Sweet Amber

by William Lynes

Lee W. Hickok, MD, is an alcoholic. Curiously, his presence is required for New Year's Eve in-hospital overnight call. After consuming sweet amber bourbon, the urologist emergently consults on a difficult case. While the surgery is a success, the reason for his presence becomes apparent; the patient is a powerful politician.

At the university, Lee W. is a hero. However, tragedy follows the surgery. The absence of essential equipment is revealed, removal the meddling of the patient's chief of staff.

A DWI begins Lee W. on a tumultuous course of betrayal and malpractice accusations.

A diversionary media blitz accuses Lee W. of malpractice. An investigative journalist makes the public aware. These issues come to a state senate inquest.

A last binge changes Lee W's life, forever.

Sweet Amber is a novel of redemption, which exposes drug and alcohol abuse in the world of medicine.

Genres: Medical Thriller

163 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2021

About the author

William Lynes (born 1953) is a retired Stanford-trained physician, author, and speaker. He was born in San Diego and attended the University of California San Diego, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in biology. Here, he met and married his wife, Patrice. Dr. Lynes attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, obtained his medical degree, and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honorary medical society. A urologic internship and residency were completed at Stanford University Medical Center. He practiced general urology for 16 years at Kaiser Permanente in Riverside, California, and is board-certified by the American Board of Urology.

Since retiring in 2003, Dr. Lynes has written primarily fiction, including short stories and full-length novels. He is also an active speaker and advocates for physician burnout and suicide prevention.

He and his wife live in Temecula, California.

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--His latest book is A Surgeon's Tale, a sequel to A Surgeon's Knot. Read reviews of A Surgeon's Tale:
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In William Lynes's gripping sequel to A Surgeon’s Knot, readers are again immersed in the intense world of surgical training at the fictional University Medical Center in Northern California.

For fans of Lynes's previous works and enthusiasts of medical thrillers alike, A Surgeon's Tale is must-read. It not only captivates readers with its thrilling narrative but also offers a poignant exploration of the human experience in the demanding world of medicine.

Website: GinaRaeMitchell
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This brilliant work of fiction shows the intersection of conflicted healthcare professionals with desperate people who are critically ill, mentally ill, or are dangers to society. Told by a compassionate physician, the reader will deeply care about the characters who are not always as they initially appear and who have nearly impossible circumstances to surmount.

Rebecca Farnbach, Author of Dancing With Prayers in My Feet.

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“A Surgeon’s Tale” by William Lynes, a riveting sequel to the captivating novel “A Surgeon’s Knot,” grips readers from beginning to end. In this tale, every cut tells a story, and every suture holds determination. Prepare to be enchanted by the cut-throat world of surgery from the first page to the final stitch. -

Cyra A. Blogger & Owner @ The Literary Vault

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I just finished another fine read by Wm. Lynes, MD as he pulls you into his world.
His uncanny talent of spot-on word descriptions of people is akin to a blue ribbon chef concocting another fine meal. You’ll find this to be an irresistible book from cover to cover. Enjoy your meal.

WD Stauffer, retired printer

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--Reviews for A Surgeon's Knot

A SURGEON'S KNOT is a novel's worth of education in medicine and its tough extremes, and a no-holds-barred glance at a grindingly harsh reality, something we could all benefit from appreciating.
Indie Reader

"5 Stars! A magnificent page-turner! Lynes pens a remarkable story in A Surgeon's Knot.
Amy's Bookshelf Reviews.

A Surgeon's Knot is a tragic but hopeful story that illuminates the importance of recognizing stress and reaching out for help.-Linda Duong, License Marriage and Family Therapist

For readers who would enjoy an intimate look inside the overly stressed life of an intern and the medical profession, this is the book for you.-Pascal Imperato, M.D., Author of Truth Wars.

It is a gripping story that moves the reader with compassion and understanding-Rebecca Farnbach, Author of Dancing with Prayers in My Feet.

Jackson is inserted into the psyche of the bibliophile and you are living as him! I strongly recommend this gripping tale.- W.D. Stauffer, Printer, retired.

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lee W. Hickok is a Urologist Surgeon and on this night, he's on call for any emergency that arises overnight. He is also a functioning alcoholic. Sweet Amber Bourbon is his drink of choice.

