Inherent Consent

Rating:
Summary: A Medical Thriller
Review: A prominent doctor is pulled from his bed by a knock at the door. He expects to find his mistress eager for a sexy romp; instead he is brutally murdered and framed for crimes he didn't commit. His associate, Dr. Beth Brecker, is the next target. But before the killers can reach her, Beth is warned and escapes.

On the run, Beth ends up in a small town in South Carolina. There she attempts to disappear. Doing so takes money, so she applies for a waitressing job at the local diner and begins to acclimate to her temporary, new life.

Her very first day on the job, Beth meets a handsome young doctor, a man who will complicate her situation more than she realizes. How can she even think about getting involved with someone, considering how crazy her life is right now? Particularly since the men meant to kill her still plan to finish the job.

The characters have many layers -- each one feels and acts just like a normal person. These are not cardboard cutouts, though no one here feels fresh.

Stephen Gordin has a firm grasp of the medical aspects of this mystery. He shares the information in a very clinical way, a matter-of-fact manner that's almost chilling. His plotting is a bit jumpy, and he jams way too many storylines into the first 100 pages of the book, which keeps the reader from truly becoming engaged.

However, "Inherent Consent" addresses some useful topics -- life and death, blackmail, fraud and the availability of affordable, quality heath care -- and does so in a way that certainly leaves one pondering after the last page is turned.