"Compelling medical thriller"
Dr. David Spier is in charge of the UCLA Medical Center
Emergency Room and he takes his responsibilities very
seriously. When someone sprays lye on the face of one of
the nurses standing in the outdoor vestibule, the E.R. is
shocked. The victim's brother is a cop who vows revenge on
the person who blinded and disfigured his sister. When a
second nurse is also victimized, the police conclude that
the perpetrator has something against nurses. When the police find and arrest him near the hospital, the
perp is covered in lye. The police take him to the
emergency room where David treats him and prevents the
officers from doing him bodily injury. Fearful that if the
police take him out of the hospital he will never arrive at
the prison alive, David delays his release and in doing so
inadvertently gives him a means to escape. When the
perpetrator hurts a third nurse, David vows to track him
down and bring him in because he feels guilty that his
actions enabled the nasty deed to occur and the woman
attacked means a lot to the idealistic doctor. Gregg Andrew Hurwitz is the heir apparent to Robin Cook if
this medical thriller is an indicator of the chill level
that leaves readers reconsidering any visit to an emergency
room. The protagonist is a heroic figure with strong
ethics, but is vilified by the press and his peer's for his
role in the antagonist's escape. This makes him endearing,
empathetic as well as sympathetic to the audience who will
hope he triumphs. DO NO HARM is a compelling read. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted July 15, 2002
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The doors to the UCLA Medical Center Emergency Room burst
open and a young nurse stumbles in -- blinded, her once-
beautiful face hideously blistered and burning from a
savage attack by an unknown assailant. A dedicated
physician, E.R. Chief Dr. David Spier is no stranger to the
terrible ravages of senseless violence. But this tragedy
hits too close to home; the victim is a colleague.
A second violent assault suggests the unthinkable: a
disturbed man is stalking the Medical Center, and
specifically the women who work there. It's up to Dr. Spier
to keep the emergency room running smoothly and
efficiently, even as his terrified co-workers wonder who
might be next. But destiny is about to place him at the
very center of a media frenzy that erupts in the wake of
the attacks -- when the brutal assailant himself is dragged
into the E.R. in handcuffs and placed under Dr. Spier's
care...as a patient. Hindered by a mutinous staff that refuses to administer to
the damaged man,up against angry L.A. cops who would rather
see the criminal dead than imprisoned, and alarmed media
hungry for a lead story at any cost -- David Spier must now
make the most difficult ethical decision of his career. But
by doing so, he underestimates the power and cunning of the
man he is sworn to heal, and inadvertently unleashes a
bloody wave of horror that threatens to engulf everyone and
everything he cares about. A single act of humanity has
made him a pariah in the eyes of the city -- and the target
of a twisted, tormented madman's hope and vengeance. David
Spier's most sacred oath as a healer has become his death
sentence. To save a city under siege and himself, he must
descend into the blackest depths of a twisted and vicious
mind...to unlock an unspeakable secret that has been hidden
away for decades behind closed hospital doors. A breakneck-paced novel that coils and turns, surprises,
chills, and mesmerizes, Do No Harm is a stunningly
accomplished work by a powerful new talent. For any true
lover of nerve-jangling psychological suspense who has yet
to make the acquaintance of Gregg Andrew Hurwitz, the time
is now.
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