As expected, there is an emergency and he is called to evaluate, possibly perform surgery, on a patient who turns out to be a very important state official. Even after a couple shots, he performs well, saves the kidney, and the surgery is a success. Recovery is expected to be routine.

Returning home after his on-call time, he is pulled over by the police. A broken tail-light leads to the cop smelling alcohol on Hickok's breath and then performing a breath analyzer and showing that the man is, indeed, drunk while intoxicated.

His problems are only beginning ..... he finds himself targeted by an investigative journalist who accuses him of malpractice which leads to a state senate inquest.

Drug and alcohol abuse in the medical field is not new. The author has done a good job in pointing to what can happen when a physician becomes addicted. The premise is a good one, with characters, some not-so liked. There is a lot of medical information in doctor-speak that could have been explained better, or used more common terms. There were other issues with the editing and although a distraction, overall the story itself saved the day.

Many thanks to the author / Black Rose Writing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this Medical/Christian suspense. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

NOTE: NEEDS MAJOR EDITING

[Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was an alcoholic. He knew it. He did not care.

He lost his family. He lost his reputation. And he was about to lose his medical license.

He had been drinking the night of the governor's surgery. Both before and after the surgery. He had been charged with a DWI that night on the way home.

And the governor had died.

Two questions remained: Who was responsible for that death and what was Dr. Lee W. Hickok going to do about it.

Sweet Amber addresses the problem of alcohol within the medical community - looking at the issue from the perspective of the alcoholic, the medical staff, and the patient. Each part of the triad contributes to the problem. And each has a responsibility to address the problem - or suffer the consequences of their choices.

The author uses a fictional episode at a major hospital in Galveston TX to illustrate the issue from the perspective of mid-1980s medicine. It would seem appropriate to include a final essay addressing the issue in light of 21st century medical care. Alas, the author does not do this, leaving the reader to research and reflect on how the issues are played out in a more modern setting. The book does have a level of suspense and is stomach turning at times. At the same time, we see evidence of God’s grace working in the lives of a broken physician and his friends and family. I give the book four stars.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.

[Megan Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a healthcare professional myself, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very well written, the story totally captured me and I couldn’t put it down! This was my first Lee W. story read and it won’t be my last.

*I was grateful enough to have received a free copy of this book from the author through Voracious Readers Only*

[Janine Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very realistic but fictional account of a physician forced to confront his alcoholism. Healthcare professionals work in highly stressful environments with burnout quite common. It is rare to read any account, factual or fictional about an impaired doctor so this is an overdue addition to the medical novel genre.
I liked the author's development of the character of Dr. Hickok. Although other characters in the story weren't so well developed one other was, alcohol and Hickok's relationship with it.
My main concern with this story is that it needs some more editing. There were some very obvious errors perhaps due to automatic spellcheck changes but also a few sentences that seemed incomplete.
Overall, an interesting read on a necessary topic.

[DeeDeeWReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of medical novels. Sweet Amber is more than a medical novel, it's a story of a person. Someone we can all relate to, might even know, in one profession or another. It could be a family member or a spouse.

I recommend this book with my whole heart. Sometimes you have to hit the bottom to rise to the top.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only and this is my honest and unsolicited review.

[Buttercupp77 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Lee W. series. (It's the third I've read).

In this installment, Lee W's drinking catches up to him as he operates (drunk) on the Governor of Texas, who later dies. The subsequent investigations bring to light Lee W's alcoholism, and he has no choice but to confront his demons or lose his profession.

I really like the writing style in these novels. They are always heavy on the medical jargon and procedural explanations, which I find to be fascinating. Lee W is a very human character - he has some obvious flaws, which he struggles to overcome, and that struggle, combined with his intention, redeems him - largely - in the reader's eyes. I think he's, generally, a very well-developed character, and the author does a very good job of revealing more layers to him in each novel.

I wish the author would extend that same level of character development to others in the story. Lee W's ex-wife, Amber, and daughter, Kellie, are supposedly of high importance to Lee W, but both remain very opaque to me. I find myself especially curious about Amber's internal life and her motivations, given the events of this novel. As it stands now, her actions make little sense in the context of what is known of her life with Lee W. Also, while Lee W has warm and cordial relationships with his co-workers, he seems to be extremely isolated. (No doubt this is a function of both his alcoholism and his troubled background). Still, it seems odd that he has no confidants or close friends.

This novel would also have benefited from more intense editing. There are problems with punctuation and spelling (sweet shirt instead of sweat shirt was common). In my copy, about half of Chapter 10 was repeated verbatim - well, I presume so - I skipped a head about eight or ten pages to pick up the story again.

I had hoped that the intersection of politics and justice would be more thoroughly examined, but there was a lot going on in Lee W's internal world, so it's understandable that this interaction wasn't the focus.

Overall, it's a very good read, and I will definitely continue to follow Lee W's exploits!

I received a free copy of this novel from the author.

[mary Tottman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty and realistic. As. U.K. Registered Nutse I can appreciate the accuracy of the medical procedures and the trauma of witnessing CPR with a thoracotomy.
The subject matter is not easy, tackling medics that aren’t hero’s. With human flaws and addictions like everyone else.
Refreshingly honest.

[JessTheCat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free electronic copy of this book from VoraciousReadersOnly in return for an honest review, and given the premise of the book I really, really wanted to enjoy this one, but for me it just didn't deliver. Perhaps I am a hard task master in that I have a medical-related background and close experience with family/friends suffering from addictions.

The plot is a good one I think - Lee W. Hickock is a urologist working in a university hospital. He is an alcoholic who operates after having been drinking, and as is likely inevitable, his world unravels one night after he comes in to save the day when a fellow surgeon needs help with a high profile patient who is bleeding on the table. Later the same night, the driving need to retrieve his illicit bourbon stashed back in his office soon leads to a routine police stop turning into something more, with things steadily going downhill from there.
There is a lot of medical terminology and discussion of surgical procedures in this book - which is fine in itself, but for me there was just a bit too much of it. The ebook version that I received also had numerous typos and editing/proofreading errors that irked me the first and second time I saw them, then irked me some more the third time, and so on and so on.
As far as how the premise was handled - for me there was a very heavy emphasis on Lee W. himself, but his family who would absolutely have suffered as a result of his alcoholism seemed to be glossed over, as well as all of the tangled, messy web that addictions create. The depth of the issue and how it played out just didn't ring true for me, but may do for other readers. I didn't find that the wrap up and ending worked for me either, but I concede that it's difficult to take an issue with so many shades of grey and turn it into something which is neatly black and white.

[Josh Grossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I am a Man-of-faith such that when I personally heard Kenneth Cooper M.D., M.P.H. Distinguished Professor of Cardiology/Cardiovascular & Exercise Physiology speak he said, "IF A TRUMPET SOUNDS AN UNCERTAIN NOTE, WHO WILL PREPARE HIMSELF FOR BATTLE!" that he stated was a quote from FIRST CORINTHIANS!

This book is n exemplary, fair and reasonable review of the Path-to-Recovery for a Chemically Dependent Surgeon which is reasonably presented and is familiar to me --my having served a decade in a Chemical Dependency Unit as the Attending Physician...{Inpatient-and-Outpatient/Ambulatory Care} with my Dual Clinical Academic Appointents--- At that time--- in both Psychiatry and Internal Medicine.

Moreover the outstanding, exemplary...DIVERSION PROGRAM ---which I seem to recall was presented on National Television by Performing Artist Edie Falco in her role on "NURSE JACKIE."

This outstanding, empowering book should be given to all of our incoming First Year Medical Students both for them to read and for them to discuss with their MENTORS.

Further a copy of this outstanding, empowering, readily readable text should be on the Reserve Shelves of all of our City, County, College of Medicine, College of Nursing, and HOSPITAL MEDICAL LIBRARIES.

Bravo Distinguished Professor William Lynes M.D!

G-D Bless!

G-D Speed!

