Fatal Flashback: A Legal Courtroom Thriller

by Tom Berreman

When those profiting from a new migraine medication silence a whistleblower after he discovers an undisclosed side effect causing enhanced, spontaneous PTSD flashbacks, Blake Lawrence must rely on his courtroom skills to uncover how and why the FDA approved the drug.

The answer is not what anyone in the courtroom expects.

Andrew Hayden III is on the verge of vaulting the corporation bearing his name to pharmaceutical industry prominence pending FDA approval of Xyprotaine, a revolutionary migraine medication. That is until Darnell Young, Hayden Labs' vice president of research and development, discovers clinical trial notes summarizing potentially catastrophic side effects withheld from the FDA. These notes, suggesting enhanced PTSD flashbacks in patients taking both Xyprotaine and antidepressants, were written by Dr. Reginald Cosgrove, who is pending Senate confirmation as the next Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Struggling with the loss of significant wealth his stock options could provide, Young takes the high road and vows to keep the drug off the market pending additional clinical trials to address the undisclosed side effects. After sending a whistleblower letter to the FDA he joins forces with Blake Lawrence, his college roommate and a lawyer with Sterling Atwater, to fight powerful forces from both inside and outside the company with significant wealth hinging on Xyprotaine's approval. These forces will resort to any method necessary, including blackmail, intimidation and murder, to stop anyone standing in the way of its approval.

Hayden succeeds in obtaining FDA approval.

But how? And at what cost?

Tight, focused writing and shocking twists along the way. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys high-stakes drama/thriller with an intelligent and unpredictable plot that feels very authentic and true-to-life, and explores the darkest parts of human greed and corruption. Karen Matthews - Indie Book Reviewers

Genres: Thriller

433 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2017

Reviews

[johanna kolb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrifying

The author explores greed and corruption from the corporate level down to the people charge with protecting our lives.
When the head of a drug company ignores the results of drug trials and pushes to get FDA approval a chain of events is unleashed that is horrifying. One man tries to stop the approval and when he is stripped his friend steps in to discover the truth.
Unexpected ending.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Politics, Science, Medicine, a bit of Romance, Lawyers, Courtrooms and Corporate Greed.

What more could you ask for?
Definitely My kind of novel!

And, for those of you who live 'Cleaner lives' than I ever have or will, there are no curse words or explicit sex scenes; despite not having Any religious Affiliations! Remarkable in this day and age.

Tom Berreman sure knows how to write a captivating modern novel and draw you in to the state of anticipation of "what's next?" as each chapter evolves.

Talented in his great development of the main characters and very little fluff added to simply lengthen a novel.

This is a story of a research scientist who will not acquiesce and lower his value of "First, do no harm" over his company's profits and his potential personal financial gains.

He becomes trapped in a life and death battle with his employer, a small pharmaceutical company.

Other characters who evolve in the novel all fill a place in the storyline, no superfluous semi-strangers just passing through a chapter or two just to distract or confuse the reader.

For me, this would have been a 5 Star book except for 2 things.

First, I found 9 editorial errors:
1 very long run on sentence, a couple of spelling errors and several wrong word choices (i.e. sever instead of severe, aid instead of aide). If the novel had been proofread just one more time it would have been perfect.

And second, the ending. I remain baffled as to: Did that really end the way it did with a major event occurring in the last paragraph and absolutely no epilogue intentionally as one of those Cliffhanger endings to get a reader to purchase a subsequent novel as a continuation of this novel?

Or, did it end the way it did simply to end it in a fairly brutal "The End way?

I really don't know because there is no mention at the end of the (free copy via FREEBOOKSY) Kindle version that I read of a Book 2 in a saga; but either way, I found the ending very weak, like learning a friend had a limb amputated, but not knowing how they are doing navigating life afterwards.

If this is Book 1 in a saga, I would probably purchase Book 2, if only I knew!

Thank you Mr. Berreman for a very enjoyable read and if you want a copy of the 9 editing errors I found, just send me a note via Amazon.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure exactly how to describe this book by Tom Bererman, other than being well-written and researched on several levels (from the pharma side, to the legal and psychological sides), fun, unpredictable and easy to read. Like his other book I read earlier this year (“Succession of Power”) I was genuinely impressed with not only the descriptive and detailed world building and his strong writing, but it was also the way the characters interacted with one another in a way that really made me feel something. I always felt like I was really part of the story. Berreman has comprehensive and first-hand knowledge of all different aspects of this story, and he pulls you right into the believable world where we feel we know just as much as he does (which is hard to do), and doesn’t hold back any punches. Great cast of characters, from Darnell to Blake (liked them) to Haydon and Quinlavan and the others…I did think some of the supporting cast felt a bit on the thin side, however. But the strength of this book lies with seeing them interact and how everything played out with them – very cat and mousish. The pacing was a little on the slower side (for me) especially in the beginning, and I was frequently waiting for something dramatic to happen. It eventually does, but I think there is great potential in this book for real profound thrills and shocks, and they should manifest themselves much sooner in the story so that we the reader are really grabbed right away. As it is, there is definitely more excitement toward the end than the beginning, which focuses more on the plot set up and characters backstories. But a great read, and one I enjoyed. Hope to read more from Tom Berreman soon.

[Niecy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept of this book is worthy; definitely as a whistleblower myself, and the possible retaliation you can get back. It touches on important topics such as corruption, ego-centric bosses/governmental officers, greed ... but the pace of the book was way too fast. It was jumping from one event to the next, and it was just the next day, which seemed very unrealistic. Also many reactions did not seem realistic either; for example, after being chased and attacked by a scary looking person or being shot from another car, one does not simply go home, or go have dinner at a friends' house, and/or act like nothing happened. Why was the police never involved during such attacks? It was just a bit too much; too many events, happening one after another, too many characters being introduced (possibly for future references, but they don't make sense in this book), and the finale is quite over the top.

[Mark E. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wonder why it is, with all our laws and regulatory agencies, a dangerous drug can not only be approved, but fail to be recalled until after it has killed 50,000 Americans (Vioxx)? This is a fictionalized explanation of how things really work. TV ads tell millions of people to ask their doctors if a drug is good for them, when their doctors really haven't got a clue. When the only thing that matters to corporations is profits, live are sacrificed. Reading this book made me wonder if there could be any change to our system even if the ending was fact instead of fiction. With billions of dollars in profits at stake, I'm not really hopeful that change is possible.

[Marbea Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the storyline was great, if this was someone's biography of there life etc. I'd be disgusted at how the black and brown characters are stereotyped. I just wish the author knew how to portray people of color in there speech and mannerisms. Being that said, I liked the platform of the story and main characters positions of ethical and immoral devil on the shoulder rhetoric.

[Mary Mac Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpected turns

Exciting fast paced drama that moves from Big Pharma to the court room and back. A very unexpected ending. I enjoyed the unpredictable turns.

[Janice Foley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. Not my type. Totally boring.

[kevin minkler · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

I found the book to be a very good read. It kept my interest. I wasn't thrilled with the ending. It left some questions unanswered. Overall I would recommend it.

[Frances Batson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A1

This is totally engrossing and very well written. A really great read. You will get caught up in it and will hate to see it end.

[Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too many characters

[Esther Megerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor ending

I did not like the way it ended leaving the reader up in the air. Also too many characters ended up dead.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatal Flashback

You cannot ask for more excitement than what happens in this book. It just keeps surprising you with each chapter. I had to finish this book in one sitting!