Who's Your Author? discussion

This topic is open for discussion of Working Stiff by Rachel Caine. Be prepared for SPOILERS.

Synopsis:
Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment--until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele as part of an extortion racket. Now, Bryn faces being terminated--literally, and with extreme prejudice.

Wit the help of corporate double-agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem--pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast, before she becomes a zombie slave--a real working stiff. She'd be better off dead..

Reserved

That was a good book.
Different take on things to which I greatly enjoyed.

I really enjoyed this one as well - not your run of the mill zombies.

Sara, You still up for this one?

I am!

I'm starting the book a few days earlier as I will have no life outside of work from Black Friday until the day after Christmas.

Thoughts on Chapter 1 -

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

"After that, dead bodies didn't scare or disgust her." - I'm quite sure four years in Iraq would toughen you up.

I don' think I could work at a funeral home. If anyone next to me is crying due to emotional pain, I'll cry right along with them.

"Note to self. Don't ever care enough for anybody to have to do this for them. Oh, and don't die." - Not sure if that's possible.

Mrs. Granberry is a witch!

I think Bryn had the worst first-day-on-the-job of all time!

Thoughts on Chapters 2 - 5

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

"That was one hell of a bad first day. Worst I've ever seen. Good news is, it can only go up from here, right?" - Lucy is clearly a glass half full type of person.

I don't like Freddy - he doesn't seem to be empathetic to other people's problems.

I definitely can't stand Freddy - what a slimeball!

Bryn's day continues to go downhill.

Is Fideli a cop?

Fairview and Freddy have come up with a drug to animate the dead?

I'm not quite sure why Pharmadene created the Returne drug - it seems very cruel to bring a person back to life but if they don't receive a daily shot they are doomed to die again over the course of 5 days - remaining conscious while their body decomposes.

"Welcome to the corporate world. I never said it would make sense." - Poor Bryn died and she still can't escape the paperwork!

"Bryn? Bryn, I'm in trouble. Bryn?" - I don't think Bryn can take any more upheavals.

"Shoot anybody with the weapon we provide you and we're not liable." - Nice disclaimer to use when issuing a weapon.

"You get thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and Tasered. If you're lucky." - Note to self - do not cause a Code Red.

"She bet he did it on schedule. 1900 to 2100 hours, dinner. 2100 to 2115, drive the girl home. 2115 to 2130, sex. 2135, shower, kiss goodbye. 2140, drive home." - Well, some people like to be organized.

Bryn is judging McCallister rather harshly - he is doing an end run around his superiors so she can live longer.

"He growled a little. Joe growled back, which seemed to settle the matter to Mr. French's satisfaction." - Many people has said they found this book overly depressing but I'm finding many moments of humor in it.

"I don't like him. I'm not going to like him." - You're in denial there, Bryn.

The Sapphire Protocol is scary.

Pat and Bryn get to visit Joe's Batcave.

Thoughts on Chapters 6 - 8

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

"If he didn't need to defend his character, there was a lot better chance he actually had one." - I like this quote.

"She was vaguely worried about what he thought of her housekeeping." - I think we've all had that feeling when unexpected company drops by.

"I'm starting to wonder if you think being a butler means that you're Alfred and I'm Bruce Wayne. Do we have a Batcave?" - No, Joe is the one with a Batcave.

I really like Liam - everyone needs an Alfred!

I can understand why Manny is so paranoid - being buried alive with a corpse would be a horrific ordeal.

Thoughts on Chapters 9 - End

Warning, Spoilers Ahead...

Poor Tim - coerced into a relationship with Irene Harte who doesn't seem to be a pleasant woman.

"I may be the only corporate employee who fakes a positive test." - Tim plans ahead for every contingency - maybe he is Batman!

Violetta and her husband - wow! You think the jerk could have killed Violetta before committing suicide so she didn't have to endure days of agony as she slowly decomposed.

Irene's a psychopath - I don't think systematically killing your entire employee roster is an approved method of workforce retention.

Pansy has to truly be in love with Manny to deal with all of his paranoia.

Action-packed wrap up. I knew something bad would happen to Annalee as soon as she showed up. I didn't see Riley as a government agent.

I really enjoyed the book - from comments I've read I was expecting it to be a depressing read but there were moments of humor throughout the book and I found Bryn to be a very determined heroine.

Sorry for not starting yet. On Wednesday my mom called from the hospital. She can't really talk yet so I could only understand a portion of what she said and that was that she needed my help and something else before she started crying. The occupational therapist was with her and said something about a procedure that was supposed to be performed that morning that had been postponed. My mom can't eat. We found out on Sunday there is some blockage in her esophagus and so no food can get down. Wednesday, unbeknownst to me--the person who has power of attorney--they had planned to scope her. They took everything off her medical carousel including her IV and feeding tube at some point in anticipation of procedure, but it got postponed. Turns out she was dehydrated and when she pushed her button no one came to assist her. By luck she was due for occupational therapy or who knows what would have happened or how long she'd have gone without help. I was told her IV should never have been removed. Yeah, nice to know but it'd be even nicer if someone would do their job and had never let it happen in the first place. Anyway I spent the whole day at the hospital and spent all day cooking on Thursday and checking my mom. I found out she was originally supposed to have the procedure at 9:00 AM. It was noon when I received the call and 7:00 PM before the procedure actually took place. I will try to start the book tomorrow. I don't think I'll get to it tonight.

Don't worry about it. Your poor mom! I find the treatment she's received to be appalling. I hope she continues on her path to recovery without any more bumps in the road.

So sorry your mom is having such a hard time, Lisarenee. My dad just spent 5 weeks in the hospital with a gallbladder infection and had to have 3 endoscope procedures. I know how frustrating it can be dealing with the medical staff although I must say that he got excellent care.
I wish her a speedy recovery!

This week has been awful. On Monday I went in to see my mom in the hospital at 8:20 AM. At 9:OO AM the doctor who was filling in for the one assigned to her (the assigned hadn't seen her since Nov. 7th) said it would be a while before she was sent to a rehab center. At noon the dietitian came in and discussed my mom's problem swallowing food. Said she might need a feeding tube again. At noon a lady I've never seen before walks in and introduces herself to my mom and says, "Hi, I'm so and so. I hear you're being discharged today." This was totally news to me. As I said I'd been there since 8:20 AM and all indications were she was in for a while.

So begins my desperate search for a rehab center with skilled nursing. A couple of days filled with calls, referrals, and tours galore. On Tuesday after having three facilities say they wouldn't take her I was an emotional wreck. One of the main issues was my mom's chemo medicine. It's costly and I believe they couldn't swing the cost for some reason. So after my first full 24 hours of looking for a facility, one denied her for the medicine, one denied her because after looking at their file, they said she looked like a long term patient (news to us), and the last denied her because they said she had had respiratory failure (again news to us) at some point and they didn't deal with those patients. In desperation I called the doctor who supposedly said she was good to go. He denied ever stating so and was as mad as I was emotionally upset. He called and talked to the case worker and the next morning I received a call from her stating their currently were no discharge orders in place. (I bet you thought I could sigh in relief, right? No such luck)

At noon I received a call from the case workers supervisor informing me that a 1 star rated facility would take my mom in. The doctor who hadn't seen mom since November 7th miraculously made an appearance the day before and discharge orders were back in place. I was told I could appeal the discharge.

I called the proper number immediately stating I didn't believe she should be dismissed from the hospital and definitely not in the care of a 1 star facility. I have no guidance as to what to state in order to get the appeal to hold and because a friend of my mom's knew people in the business, and taking in account I knew very little about her true condition (If you asked a question, you'd get several different answers--sometimes by the same person) it was unlikely the appeal board would rule in my favor. I had a maximum of 48 hours to work with. I put it to use.

In a second desperate attempt I called more facilities and decided to call a few who said they didn't have any beds on Monday. Meanwhile, in the hours since calling in the appeal, the hospital facility attempted to move my mom to the 1 star rated facility. My mom called me (with help) scared out of her mind telling me they were moving her. Luckily, her voice had started to heal or perhaps it was out of desperation that she managed to get the words out. I immediately called the appeals office and told them what was happening. The appeals person put me through to her manager who called the hospital and stopped the transfer.

Meanwhile, still searching, I came across a rehab facility which looked feasible. I'd originally called it Monday but they'd had not beds. Turns out the doctor I called when I was so upset about my mom's discharge is ironically the director. Knowing he'd have my mom's best interest at heart, I reversed the appeal knowing if he thought she needed to be he'd send her to the hospital. Plus, I didn't feel the hospital would treat her properly. We had several incidents that made me question their treatment of her.

Thursday she was transferred to the rehab facility. One of the nurses who was working with her admittance papers said it was the worst admittance forms she'd ever seen. The medicines were all jumbled and she was having a hard time making head or tails of the information. Ironically, my mom's chemo drug was left off the list. They didn't even bother to attempt to transfer the drug to the facility's pharmacy. It was mixed in with her personal items. This is an expensive CHEMO drug.

