Nothing Lasts Forever

Title: Nothing Lasts Forever
Author: Sidney Sheldon
Date Finished: October 22, 2008
Pages: 400

This was my first book by Sidney Sheldon and I have since added a few more of his books to my TBR pile! This author was recommended to me by my Dad, who has very similar taste in literature as I do. I have had this book sitting on my shelf for a while, like several others, and I finally took the time to pick it up and open it and boy am very glad I did. Mr. Sheldon's writing style is very easy to read and flows like silk. He gives great picturesque descriptions of his characters and keeps the pace up so you do not lose interest in the story unfolding before you.

I love a great mystery and the storyline was very intriguing. I loved the way he made the majority of the story a flashback. Like with movies I watch, I always try to figure out who did it before the answers are revealed. The story opens in present day in a courtroom, with Dr. Paige Taylor standing trial for the death of a patient. The catch is that when her patient died, he left her a very large sum of money, and cut his wife out of the will. She claims it was a mercy kill and that her patient begged her to help him end his life, but did she help him reach the other side out of compassion or greed? The question on everyones mind is, did she kill the guy for his money? It is said around the hospital that this patient greatly disliked Dr. Taylor and was often very critical of her skills. Was she taking out her revenge on a unruly patient, or helping a man find peace and comfort?

From there, the story flashes back five years, to when Dr. Paige Taylor and two other women, Honey Taft and Kat Hunter, are the only three females in a group of new residents. The girls quickly form a bond and their lives are dramatically changed. They are constantly harassed by the male doctors, who are always hitting on them, and criticizing their skills, making it known that they think a woman's place is not in the OR with the men but at home cooking and cleaning.

Kate "Kat" Hunter faces her own set of issues being that she's a black doctor trying to pave a way for herself while always taking care of her delinquent bother. Being traumatized (molested) as a child by her step-father, Kat eventually ran away from home and moved in with a relative. Having left her brother in that environment she felt it was her job to care for him in any way she can. Kat is always sending large amounts of money to bail her brother out of whatever new situation he has gotten himself into. This becomes a huge issue as the story unfolds.

Betty Lou "Honey" Taft came out of medical school with incredibly high scores and has great letters of recommendation in her file, so why is it that she's always messing up with diagnoses and recommendations during rounds? These errors only seem to occur during the morning rounds, so what is she doing differently during the day to improve?? There is a hint of a scandal in her past that you are given sneak peeks of throughout but what could a nice person like Honey have done to be run out of her prior town? Honey comes from a career driven family that includes several other doctors. While in school, Honey mentioned to her father that she would like to be a nurse, since she has such a caring and giving nature, but this infuriated her father and he basically told her that Taft's were not nurses, they were doctors. Does her family have something to do with the situation she is currently in??

Dr. Paige Taylor spent her childhood growing up in Third World Countries while her father was a doctor with WHO (World Health Organization) along with another family. She grows up with Alfred Turner who promises her that they will be together some day when they grow-up and he finishes his work in Africa. As Paige anxiously awaits his return so they can get married, she ends up quite surprised when she opens her front door. Has he come back to claim his childhood love??

If you are interested in a murder drama with a mixture of romance and suspense I would recommend putting this book on your list! The characters are very likable and provide the right amount of drama to keep you turning those pages.

Fatal

Title: Fatal
Author: Michael Palmer
Date Finished: August 18, 2008
Pages: 544

Having really enjoyed the first Michael Palmer book I read, I was very anxious to try another one, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Fatal was just as interesting as The First Patient, and actually dealt with some issues that I think are really important. I almost gave up on writing this review since I was having such a hard time committing myself to actually sitting down and writing it, but I felt very strongly about some of the issues that it dealt with and wanted to share those.

This book starts out with a doctor, Matt Ruttledge, being summoned in the middle of the night from a nurse at the hospital. Since he has such a hard time waking up, the nurses have been instructed to ask him a series of questions to make sure he is really awake and will not immediately go back to sleep after hanging up. Throughout the book, Matt ends up encountering several people who seem to have gone mentally crazy, and have large lumps similar to that of "Elephant Man."

Matt is on a crusade against the local mining company, Belinda Coal and Coke Company, for the loss of his father in a cave in, and for the death of his wife by a rare cancer that he feels is a direct correlation to the mines unsafe disposal of waste and toxic chemicals. Trying several venues of complaints, Matt has become a joke for the local police and a nuisance to the townspeople. With the mine being a big source of income for most of the residents, they are doing everything they can do shut him up.

Palmer does a great job of developing several story lines within this book by giving you enough details and background information that make them all easy to follow. Even though different chapters may take you to a different place or character, you never feel confused. As the story progresses and the different lines intersect, you see the pieces fit together to become a whole.

In Washington, D.C., Ellen is struggling with her decision of whether or not to pass the newest megavaccine, Omnivax. The group she is a part of consists of several doctors and scientists who have been meeting for three years to discuss the ramifications of the vaccine and why they should support it. The First Lady is heavily influential in promoting the vaccine and has her own reasons for wanting it passed. Ellen struggles with being the only member of the group who is hesitant, which stems from the fact that her granddaughter, who was perfectly healthy as a baby, now suffers from side effects of a childhood vaccine. The percentage of children that are effected by vaccines is astonishing. Some development disabilities such as diabetes, ADD, ADHD, where others can result in death. This knowledge drives Ellen to make right choice, not just for her granddaughter, but for all those who will be administered the megavaccine.

