Adrenaline by John Benedict
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The author and all the main characters are anesthesiologists, so of course a murder mystery from this crew is going to trot out every possible way an anesthetist can kill someone, intentionally or otherwise. You will not want to undergo that elective surgery anytime soon after reading this book. Still, if you like medical mysteries, it’s a fun read.
I enjoy science or medicine based books, fiction or non-fiction. The author does not talk down to the reader in this one, so be prepared for a lot of medical jargon, acronyms, and hospital slang. I like that, but some will get lost in the mumbo-jumbo. The prose is clear and intelligent, but the author is a bit clumsy with the exposition, where one main character spends an inordinate amount of time explaining anesthesia basics to a medical student. He’s trying to educate the reader, but it strains credulity to think a third-year medical student didn’t already know at least half that stuff. Most readers will lose patience with all the doctor’s “war stories,” too, I think. The plot could move faster.
The main characters are developed reasonably well, although the author is rather heavy-handed in his depiction of the bad guys. I was waiting for a Bwah-ha-ha to appear. The ending is predictable but still suspenseful, action-packed, and satisfying.