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A Simple Cure
When Richard Powell, a cancer specialist, is diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a highly aggressive form of cancer, his wife, Terri is on a mission to cure the disease that ultimately kills her husband.
When a drug courier is murdered to obtain an experimental and promising treatment for malignant melanoma, a chain of events is unleashed—with devastating consequences.
Kendall Pharmaceuticals, a company with questionable values, is experimenting with a vaccine
against tuberculosis, which is showing surprising effects in controlling malignant melanoma. While Kendall is enthralled with the economic potential of such a treatment, Terri and researchers are leery and have many unanswered questions.
Kendall succeeds in pushing the vaccine into clinical trials, and the results are miraculous. Soon, however, it becomes clear that the vaccine might not be the miracle everyone was hoping for.
When a drug courier is murdered to obtain an experimental and promising treatment for malignant melanoma, a chain of events is unleashed—with devastating consequences.
Kendall Pharmaceuticals, a company with questionable values, is experimenting with a vaccine
against tuberculosis, which is showing surprising effects in controlling malignant melanoma. While Kendall is enthralled with the economic potential of such a treatment, Terri and researchers are leery and have many unanswered questions.
Kendall succeeds in pushing the vaccine into clinical trials, and the results are miraculous. Soon, however, it becomes clear that the vaccine might not be the miracle everyone was hoping for.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 16, 2013
19 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence W. Gold
28 books38 followersLawrence W. Gold, MD is a retired physician. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War where he served in an evacuation hospital, ran an emergency room and was a Battalion Surgeon. He completed his training in internal medicine and diseases of the kidney in 1968.
He retired in 1995 after 23 years in a hospital-based practice caring for patients with complicated illnesses and served as Chief of Medicine. After retirement he and his wife, Doris, spent time sailing at sea. He has written three screenplays based on his novels. His screenplay for Rage won honorable mention at the 80th annual Writer's Digest contest. He lives in Grass Valley, CA with his wife.
He retired in 1995 after 23 years in a hospital-based practice caring for patients with complicated illnesses and served as Chief of Medicine. After retirement he and his wife, Doris, spent time sailing at sea. He has written three screenplays based on his novels. His screenplay for Rage won honorable mention at the 80th annual Writer's Digest contest. He lives in Grass Valley, CA with his wife.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 18, 2013
If you think for one moment that A Simple Cure by Lawrence W. Gold is going to be another run of the mill medical mystery/thriller straight from the same test tube as all the rest, you would be so wrong! First, I highly suggest you read what the author has to say in the beginning of the book, it’s fascinating and educational, because once you get to the first page of this fast-paced novel, you will be in for the ride of your life!
What goes through your mind when you hear the word, cancer, melanoma, in particular? Globally, researchers are trying to find a cure, pharmaceutical companies are pouring money into research and development, but what is more important, their bottom line or saving lives? Corporate espionage and even murder become entangled in a huge cover up when an experimental drug shows amazing results in trials. The long term risks are unknown, and when patients start developing “Mad Cow” symptoms and dying, the cover-up becomes lethal, the players are dark and sinister and maybe just a little out of control. Can a team of investigators, scientists and doctors get to the bottom of how drug vials have gone missing, contaminated drugs have gotten into the hands of the patient trials team? All fingers point to one drug company in particular. Who else will die before they are stopped? What about the patients exposed to the contaminated drug? Is the possibility of being cured of cancer worth the new found threat? To what ends would you go to please the head of your company or save a friend’s life? The ending will surprise you.
Lawrence Gold uses his knowledge of the medical field to take the reader deep into the world of research, drug trials and the ethical questions faced daily in the medical profession when a patient pleads for a miracle at any cost. Add a plot full of deceit, threats and intrigue, wonderfully realistic characters and dialogue, and you have A Simple Cure for what to read next!
