Error in Diagnosis

by Mason Lucas

Innocent lives are put in jeopardy in this terrifying new thriller that asks the Are we prepared for the next epidemic?

A mysterious illness with disturbing symptoms is plaguing women across the United States. It begins with memory loss and confusion and ends with the patient falling into a coma. Medical professionals are at a loss for the cause, but one thing remains All of the victims are pregnant.

Called in to consult on the case of his best friend’s wife, neurologist Jack Wyatt has never seen anything like it. Now, with the nation on the brink of panic, Jack and his colleagues are in race against time to find a cure.

The disease they are calling Gestational Neuropathic Syndrome (GNS) is spreading. Patients are dying—and no one can guess what will happen next…

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Medical, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction

423 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2015

About the author

Mason Lucas is a pseudonym for author Gary Birken.

Gary Birken is a full-time pediatric surgeon who serves as the Surgeon-in-Chief of the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital.

In his spare time he also plays tennis and basketball and holds a black belt in martial arts. He is a father of four.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I literally had a hard time putting this book down. When I did, I was already about 12 chapters into the book. However, I quickly rushed back to the book and finished the rest of the book in one sitting. The thought that Gestational Neuropathic Syndrome (GNS) could be real is very scary. In fact, for that matter the thought that any epidemic like this will give you goose bumps. As I was reading this book, my first thought was to flash to the movie starring Matt Damon "Contagion". Which if you saw this movie, the epidemic featured in the movie is scary as well.

If you are a fan of medical thrillers or just looking for that next great book to read, than you have to check out this book. There is no "error" in checking this book out. Jack Wyatt leads the cast of characters in a thrill ride. I can not wait to read the next book by this author.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a paperback copy of this book and really enjoyed it. Nice to read a solid medical thriller, a la Robin Cook or Michael Palmer style. Great set-up having pregnant women fall ill and end up in comas. Is it infectious? Is it bioterrorism? Dr. Jack Wyatt has to find both the cause and the cure before a less scrupulous physician serves up his own treatment plan. A nicely paced read with interesting medicine--fans of medical thrillers will enjoy it.

[Debbie Oxier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a solid medical thriller. Tess Ryan was fairly healthy and very pregnant when she collapsed at the gym. Admitted to the hospital with disturbing neurological symptoms, her husband , Mike, calls his best friend, Dr. Jack Wyatt, head of the neurology department at Ohio State University's College of Medicine and asks for his help. Mike is a techno-genius who made a fortune at developing software and video games. He gave a big chunk of money to his alma mater, Southeastern State's business department and is about to have a building named for him. So Jack isn't surprised when Mike calls from the dean's office. He puts Dr. Helen Morales on the phone who offers Jack a visiting professorship. By accepting, Jack will have access to everything he needs to care for Tess. Whatever this thing was, Jack isn't alone in his fight against it. Pregnant women all across the country are coming down with Gestational Neuropathic Syndrome, or GNS, as they're calling it. He is assisted by Dr. Madison Shaw, a perinatologist who is keeping a close eye on Tess's unborn child, watching for any signs of distress. Of course, Jack isn't without opposition in his fight to save Tess and the others. Dr. Hollis Sinclair, up for a prestigious position at the hospital, is at odds with Jack at every turn. Dr. Sinclair is convinced GNS is caused by an unknown strain of parvovirus and advocates for a radical treatment with the drug, Vitracide. Unfortunately, it has some nasty side effects that can harm the patient's heart and possibly be fatal. Its a big risk to both mother and child.

As doctors struggle to find a cause, others are looking into the possibility of bioterrorism. They're on the track of a Russian they believe initiated GNS.

Didn't want to put this one down. I liked Jack's devotion to his work even though it cost him his family. There was nothing arrogant about him, he had no God complex like a lot of doctors, and genuinely cared about his patients. Madison made for a possible love interest in a future book should the author decide to go that way. While I wasn't familiar with some of the medical terminology, the author did a good job in explaining things. It in no way detracted from the book's appeal. Hope to see more from Mason Lucas.

[Ilse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into and there are wayyy to many names that I could not remember at all but once I got into it, it was pretty addicting.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much happened in terms of brainstorming and actually doing anything to discover a cure until around page 288. The pages before were spent rushing from one meeting to another and saying the exact same thing. Very interesting end result and cure, but I am still unclear about the whole Russian guy and whether bioterrorism....a bit confusing and seemingly swept under the rug during the Hail Mary cure.

[Lilian Flesher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of this book is actually a practising pediatric surgeon, who has still managed to find time to follow his passion which is writing. Being a surgeon has definitely given him an edge on writing a medical thriller, but he manages to create a great story, without having us mind boggled at the medical terminology which is very refreshing. I love this type of book but some medical thrillers can be a bit daunting when you have no clue as to what the medical terms mean, this book avoided that.

The story is about a mysterious illness which is only affecting pregnant women, but even more mysterious is that it is only happening in America. The rush is on to find out what is causing the illness, and how if possible to cure it.

