Fatal Intent- Book Review

 Fatal Intent by Tammy Euliano

Publication Date: 02nd March 2021
Genre: Medical Thriller/ Suspense

3.9 Stars

Anesthesiologist, Dr. Kate Downey has enough issues to deal with. When the elderly patients who were under the care start to die, she worries how it would affect her already troubled career. As more deaths occur, and Christian, the son of one of the dead man wants to check if there was something sinister, Kate agrees to check the reports with him.

The incidents at the hospital, the hostility from the Chief of Staff, a surgeon, and a medical student begin to push her into a corner. Kate knows she needs to get to the bottom of the issue. Together with Christian, Aunt Erm, and a few others, she starts collecting information. 

She gets threats, has to take a leave of absence, and almost loses her life. With her husband, Greg, lying in a coma for a year with no signs of improvement, Kate has a lot to lose. How she gathers evidence, fights the killer, and finally comes to terms with some things in her life forms the story.

The book starts on a slow note, and with so many characters being introduced, it gets hard to keep track. But the story picks up speed, and it gets easier to remember the characters. Not all of them are important, so it’s easy once we get into the story.

The narration slows down and picks up at the appropriate places, making the story quite intriguing and engaging. While the readers know who the killer is and even probably why the way the climax was handled was very good. There is action, enough of it to keep us reading page after page without taking a break.

Some of the characters felt unidimensional as if that’s all they could do. It did bring down the interest a little. However, Aunt Irm gets our attention. The way her mind works, and how she expresses it makes her a strong and sensible character. While Kate is hesitant, cautious, and wondering, Aunt Irm doesn’t hesitate or stall. She is straightforward and better at connecting the dots.

The theme deals with Religion and God, but the author handled it deftly without overemphasizing, taking sides, or preaching. This balance works well for the book.

Overall, the story needs some patience and determination to read the first 20%. But stick around, and you’ll enjoy a good medical thriller (even if some of it is too complex for non-medics to understand).

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing. 

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