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The Health Club Mysteries #1
Terminal Neglect
Within minutes of leaving the White House, State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Jonathan Rogers is gunned down on Pennsylvania Avenue after interviewing for the position of Surgeon General. Rogers awakens from surgery with a life threatening medical finding and soon discovers he's been targeted by a sinister organization known as The Health Club. Weeks later, the FBI informs Rogers that the attack on him has become a matter of national security ever since his Oval House meeting with President Will Jordan. The doctor is warned not to question that he was a victim of a random drive by shooting. But was it?
296 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 2008
4 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Michael Rushnak
5 books40 followersI'm a retired physician who returned to my passion for writing. Join me on BOOK BLOGS. http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/DrM...
Fulfilling another bucket list passion, I've authored TERMINAL NEGLECT, THE SAVIOR VACCINE, and DENIED as THE HEALTH CLUB MYSTERIES trilogy.
My 4th medical mystery thriller-UNSEEN SHADOWS is also receiving rave reviews--Five married couples living in Princeton are a close knit group since their college days at Stanford. But if you dig deeper into their relationships, nothing is as it appears to be. Betrayal, seduction, espionage, surveillance & deception explode in the face of Dr. Brandon Kiefer, threatening the innocents and the survival of the secrets to project immortality.
TERMINAL NEGLECT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLUDx5...
THE SAVIOR VACCINE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPvro...
DENIED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaSMm5...
Fulfilling another bucket list passion, I've authored TERMINAL NEGLECT, THE SAVIOR VACCINE, and DENIED as THE HEALTH CLUB MYSTERIES trilogy.
My 4th medical mystery thriller-UNSEEN SHADOWS is also receiving rave reviews--Five married couples living in Princeton are a close knit group since their college days at Stanford. But if you dig deeper into their relationships, nothing is as it appears to be. Betrayal, seduction, espionage, surveillance & deception explode in the face of Dr. Brandon Kiefer, threatening the innocents and the survival of the secrets to project immortality.
TERMINAL NEGLECT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLUDx5...
THE SAVIOR VACCINE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDPvro...
DENIED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaSMm5...
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 7, 2017
A taut medical thriller in which an idealistic state health commissioner runs afoul of greedy, unethical drug companies that will stop at nothing in pursuit of the almighty dollar.
Want to Read
November 19, 2008I got to read this book.
Want to Read
January 14, 2009Suggested by Rushnak.
April 28, 2011
3.0 out of 5 stars Big bad pharma...again, April 28, 2011
This was a mediocre medical thriller with a fairly old story line -- big bad pharma makes a new drug and gets greedy in order to recoup their investment and make millions. Of course there is the hero doctor with a big conscience who won't compromise his personal ethics and that resistance comes at a huge cost. So, nothing new here with the plot and cardboard characters who are quite cliche.
Dr. Jonathan Rogers is tapped to be Surgeon General by the current US President. Because of his personal moral stand against giving blanket approval to certain practices by the pharmaceutical industry, however, he is targeted for reprisal. He is shot, he's diagnosed with lung cancer, his daughter is kidnapped, and his entire personal and professional life starts to unravel. Who can he trust? Everyone has an agenda to advance themselves into positions of power.
Dr. Rogers and his estranged wife Kim are told not to contact authorities about their missing daughter or she will be killed. Doctors Choice Pharmaceuticals -- the manufacturer of a new cancer drug, seems to be implicated in both the kidnapping and in all the other things that are happening in Jonathan's life. Will he be able to stop the evil pharmaceutical industry and a secret organization of people in positions of high authority called The Health Club, from pushing their drug and encouraging oncologists to prescribe it to cancer patients even though the drug has not proved efficacious in the treatment of most of those cancers?
The book moved along quickly with shuffles between point of view and different characters. Although a completely predictable read, it did require some suspension of disbelief as the cross and double cross of the characters played out.
Pass on this one! I'm a lover of medical thrillers and this story line is tired. I think most people know that the pharmaceutical industry is a huge business and that sometimes they get greedy as new drugs cost so much to bring to the market. How about something NEW?
This was a mediocre medical thriller with a fairly old story line -- big bad pharma makes a new drug and gets greedy in order to recoup their investment and make millions. Of course there is the hero doctor with a big conscience who won't compromise his personal ethics and that resistance comes at a huge cost. So, nothing new here with the plot and cardboard characters who are quite cliche.
Dr. Jonathan Rogers is tapped to be Surgeon General by the current US President. Because of his personal moral stand against giving blanket approval to certain practices by the pharmaceutical industry, however, he is targeted for reprisal. He is shot, he's diagnosed with lung cancer, his daughter is kidnapped, and his entire personal and professional life starts to unravel. Who can he trust? Everyone has an agenda to advance themselves into positions of power.
Dr. Rogers and his estranged wife Kim are told not to contact authorities about their missing daughter or she will be killed. Doctors Choice Pharmaceuticals -- the manufacturer of a new cancer drug, seems to be implicated in both the kidnapping and in all the other things that are happening in Jonathan's life. Will he be able to stop the evil pharmaceutical industry and a secret organization of people in positions of high authority called The Health Club, from pushing their drug and encouraging oncologists to prescribe it to cancer patients even though the drug has not proved efficacious in the treatment of most of those cancers?
The book moved along quickly with shuffles between point of view and different characters. Although a completely predictable read, it did require some suspension of disbelief as the cross and double cross of the characters played out.