We have one pig-headed doctor by the name Sinclair, I would describe him as being an arrogant ass who thinks he is right all the time. On the other hand we have Dr. Jack Wyatt, the total opposite, a really likeable character, this doctor is more like the person you would want on your side at the time of a crisis. He needs to find out the answer to the problem before Sinclair creates even more problems with his ideas on curing the pregnant women who are affected.

Of course pregnancy and childbirth are a blessing and any illness which threatens to harm these mothers and unborn babies is serious and is taken very serious, you can feel the lump in your throat as you read this book and hope that the lovely Dr Wyatt to get to the bottom of it before things are any worse.

There is so much going on in the story, you get drawn in deep, you cannot help but feel the helplessness at times of the medical team in their attempts to help these women and their unborn babies, but they keep going not stopping, checking and rechecking every small detail to see if they can pinpoint the cause of the illness. I do not really want to divulge any more of this story, you have to read it for yourself and believe me you will not be disappointed. I hated the times when I had to put it down to cook, or clean etc, and grabbed it as quick as I could to continue reading how things were progressing, or not a the case may be.

[Mattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate to win a copy of ERROR IN DIAGNOSIS in a contest by the author. Let me start out by saying that as a retired nurse, my favorite genre is medical suspense/thrillers. Mason Lucas, M.D. brought his medical expertise into the writing of this thrilling novel. His writing is smooth, exciting and engaging. Characters are intriguing, flaws included. This is definitely a page turner that you should add to your to be read list. Pregnant patients are dying due to a disease called Gestational Neuropathic Syndrome. Can a cure be found? Pick this book up to find out the answer...

[Jacob Peled · Rating 5 out of 5]

WooooW ! what a great book. Anyone who like the medical genre (the likes of Micael Palmer or Robin Cook), Whould like this book from a new author. All I can hope for is, that we will see many more books like this one from Mason Lucas. There are some loose ends with some of the events, but who cares. I am sure that Mason Lucas will know how to avoid it in his next book. I am referring to the part that involves the FBI, with the criminal described through the story.

[Erica R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a reviewer, I received an advanced copy and read all 423 pages within 3 days. I would stay up till 3-4am, flipping through the pages, needing to know what happened next. I found myself rooting for the protagonists and damning the antagonists! The story line is suspenseful and the pregnant women bring an emotional, thrilling feel. Worth your time, read the book!

[Scott Golden · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.]
The question that always comes up when a member of a selected profession pens a fictional story set within the world of that profession is "Yeah, but can he WRITE?" The answer here is a resounding YES. This is a thriller with actual thrills!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book on Goodreads. I don't usually read thrills but from the first page you wanted to know what was causing the illness/death of pregnant women. It really kept you turning pages as they searched for a cure.

[Showcasing Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review and Thoughts:

This is a great medical mystery thriller that held my attention and never wavered in the mysterious reality of the subject. Never a boring moment, always a constant character builder and situation displayed that allowed a great read.

I felt that this book maintained a steady ordeal every single chapter in the unfolding reality. The chapters are short, which I love because you can read one, when you only have 5 to 10 minutes to spare. Loved the character development throughout the whole book. Every chapter you would learn something new about the characters.

Lovers of Robin Cook’s medical mystery's and Michael Crichton's imagination I think will take to this book.

Across America pregnant women are confused. Soon they collapse. There legs twitch. Their eyes run back and forth, soon they are in a coma. Why is certain pregnant woman affected and not all? Why is only America hit with this medical mystery? Soon the deaths pile up. More and more women across the country are affected. A national crisis. One Doctor named Sinclair who has a god complex, and thinks he is more important than anyone else, believes he has the answer. Soon Dr. Jack Wyatt, a leading doctor is called in to help. Jack your main character is on a cat and mouse game with a mysterious medical killer. Jack must find out what is causing this strange ordeal before Sinclair is given the approval to treat the women with a medication that has its major side effects, that could lead to long term suffering and even death.

Author Mason Lucas created a great medical thriller that thoroughly entertained me. I really loved his character development throughout the story, and the overall doom of this medical mystery. The race to find the cure gave off a real vibe as you read along. Lucas has away with grabbing you and placing you there in the Hospital next to the patients. He allows you to like Jack. Jack becomes your friend, your personal Doctor as the story unfolds. I for one would love a doctor like Jack to help me, and that is how strong the character development is. Lucas Mason M.D. is a pen name. The real name of the author is Gary Birkin, and in real life, he is a real life Doctor. A pediatric surgeon. This is his first novel under the pen name Lucas Mason M.D. He has written five other novels under his real name, Gary Birken.

One thing I hope that happens under his Pen name of Lucas Mason M.D. is to return to the characters in Error in Diagnosis. I really like the character of Jack. I think he would be a solid character for a series of novels.