A review copy was provided by the author in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: August 16, 2013
Publisher: Grass Valley Publishing
ISBN: 9781492146902
Number of Pages: 328
Genre: Medical Thriller/Intrigue/Adults
My Rating: 5 Stars
Available from: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
What goes through your mind when you hear the word, cancer, melanoma, in particular? Globally, researchers are trying to find a cure, pharmaceutical companies are pouring money into research and development, but what is more important, their bottom line or saving lives? Corporate espionage and even murder become entangled in a huge cover up when an experimental drug shows amazing results in trials. The long term risks are unknown, and when patients start developing “Mad Cow” symptoms and dying, the cover-up becomes lethal, the players are dark and sinister and maybe just a little out of control. Can a team of investigators, scientists and doctors get to the bottom of how drug vials have gone missing, contaminated drugs have gotten into the hands of the patient trials team? All fingers point to one drug company in particular. Who else will die before they are stopped? What about the patients exposed to the contaminated drug? Is the possibility of being cured of cancer worth the new found threat? To what ends would you go to please the head of your company or save a friend’s life? The ending will surprise you.
Lawrence Gold uses his knowledge of the medical field to take the reader deep into the world of research, drug trials and the ethical questions faced daily in the medical profession when a patient pleads for a miracle at any cost. Add a plot full of deceit, threats and intrigue, wonderfully realistic characters and dialogue, and you have A Simple Cure for what to read next!
A review copy was provided by the author in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: August 16, 2013
Publisher: Grass Valley Publishing
ISBN: 9781492146902
Number of Pages: 328
Genre: Medical Thriller/Intrigue/Adults
My Rating: 5 Stars
Available from: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
May 9, 2017
Another Good Read
I have enjoyed every one of Lawrence Gold's books and this was no exception. Although after reading the Brier Hospital series I think maybe Mr Gold got a little confused with Jack Byrne's being the head of the ICU at San Francisco General, not to mention a kidney specialist instead of an internal medicine doc at Brier Hospital.
I have enjoyed every one of Lawrence Gold's books and this was no exception. Although after reading the Brier Hospital series I think maybe Mr Gold got a little confused with Jack Byrne's being the head of the ICU at San Francisco General, not to mention a kidney specialist instead of an internal medicine doc at Brier Hospital.
May 2, 2019
A fantastic read.
It was a fascinating story with a large dose of technical and medical data but written in a way that allowed it to be easily understood. The characters were well defined and likeable or not depending on their design. It was a great plot and unwound in a way that made it difficult to put down. I hope the author has more of the same in the offing.
It was a fascinating story with a large dose of technical and medical data but written in a way that allowed it to be easily understood. The characters were well defined and likeable or not depending on their design. It was a great plot and unwound in a way that made it difficult to put down. I hope the author has more of the same in the offing.
October 18, 2013
A fast paced thriller that may save your life.
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the doors of a research laboratory or a pharmaceutical? In this thriller, A Simple Cure, Dr. Gold takes you on a trip behind the scene where two different companies with two different values come together in search of a cure for malignant melanoma. Short on funding, People for Alternative Treatment (PAT), who specialize in finding cures for rare diseases merges with Kendall Pharmaceuticals, a company who pushes all buttons to get what they want at all costs, even if it means their clinical trials may kill.
The main character in this story is Terri Powell, who after losing her husband to malignant melanoma, becomes completely relentless in finding a cure for the disease. At the start of the novel, a courier carrying an experimental vaccine used for tuberculosis that has shown promising results in treating malignant melanoma is killed, immediately after everything begins to spiral out of control.
Even after some pretty horrific side-effects, Kendall still has high expectations of using the vaccine in clinical trials, after receiving a batch of the vaccine, that unknown to them is contaminated. The reason is totally monetary, as the tuberculosis vaccine, after being administered to the lab rats looks to have cured the melanoma. However the other alarming side effects that come later are dismissed. This dismissal however comes at a high cost, when one of lab employees who is about to disclose them is killed and other are being harassed and threatened.
This is a fast paced thriller that takes the reader on a spine tingling ride. Personally, I have not known anyone with this form of cancer and really hadn’t given it much consideration. I had no idea how aggressive malignant melanoma can be and how it affects the body.