In Boston, Nikki Solari, who is a musician as well as a pathologist watches her friend and fellow musician succumb to delusions that she is being chased and they they are trying to stop her music. When she is finally found, she has passed on and is covered by those mysterious lumps that Matt has seen as well. Attending her friends funeral in Belinda, Nikki meets one of the head policemen who seems to fancy her and asks her several questions regarding her friends death and all the events leading up to her death.

Matt, Ellen and Nikki team up to uncover what is really going on in the mine as well as with the new megavaccine. Realizing that the vaccine was originally tested on residents on Belinda several years before, those who are invested in the drugs passing, will stop at nothing to eliminate those testers who are slowly dying off. All three end up with several others in what appears to be a mine cave-in that was actually set up as a trap to keep them from discovering the truth. After barely escaping Matt finds himself yet again in trouble. Being helped out by the family in town that everyone is afraid of, Matt finds true friendship, respect and most importantly the answers that he has been desperately searching for and allows himself to once again feel love.

This book really effected me in the sense of how many big companies do not follow safety procedures. There have been several cases of groundwater contamination, toxic fumes, etc.. that are released into the environment because big companies want to cut costs, so they cut corners. Often times when something like this happens, the people who work there are too afraid to say anything because of the repercussions. Especially in situations like this book, where the entire town profits off the mine and that is where the majority of them are employed. I realize this book is a work of fiction, but the topics that are discussed are very real.

Another issue in this book is the side-effects and possible long term disability or death from immunization shots you receive as a child. How many people really know what the shots are for, or if they have been tested by the CDC and FDA efficiently. Why don't we question doctors before submitting our children to shots? Humans tend to be quite inquisitive, but there are some things we don't question, that we might need to rethink. How much of a push are the doctors receiving from the drug companies on a specific medication? How do we really know that this one is better than another one? I know that the majority of vaccines are in place to help protect our children and hopefully keep them from experiencing some really bad diseases, but should we really stop asking questions??

The First Patient

Title: The First Patient
Author: Michael Palmer
Date Finished: July 30, 2008
Pages: 384

Before reading this book, I had not heard anything about Nanotechnology, but found myself very intrigued as the story progressed. Not being very medical savvy, this book opened my eyes to something new that I would consider to be a topic of sensational medical research.

A definition from the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology lists: "Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced. In its original sense, 'nanotechnology' refers to the projected ability to construct items from the bottom up, using techniques and tools being developed today to make complete, high performance products." More on this later.

The story begins in picturesque Wyoming, with Gabe Singleton, a doctor and former Naval Academy cadet, sitting atop a horse watching a helicopter land. This particular helicopter happens to contain the President of the United States, whom they have given the acronym "POTUS", Andrew Stoddard. Gabe and Drew are longtime friends having been both cadets and roommates at Annapolis. The reason for Andrew's visit is to recruit Gabe to come with him to Washington to be his personal physician. The man who had held this position, until recently, seems to have vanished along with his college-aged daughter. Although reluctant to leave his life in Wyoming, Gabe agrees.

While getting dressed for his first political dinner, Gabe is summoned up to the President's quarters to find him having what appears to be a psychotic episode. After stabilizing Drew, Gabe is informed that this is not his first episode and all the test results from his previous episodes have disappeared along with his doctor. After some talk about invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (which deals with removing power from the President due to disabilities, and giving the power to the Vice President) Gabe agrees to keep this Presidents secret and not let on to anyone that something is amiss.

Within the book, Nanotechnology has been used to give an unknown source power over the President without his knowledge or the knowledge of those in his immediate cadre of secret service agents, family or close personal friends. By pushing a button, chemicals within the President's brain react and cause him to have what appears to be a psychotic episode.

There are two powerful women in this book that both have major roles. The first is Allison Cromartie, whom Gabe believes to be a nurse, but after saving his life by rear ending him while someone tries to shoot into his car, he discovers that she is actually an undercover Secret Service Agent. The second woman owns a large pasture with stables outside Washington and ends up being a key figure in the unfolding drama. With both of these women working within the medical field or scientific research, it leaves you wondering how far they would go to emphasis their presence in a man's world.

I really enjoyed the way that Palmer keeps you guessing throughout the book. I always enjoy a good mystery and find myself trying to figure things out before they are revealed. As the story began to wrap up, I felt very proud of myself and was almost certain I had figured everything out... then the ending came, and there was a very unexpected and delightful twist. Palmer really does bring the story full circle at the end and things that happened throughout came together perfectly, like putting in the last piece of a puzzle.

I happened to pick this book up at the library on a whim after my attention was caught by the title. This previous week, I attended a local book sale (Thanks Trish and Laura for taking me along) and happened to come across another book by Michael Palmer, which I quickly picked up and put in my bag. I am always looking for new authors to read, and feel like I have found yet another one I can enjoy!