redeeming quality. Not one. I kept waiting, hoping that with all the events occurring he would become more human and likable. Nope. I hated his character. When you despise the main character you're supposed to feel sympathetic towards, the book goes out the window. And there it went for me.
There is one other main character in the book. The psycho who decides to torment Dr. McDouchie and destroy his professional and personal life. Why this person became an absolute psychopath, I have zero idea. We are not given any background whatsoever to that effect.
We are, however, given massive amounts of info-dumping. And I mean massive. I adore descriptive books. I do not adore the description of every single surgical instrument known to man. I do not adore knowing the color of shirt every single person is wearing. Info-dumping equals boredom.
The end of the end for me and the last reason I am giving this only two stars, is the end. You may want to skip this part if you plan to read the book. Dr. McDouchie spends 99% of the book lying to his wife. Straight out lying about what is going on. Finally, he reveals some things. His wife is an educated woman, not a stupid bitch. But, at the end of the book, Dr. McDouchie asks her to do something completely illegal. He convinces her to do it by saying it will affect their children if she doesn't do it. The reality is that it will just affect him and his career. And, of course, she listens. What the actual fuck. She listens to a man who has fucked her over and is a complete asshole and a LIAR. I cant. I just cannot.
If you want a medical thriller kick, my advice is to stick with Dr. Cook. Dr. McDouchie really isn't worth it.
2 Ninja-Bunnehs-Wearing-Scrubs stars
(Thank you to NetGalley and Dr. Parsons for the arc. No fluffy bunnehs were given to me in exchange for an unbiased review)
Dr. Steve Mitchell is a 4th year surgical resident in a prestigious hospital. His ego is inflated to the size most physicians never attain. Why that is I have absolutely no idea. Yes, he's the chief resident but, he is still just a resident. Residents are put on earth to do the bidding of the attending. They are the minions, if you will, the ones who do all the crap work that the attendings don't want to do. Eventually, the residents will become attendings and have their own residents to boss around. But, until then, a resident is just a resident. In that regard, Steve's hugely inflated God complex makes absolutely no sense. Period.
Add to the ego, Steve (whom I renamed Dr. McDouchie), is a total asshole and a half. He cares nothing for his patients, has the compassion and bedside manner of a flea.
And he plays a dentist.
Basically, Dr. McDouchie has not one redeeming quality. Not one. I kept waiting, hoping that with all the events occurring he would become more human and likable. Nope. I hated his character. When you despise the main character you're supposed to feel sympathetic towards, the book goes out the window. And there it went for me.
There is one other main character in the book. The psycho who decides to torment Dr. McDouchie and destroy his professional and personal life. Why this person became an absolute psychopath, I have zero idea. We are not given any background whatsoever to that effect.
We are, however, given massive amounts of info-dumping. And I mean massive. I adore descriptive books. I do not adore the description of every single surgical instrument known to man. I do not adore knowing the color of shirt every single person is wearing. Info-dumping equals boredom.
The end of the end for me and the last reason I am giving this only two stars, is the end. You may want to skip this part if you plan to read the book. Dr. McDouchie spends 99% of the book lying to his wife. Straight out lying about what is going on. Finally, he reveals some things. His wife is an educated woman, not a stupid bitch. But, at the end of the book, Dr. McDouchie asks her to do something completely illegal. He convinces her to do it by saying it will affect their children if she doesn't do it. The reality is that it will just affect him and his career. And, of course, she listens. What the actual fuck. She listens to a man who has fucked her over and is a complete asshole and a LIAR. I cant. I just cannot.
If you want a medical thriller kick, my advice is to stick with Dr. Cook. Dr. McDouchie really isn't worth it.
2 Ninja-Bunnehs-Wearing-Scrubs stars
(Thank you to NetGalley and Dr. Parsons for the arc. No fluffy bunnehs were given to me in exchange for an unbiased review)
January 5, 2021
Move over, Robin Cook and Michael Palmer! Kelly Parsons is a talented medical thriller author and a force to be reckoned with!
To quote Stephen King, "Doing Harm" was the "best damn medical thriller I've read in 25 years". Yes, it was that good.
Even though this book was written in 2014, the dialogue/plot was not dated. The book was fast-paced and impossible to put down -- boasting strong character development and many twists and turns. The author is a physician and the book was replete with descriptions of medical procedures; providing just enough details for the general public to understand, yet not too many details to bore those with poor attention spans.
I always love books with a strong/unreliable "femme fatal" character and a "battle of the wits" theme and this book definitely checked all of the boxes.
I listened to the book's audio version and narrator Robert Petkoff did a fabulous job narrating the book.
Special thanks to the author and the narrator for delivering such an outstanding read. I highly recommend this book.
To quote Stephen King, "Doing Harm" was the "best damn medical thriller I've read in 25 years". Yes, it was that good.
Even though this book was written in 2014, the dialogue/plot was not dated. The book was fast-paced and impossible to put down -- boasting strong character development and many twists and turns. The author is a physician and the book was replete with descriptions of medical procedures; providing just enough details for the general public to understand, yet not too many details to bore those with poor attention spans.
I always love books with a strong/unreliable "femme fatal" character and a "battle of the wits" theme and this book definitely checked all of the boxes.
I listened to the book's audio version and narrator Robert Petkoff did a fabulous job narrating the book.
Special thanks to the author and the narrator for delivering such an outstanding read. I highly recommend this book.
April 4, 2014
It seems to be a new trend that professionals in certain fields try to write novels that takes advantage of their knowledge. I recently read Snapshot, a law-type thiller which was written by a former Federal prosecutor--and now this one, a medical thriller written by a urologist. While these authors have a lot of knowledge on what they are writing about, they are unforunately not writers.
In the novel Doing Harm, the plot is pretty ridicolus, the characters are one-dimensional, the killer is revealed way too early on, the main chracter is completely unlikeable, and the author spends a lot of time trying to educate the reader in a very obvious way. This line of diaogue is a great example:
"Ketamine?" That's an unusual choice. "You mean the anesthetic also used as an animal tranquilzer?" Like that's how medical professionals would talk to each other.
In the novel Doing Harm, the plot is pretty ridicolus, the characters are one-dimensional, the killer is revealed way too early on, the main chracter is completely unlikeable, and the author spends a lot of time trying to educate the reader in a very obvious way. This line of diaogue is a great example:
"Ketamine?" That's an unusual choice. "You mean the anesthetic also used as an animal tranquilzer?" Like that's how medical professionals would talk to each other.
March 24, 2014
This book was a 2.5 star book. I was so excited to read it because of description and the great reviews I saw. But it was sooo much medical jargon. The author did a good job of explaining everything, but it was zzzz. Also, it was fairly obvious from the beginning that the killer was GG, so I was relieved/annoyed when it was revealed to be her about 1/3 through. Then her whole reasoning for killing was sort of ridiculous and random. There was also the random element of the medical trial the doctors were participating in, which I hoped would have something to do with the plot, but was just a way for Steve to inject GG at the end... what!?
Also, Steve's judgment was insane the entire time. He was completely annoying and incompetent, and very little of that could be blamed on GG. The fact that at the end he still scored this prestigious job was pretty lame.
As an aside, I feel like the author should really do some self-reflection on his perceptions of women. The female characters in the book were either pushy/not super attractive (Sally), hot psychos (GG), or cold, repressed women (snobby Doctor's wife who practiced law). That may have been the most disturbing part of the book!
Also, Steve's judgment was insane the entire time. He was completely annoying and incompetent, and very little of that could be blamed on GG. The fact that at the end he still scored this prestigious job was pretty lame.
As an aside, I feel like the author should really do some self-reflection on his perceptions of women. The female characters in the book were either pushy/not super attractive (Sally), hot psychos (GG), or cold, repressed women (snobby Doctor's wife who practiced law). That may have been the most disturbing part of the book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
April 18, 2019NO
April 10, 2019
Blah blah, then finally pretty exciting. I almost added this to my "DNF" list. Nothing of interest occurs in 1st third. If you can make it past the incessant and long winded inner monologue of the main character, the last 2/3rds really pick up. Though, I can't say for sure whether or not it's worth while. Several beginning chapters of droning.
If you read this review 1st, I recommed reading chapter 1, skip next 3-4 chapters, and you might very well enjoy this one!
If you read this review 1st, I recommed reading chapter 1, skip next 3-4 chapters, and you might very well enjoy this one!
January 15, 2025
I read this for the Popsugar Reading Challenge for the medical thriller category. If you want a short review, it can be summed up by saying this book solidified my impression of what a medical thriller is and not in a good way. It isn’t believable, the characters are empty, and the book is misogynistic. The synopsis is interesting: A killer is on the loose in the hospital where Steve Mitchell, Chief Resident and surgeon, works. Mitchell must outsmart and catch the killer before more patients become victim.
On the logic side of things, two things stand out that prevented me from enjoying this book. First, you have the medical jargon used throughout the book that makes it hard to understand at times. This is not for an average person with surface level knowledge of medical acronyms and terms. Kelly Parsons, the author, chooses to define terminology such as GSW (gunshot wound) that people might be familiar with from shows such as Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, or Law and Order but fails to define lesser known acronyms such as SICU, INR, or PTT which leaves the reader in the dark scrounging for meaning. The second logic-based deficiency is in the main character Steve Mitchell. He is chief resident and a surgeon which I can get on board with. Where it breaks down is in his background. Rather than the medical background I’d expect of a doctor, he instead graduated with a degree in computer science and a minor in literature. I’m not saying it is out of the real of possibility to be in a medical field with a different background, but it doesn’t feel true when you think about how competitive the medical field is. Add to the fact that he is an accomplished hacker and it just feels like the author wanted a mediocre man to be extraordinary like a James Bond type except for the medical field.
