Doing Harm

December 16, 2013
With a deft initial setup reminiscent of Grisham’s The Firm, urologist Parsons’s strong first novel paints a picture of the competitive, ego-driven realm of a world-class teaching hospital and the kind of personalities that thrive there. Steve Mitchell, the chief surgical resident at a topflight Boston hospital, believes he has his life and career well in hand. Mitchell’s arrogance and pride may be justified, but they have primed him for a fall. This comes swiftly when a patient dies and Mitchell is blamed. A lovely and charismatic young medical student serving under him may not be all she seems. With the lives of his patients on the line, Mitchell is forced into a game of medical cat-and-mouse to stop a murderer and to reclaim his shattered life and reputation. The author’s attention to detail keeps the action chillingly plausible, until the climax when one too many twists sends this medical thriller skittering into silliness. Announced first printing of 100,000. Agent: Al Zuckerman, Writers House.

March 31, 2014
When Steve Mitchell, chief resident at Boston’s acclaimed University Hospital, is introduced by narrator Petkoff, he’s a man whose speech rings with confidence when discussing his happy marriage and bright future. There’s elation in his voice as he describes his joy at exercising his surgical skill. But when one of his patients dies mysteriously, Petkoff begins to ramp up the tension. More deaths follow and Steve takes the blame, but he soon begins to realize that Gigi, the brilliant, beautiful, and promising med student with whom he had a one-night stand, is a homicidal lunatic. As protagonists go, Steve is a not particularly likeable. But Petkoff skillfully handles Steve, taking the doctor through major mood swings—from smug self-satisfaction and arrogance to puzzlement, concern, surprise, and, finally, despair. Enacting the murderous med student, Petkoff tones down the insanity in favor of an oddly playful and eager attitude that is positively chilling. A St. Martin’s hardcover.