What do you think?
Rate this book
Eli Branch Thriller #1
Rupture: An Eli Branch Thriller
Surgeon Eli Branch seems destined for academic stardom. After years of research, Eli is on the cusp of a discovery that could light the way for the future. But, today’s medicine has a dark side.
After the suspicious death of one of his patients, Eli’s once fast-track career derails in spectacular fashion. As he searches for answers, he finds more and more victims – each meeting a sudden, violent end. For Eli, this shocking world of deadly medicine is way too close to home.
In this life-or-death race against time, one false step could be fatal.
After the suspicious death of one of his patients, Eli’s once fast-track career derails in spectacular fashion. As he searches for answers, he finds more and more victims – each meeting a sudden, violent end. For Eli, this shocking world of deadly medicine is way too close to home.
In this life-or-death race against time, one false step could be fatal.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2009
13 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
A. Scott Pearson
4 books5 followersDr. A. Scott Pearson grew up in the Forked Deer community of West Tennessee.
Scott graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After graduating from medical school at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, Dr. Pearson completed eight years of surgical training in Texas.
For the past decade, Scott has been a member of the surgical faculty at Vanderbilt University, where he combines cancer research with the clinical practice of surgery.
A member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Association of Cancer Research, and the Association of Academic Surgery, Scott has been been published in numerous scientific journals and publications. Scott is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and the Tennessee Writers Alliance.
Scott lives with his family in Nashville, Tennessee.
Scott graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. After graduating from medical school at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, Dr. Pearson completed eight years of surgical training in Texas.
For the past decade, Scott has been a member of the surgical faculty at Vanderbilt University, where he combines cancer research with the clinical practice of surgery.
A member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Association of Cancer Research, and the Association of Academic Surgery, Scott has been been published in numerous scientific journals and publications. Scott is also a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and the Tennessee Writers Alliance.
Scott lives with his family in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 4, 2011
While the author has some command of the English language and descriptive power for the scenes he's witnessed professionally, this first effort falls into the category of "cheesy masculine power fantasy" with some not very well-expressed Right-to-Life propaganda for flavoring. Capsule summary - best doctor in the world saves everyone from scientific sin and hubris. And stares at boobs.
January 21, 2013
Written by one of my medical school classmates, this thriller uses locations in Memphis familiar to those of us who spent time there. The personalities are interesting and plots are well written making for a page turner. I loved it! Good job, Scott!
March 20, 2021
The book was entirely unrealistic and kept getting more and more ridiculous as it went. It started out with promise and hooked me but I only finished because I was sure it wouldn’t end as bad as it was going. So many loose ends. Poor writing and character development. Sad.
May 19, 2018
Suspenseful
Lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Likeable characters and an intense plot had me turning pages. Definitely enjoyed reading it.
Lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Likeable characters and an intense plot had me turning pages. Definitely enjoyed reading it.
June 29, 2014
PROTAGONIST: Dr. Eli Branch
SETTING: Memphis, TN
SERIES: Debut
RATING: 3.0
Dr. Eli Branch is a rising star in the medical community. As a recent recruit to Gates Memorial Hospital in Memphis, he is about to become a surgeon-scientist with his own lab and assistant that will enable him to do groundbreaking research. However, his star quickly sets when he participates in an operation with the chief of vascular surgery, Dr. James Korinksy. When the patient ends up dying, Korinsky quickly assigns the blame to Branch. Why would Korinsky knowingly lie about what happened? As a result of his falsification, Branch's reputation is ruined and his job is on the line.
Obviously, Eli needs to figure out exactly what transpired. His first line of inquiry is to have the hospital's forensic pathologist, Meg Daily, examine the body. What she finds out is quite amazing—it appears that the patient's aortic device has failed and that the cause of death had to do with cells that had been implanted and were causing holes where the device had been grafted.
The plot then unfolds into a medical conspiracy of chilling, and rather unbelievable, proportions. There's a thread having to do with stem cell research; a sub-plot around the trustworthiness of Eli's late father, a noted anatomist; necrophilia; and a secret tunnel where bodies are transported for experimentation; attempts on Eli's life; a really mind boggling conection between Meg's child and Eli's brother—the nefarious activities never end. I wish that Pearson had had enough confidence in his story to stick with the dilemma around the aortic device rather than introducing all of these other diversionary elements. I'm assuming that he was striving to increase the thriller aspect of the narrative; instead, he ended up with a real messy mish-mosh, when the basic tale would have sufficed.