G-D's Grace!-----------------------Doctor Josh

[JACKIE K · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a family history of alcoholism and addiction and a long career in the medical field, I was eager to read this book. Sweet Amber is the story of an alcoholic physician and his ex-wife, who couldn’t live with him but never stopped loving him. Dr. Lee W. Hickok has been a high-functioning alcoholic for years until the fateful night of New Years Eve 1982, when events result in the postoperative death of the Texas Governor and force the doctor to deal with his addiction. The character of Schlomo Goldine, who is political operative for the deceased politician and determined to ruin Dr. Hickok to save himself, is the perfect villain, drunk on power, not bourbon. The description of Lee W’s self-administered detox is vivid, painful and one of the best parts of the novel. The book might have benefited from better editing, but the plot is compelling on several levels. Ultimately, the message of faith, hope and redemption provides a satisfying ending. I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only and and this is my honest and unsolicited review.

[claire martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy through voracious readers only for an honest review.

The author is certainly knowledgeable about the subject matter and it was well researched.
The medical jargon was a bit much at times, assuming the reader has some knowledge.
I felt that the story should have been kept in 1983 instead of referencing procedures that were pioneering in the 80's and 90's, maybe have an addendum at the end of the book explaining the procedures instead of in the body of the story.

It was a real eye opener as to how much was turned a blind eye to in the 80's, especially if they were good at their job. It showed the reality of how well alcoholics can function and deceive when they need to.

The story was enjoyable but I felt it was a little rushed.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has worked in the medical field for 30+ years, I love a good book about the profession. The main character is a urological surgeon and finds himself called in to assist with a well known community member’s surgical emergency. The surgeon is an alcoholic and what happens after that fateful New Year’s Eve surgery is really what the book focuses on, after it sets off a chain of events that lead to big problems and big changes. Dr. Lee W. is such a like-able character that you can’t help but root for him. I’d read more books about this unlikely hero any day!
Thank you, Voracious Readers Only for the complimentary copy of the book.

[Mrs E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Voracious Readers in exchange for an honest review.

The book was well written and the descriptions of Lee W and his battle with addiction were honest and fair.

Whilst this is not a long book I felt cheated towards the end almost … and they all lived happily ever after. Sadly whilst this may be a tidy way to end a book I’m not convinced that Lee W would continue without a monumental struggle.

I would read this author again as factually and linguistically I liked his style.

[Coleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise, made for an interesting story. However, the linguistic approach calling everyone “the man, the woman, the boy made for weird reading. The main character even called himself “the boy”. Short book, quick read, was able to skim through descriptive aspects that didn’t add to the story ( the super man sticker on Lee W.’s car). Maybe I missed something but the segue to the entire church chapter was absent. . . That said, I found The protagonist a sympathetic character.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story but there was too much medical description for me, even the basic concepts. Mr. Lynes does a great job describing the life of a functioning alcoholic and the stages they go through before admitting they need help. I thought the ending could have been more dramatic. I received a free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Ellen Aish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one fantastic story and the title is so apt. I loved the way the medical procedures were explained so thoroughly so that even I could understand it. Quite a tragic story but a very happy ending.

[Caroline 'relaxing with my rescue dogs' · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a while to read this book and lots of starts and stops. I am glad I read it but did struggle with the writing and the names of the characters etc.

I was given an advance copy by voracious readers but the review is my own.

[Amanda Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked that it was a medical book and explained medical terminology. Not sure how I felt about the religious part at the end. Received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only.

[Coffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good read, it's indicative of the real human side of a medical professional which we don't necessarily think about.

It has humour, medical knowledge and an interesting storyline as well as some funny characters.

[Claire Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following the struggles of an alcoholic but brilliant urologist. Was a good read but the ending seemed a little rushed for me

[Christina Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, I really enjoyed it.

[Myra McCulloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A free book from Voracious Readers thank you

An alcoholic doctor, a dead governor, vindictive politics this tale has it all.
Will Lee W survive all this brings?

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The author described the characters well and they came alive on the page. It was a good, quick read with a few twists and turns.

[Cathy Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Thank you Voracious Readers for the free copy. I found myself really hopeful for the main character to beat his demons.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story is good, but the writing and editing/proofreading is poor.

[Joni Truex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Medical thriller

This was a good book. Very detailed medical procedures and architecture. The story line was interesting and original. The characters were well described. The political, medical and legal triangle added to the story.