Review: Heroic Measures by Joel Shulkin, MD

 Genre: Technothriller

Description:

“The medical examiner’s job is to speak for the dead and protect the living.

But what happens when the dead speak for themselves?

Stephen Englehart, an Armed Forces medical examiner. dedicates his life to bringing peace to the families of fallen soldiers. Tagged as one of the best, he’s able to spot forensic clues others miss. But when the body of a US Marine, supposedly burned beyond recognition, shows up with hardly a scratch, even Stephen is stumped. Were the bodies switched? Then, in the middle of the autopsy, the impossible happens.

The soldier wakes up.

Something incredible—and dangerous—is happening to the military’s elite, and Stephen may be the only one who can figure it out. And when Stephen’s sister, a Green Beret, goes missing, the entire military machine seems designed to stop him from finding her. To find the truth and save his sister, one man must stand against an army. Can he be the hero he never thought he could?”

Author:

“Being a full-time physician hasn't stopped Joel from writing. Far from it, the complexity of his patients, prior service with the United States Air Force, a Master's in Public Health, and involvement in organized medicine in the middle of an ever-changing healthcare system all provide raw material for his stories.

Joel's short work has appeared in various print and online journals, and he's won several awards, including Best Medical Fiction from SEAK and an Honorable Mention from Writer's Digest Thriller Suspense Competition. Adverse effects is his debut novel.

Joel lives in Florida with his wife and twin daughters.”

Appraisal:

The one thing this technothriller definitely does is keep you guessing. You’re figuring out lots of things with the protagonist, Stephen Englehart, as he does his job, tries to figure out what is happening with his sister who has gone missing, and what is going on with his current work project. He’s also got parts of his past that still bother him and he finds himself discovering were much more complex than he realized as a kid when they happened. How all these different things tie together comes out eventually as Stephen peels back more and more layers to each part of the story. This kept me guessing and engaged in the many related mysteries, hoping it would all work out for Stephen, right up to the very end.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on an ARC (advance reviewer copy) so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words