Mortality Rate

by Jack Chase

There is no higher honor for students at the prestigious medical school than to be personally selected by Professor Arthur Sterling Law to participate in his weekly ethics seminar. Only the best and the brightest are considered. Only the best of these are chosen. Each patient presented at the seminar poses an ethical dilemma, and the fiercest debates center on the question of prolonging life, particularly the cost of prolonging the life of a desperately ill patient. Can the cost be justified, or should expensive, potentially lifesaving medical care simply be withdrawn? And there is one group of especially brilliant, especially privileged, especially arrogant students who invariably argue for pulling the plug. If it were within their power, a very real patient would die. But surely medical students do not possess such power…. As the number of suspicious deaths increases, others cling to innocent explanations, but senior medical student Mac McCall cannot ignore his own doubts. He risks his career—and ultimately his life—as he pursues a trail of sexual intrigue and death to solve the mystery of the ever-rising Mortality Rate. Jack Chase is the author of three medical thrillers and the new political thriller Cry Chaos and Let Slip the Dogs of Tyranny. His novels have been published in multiple languages and sold throughout the world.

Jack Chase is board certified in internal medicine and infectious disease. His medical career has spanned the spectrum from clinical practice to basic research in molecular biology. He has served as director of clinical research for two multinational pharmaceutical corporations and as attending physician on the infectious disease services of a number of medical schools.

Jack is married to New York Times bestselling novelist Katherine Stone. They live in the Pacific Northwest.

Additional information about Jack Chase and his novels can be found at CryChaos.com or MedicalThriller.com.

307 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

The medical career of physician-novelist Jack Chase has spanned the spectrum from laboratory research in molecular biology to clinical practice. He has served as attending physician on the infectious disease services of a number of medical schools and as director of clinical research for two multinational pharmaceutical companies.
His first two novels, FATAL ANALYSIS and MORTALITY RATE, were published in multiple languages in print editions and sold throughout the world. Both are now available for the first time in e-book and trade paperback formats.
The MAGRUDER TRANSPLANT, first published in 2011, is also available in either trade paperback or e-book format.
Jack Chase is the husband of Katherine Stone, the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-one novels. Visit her website at www.katherinestone.com.
Jack Chase is currently hard at work on his next medical novel.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this from Goodreads Giveaway.

I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars. I think if the book had been wrapped up a little quicker than the last 70 pages, I would have given it 4 stars.

Mac, the medical student, is a character I really liked. He has a sharp wit and many of his comments made me laugh. Obviously, he is intelligent-he's a med student, academically at the top of his class, on the coveted ethics committees, and the only one to notice that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. As Mac begins his investigation, he uncovers quite a bit about patients dying from the same cause and the people close to him that may be involved. However, nobody believes him. Nobody. Not his supervising doctor, ethics committee leader, police officer, girlfriend, etc. But does Mac give up when told he is risking his future? Of course not, what kind of book would that be?

The book reminded me of a House episode. Lots of medical jargon that was explained fairly well to the reader (or at least I assume it was, how would I really know if any of the medical aspects were true). The characters and plot were okay. I would have liked a little more development of the side characters. They seemed a little one-dimensional. There was plenty of moments that were soap opera-ish with seduction and betrayal of trust.

All in all, it was a good story. I figured it out pretty easily without really trying. I would have liked it to wrap up a little quicker. After both Mac and the reader figures out what is going on, it takes forever for the story to come to a conclusion.

[Stacy Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written very well. The medical facts were on point but the author is a physician so I am not surprised lol. It prompted me to ask questions at my office yo my own doctors in regard to an ethics committee.

Much to my intrigue our hospital does not have an ethics committee as far as they know. Have they been eliminated? I found it very hard to believe we don’t.

I would have that that would be a much needed learning experience for upcoming doctors but what do I know.

Very much a great read it kept pacing to an optimal level I would suggest reading for sure!!!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medical students present the cases of chronically ill patients at an ethics seminar to debate whether the cost and aggressiveness of the care they are receiving is justified given their poor prognoses. Mac, the protagonist of the book, and the other medical students feel dominated at these sessions by a trio of fellow students who come from affluent backgrounds and thus feel they are better than the others. When some of the patients who are presented at the seminar die, Mac feels that something is suspect, especially because their deaths don't seem to be directly related to the issues that hospitalized them in the first place. It seems like one of the power trio is always present or involved with these cases, even if they shouldn't be, but Mac can't prove anything, and when one of them commits suicide but the deaths don't stop, it appears that Mac has stuck his nose in business where it didn't belong.
This was an interesting book that was a quick read, but awfully coincidental. I felt like the number of medical students present at the seminar was disproportionate to how many of the patients presented had a connection beyond doctor/patient with one of the students. The investigation and personal stories were good, though I didn't like the ending. I would probably read another book by this author, though I probably won't go out of my way to seek them out.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - along the lines of Michael Palmer & Robin Cook

[Gloria Roach]

Mistaken button click- haven't read yet