Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Most Anticipated Books of 2025!

Read advance reader review of Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons, page 3 of 6

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons

Doing Harm

by Kelly Parsons

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2014, 368 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Reviews


Page 3 of 6
There are currently 37 member reviews
for Doing Harm
Order Reviews by:
  • Portia A. (Mount Laurel, NJ)
    Wow!
    "Doing Harm" was one of the best of its kind that I've read for a long while..and kept my interest from the beginning. The fact that the protagonist is a surgeon and much of the plot takes place in a hospital made the story even more exciting.
    If you enjoyed "Gone Girl" or "Close My Eyes" or other such books this book is most certainly for you.
  • DJ
    Do not read before surgery!
    This is an excellent medical thriller. It is a "stay with it until you finish it" kind of book. Many twists and turns. Someone is murdering patients using methods or situations that can happen in a hospital setting and not be discovered. The author is a doctor which brings medical credibility to the story. Well done by a first novel author. Would recommend it to anyone who likes a gripping story.
  • Jeff S. (Nashville, TN)
    Excellent Thriller
    Doing Harm is a medical thriller. It is gripping from the start and never lets the reader rest. It's definitely one of the best thrillers that I have read in years. It is the story of Steve MItchell, a doctor at University Hospital, who meets and gets involved with a killer. The writer lets you see Steve making lapses in judgement and you know that he is all too human. He is not prepared for what is about to happen to him and that for him to get out the mess that he is entering will take a great deal of effort and some help. I would and will highly recommend this book.
  • Laurie B. (Jacksonville, FL)
    kept my interest
    This is one of the more realistic medical thrillers that I've read. The premise and plot are original. The author's writing style is engaging. I did find many grammatical/spelling errors--don't know if this is because it is a pre-publication copy, but hope they correct them before mass publication because the errors will do the book a disservice. I'd like to read more by this author and hope he writes more novels
  • Jan K. (San Francisco, CA)
    Clandestine Hospital Happenings
    I have a background in medical malpractice so I love reading medical thrillers. Doing Harm frames the experiences of an ambitious resident physician supervising another resident and a brilliant medical student. The narrative moves quickly with the first event to establish the medical mishap theme occurring early in the novel. Doing Harm deals with unfortunate accidents common to hospitals and the author's background provides good detail into medical procedures and hospital protocol, such as the Morbidity and Mortality conference. The grief often felt by physicians who commit medical errors is authentic. The novel is suspenseful and will hold the readers interest as they wonder who or what is manipulating these deathly events. Readers who enjoy Harlan Coben will enjoy Doing Harm - in fact Coben provides a positive blurb - "compelling and gripping…"

    I recently finished a similar book, Monday Mornings, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. This novel follows the work of several surgeons practicing in a hospital and provides plenty of drama without the mystery.
  • Eileen L. (Osprey, FL)
    Great medical thriller read
    Once again a genuine medical doctor writes a thriller about something he knows from the inside -- hospital politics and patient care. Engaging writer. Good successor to Michael Palmer.
  • Donna M. (Ashland, OR)
    Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons
    The book is an easy, engaging read. I found the medical aspects interesting and would think that it would speak to anyone in the medical field. I was expecting more around ethical dilemmas and would have liked to see a stronger case for why the murderer was so strident about safety. The politics and complexities of the medical arena rang true. The lingering question that I continued to consider was who truly did the right thing and was guided by a strong moral code? Not necessarily the main character.
    I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy mysteries and those with an interest in medical issues.

More Information

Read-Alikes

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Wager
    by David Grann
    From the bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a gripping story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.
  • Book Jacket
    Babylonia
    by Costanza Casati
    From the author of the bestselling Clytemnestra comes another intoxicating excursion into ancient history. When kings fall, queens rise.
  • Book Jacket
    Let's Call Her Barbie
    by Renée Rosen
    She was only eleven-and-a-half inches tall, but she would change the world. Barbie is born in this bold new novel by USA Today bestselling author Renée Rosen.
Book Club Giveaway!
Win Help Wanted

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

From the best-selling author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. comes a funny, eye-opening tale of work in contemporary America.

Enter

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Beast of the North Woods
    by Annelise Ryan

    When a local fisherman is mauled to death, it seems like the only possible cause is a mythical creature.

  • Book Jacket

    The Secret History of the Rape Kit
    by Pagan Kennedy

    The story of the woman who kicked off a feminist revolution in forensics, and then vanished into obscurity.

  • Book Jacket

    Going Home
    by Tom Lamont

    Going Home is a sparkling, funny, bighearted story of family and what happens when three men take charge of a toddler following an unexpected loss.

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T the L

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.