Pass on this one! I'm a lover of medical thrillers and this story line is tired. I think most people know that the pharmaceutical industry is a huge business and that sometimes they get greedy as new drugs cost so much to bring to the market. How about something NEW?
February 13, 2013
Terminal Neglect by Michael Rushnak gets 4 stars from me. The only reason I didn't give it 5 is because of the sex scenes and the use of the f word at least three times in the book. I loved the twists and turns in the story. I keep turning the pages to found out what would happen next. Dr Jonathan Rogers wants to be The Surgeon General but he doesn't want it bad enough to lie about the cancer drug Zazotene. Doctor's Choice Products wants the doctors to give Zazotene to their cancer patients even through it isn't safe. The Health Club will do anything to get Zazotene used more to increase their products. Dr Rogers will not go along and his family is in danger. Dr Rogers is shot outside the White House minutes after talking to the president and his daughter Ashley is kidnapped. People are being murder and the FBI is not being honest with the Rogers and they cannot trust them to tell them about Ashley being kidnapped. And who is the red hair lady that always shows up. I did not know who one of the bad guys was till the ending! This book was the first in a series of 3. I won the 2nd book in the series and started reading it , which can be a stand alone but I like to read series in order so I stopped reading it and brought this one because the second was keeping me turning the pages also and I wanted the full story. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes mysteries and don't mind the sex scenes and the cussing.
March 6, 2010
Terminal Neglect by Michael Rushnak is a fast paced medical thriller involving drug companies, doctors, and high powered politicians. Medical mysteries and thrillers are favorites of mine, and Terminal Neglect did not disappoint. Attempted murder, kidnapping and deception create the action and adventure in this story of The Health Club, a mysterious and criminal organization. The plot moved very quickly as the main character, Dr. Rogers, tries to prevent a killer drug from making it to the market. I enjoyed his fight to do what was right while battling criminal actions on all sides and his efforts to protect himself and his family.
I thought there was some emotion lacking from the character when his daughter was in danger, but that is a minor complaint in this interesting thriller. Some of the situations in the book are all too true-to-life and some are pure fiction, but they all work together to make an adventure-filled read.
I thought there was some emotion lacking from the character when his daughter was in danger, but that is a minor complaint in this interesting thriller. Some of the situations in the book are all too true-to-life and some are pure fiction, but they all work together to make an adventure-filled read.
October 20, 2012
Michael Palmer, NY Times best selling author of 18 medical thrillers, gave the following testimonial for Terminal Neglect.
"Terminal Neglect is a white hot thriller, tightly plotted and full of terrific twists. This is one of the very best medical thrillers I have read--not recently, EVER! Michael Rushnak's first novel hits with the force of a runaway freight train. The tension starts on page one and never lets up. I am so impressed. Michael Rushnak's imaginative, fast-paced thriller gave me paper cuts from turning the pages so rapidly. But then I was too wary to trust any doctor to fix them. This is one terrific read. The genre of medical suspense has been needing some new blood. We have found it in Michael Rushnak. I loved this book, and the friends I have turned on to it are loving it, too."
"Terminal Neglect is a white hot thriller, tightly plotted and full of terrific twists. This is one of the very best medical thrillers I have read--not recently, EVER! Michael Rushnak's first novel hits with the force of a runaway freight train. The tension starts on page one and never lets up. I am so impressed. Michael Rushnak's imaginative, fast-paced thriller gave me paper cuts from turning the pages so rapidly. But then I was too wary to trust any doctor to fix them. This is one terrific read. The genre of medical suspense has been needing some new blood. We have found it in Michael Rushnak. I loved this book, and the friends I have turned on to it are loving it, too."
October 21, 2012
I picked up this novel at a book festival. From the start, I was intrigued about the covert tentacles of a mysterious group of evil people, known ironically as The Health Club. The protagonist, Dr. Jonathan Rogers puts his life on the line to do his job as Commissioner of Health while The Health Club tries to checkmate his every move to save lives. The author did an excellent job in showing a story about how hard it is for one person to go against the special interests in healthcare who have been known to put the pursuit of money over the interests of the public. I found the plot to be timely, given the current debate about healthcare reform in our nation. Terminal Neglect was a fast paced read that held my interest till the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this medical thriller.
July 27, 2016
Medical mysteries are always thrillers to me! How far from reality are they? To me, not very far at all! This story dealt with the pharmaceutical industry and the ways they try to override the FDA to get drugs approved. This industry is very powerful and those individuals who get in the way are usually removed in one way or another.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It sucked me in and gave me a lot to think about; for example, do they really have a place where they test drugs on humans that get paid for risking their health? Can't wait to get started on another of Michael's books!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It sucked me in and gave me a lot to think about; for example, do they really have a place where they test drugs on humans that get paid for risking their health? Can't wait to get started on another of Michael's books!!!
March 15, 2013
On Amazon, Michael Rushnak's Trilogy is among the highest rated of 962 Medical Thrillers. I, totally agree that Terminal Neglect is an amazing book and well-deserves it's high ranking of No. 21 out of 962 Medical Thrillers on Amazon.I loved this book!
June 11, 2011
Fast paced. You don't want this to happen in your lifetime.
November 29, 2012
I picked this up at the book fair in Collingswood NJ. This was a fast paced medical thriller. Definitely a good read.
June 10, 2013
I liked this book very much since I love medical thrillers. Held my interest until the end.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews