Morgan Finney is a bioengineering and math genius whose cutting edge technological advancements amassed him a fortune. Finney adored his wife Jenny, and the couple were thrilled about Jenny's pregnancy. Then Jenny got appendicitis and died as a result of a botched surgery. Finney was devastated by his loss and made a fateful decision.
He would kill Jenny's surgeon, Dr. Rita Wu.....but first he would make her suffer.
Skip ahead a year and Dr. Rita Wu wakes up strapped to an operating table, naked and woozy, with a terrible pain in her left ear. Rita soon learns that Finney has embedded a diabolical gadget in her brain. Through this device Finney can not only speak to Rita, he can send signals that induce her to follow his instructions.....like a hypnotized person with no free will.
Finney implanted the device last night because - later this morning - Rita is scheduled to demonstrate the hospital's new acquisition, an innovative surgery robot called Delores.
During the demonstration - to which hospital administrators, physicians, surgeons, the press, and other VIPs have been invited - Delores is going to remove a patient's gall bladder using Rita's programmed instructions.
Rita knows she's in no condition to do the surgery - with or without Delores - but Finney, who has a fiendish agenda, forces Rita to go ahead with the program. As you might imagine, things take an unexpected turn, and Finney's nefarious plan is put in motion. To say more would be a spoiler.
The story is presented from the rotating points of view of four people: Morgan Finney - who's gone crazy with grief; Dr. Rita Wu - who botched Finney's wife's operation because she'd been drinking; Dr. Spencer Cameron - a hunky surgeon who carries a torch for Rita;
And Sebastian - a biotech wizard who Finney hired to help execute his plan. Sebastian sometimes poses as a hospital worker, to snoop around and follow Rita.
Other characters in the story include Rita's sister Darcy - who's starting to pull herself together after a problem-filled youth; Chase Montgomery- Rita's self-aggrandizing boss; a journalist; and gossipy hospital personnel who provide (a little) comic relief.
The story begins at a leisurely pace but steadily picks up speed, and - towards the end - speeds along like the Indy 500.
The author, Kelly Parsons, is a board-certified urologist, and his detailed descriptions of surgery seem authentic. This is his second medical thriller, after Doing Harm.
Author Kelly Parsons
The fictional biotech device in Rita's head is terrifying, and it boggles the mind to consider the implications if such a thing was ever really invented.
I like the book and recommend it to fans of medical thrillers.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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