Pearson is a member of the surgical faculty at Vanderbilt University. It must have been challenging for him to write the scientific aspects of the book in layman's terms. Mostly, he succeeds; but there are times when he lapses into incomprehensible medical jargon, e.g.: Most of the cells are endothelial, as you might expect, ingrowth of vascular cells trying to coat the new lumen. Huh?
I believe that most of the issues that I had with the book can be attributed to the fact that Pearson is a first time author. As such, it's understandable that his plotting was overly ambitious. I was engaged in the main plot until the point where he diverged into other areas, and I had sympathy for the dilemmas that the protagonist faced. On the whole, I think that Pearson does show promise.
SETTING: Memphis, TN
SERIES: Debut
RATING: 3.0
Dr. Eli Branch is a rising star in the medical community. As a recent recruit to Gates Memorial Hospital in Memphis, he is about to become a surgeon-scientist with his own lab and assistant that will enable him to do groundbreaking research. However, his star quickly sets when he participates in an operation with the chief of vascular surgery, Dr. James Korinksy. When the patient ends up dying, Korinsky quickly assigns the blame to Branch. Why would Korinsky knowingly lie about what happened? As a result of his falsification, Branch's reputation is ruined and his job is on the line.
Obviously, Eli needs to figure out exactly what transpired. His first line of inquiry is to have the hospital's forensic pathologist, Meg Daily, examine the body. What she finds out is quite amazing—it appears that the patient's aortic device has failed and that the cause of death had to do with cells that had been implanted and were causing holes where the device had been grafted.
The plot then unfolds into a medical conspiracy of chilling, and rather unbelievable, proportions. There's a thread having to do with stem cell research; a sub-plot around the trustworthiness of Eli's late father, a noted anatomist; necrophilia; and a secret tunnel where bodies are transported for experimentation; attempts on Eli's life; a really mind boggling conection between Meg's child and Eli's brother—the nefarious activities never end. I wish that Pearson had had enough confidence in his story to stick with the dilemma around the aortic device rather than introducing all of these other diversionary elements. I'm assuming that he was striving to increase the thriller aspect of the narrative; instead, he ended up with a real messy mish-mosh, when the basic tale would have sufficed.
Pearson is a member of the surgical faculty at Vanderbilt University. It must have been challenging for him to write the scientific aspects of the book in layman's terms. Mostly, he succeeds; but there are times when he lapses into incomprehensible medical jargon, e.g.: Most of the cells are endothelial, as you might expect, ingrowth of vascular cells trying to coat the new lumen. Huh?
I believe that most of the issues that I had with the book can be attributed to the fact that Pearson is a first time author. As such, it's understandable that his plotting was overly ambitious. I was engaged in the main plot until the point where he diverged into other areas, and I had sympathy for the dilemmas that the protagonist faced. On the whole, I think that Pearson does show promise.
March 7, 2009
A. Scott Pearson has written a rapid-fire, engrossing, and timely medical thriller, an amazing accomplishment for his debut novel. As a surgeon and researcher himself, he brings the world of surgery to life in a way others could not accomplish. His writing is reminiscent of early Frank G. Slaughter, and of Robin Cook. It grips you with the first page and doesn’t let go to the very last word. I believe the author has a brilliant career ahead of him in writing. The entire story takes place within one week.
Eli Branch is a newly hired surgeon-scientist at Gates Memorial Hospital, top in his field academically and the son of a well-respected anatomy professor at the medical school. His first call for surgery assistance brings him to the hospital at 12:03 a.m., although he is not actually on call. He arrives to find an extreme situation of an aortic rupture. Blown out above and below a previously inserted device placed precisely to protect the aorta from this possibility, the aorta appears to be compromised. Something familiar about the device catches Eli’s attention in the x-rays. When the patient dies, he decides to sit in on the autopsy, and between himself and Meg Daily, the forensic pathologist, they feel that something just simply isn’t right. Eli doesn’t know it yet, but he is about to be thrown into the dark side of medicine and illegal experimentation, and he is about to be thrown to the wolves.
