Review: Critical Condition

Critical Condition

About the Book:

It began as a quiet dinner party honoring Dr. Shannon Frasier's colleague, but became a nightmare when a man was shot on her lawn, reviving emotions from a similar episode a decade ago. Then a midnight call from her sister, Megan, causes Shannon to fear that her sister is on drugs again.

Her "almost-fiancé" Dr. Mark Gilbert's support only adds to Shannon's feelings of guilt, since she can't bring herself to fully commit to him. She turns for help to her pastor-father, only to learn that he's just been diagnosed with leukemia.

Shannon thought it couldn't get any worse. Then the late-night, threatening phone calls begin, the rough voice asking, "What did he say before he died?"

With everything around her in a critical state, simply staying alive will require all the resources and focus Shannon has.

My Comments:

If you are a fan of Richard Mabry's other books, you'll enjoy this one too.  Like the others, it is a fast-paced romantic Christian suspense featuring medical and legal scenes.  Like the others, it takes quite a few liberties with the legal aspects.  Like the others it is somewhat unrealistic and like the others, it has a happy ending.  

The Christian aspects of the book are interwoven throughout the story.  The characters pray before meals--or the fact that they don't is mentioned.  Shannon's dad is a pastor and go to church with Shannon a couple of times.  We learn that one thing keeping Shannon from committing to Mark is the strength of his faith versus the weakness of hers.  Nevertheless, this isn't a conversion story and no angel comes to the rescue.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.

Blog Tour: Stress Test

Stress Test

About the Book:

Dr. Matt Newman thought he was leaving his life as a surgeon in private practice for a better one in academic medicine. But the kidnappers who attacked him as he left the hospital at 2 a.m. have no such plans—they just want him dead. Bound and in the trunk of his car, Matt’s only thought is fleeing with his life. He does escape, but at a price: a head injury that lands him in the ICU . . . where he awakens to discover he’s being charged with murder.

Sandra Murray is a fiery, redheaded lawyer who swore she was done with doctors after her last relationship. But when Matt calls, she knows she can’t walk away from defending someone who is truly innocent.

Matt’s career is going down the drain. His freedom and perhaps his life may be next. But with the police convinced he’s a killer and the kidnappers still trying to finish what they started, finding the truth—and the faith to keep going—will be the toughest stress test Matt has ever endured.

My Comments:

Richard Mabry has written another fast-pasted thriller that should keep readers on the edge of their seat until the sweet conclusion.  Unfortunately I found the resolution part of the story completely far-fetched.   The basic story of the bad guys was believable.  That Matt escaped them once was a little incredible, but I supposed it could happen.  That he escaped them twice, or even...well, it was obvious this book had to have a happy ending.

The book is Christian fiction and in this case, I think the Christian part came off primarily as a commercial--something that had little to do with the main action of the story, little to do with why the characters (with one exception) acted the way they did, it was just stuck in there or so it seemed to me.

As noted above, one of the main characters is a criminal defense attorney.  The legal details were not quite right either.  An assistant District Attorney talked about attending a deposition.  Criminal depositions are the exception rather than the rule--in 20 years in the criminal defense business, I've heard of two, both for extraordinary reasons.  

In short, while I enjoyed most of the book, the last few chapters just got more and more incredible.

I'd like to thank the folks at Litfuse for making a review copy available.  Grade:  B-   

Richard Mabry is celebrating the release of Stress Test with a Nook HD Giveaway! Enter today.

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Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 27th. Winner will be announced on 4/29/13 at Richard's blog.

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