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Review by Sandy Huseby
With the publication of last year's "Harvest" (now available in paperback), Tess Gerritsen established herself among the premier writers of medical thrillers. In "Life Support," her new hardcover, she takes on the cutting-edge issue of hormone therapy as a modern-day fountain of youth.
Dr. Toby Harper is on night duty in the emergency room of Springer Hospital in Boston when an elderly man is brought in naked and confused by cops who found him in a park.
The man vanishes while a life-threatening emergency distracts Toby's attention. As days go by and he's not located, Toby must cope with the possibility of a lawsuit and the maneuverings of another doctor who wants to oust her.
Toby's life is as frenetic as the pace of the emergency room where she works. Her mother is an Alzheimer's patient, requiring a caregiver while Toby is away from home.
When a second elderly man comes into the E.R. with the same symptoms as the one who disappeared, Toby is compelled to look beyond the "stabilize and turn over to the attending" routine. The attending, Dr. Carl Wallenberg, brushes aside her concerns. Determined to know more, Toby learns both men had been residents of Brant Hill, a luxury retirement center.
Toby investigates the puzzling patients with the aid of medical examiner Daniel Dvorak. At the same time, she must cope with her own mother's waning days.
Gerritsen gives the reader a full measure of medical ethics questions to consider as she crafts this fast-paced thriller with the deftness of a microsurgeon.
Evocative characters, a life-threatening plot that grabs the reader by the throat, even the uncertainty of what lies ahead for Toby and Dvorak -- all combine to make "Life Support" a prescription for entertainment and a provocative examination of controversial medical issues not to be missed.
Sandy Huseby is a writer who divides her time between Fargo, North Dakota, and Nevis. She is online at S Huseby@aol.com.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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