Not Quite Dead

Autumn Johnson, the heroine of Sherling’s impressive first novel, endures long hours in the ICU at Boston Memorial Hospital as a first-year intern. Her onerous duties leave her little time to spend with her new boyfriend, Jay Abrams, a medical student involved in diabetes research. The professional and personal intersect after a seriously ill patient with heart problems who’s brought into intensive care while Autumn is on duty proves to be Jay. Despite the heroic efforts of a senior resident, Jay, whose ailment is undiagnosed, remains near death. Autumn’s relationship with him leads the hospital to give her some time off, which she spends trying to track down what caused his condition. A prologue suggests the answer with its introduction of an unscrupulous doctor who falsifies his studies of the effects of a new weight loss drug to conform with the requirements of the pharmaceutical company funding his work. Sherling’s attention to detail makes any suspension of disbelief easy. Robin Cook fans will enjoy this intelligent medical thriller. [em](BookLife) [/em]