Friday the facility was concerned about my mom and watched her closely and evaluated her.

Saturday morning I went in to see my mom and one of the nurses was consulting the doctor as to my mom's current state of health. By noon Mom and I were headed for the emergency room. My mom and I requested she be taken to a different hospital. Initial diagnosis--Congestive heart failure. There are no words...

Lisarenee,

I am so sorry for this horrible ordeal your mother and you are going through - I agree there are no words.

****************SPOILERS FROM START TO FINISH************

Finally got some time to read this. I wasn't immediately drawn in. It took a little while. Nanos have been used in so many ways. You've got the vampires of Lynsay Sands' Argeneau series. You've got some Steampunk such as in (I believe) Meljean Brook's Iron Seas and Kady Cross's Steampunk Chronicles with nanos keeping people healthy and/or stronger, but using them to keep people who've died alive is a new one.

I could not work in a funeral home either. I went to the Bodies exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry and got a bad vibe from all those dead bodies. It made me shudder.

Sara said, "I think Bryn had the worst first-day-on-the-job of all time!"

I agree.

I didn't know what was going on when Fideli showed up. I still think it was cruel of Fideli and MacAlister to reanimate Bryn.

Sara quoted and said, "He growled a little. Joe growled back, which seemed to settle the matter to Mr. French's satisfaction." - Many people has said they found this book overly depressing but I'm finding many moments of humor in it.

I agree, and with all I had going on that says something. I actually could see someone trying to do what Irene did. Note as far as we know she never took the drug herself. I can't help but wonder if we've seen the last of her.

After what we saw Bryn's sister do, that protocol is wicked. You know her sister wouldn't have done that if she could help it.

I had one question that wasn't addressed or was it? What happens if a person is given the drug and they aren't dead? Could we see something new in the next book? Remember the syringe Bryn used on Fideli?

Sara quoted and said, "She bet he did it on schedule. 1900 to 2100 hours, dinner. 2100 to 2115, drive the girl home. 2115 to 2130, sex. 2135, shower, kiss goodbye. 2140, drive home." - Well, some people like to be organized."

LOL

I loved the batcave. I wonder if Bryn's missing older sister will show up in the future?


Sara said, "Poor Tim - coerced into a relationship with Irene Harte who doesn't seem to be a pleasant woman."

It might be a good way to keep alive. She may no like the thought of being with the reanimated. If you get on her bad side, however, you're toast.

Sara said, "Violetta and her husband - wow! You think the jerk could have killed Violetta before committing suicide so she didn't have to endure days of agony as she slowly decomposed."

I thought the same thing, but later we learn the longer you've been using, the harder you are to kill. Very scary stuff.

Sara said, "Irene's a psychopath - I don't think systematically killing your entire employee roster is an approved method of workforce retention."

I agree

Sara said, "I knew something bad would happen to Annalee as soon as she showed up. I didn't see Riley as a government agent."

Same here. I had wished she'd hadn't been killed. :(

I enjoyed it too. It was well thought out and planned and different. I wouldn't mind reading the next one. I do wish, however, they could have explained how the protocol was programmed in.

Lisarenee wrote: "I had one question that wasn't addressed or was it? What happens if a person is given the drug and they aren't dead? Could we see something new in the next book? Remember the syringe Bryn used on Fideli?"


That's a really good question - I don't think it was addressed in this book. I'm reading the 2nd book now and will be on the lookout for the answer.

I just put the next two on hold.

I agree that Joe and Patrick reanimating Bryn to ease their guilty consciences was rather selfish. They transformed Bryn to an extreme extent without her consent not to mention condemning her to a horrific death (again!) is she didn't receive the Returne drug.

I think we will see Irene again - she's too evil and crazy not to make a return appearance.

I wonder whose idea it was to install the protocol into the drugs/nanites? The discovery was accidental but someone came up with the idea of using it to control the victims.

Let me know if you would like to do buddy reads with the next books in the series.

Sara wrote: "I agree that Joe and Patrick reanimating Bryn to ease their guilty consciences was rather selfish. They transformed Bryn to an extreme extent without her consent not to mention condemning her to a..."

I just got the next two books from the library, but need to catch up with other commitments before reading these. I think after the new year I should be caught up. I still need to post threads for the other buddy reads as well.

Sounds good.