Again, I must mention this is a solid medical mystery with a total learning fascination throughout the research, and medical talk mentioned in the book. What I really love is that Lucas Mason does not over do the medical mumbo jumbo. Sometimes a problem, a lot of doctor writers, or science writers do, is confuse the hell out of the readers with too much confusing information. Thankfully this book does not do that, and that is another reason I highly recommend this book.

My Rating: 4 out of 5

[Lucie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t typically read books in this genre, so correct me if what I’m about to complain about are hallmarks of thrillers. I picked up this book for my l&d nursing book club and was really interested by the premise of a “Contagion” style plot about a neurological condition causing comas and death in pregnant women. The beginning had me hooked - it gave me the same foreboding feeling in my stomach that the movie Contagion did. That feeling was pretty quickly replaced with annoyance. There are far too many characters to keep track of, a red herring bioterrorist plot that never pays off, and a useless main character who spends almost the whole book saying he has no answers and barely doing anything to look for answers. By the second half of the book, he has two separate breakthroughs caused by random pieces of wisdom handed to him on a silver platter by the women in his life that he hasn’t been listening to until then. Also, can we talk about the subtle right wing slant to this book? The antivax, antiabortion, talking down to the female doctors but not the male doctors? Maybe I’m too woke but this felt like a boy book to me.

[Penelope · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good story but the book could easily have been 100 pages shorter without losing anything.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story couldn't put it DC down

Loved this story and the characters. I got so involved with each character and the story. I read it straight through. Couldnt put it down!

[Marjeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, engaging, and enjoyable.

[Taylor Porchè · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! Read it in less than a week. Keeps you on the edge of your seat, wanting to know more !! 10/10 would recommend

[Daniel Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting. Maybe one plot twist too many. Maybe one unnecessary side plot. But scary, mostly realistic, especially eye opening on the politics behind academic medicine. Good examples too of how to properly do research and how not.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Error in Diagnosis

Author: Mason Lucas

Synopsis (from bn.com):

Innocent lives are put in jeopardy in this terrifying new thriller that asks the question: Are we prepared for the next epidemic?

A mysterious illness with disturbing symptoms is plaguing women across the United States. It begins with memory loss and confusion and ends with the patient falling into a coma. Medical professionals are at a loss for the cause, but one thing remains constant: All of the victims are pregnant.

Called in to consult on the case of his best friend’s wife, neurologist Jack Wyatt has never seen anything like it. Now, with the nation on the brink of panic, Jack and his colleagues are in race against time to find a cure.

The disease they are calling Gestational Neuropathic Syndrome (GNS) is spreading. Patients are dying—and no one can guess what will happen next…





My thoughts: Finally I found another good medical drama on the market. Back in the day I remember medical dramas being much more prevalent in the book world and they seem to have disappeared.. . hmmm.

I really love a good medical drama and “Error in Diagnosis” certainly fit the bill. A good story, fast paced, and medical excitement.

Overall a great read, and highly recommended if you love the medical drama genre.

And remember,

Books Are Life

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway and I'm glad I did. A well thought out medical thriller about a mysterious disease that strikes pregnant women in their 3rd trimester, Mr. Lucas' story kept up a fast pace with discoveries unfolding in every chapter.

I loved the main character, Jack, a talented and ethical doctor who never loses sight of his objective, to save these women and their unborn children. He's hampered in his efforts by a wonderfully despicable neurosurgeon whose primary goal is to find a cure before anyone else, and to make himself rich and famous in the bargain. The interaction and contrast between the two makes the story even more enjoyable.

I must admit, I knew where the book was going and was pretty sure how it would end, but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of a well-written thriller. Definitely on my recommendation list.

[Susan T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medical triller mostly left me cold

What I liked: thriller, hard-working good guys (doctors), hospital and national political considerations.

What I did not like: I did not find any character to be particularly sympathetic (except for the victims), lack of character development, lots of scientific jargon that might or might not have been apropos. Also I thought there were too many coincidences and that the solution was WAY too condensed in time.

Best for: those who like scientific or medical thrillers.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay story, but I can't say I was particularly engaged. There were too many conversations and too much thinking about having conversations, meetings with characters that are relatively minor, and too much information about characters that are relatively minor. One major "twist" was really more of a misdirection and ended abruptly, even though a good deal of time was spent leading up to it being something important. So it was more of a fake-out than a twist. And I never felt the characters were particularly endearing. Still, the storyline was fairly good.

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good book! I loved the characters, and the medical jargon was easy to follow. It kept me guessing until the end. I would love to read the second one in the series!

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

[Linda Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pregnant women are effected by some virus/disease and doctors/scientists are scrambling to find out what it is to find a cure......

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't take the flu shot and after reading this novel, I can assure you that I will NEVER take it unless it is FORCED upon me. This is a medical thriller on a roller coaster ride.

[Barbara James-Richardson]

One of the best books I have ever read. It kept me spellbound all the way through. I was scared the Tess would not get through and have a healthy baby. One of the best medical thriller.

[blunt_bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

best medical thriller❤👍