I haven’t read many thought-provoking thrillers, but this is one that left me wondering what horrifying side-effects may be known in regards to a drug before it’s released to the public. I know all drugs contain some sort of side-effects, some worse than others. But have you given it any thought as to where the pharmaceutical companies draw the line? This story is a real eye-opener and a revealing experience, so much so that it will have you checking your own body on a regular basis.
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the doors of a research laboratory or a pharmaceutical? In this thriller, A Simple Cure, Dr. Gold takes you on a trip behind the scene where two different companies with two different values come together in search of a cure for malignant melanoma. Short on funding, People for Alternative Treatment (PAT), who specialize in finding cures for rare diseases merges with Kendall Pharmaceuticals, a company who pushes all buttons to get what they want at all costs, even if it means their clinical trials may kill.
The main character in this story is Terri Powell, who after losing her husband to malignant melanoma, becomes completely relentless in finding a cure for the disease. At the start of the novel, a courier carrying an experimental vaccine used for tuberculosis that has shown promising results in treating malignant melanoma is killed, immediately after everything begins to spiral out of control.
Even after some pretty horrific side-effects, Kendall still has high expectations of using the vaccine in clinical trials, after receiving a batch of the vaccine, that unknown to them is contaminated. The reason is totally monetary, as the tuberculosis vaccine, after being administered to the lab rats looks to have cured the melanoma. However the other alarming side effects that come later are dismissed. This dismissal however comes at a high cost, when one of lab employees who is about to disclose them is killed and other are being harassed and threatened.
This is a fast paced thriller that takes the reader on a spine tingling ride. Personally, I have not known anyone with this form of cancer and really hadn’t given it much consideration. I had no idea how aggressive malignant melanoma can be and how it affects the body.
I haven’t read many thought-provoking thrillers, but this is one that left me wondering what horrifying side-effects may be known in regards to a drug before it’s released to the public. I know all drugs contain some sort of side-effects, some worse than others. But have you given it any thought as to where the pharmaceutical companies draw the line? This story is a real eye-opener and a revealing experience, so much so that it will have you checking your own body on a regular basis.
October 14, 2015
"A cure for cancer at what cost?"
What made the experience of listening to A Simple Cure the most enjoyable?
It was interesting because we all hope for a cure to Cancer.
What did you like best about this story?
It was in part interesting because we would all like to think that the researchers of drugs are looking out for the patients best interest. I'd like to think that one day that they will find a drug that will boast out immune system enough to kill cancer with out having to use dangerous methods.
What about Leigh Townes’s performance did you like?
She made Terri believable and lovable. I don't think I've listened to anything by Leigh before but I would be willing to again after listening to this book.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Just that I really could see a Pharmaceutical company not caring about the patients at all and only the bottom line. So I'd have to say that really is a bad thing. When people are just wanting to be able to beat something like cancer. It really wouldn't surprise me to hear in the news one day a real life story something like this.
Any additional comments?
I recommend this book as something very interesting to listen to.
I was provided this audio book at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com
What made the experience of listening to A Simple Cure the most enjoyable?
It was interesting because we all hope for a cure to Cancer.
What did you like best about this story?
It was in part interesting because we would all like to think that the researchers of drugs are looking out for the patients best interest. I'd like to think that one day that they will find a drug that will boast out immune system enough to kill cancer with out having to use dangerous methods.
What about Leigh Townes’s performance did you like?
She made Terri believable and lovable. I don't think I've listened to anything by Leigh before but I would be willing to again after listening to this book.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Just that I really could see a Pharmaceutical company not caring about the patients at all and only the bottom line. So I'd have to say that really is a bad thing. When people are just wanting to be able to beat something like cancer. It really wouldn't surprise me to hear in the news one day a real life story something like this.
Any additional comments?
I recommend this book as something very interesting to listen to.
I was provided this audio book at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com
September 23, 2013
This is the third book I have read by this author. THAT should tell you something! I love his writing style and more what he writes about. If you have ever worked in a medical setting of any kind as I have, you will recognize the tidbits of truth in these highly entertaining novels. We, the patients, sometimes forget that Doctors are also human beings and it is not always easy to separate their feelings especially if they happen to know the patient personally.
This fictional story revolves around the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and the desperation of patients in end stage cancer who will try anything, do anything for a possible cure. It also revolves around the scientists who, by virtue of their training, believe in sharing information but are sometimes stopped by corporate greed.
Dr. Gold has recently updated his website to include medical news worth knowing as well as information about all his books-it is well worth going in to browse around!A Simple Cure
This fictional story revolves around the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and the desperation of patients in end stage cancer who will try anything, do anything for a possible cure. It also revolves around the scientists who, by virtue of their training, believe in sharing information but are sometimes stopped by corporate greed.
Dr. Gold has recently updated his website to include medical news worth knowing as well as information about all his books-it is well worth going in to browse around!A Simple Cure
January 3, 2015
- This book is for people who like pharmaceutical/medical fiction.
- This book would interest those who are intrigued by drug trials, skin cancer, mad cow disease, corporate corruption, and ethical considerations.
- The book contains multiple points of views from the characters.
- For me, more than two or three character views can be confusing at least for the first part of the book. I don't do well with names. However, I eventually found my way through the characters.
- The book addresses the ethical and financial considerations of pharmaceutical testing - focusing on melanoma.
- It also follows the struggle of cancer, desperation for a cure, intimidation, and the all mighty dollar.
- This is a standalone novel with an open-ended epilogue.
- This book would interest those who are intrigued by drug trials, skin cancer, mad cow disease, corporate corruption, and ethical considerations.
- The book contains multiple points of views from the characters.
- For me, more than two or three character views can be confusing at least for the first part of the book. I don't do well with names. However, I eventually found my way through the characters.
- The book addresses the ethical and financial considerations of pharmaceutical testing - focusing on melanoma.
- It also follows the struggle of cancer, desperation for a cure, intimidation, and the all mighty dollar.
- This is a standalone novel with an open-ended epilogue.
January 1, 2014
I'm sorry I took so long getting to this; it was one of the first books I requested a review copy for. Boy was I missing out! This is a wonderful addition to the medical thriller genre. The plot was fast-paced, full of action and twists and made the book hard to put down. The characters were well-formed and the bad guys were so easy to hate. It was an amazing read. Would I read more by Lawrence W. Gold? Definitely! Would I recommend this book to others? Of course.
See the full review on my website, Awesome Book Assessment.
See the full review on my website, Awesome Book Assessment.
December 20, 2013
This is the fourth book I've read by Lawrence W. Gold, and I was glued to it from the beginning to the end, just like I was with the other three books. Lawrence Gold's knowledge of the medical field and his portrayal of the lengths that drug companies will go to to protect themselves may be a little exaggerated, but not by much. The only problem I had with this book is that I did notice some words were misspelled, and it seemed like a few of the sentences were missing - the story didn't seem to "flow" logically from the end of one page to the beginning of the next in a few areas. Other than that, I did enjoy the book immensely, and am looking forward to reading more of his books.
May 10, 2014
Good reading
Good reading
at times I thought a person take. then comes along a trial cure. it's life but testing and learning. brought me back to when my mother found out she had it. 35 yrs later still no cure.
Good reading
at times I thought a person take. then comes along a trial cure. it's life but testing and learning. brought me back to when my mother found out she had it. 35 yrs later still no cure.
April 23, 2014
Good reading
Good reading
if you like medical books.....which I do..then this is for you....makes you appreciate the life you have that others don't....
Good reading
if you like medical books.....which I do..then this is for you....makes you appreciate the life you have that others don't....
June 18, 2014
A very satisfying read from the first page thru the last. Will definitely be reading more by this author!
November 5, 2014
Very interesting reading about cancer research,and how any 'promising' drug can go so wrong!! I enjoyed reading this!
August 20, 2015
An excellent medical drama page turner.
August 19, 2015
Cancer and the treatment
I really think the author did a great job of making this story real from cancer to the treatments to the struggles involved.
I really think the author did a great job of making this story real from cancer to the treatments to the struggles involved.
November 26, 2014
This book is on a level with Robin Cook. it was hard to put down.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews