Fatal Outcome

by Patricia Wallace

Catering to people diagnosed with terminal diseases, Dr. Alan Kramer cures his hopeful patients with a combination of biofeedback, hypnotism, image therapy, and a liquid called Affinity, unleashing an unspeakable evil upon the rest of the world. Original.

Genres: Horror

1 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1992

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent novel by Wallace that falls squarely into the medical horror/thriller category, but nothing very special or noteworthy. Wallace cranked out several books for Zebra and this one emerged in 1992. Fatal Outcome is not quite paint-by-the-numbers, but pretty close. The brilliant Dr. Alan Kramer moves from Boston to start his own speciality clinic in Nevada, for he has discovered/made a new wonder drug-- Affinity. Affinity seems able to heal just about anything and indeed, the first 'batch' of patients are all cured from serious, fatal problems. Nonetheless, there are some side effects...

Wallace paced this well and her prose flows nicely. She does give a few (read few) twists and turns here to make this a bit different from the typical Robin Cook knockoff, primarily by including a sociopathic serial killer as one of the first patients; you know that will not end up well! Add in a bit of romance and family dynamics and there you go. Worth a read if you stumble across a copy, but I would not recommend seeking it out. 2.5 fatal stars.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book of Wallace's I've read, but I don't think it will be the last. Multiple patients with incurable cancer come to a clinic in rural Nevada for last-ditch treatment, a new compound called Affinity, created by a former surgeon whose career was ruined by an ailment of his own. After being treated with Affinity, the patients begin to notice odd things happening around them, but it takes time for all the ends to be connected. I felt that Wallace did a great job of providing background on the 5 patients who participate in the initial trial of Affinity, then followed them after they received the treatment. What kept it from 5 stars was the lack of a gripping climax. Obviously, the book had to end somehow, but I felt like there were a few loose ends to be tied up, and perhaps I was looking for more of the science behind Affinity. Although the book is ~25 years old, other than a few mentions of laser discs and teletype machines, it didn't come off as dated at all, an unusual achievement for a book dealing with medical advances.