Genre: Non-Fiction/Medical

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My finding this book was definitely a happy accident, and I wanted to share it with you.   Although some of it is a little dry, there are so many interesting tidbits that kept me anxiously turning pages.  The author talks about "serendipity" in all sorts of discoveries through the ages.  He gives the example of the popular seasickness drug, Dramamine. It was originally developed as an antihistamine. When prescribed to a woman in 1947 for her hives, she came back two weeks later and explained how it also seemed to eliminate the carsickness that she had dealt with for many years.  After trying it on  other patients, a wide-scale study was performed.  The success of the study led to the anti-motion-sickness drug that so many people depend on today.

While the book concentrates on many of these fascinating medical happenstances, the author brings serendipity into other aspects of our lives.  He writes about how it influences art. One of his examples talks about the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, who walked into his studio studio one evening to see a "dazzling object" on his easel. The light was low, and he couldn't make out what it was, but the shapes and colors dazzled him. He then realized it was his painting resting on its side, and was taken with the importance and emotional powers of colors. He used this knowledge to ultimately became known as the father of abstract art.

The author explains that in medicine, like in all areas, we are often mislead by preconceived notions.  He illustrates this with a poem by John Godfrey Saxes, The Blind Men and the Elephant.  In it, each man touches a different part of the elephant (trunk, tusk, knee, etc) and imagines the elephant an entirely different way than the other. Each were partly right, but wrong.  These preconceived notions can stymie the best of scientists until  serendipity helps them find a breakthrough.

This book is fascinating and fun, while not something to be read through like a novel.  I read it bit by bit, enjoying the information and examples that Dr. Meyers shared with us.  This is a terrific book for the curious reader who enjoys learning the story behind the important discoveries in our lives.

-Beverly


​Publisher - Arcade Publishing
Date of Publication - September 1, 2011

Genre: Medical Thriller

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Michael Palmer's death was a major loss to his fans, but luckily he left behind a number of novels for us to read and re-read.  I loved the way he mixed medicine and politics to weave together stories both captivating and frightening, and The First Patient certainly is one of his best.  When President Andrew Stoddard calls on his old roommate Gabe Singleton to take over the job of his personal physician who has suddenly disappeared, country doctor Gabe feels he must agree.  Once there he starts noticing that his old friend is acting strangely...possibly going insane. He knows it is in his power and his duty to transfer power to the Vice President, but Gabe fears a conspiracy, rather than natural causes, is causing his old friend's mental issues. 

Palmer makes his characters come to life as we watch Singleton dodge bullets and track down bad guys in this well-written novel.  His ability to make us believe in the nanotechnology that he uses (don't forget, this book was published almost a decade ago) is a testament to his research and writing skills.  His story kept me guessing and the inter-relationships between characters kept me interested.

For any fan that missed this book, this will be a found treasure, and for those who never read Palmer, you are in for a treat.  I don't want to give away any "spoilers," but this is a perfect book to read during our time of political turmoil.

- Beverly


Publisher - St. Martin's Press
Date pf Publication - February 19, 2008

 Genre: Medical/Mystery

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When I read that The Fever by Megan Abbott was the winner of best novel at Thrillerfest this year, I decided to go back and give it a try.  As my readers know, I am not a fan of books with strange illnesses of unknown origin...or of known origin for that matter.  When this book first came out, reviews of high school students experiencing seizures and other weird symptoms convinced me to pass on it.  This week I picked it up again.

I found the book good but not great.  The story is very strongly character driven. Tom Nash is a divorced high school teacher who is raising his teenage daughter and son. They are both stereotypical of the town's teenagers; both of them too busy thinking of sex and the opposite sex to do the right thing many times. Daughter Deenie enjoys hanging out with friends Lise and Gabby.  The girls and their troubled backgrounds are well plotted out in the beginning of the book.  Son Eli is busy trying to score with the ladies most of the time, and like the girls, is well developed by Abbott.

This is as much a coming of age book as a medical mystery. The teenage girls in town are falling ill, and the source is a mystery.  The author gives us several hints as to what might be causing the strange illness that is in turn causing panic through the town, but none of the possibilities are satisfying. The mystery is not solved until towards the end of the novel. There is plenty of guilt and secrets though, to keep us involved in the story. The small town of Dryden is not kindly portrayed as the people become more involved in protecting themselves and blaming others. To me the reactions of the townspeople are most upsetting because there is a strong note of believability in their actions. People will say and do anything to protect their loved ones.

When the hysteria reaches its peak in this fictional town, the English teacher in me can't help but notice the similarity to Arthur Miller's The Crucible.  The way the young girls and their families react makes us wonder how we would handle such a frightening scenario. I found the antics of the girls and the townspeople more compelling in The Crucible, but I do believe that Abbott did a good job guiding the readers through the minds and actions of these high school students and the town that they are growing up in, and I think it might be a good addition to your summer book shelf.

- Beverly


Publisher - Little, Brown and Company
Date of Publication - June 17, 2014

Genre: Medical Thriller

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The wee bit of a hypochondriac that lives in me generally warns me against reading medical novels.  Somehow I can read about murder and mayhem and still sleep like a baby, but show me a paragraph about Ebola or the flu, and I am up half the night.  That is why I was really surprised that I always looked forward to the next Michael Palmer novel.  His death was a loss to his family, friends and fans, but his ideas live on in the mind and pen of his son Daniel.  Apparently father and son discussed ideas for Michael's next book, and Daniel decided to write it for his dad.

Dr. Carrie Bryant is a  neurosurgeon at White Memorial hospital.  Like most young physicians, she is overworked and often exhausted.  When she makes a mistake resulting in permanent brain damage for a woman she has operated on, she resigns and moves back with her parents. Personal reasons draw her interests towards working with PTSD, and she decides to get involved in a program dealing with a new technique that uses Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) as a treatment for memory issues and emotional trauma related to PTSD.
Although her surgeries are successful, her patients begin disappearing.  She seeks help from David Hoffman, an investigative reporter who has been writing stories about PTSD, and of course, for the sake of an exciting thriller, danger follows.
 
I think Daniel did a fine job representing is father and surely would have made him proud.  His descriptions of the medical techniques were well done and left me more well versed on the subject than I was before reading the novel.  I love learning through fiction, so that was a definite plus.  He does a good job building his characters and most of them are likable enough to win our allegiance.  I did question Carrie's involvement in things better left to the police or a private investigator, but hey, novels are supposed to make us suspend belief.

This was a fast moving story with plenty of excitement, and I hope Daniel continues to write novels that draw in fans of his dad.  If you like medical thrillers then this should definitely make your list of books to buy.  It would also make a great Father's Day gift, so happy shopping.

- Beverly


Publisher - St. Martin's Press
Date of Publication - May 12, 2015