The primary issue I had with this book was in the misogyny and empty characterization that typified most of the characters. Starting with the empty characterization, you have Luis Martinez who is a former Marine. The empty characterization for him is two-fold. As a Marine, the characterization you get for him lies in the standard trope of who a Marine is. Luis is mysterious, capable, has friends across the globe that will do things “no questions asked” and on asked why he became a doctor replied “I decided I liked healing people more than killing them” which feels very cliché. The second level comes in his backstory. He is written within the stereotype of a Latin criminal or the often-seen former criminal that picks themselves up by their bootstraps to succeed. He is from a bad part of East LA, a former addict, and “got out” by joining the marines. Parsons relies on the empty characterization of a Latin character in building Luis and rounds him out with the empty characterization of a Marine. Parsons’ female characters are also problematic.
The female characters within Doing Harm are consistently either objectified or written off simply as mothers or empty tropes such as the bitch (this for a woman who is successful in her career as Defense Attorney while balancing motherhood). The objectification is primarily reserved for GG, a med student who works under Steve Mitchell. Examples of this objectification read: “She’s pretty. Not beautiful like a model…I labor to keep my eyes from lingering over the utilitarian, but provocative, dip of her scrub top” or when a patient has coded and a team is attempting CPR with GG applying chest compression there is a member of said team who “isn’t even trying to conceal the fact that he’s staring straight down GG’s scrub top”. Instances of this abound wherein her physicality is overly described or characters within the book refer to her solely by her “big tits” to another member. Honestly it is as if 70s pornography dialogue made it into the book as a means to highlight male power. This is reinforced by various unnecessary penis centric patients within the book. There is the patient who is getting his bladder removed but writes “do not remove” on his penis to the kid who comes in with multiple gunshot wounds some that hit his penis and ended up costing him a testicle. This last instance is followed by Steve Mitchell (who is married with two kids and one on the way) having sex with GG (reminder: she is a med student working under him) and ends with GG remarking, “So, do I get that ‘A’ now, or what?”. Finally, when Mitchell is punished for an irresponsible call he makes in surgery he is told by other to “bend over and take it” and refers to it that way himself. This terminology reinforces the importance of male power in that he does not have it in this moment and is extremely aware of it.
Not having read a medical thriller (to my recollection) before, I went into this expecting exactly what I got. The author wrote a story that is not believable, relies on empty characters, and is misogynistic. Perhaps some of these things were meant to highlight misogyny within the medical field or make the reader see how Mitchell grows, but for me it just resulted in me thinking Mitchell was an awful person who I couldn’t care about. The synopsis is interesting and there are moments that are intriguing, but as a whole I would not recommend this.
On the logic side of things, two things stand out that prevented me from enjoying this book. First, you have the medical jargon used throughout the book that makes it hard to understand at times. This is not for an average person with surface level knowledge of medical acronyms and terms. Kelly Parsons, the author, chooses to define terminology such as GSW (gunshot wound) that people might be familiar with from shows such as Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, or Law and Order but fails to define lesser known acronyms such as SICU, INR, or PTT which leaves the reader in the dark scrounging for meaning. The second logic-based deficiency is in the main character Steve Mitchell. He is chief resident and a surgeon which I can get on board with. Where it breaks down is in his background. Rather than the medical background I’d expect of a doctor, he instead graduated with a degree in computer science and a minor in literature. I’m not saying it is out of the real of possibility to be in a medical field with a different background, but it doesn’t feel true when you think about how competitive the medical field is. Add to the fact that he is an accomplished hacker and it just feels like the author wanted a mediocre man to be extraordinary like a James Bond type except for the medical field.
The primary issue I had with this book was in the misogyny and empty characterization that typified most of the characters. Starting with the empty characterization, you have Luis Martinez who is a former Marine. The empty characterization for him is two-fold. As a Marine, the characterization you get for him lies in the standard trope of who a Marine is. Luis is mysterious, capable, has friends across the globe that will do things “no questions asked” and on asked why he became a doctor replied “I decided I liked healing people more than killing them” which feels very cliché. The second level comes in his backstory. He is written within the stereotype of a Latin criminal or the often-seen former criminal that picks themselves up by their bootstraps to succeed. He is from a bad part of East LA, a former addict, and “got out” by joining the marines. Parsons relies on the empty characterization of a Latin character in building Luis and rounds him out with the empty characterization of a Marine. Parsons’ female characters are also problematic.