There are many well-fleshed out characters, some dispensable, others not, and it is his self-appointed goal to save those who are victims, no matter what barriers are set up in his way. His own mentally disabled brother is suspected to be one of the victims. After being fired and banned from entering the hospital, with the help of Meg and other concerned personnel he must fight hard and utilize every sense and every clue in order to get to the bottom of the why. Why are so many people dying as a result of these devices? With friends in unexpected places he infiltrates the company responsible, stumbling onto the focus of what’s going on quite by accident. A brazen appearance at a press conference gives him the opportunity he needs. The book is a combination of medical technology issues, non-stop action and a likeable hero. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, it’s a great thriller, current, scary and believable, and it’s an exciting ride at roller-coaster speed..
Eli Branch is a newly hired surgeon-scientist at Gates Memorial Hospital, top in his field academically and the son of a well-respected anatomy professor at the medical school. His first call for surgery assistance brings him to the hospital at 12:03 a.m., although he is not actually on call. He arrives to find an extreme situation of an aortic rupture. Blown out above and below a previously inserted device placed precisely to protect the aorta from this possibility, the aorta appears to be compromised. Something familiar about the device catches Eli’s attention in the x-rays. When the patient dies, he decides to sit in on the autopsy, and between himself and Meg Daily, the forensic pathologist, they feel that something just simply isn’t right. Eli doesn’t know it yet, but he is about to be thrown into the dark side of medicine and illegal experimentation, and he is about to be thrown to the wolves.
There are many well-fleshed out characters, some dispensable, others not, and it is his self-appointed goal to save those who are victims, no matter what barriers are set up in his way. His own mentally disabled brother is suspected to be one of the victims. After being fired and banned from entering the hospital, with the help of Meg and other concerned personnel he must fight hard and utilize every sense and every clue in order to get to the bottom of the why. Why are so many people dying as a result of these devices? With friends in unexpected places he infiltrates the company responsible, stumbling onto the focus of what’s going on quite by accident. A brazen appearance at a press conference gives him the opportunity he needs. The book is a combination of medical technology issues, non-stop action and a likeable hero. I wholeheartedly recommend this book, it’s a great thriller, current, scary and believable, and it’s an exciting ride at roller-coaster speed..
May 18, 2012
Eli Branch is fresh out of over a decade of medical school and has a great job waiting for him. The son of a renowned anatomist, Eli is eager to make a name for himself as a surgeon-scientist; he'll do half surgery and half research at Gates Memorial Hospital. When Eli gets the blame for a procedure gone horribly wrong at the hands of another surgeon, he goes from golden boy to pariah with a quickness. As he delves into the circumstances of the botched operations that got him exiled, he comes across evidence of a biotech company, RBI, covering up deaths resulting from one of their malfunctioning devices. The more he digs, the more RBI is determined to discredit him. To death, if necessary.
This is my first medical thriller and I have to say that it was pretty neat. I learned a lot about surgery and anatomy just incidentally. The descriptions of surgery were both incredibly vivid and totally understandable to a layperson. I could envision everything Pearson was describing. If he used a fancy term, he also defined it in a way that felt natural and organic, not dictionary-esque. That's harder than it sounds, so bonus points for that.
Some of the plot points were a little silly but I give those a pass because it was pretty tightly written, I love the protagonist, and A. Scott. Pearson is a cool guy. I believe this series is going to get better as it goes along. I've got the sequel, Public Anatomy, queued up and ready to go.
This is my first medical thriller and I have to say that it was pretty neat. I learned a lot about surgery and anatomy just incidentally. The descriptions of surgery were both incredibly vivid and totally understandable to a layperson. I could envision everything Pearson was describing. If he used a fancy term, he also defined it in a way that felt natural and organic, not dictionary-esque. That's harder than it sounds, so bonus points for that.
Some of the plot points were a little silly but I give those a pass because it was pretty tightly written, I love the protagonist, and A. Scott. Pearson is a cool guy. I believe this series is going to get better as it goes along. I've got the sequel, Public Anatomy, queued up and ready to go.
Read
February 1, 2010Rupture. Scott Pearson is an assistant or associate professor of surgery at Vanderbilt, and I heard he had written a book through one of those magazines Vanderbilt Medicine publishes. My Mom decided she really wanted a copy (she loves mysteries and medicine), so I got Dr. Pearson to sign a copy for her. He was fabulous about it. Really nice guy.
I finally read the book myself a few months later. It reads really fast, and Dr. Pearson's a great writer. I was a little weirded out by some of the stem cell plot, however. For example, one of the female scientists uses *her own* fertilized embryo from a D&C to do experiments with, and then treats the cell lines as if they were her children... Other than that, the only disappointment was that the novel was just a little too easy to see through (in terms of figuring out the plot). Besides that, light fun reading with a scattering of Vandy medicine/surgery references.
I finally read the book myself a few months later. It reads really fast, and Dr. Pearson's a great writer. I was a little weirded out by some of the stem cell plot, however. For example, one of the female scientists uses *her own* fertilized embryo from a D&C to do experiments with, and then treats the cell lines as if they were her children... Other than that, the only disappointment was that the novel was just a little too easy to see through (in terms of figuring out the plot). Besides that, light fun reading with a scattering of Vandy medicine/surgery references.
August 9, 2014
Dr. Pearson has written a fast-paced and enjoyable thriller here. His heroes are great, his bad guys really wicked, and the suspense compelling. The action is non-stop and motivated me to turn the pages breathlessly at times. He obviously knows his medical details, but rarely gets bogged down in describing them. Some of the content in the final chapters is somewhat improbable and downright "over the top", but this is fiction, right? As a native Tennessean and Vanderbilt graduate, I enjoyed the geographical setting and positive references to that educational institution. I REALLY liked Drs. Eli Branch and Meg Daily as well as s fine Southern gentleman named Prinobius Calloway.
February 13, 2012
3.5 out of 5 stars -- Predictable medical thriller!
I love a good story with medical details and this one, though predictable with its stereotypical characters, didn't enthrall me but it was entertaining.
Focusing on the questions of stem cell research, selling of cadavers, questionable medical procedures and other controversial issues, the novel's main character tries to stop the evil biotech industry with the help of a pathologist.
I love a good story with medical details and this one, though predictable with its stereotypical characters, didn't enthrall me but it was entertaining.
Focusing on the questions of stem cell research, selling of cadavers, questionable medical procedures and other controversial issues, the novel's main character tries to stop the evil biotech industry with the help of a pathologist.
January 3, 2012
A decent medical thriller. Not on par with Robin Cook, but enjoyable nonetheless. Some very graphic descriptions. of surgery, that. made me cringe. A little convoluted in the plot, with a bit too much conspiracy action, concluded a mite too easily.
September 8, 2012
A little far fetched, the action is fast paced, particularly the second half of the book but the villains are so over the top evil- it was a hard to suspend disbelief. Hope the sequel is more believable.
September 23, 2012
This is first book I read by A. Scott Pearson. I stopped reading this book at chapter 5 because it just didn't grab my interest. Since its a medical story I didn't understand some of the terms that was used in the story. This maybe a good story for someone else it just wasn't for me.
April 5, 2009
I am queasy with blood, and guess what, the first two chapters are full of bucketfuls. I couldn't read beyond that.
April 18, 2009
Another doctor who should stick to his day job! Wildly implausible plot development with some icky philosophical underpinnings. Didn't care for (or believe in )the characters much either
June 15, 2012
I was most bothered by the sub-plot of the younger brother with an intellectual disability and the author's anachronistic presentation of attitudes, options and language.
January 7, 2012
It was an interesting book -- lots of medical terminology and quite a bit of blood!! The lanuauge was not very good either.
January 24, 2012
Very compelling story however, very technical at some points with lots of complicated medical terms.
August 15, 2012
It was OK, but had a fatal flaw! A trached patient talking! If you are going to do medical thrillers, at least get the basic facts right.
June 22, 2013
This could have been much better if the author hadn't relied on coincidence and unbelievable chicanery to advance the plot. I didn't find the characters to be believable.
February 26, 2015
Not always easy to follow as the book uses medical terminology that is NOT in the Kindle dictionary.
January 7, 2012
I really liked the story, but certain elements were just gross.
February 8, 2013
Entertaining page turner!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews