Trapped

Brier Hospital #6

by Lawrence W. Gold

Lisa Cooke is the product of a passive mother and an abusive father. She finds her way into pediatric nursing, a world filled with men in control, including the director of the Neonatal ICU at Brier Hospital, Mike Cooper. Mike reminds Lisa of her father. While their initial relationship is adversarial, the two ultimately fall in love and get married. But their promising future as a couple is disrupted when a horrific car accident puts Mike in the hospital.
Mike has locked-in syndrome, and while he is awake and alert, all his voluntary muscles are paralyzed. His injuries are life-threatening, and, on several occasions, he nearly dies.
Shortly after the accident, Lisa is astounded to discover she is pregnant. She and Mike had desperately wanted children but without success, and Lisa quickly discovers that pregnancy is not an easy feat for her body. While Lisa fights to keep alive the new life growing inside of her, Mike struggles for his.
Will everyone survive?

Genres: Thriller, Medical, Drama

445 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 22, 2013

About the author

Lawrence 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.

Reviews

[Patricia Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Locked in

This is a horrific story. Love, need, passion, changes, etc. Mike and Lisa are meant to be together. Love will survive amazing things.

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you like medical thrillers with lots of real-life drama, some romance and very true to life characters? Try Trapped by Lawrence W. Gold, an author who creates fiction from the life he’s known as a physician. People in the medical profession often seem worlds apart from the rest of us, with their knowledge, ability to treat and heal, but they are also human beings. They have flaws, secrets, fears and hopes just like everyone else. Bad things happen to them, too. When the director of the NICU, Dr. Michael Cooper first meets new neo-natal nurse Lisa Cooke, well, things didn’t go very smooth, but, like all good love stories, can’t things change? It wasn’t love at first sight, but as Lisa learns to see Mike for the man he is and not the one he reminds her of, they do find that elusive and lasting love. Even the day to day drama and trauma of working with newborns in trouble can’t cool the passion these two feel.
The road to a happy ending is not an easy one, the bumps in the road become mountains, Mike has been in an accident, and is fighting for his life while Lisa fights to save her pregnancy and their unborn child. Will Mike give up the will to live, trapped in the prison his body has become? Will their tiny baby survive the trauma of his premature birth? Will Lisa never have a chance at the forever happiness Mike promised her?

Filled with medical jargon, and the day to day activities of hospital life, Trapped gives a close-up look at what these professionals face, all before they go home to what lay people would consider the real world. For Mike and Lisa, they learn that bad things happen to good people and must learn to deal with what they are dealt by trusting and leaning on each other through thick and thin. Sometimes heavy on the medical details, this makes for an informative and fascinating read. The love story isn’t filled with over the top macho men or runway model beauties, but real people to be identified with and a pace that moves along with ease.

I enjoyed Trapped and would like to thank the author for providing this review copy!

Series: Brier Hospital Series
Publication Date: November 27, 2013
Publisher: Grass Valley Publishing
ISBN: 1493754238
Number of Pages: 465
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

[Gayle Pace · Rating 5 out of 5]

REVIEW

This is a fantastic medical thriller. The author made this story real. You feel that you are totally in the character's world. The characters go through a lot of real life experiences. The author is an M.D. so I'm sure he had a lot of real life experiences to draw on. The characters have the same emotions and feeling we have. Fear, Secrets, Flaws Hopes and Desires. Just because they help to save lives doest mean that they are beyond bad things happening to them.

Dr. Michael Cooper, director of the NICU meets a nurse Lisa Cooke, who works in the neo-natal until also. They drew a spark at once, this wasn't a good spark though. Lisa learns to see Mike for himself and not the one he reminds her of. It definitely wasnt' love at first sight. They do find love. Even working together day by day under very stressful circumstances, the passion is so intense. Their road to romance is far from smooth. It's full of ruts. Mike was in a terrible accident, fighting for his life while Lisa fights to save her unborn baby.Mike has what is called "locked up syndrome". Michael is in a tomb in his own body, trapped, and not sure he wants to live. The author gives the reader a close up look at what medical and hospital life is all about. Then they go home and have different problems to face there. Lisa and Mike lean on each other during the bad things that are happening to them. They learn to trust each other unconditionally. Then there are the two mothers not at all helping matters.The love story is a down to earth love between two everyday people, not all filled with glitz and glimmer. The author has done a talented job of putting medical information into the fictional book.

The author had me hooked from page one. I couldn't put the book down. It was so captivating. Dr. Gold knew his facts and put them down into fiction. Sometimes a hard feat to master and yet make it seem real instead of fiction. I can't wait to red book 2. If it's anything like this one, then there's another good book from this author.

If you like medical suspense with a little clean romance then please don't hesitate to pick up this book. You won't be sorry unless you miss out. This will go on my shelf as one of my TBR again. A Keeper.

I would give this book 5 LOCKS

I was given a complimentary copy of TRAPPED from the author , Lawrence W. Gold, M.D. for my personal opinion. No other compensation was given.

[Jina Howell-Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially liked this episode in the Briar Hospital Series. It was filled with complex interpersonal relationships, detailed medical crisis and procedures, and life and death quick medical decision situations. As always, there was also a moral dilemma. This time, that dilemma involved informed medical content, and right to die. I personally had some difficulty with the right to die and right to "pull the plug" discussions. There were some similarities in this plot to the "Me Before You" controversy, and it made me uncomfortable. As a long time wheelchair user, I find it hard to understand how people are so quick to decide that a life without average, (or better), physical abilities is not worth living. How quick others are to say "He would never want to live like that." How does anyone know that, without trying to make a worthwhile life under new and different challenges? I also had great difficulty abiding the pregnant woman who "just couldn't" manage complete bed rest. Especially when she risked her babies life because using a bedpan was "too embarrassing." Anyway, I credit the author for creating the fodder for some spirited conversations.

[Deanna at The Book Lover's Attic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was eagerly anticipating this book and can say that I was not disappointed. I could tell that it was going to be good from the very first page. Gold is a master story-teller who pulls you in with well developed characters and a story that moves along at a fast pace, keeping you fully engrossed throughout. Not to age myself, but it was as if I was reading a season of the television series ER.

The only negative thing that I can say about Trapped is that there were a few grammatical errors (mostly a word that was inserted that shouldn't be) but these didn't detract from the story at all. Maybe a good proofread is all that is needed here.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys medical stories mixed with a little romance and drama. Dr. Gold is definitely going up on my list of great indie authors!

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

[J&B Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trapped...in medical chick lit.

For me this book is a good reason that I should read the sample first. I believe that the story was more of a chick lit romance than a medical drama. I could have put it down and started a Michael Palmer novel but then I wouldn't have been able to make a fair review without knowing the ending. Also a couple of subplots are not really brought together by the end of the novel and I always find this frustrating. But if you love that undying love stuff go for it.

[Jennifer Doering · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hated the abrupt ending to this book. Story was good but felt choppy. It felt like a teenager wrote this book.

A good book but too choppy it kind of bounced all over the book. It had good potential but I did not like the abrupt ending.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Lawrence Gold's books; however this was not one of my favorites. I felt like the story went in too many directions to finally get to the end of the story.

[Gail Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow that was one powerful read kept me glued for hours on end,

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Medical book

This is my favorite of the six books I have read so far. I especially lo rd the ending Lawrence Gold knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat.

[Carol Carmichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story. Tremendously educational while at the same time a beautiful love story. The only disappointment was the abrupt ending.