The female characters within Doing Harm are consistently either objectified or written off simply as mothers or empty tropes such as the bitch (this for a woman who is successful in her career as Defense Attorney while balancing motherhood). The objectification is primarily reserved for GG, a med student who works under Steve Mitchell. Examples of this objectification read: “She’s pretty. Not beautiful like a model…I labor to keep my eyes from lingering over the utilitarian, but provocative, dip of her scrub top” or when a patient has coded and a team is attempting CPR with GG applying chest compression there is a member of said team who “isn’t even trying to conceal the fact that he’s staring straight down GG’s scrub top”. Instances of this abound wherein her physicality is overly described or characters within the book refer to her solely by her “big tits” to another member. Honestly it is as if 70s pornography dialogue made it into the book as a means to highlight male power. This is reinforced by various unnecessary penis centric patients within the book. There is the patient who is getting his bladder removed but writes “do not remove” on his penis to the kid who comes in with multiple gunshot wounds some that hit his penis and ended up costing him a testicle. This last instance is followed by Steve Mitchell (who is married with two kids and one on the way) having sex with GG (reminder: she is a med student working under him) and ends with GG remarking, “So, do I get that ‘A’ now, or what?”. Finally, when Mitchell is punished for an irresponsible call he makes in surgery he is told by other to “bend over and take it” and refers to it that way himself. This terminology reinforces the importance of male power in that he does not have it in this moment and is extremely aware of it.
Not having read a medical thriller (to my recollection) before, I went into this expecting exactly what I got. The author wrote a story that is not believable, relies on empty characters, and is misogynistic. Perhaps some of these things were meant to highlight misogyny within the medical field or make the reader see how Mitchell grows, but for me it just resulted in me thinking Mitchell was an awful person who I couldn’t care about. The synopsis is interesting and there are moments that are intriguing, but as a whole I would not recommend this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2014
Things are going great for Chief Resident Steve Mitchell. With the help from his outgoing and charming wife Sally, he learns he is a top candidate for his dream job in Boston after he completes his surgical residency. However, when a patient under Steve’s care dies, his job prospects are less secure. With the help of a friend, Steve tries to get to the bottom of some suspicious events going on in the hospital, but he puts himself and his family in the targets of a dangerous killer.
This is a unique medical thriller by an author who obviously knows the inner workings of a hospital. It has many exciting parts, but sometimes gets bogged down in medical details that don’t move the story forward. I could get past that, but what ruined the story for me is the main character. Steve Mitchell is intelligent and clever, but also arrogant and clueless. There are several scenes right from the start of the book that tell you there is going to be trouble for Steve. He and other doctors in the story mention that confidence is necessary for a surgeon, but the over-confidence and arrogance Steve shows is unlikable and scary, especially for unfortunate patients who must deal with his poor decisions. He has no bedside manner at all, and just when I would think he had learned from his mistakes, he would go back to the same behavior. I can forgive a character for poor judgment, but Steve never learns and never grows. At work, he’s a know-it-all, and at home he says he loves his wife, but that isn’t apparent from his actions.
The book holds a few surprises, and has many moments of tense, thrilling suspense. Unfortunately, throughout much of the book, I felt a sickening sense of dread instead of excitement, knowing that is Steve is faced with two choices for any given decision, he will pick the wrong one and then he and others will suffer the consequences accordingly. That made parts of the book predictable and tedious as Steve does one stupid thing after another and doesn’t seem sorry for his actions. The ending took me by surprise and it was enjoyable, if a little too pat.
With a more likable main character, this would have been a better book. Readers who like the medical thrillers by Robin Cook may like “Doing Harm”. The main difference is Cook’s characters fight some type of conspiracy or dangerous killer to protect their patients, while the main character of this book is only worried about saving his own job, and to some degree his family.
This book was provided to me by NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
This is a unique medical thriller by an author who obviously knows the inner workings of a hospital. It has many exciting parts, but sometimes gets bogged down in medical details that don’t move the story forward. I could get past that, but what ruined the story for me is the main character. Steve Mitchell is intelligent and clever, but also arrogant and clueless. There are several scenes right from the start of the book that tell you there is going to be trouble for Steve. He and other doctors in the story mention that confidence is necessary for a surgeon, but the over-confidence and arrogance Steve shows is unlikable and scary, especially for unfortunate patients who must deal with his poor decisions. He has no bedside manner at all, and just when I would think he had learned from his mistakes, he would go back to the same behavior. I can forgive a character for poor judgment, but Steve never learns and never grows. At work, he’s a know-it-all, and at home he says he loves his wife, but that isn’t apparent from his actions.
The book holds a few surprises, and has many moments of tense, thrilling suspense. Unfortunately, throughout much of the book, I felt a sickening sense of dread instead of excitement, knowing that is Steve is faced with two choices for any given decision, he will pick the wrong one and then he and others will suffer the consequences accordingly. That made parts of the book predictable and tedious as Steve does one stupid thing after another and doesn’t seem sorry for his actions. The ending took me by surprise and it was enjoyable, if a little too pat.
With a more likable main character, this would have been a better book. Readers who like the medical thrillers by Robin Cook may like “Doing Harm”. The main difference is Cook’s characters fight some type of conspiracy or dangerous killer to protect their patients, while the main character of this book is only worried about saving his own job, and to some degree his family.
This book was provided to me by NetGalley through the courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
February 3, 2014
I won this book on Goodreads, and it was generally a good read as far as mystery/thrillers go. Although for me the best part was actually the view of how hospitals work and surgeons function. It felt real and had interesting details. The plot itself was a bit too predictable and straight forward as far as mysteries go. Having said that, I would happily read another book by Parsons, and hopefully he will use his knowledge and talent to build a more sophisticated plot.
November 29, 2014
Let's hope this author is a better doctor than a writer.
Read
October 25, 2025Dnf at page 76. The main character drove me nuts and the book wasn’t that interesting. Not a bad book just too slow moving for me.
February 5, 2014
How long has it been since you’ve read a good medical thriller where the main character is being railroaded, patients are suffering and dying needlessly and even though the psychopath responsible is known to the reader, there really doesn’t seem to be a way to prove it? Dr. Steve Mitchell is an excellent surgeon with a bright and promising future who thrives in the operating room until one fateful surgery begins a downward spiral in his career and his confidence. When he continues to make mistakes, his job and his reputation are on the line and no one believes he is innocent. Someone is tampering with medications and it looks like its Steve, because computer records never lie, right? Why is someone sabotaging his career, is it personal or is he just a means to an end? Who will win the twisted game of cat & mouse that is costing lives in the prestigious teaching hospital?
Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons builds slowly as each character is introduced and the atmosphere is set for this deviously evil tale of deceit, betrayal, and the needless slaughter of the weak. I don’t think it’s necessary to like all of the characters, because their flaws make them more human. Steve did have some grandiose ideas about himself and his talents as a surgeon, but when his world started to crumble, his future was hanging by a thread, he willingly became part of the biggest betrayal of all, to his wife and his family. Bad Steve,weak Steve. His internal dialogue, while I’m sure could be quite real for a medical professional, were cold and uncaring. I just didn’t feel Steve was redeemable hero material. GiGi, was, on the other hand, brilliantly portrayed as the intelligent, beautiful medical student who was willing to do anything to reach her objectives. Too bad she has a few issues.
Kelly Parsons picks up the pace and races to the finish with a chaotic flare that will definitely get your heart pumping! (Think rollercoaster reaching the top and then cresting and then speeding to a finish, making the whole ride worth it!) As a devoted medical thriller reader, I did enjoy the concept, the plot, and the realistic dialogue between all of the characters, particularly the patients. Like the thrill of watching a surgeon at work with every detail vividly described? Doing Harm has it!
I received an ARC edition from St. Martin's Press in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9781250033475
Genre: Adult Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 368
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons builds slowly as each character is introduced and the atmosphere is set for this deviously evil tale of deceit, betrayal, and the needless slaughter of the weak. I don’t think it’s necessary to like all of the characters, because their flaws make them more human. Steve did have some grandiose ideas about himself and his talents as a surgeon, but when his world started to crumble, his future was hanging by a thread, he willingly became part of the biggest betrayal of all, to his wife and his family. Bad Steve,weak Steve. His internal dialogue, while I’m sure could be quite real for a medical professional, were cold and uncaring. I just didn’t feel Steve was redeemable hero material. GiGi, was, on the other hand, brilliantly portrayed as the intelligent, beautiful medical student who was willing to do anything to reach her objectives. Too bad she has a few issues.
Kelly Parsons picks up the pace and races to the finish with a chaotic flare that will definitely get your heart pumping! (Think rollercoaster reaching the top and then cresting and then speeding to a finish, making the whole ride worth it!) As a devoted medical thriller reader, I did enjoy the concept, the plot, and the realistic dialogue between all of the characters, particularly the patients. Like the thrill of watching a surgeon at work with every detail vividly described? Doing Harm has it!
I received an ARC edition from St. Martin's Press in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9781250033475
Genre: Adult Mystery/Thriller
Number of Pages: 368
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
May 1, 2014
This is more than a 3 star but not quite a 4. 3.5 star.
It's tense. And the plot held interesting concepts. Although it really is not a who dun it, because you know who dun it. And I don't doubt it could happen in real life either.
But it was too glib, too long winded, too "cool" in the telling? You definitely had to have interest in long technical descriptions of all the minutia of certain surgical procedures. And I have patience for that and also for the family scene toddler hilarity minutia involved, as well.
I listened, rather than read this edition. Robert Petkoff is the speaker and he is excellent. I've heard him read others. This time he sounds perfectly the surgeon young god preppy upscale seeker that the role required.
A few of the other characterizations were written well. Luis was not in it enough. Sally and GiGi over-written.
It could have been a 5 star with a bit better edit and a tweaked ending. Too wordy by far in the aftermath, it should have cut right straight to the "look" that ended the novel.
It's tense. And the plot held interesting concepts. Although it really is not a who dun it, because you know who dun it. And I don't doubt it could happen in real life either.
But it was too glib, too long winded, too "cool" in the telling? You definitely had to have interest in long technical descriptions of all the minutia of certain surgical procedures. And I have patience for that and also for the family scene toddler hilarity minutia involved, as well.
I listened, rather than read this edition. Robert Petkoff is the speaker and he is excellent. I've heard him read others. This time he sounds perfectly the surgeon young god preppy upscale seeker that the role required.
A few of the other characterizations were written well. Luis was not in it enough. Sally and GiGi over-written.
It could have been a 5 star with a bit better edit and a tweaked ending. Too wordy by far in the aftermath, it should have cut right straight to the "look" that ended the novel.
August 21, 2016
I think that I must have wanted to read this because my beloved Stephen King recommended it so highly.
***Yeah, I didn't like it as much as my beloved Mr. King, nor did I think it deserved all the other accolades that are on the book jacket. It wasn't bad, exactly, just nothing special.
Steve Mitchell is an arrogant, over-confident chief surgery resident at a world-renowned hospital. He has a loving wife and two small children. Steve has an exciting future before him and then proceeds to make some of the stupidest decisions he possible could. Add to that a possibly psychopathic killer and Steve's in some real trouble. There's your story. King's right in the the descriptions of the surgery are good and detailed, but the plot is, well, fairly routine for your standard medical thriller, I think. It's a book one can get through quickly, but only because it doesn't ask much from the reader, and that's a shame - there's a ghost of a good book hidden here, but it's buried deep. And, Steve, you're a putz.
***Yeah, I didn't like it as much as my beloved Mr. King, nor did I think it deserved all the other accolades that are on the book jacket. It wasn't bad, exactly, just nothing special.
Steve Mitchell is an arrogant, over-confident chief surgery resident at a world-renowned hospital. He has a loving wife and two small children. Steve has an exciting future before him and then proceeds to make some of the stupidest decisions he possible could. Add to that a possibly psychopathic killer and Steve's in some real trouble. There's your story. King's right in the the descriptions of the surgery are good and detailed, but the plot is, well, fairly routine for your standard medical thriller, I think. It's a book one can get through quickly, but only because it doesn't ask much from the reader, and that's a shame - there's a ghost of a good book hidden here, but it's buried deep. And, Steve, you're a putz.
March 14, 2015
Dr. Steve Mitchell is a bright young surgeon who has a brilliant future ahead of him, that is, until patients start dying all around him.
The psychopath who has latched onto him is revealed really early in the book. Her reasons why are as twisted as her mind. She wants to play a game .. a game in which more people are going to die if he can't stop her. And she is good, very, very good at what she does.
The book has the feel of Fatal Atraction. There were moments, especially toward the end that my heart sped up and I couldn't wait to see what was coming next.
There are a whole lot of medical terms bandied about. The explanations of what they mean and in some cases how they work are just as difficult to comprehend. I was in the medical field for many, many years, so this was not a big problem for me.... and I know how to Google :-)
Overall, very entertaining!
The psychopath who has latched onto him is revealed really early in the book. Her reasons why are as twisted as her mind. She wants to play a game .. a game in which more people are going to die if he can't stop her. And she is good, very, very good at what she does.
The book has the feel of Fatal Atraction. There were moments, especially toward the end that my heart sped up and I couldn't wait to see what was coming next.
There are a whole lot of medical terms bandied about. The explanations of what they mean and in some cases how they work are just as difficult to comprehend. I was in the medical field for many, many years, so this was not a big problem for me.... and I know how to Google :-)
Overall, very entertaining!
April 1, 2014
Did not finish. Oh, Dr. Parsons, I was so excited to read your interview in BookPage. I thought that we'd finally have a fresh voice in the medical thriller genre, but I was disappointed. The protagonist wasn't the least bit sympathetic, there was gratuitous sex and profanity throughout, and the antagonist (along with their motive) was revealed just halfway through. That's when you lost me. I could have handled any one of these shortcomings on its own, but the combination did me in, making me lose interest. I might try to read any other books he writes with the hope that they might be better.
October 6, 2016
Medical thriller books are pretty good!
The end reminded me of a quote which says "The best way to fight chaos is with chaos."
The end reminded me of a quote which says "The best way to fight chaos is with chaos."
February 4, 2015
Wow! This is a great audio. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers. The plot had so many twists and turns, I never knew where it was headed next. I hope this author writes another book.
December 29, 2019
This definitely kept me on my toes and I loved the concept of it. Too many grammatical errors to give 5 stars. If you like medical thrillers, this is a good one to try
November 30, 2013
James Patterson meets Atul Gawande
Dr. Steve Mitchell is a senior surgical resident at a prestigious Boston hospital with excellent prospects for a faculty position at the institution’s medical school. He’s married to a wonderful wife and has two delightful children. Life can’t get much better. Then his patients start dying, and Steve realizes that the deaths are not accidents. Steve has to stop the deaths before his professional future is irrevocably destroyed…but he can’t tell anyone what is happening without risking both his career and his family. Trained to save lives with scalpel and suture, now Steve has to stop a different kind of killer, and he has to do it by himself (Yes, he really cannot tell anyone, and that is part of the suspense.).
It is truly hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The characters are vivid; the suspense is masterfully done; the medical background is rich and very true-to-life.
A board-certified urologist who is on the medical faculty at UC San Diego, the author is in a perfect position to depict life in a large teaching hospital, and the medical atmosphere was to me perhaps the best aspect of this excellent book. First, there is the ordered turmoil of the operating rooms and the wards. Then there are the effects on the doctors whose performance can literally mean life or death to their patients. Parsons does an excellent job of showing those effects, whether it be through the candid “shop talk” that grosses out the non-physicians at a dinner party or Steve’s occasional musings about life and death and his patients. Finally, there is the medical science itself. Young doctors love their field and live their field, and it is very natural for Steve and his friends to share it in detail. I found the medical information fascinating, whether it was the explanation of just what an embolus is or the description of exactly how a surgeon makes a specific type of incision. This medical detail enriched the book without getting in the way.
Narrator Steve Mitchell is an unusually sympathetic protagonist for a thriller(even if he doesn’t like cats), a genre filled with alienated, dysfunctional types who have some redeeming feature or passion that makes them interesting. With an undergraduate degree in computer science and a minor in literature in addition to his medical training, he is the type of overachiever often seen in medicine, but his personality is rounded out by the depictions of his family life. Parsons also does a nice job on cameo characters like Mr. Bernard, the Socrates-quoting carpenter who is one of Steve’s patients. Luis, an ex-Marine from East LA who earned a double major from UC Berkley in biochemistry and philosophy before going to medical school, is a wonderful enigma. There is warmth to the book in addition to chills, and I found myself tearing up after the death of a patient when Steve meets the patient’s family.
The story was gripping and hard to put down, and I was left wanting more from this author. Parsons says in his introduction that the seeds of this book were planted when he was in high school and took twenty years to harvest, but he mentions looking forward to his next project with his editor. Have we readers found another Michael Crichton?
January 28, 2014
Steve Mitchell, chief resident at a prestigious teaching hospital in Boston has everything going for him. Ambitious, intelligent, confident and at the top of the heap for a coveted job to join the faculty - his future is practically a given! But in the space of a few days, a patient dies, a simple surgery turns into a disaster, and Steve realizes a killer is on the loose in the hospital. Indications are pointing in his direction, and Steve is aware he is being set up by a cold blooded psychopath who is forcing him to play a game of strategy before they kill another patient.
*** Thrills, chills, and a totally absorbing medical thriller will send the reader into a high adrenaline rush with this debut book by board certified doctor and author Kelly Parsons. This is an accurate behind the scenes look at the inner workings of a hospital where not only do the doctors have your life in their hands, one must hope to God that there are no psychopaths running around wearing white medical jackets and injecting deadly chemicals into your IV’s. Or for that matter, any of the other horrendous things that this author’s villain did in this piece believing that these deaths ‘served the greater good’!
Mr. Parsons’ hero Steve Mitchell was sitting on top of the world, a happily married man with a beautiful wife, two gorgeous baby girls, another baby on the way, highly respected and on his way to the top. Within 72 hours his world was crashing around him, and he was sitting in the cross-hairs of a brilliant psychopath who was blackmailing and forcing him to play her sick games with a taunt of “stop me if you can”!
Bottom Line: With plenty of medical discussions describing procedures and such, most medical people should find this book right up their alley; with the edge of the seat cat-and-mouse game the author proceeded to tell, medical thriller aficionados should find themselves gasping for breath as the intense game comes to a thrilling climax! DOING HARM is an awesome read with a wonderful thrill ride from start to finish!
Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com
*** Thrills, chills, and a totally absorbing medical thriller will send the reader into a high adrenaline rush with this debut book by board certified doctor and author Kelly Parsons. This is an accurate behind the scenes look at the inner workings of a hospital where not only do the doctors have your life in their hands, one must hope to God that there are no psychopaths running around wearing white medical jackets and injecting deadly chemicals into your IV’s. Or for that matter, any of the other horrendous things that this author’s villain did in this piece believing that these deaths ‘served the greater good’!
Mr. Parsons’ hero Steve Mitchell was sitting on top of the world, a happily married man with a beautiful wife, two gorgeous baby girls, another baby on the way, highly respected and on his way to the top. Within 72 hours his world was crashing around him, and he was sitting in the cross-hairs of a brilliant psychopath who was blackmailing and forcing him to play her sick games with a taunt of “stop me if you can”!
Bottom Line: With plenty of medical discussions describing procedures and such, most medical people should find this book right up their alley; with the edge of the seat cat-and-mouse game the author proceeded to tell, medical thriller aficionados should find themselves gasping for breath as the intense game comes to a thrilling climax! DOING HARM is an awesome read with a wonderful thrill ride from start to finish!
Marilyn Rondeau, for www.ck2skwipsandkritiques.com
September 3, 2016
"It's amazing that there are so many different ways to die in a hospital that have nothing to do with being sick..."
بقولو انو الناس ما بتتذكرك إلا لما بتخطأ، فما بالك إذا دكتور أخطأ؟
أي طبيب ممكن يشرد بأي لحظة و ممكن يخطأ بالتشخيص أو بالعملية، هالخطأ إما يكون بسيط جداً و ممكن اصلاحه أو مميت.
باختصار الرواية بتحكي عن حياة طبيب جرّاح بمشفى جامعي مرموق و الو سمعة و مرتبة عالية عالمياً، فجأة بتبلش سلسلة أخطاء بسيطة جداً بس أدت لوفاة مرضاه و ببلش شعور الذنب و الأسى يلعبوا فيه مع خطورة فقد عمله بالمشفى. بس بيكتشف بعدين انو الأخطاء يلي أدت لوفاة هالمرضى كانت مدبّرة و مخططة لقتلن بحجة تطور المشكلات التقنية الطبية. و الأسوأ انو الفاعل شخص موجود بالمشفى و عم يعاين كل المرضى و ما حد منتبه انو عم يقتلن. :3
رواية thriller رائعة برأيي خصوصاً لطلاب الطب.. التفاصيل المذكورة كلا دقيقة و بيتعلم الواحد منا بكل سهولة بسبب أسلوب الكاتب الشيق
بقولو انو الناس ما بتتذكرك إلا لما بتخطأ، فما بالك إذا دكتور أخطأ؟
أي طبيب ممكن يشرد بأي لحظة و ممكن يخطأ بالتشخيص أو بالعملية، هالخطأ إما يكون بسيط جداً و ممكن اصلاحه أو مميت.
باختصار الرواية بتحكي عن حياة طبيب جرّاح بمشفى جامعي مرموق و الو سمعة و مرتبة عالية عالمياً، فجأة بتبلش سلسلة أخطاء بسيطة جداً بس أدت لوفاة مرضاه و ببلش شعور الذنب و الأسى يلعبوا فيه مع خطورة فقد عمله بالمشفى. بس بيكتشف بعدين انو الأخطاء يلي أدت لوفاة هالمرضى كانت مدبّرة و مخططة لقتلن بحجة تطور المشكلات التقنية الطبية. و الأسوأ انو الفاعل شخص موجود بالمشفى و عم يعاين كل المرضى و ما حد منتبه انو عم يقتلن. :3
رواية thriller رائعة برأيي خصوصاً لطلاب الطب.. التفاصيل المذكورة كلا دقيقة و بيتعلم الواحد منا بكل سهولة بسبب أسلوب الكاتب الشيق
September 17, 2018
This was a fun and entertaining ride, I think is not unusual to get interested by MD cases and thrillers they are very accelerating and this one is no stranger, following the trail of bad decisions by a neurologist intern and his students on charge this story will get you get up of your seats, very fast paced and unexpected a really fun read, I've recommended it before and will keep doing it so if you in to MD cases and thrillers then this is the book for you, also fun fact the author is a neurologist himself so it's really accurate on the science.
August 12, 2014
I can't remember the last book I read with my hand covering my mouth, afraid what will happen next (but knowing anyway). I found this book to be very exciting. I'm looking forward to the next book by Dr. Parsons.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 655 reviews