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There are currently 37 member reviews
for Doing Harm
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Sharon B. (Rome, GA)
Medical Thriller
Life is great and the future is assured for senior surgical resident Steve Mitchell until inexplicable mistakes start happening causing serious complications for his patients. An investigation reveals foul play and, with his career on the line, Dr. Mitchell must figure out who is sabotaging treatment and what patient will be chosen next. The suspense in this book kept me reading even when I had to skim through much of the clinical detail (the author is a surgeon). The main characters were not very likable and I felt that Dr. Mitchell pretty much deserved whatever happened to him. I would recommend the book for a quick and easy read.
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Rebecca J. (Knoxville, TN)
Doing Harm
Doing Harm is a very suspenseful medical mystery which I read in a couple of days. I probably would have given it 5 stars except for the unlikeable protagonist and the fact that the author seemed to want to constantly impress the reader with his medical knowledge. He, in fact, is a doctor but some of the descriptions were pretty nauseating to me and not necessary. This would make a great beach read or a book for someone who doesn't read much. I had to find out the ending!
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Kathleen W. (Appleton, WI)
Doing Harm
This was a difficult review for me to write because I wanted to like the book more than I do. The premise of "what would you do in this situation?" intrigues me and as a medical thriller, the book is successful. I found myself reading late into the night engrossed in the story. Usually this is sufficient for me to consider a book above average and worth recommending. The problem arises, however, in that the main characters aren't believable, the minor characters are caricatures, and the dialogue is often awkward or stilted. Other than plot, the book doesn't have much to offer.
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WDH (New Port Richey, FL)
Average Thriller
Doing Harm is a quick read, mostly from a typical thriller perspective. The storyline is a little predictable, but entertaining. The medical and technical information is presented very well but the characters just didn't really grab/keep my attention - could not quite connect with their motives. Overall, it was good for a first novel though. I'll watch for other books by this author.
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Cheryl W. (Crosby, MN)
Unbelievable
This book was an easy read and the story moved right along. The whole mystery was so unbelievable. How a doctor who has so much known technology cannot figure out how it was done. Also that no review board would back him. The story was also very predictable. I did like that the murderer was revealed early and the rest of the book was how to catch the murderer.
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Aleksandra E. (Alpharetta, GA)
Interesting premise
I found the subject matter in this novel to be very intriguing yet for some reason I was not as "hooked" as I should be in a suspense novel. Revealing the antagonist half way through a book is an interesting approach but ultimately it lacked a "shocking" element to it. Nonetheless, it was an entertaining and light novel that would be perfect as a beach read.
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Hazel R. (North Eastham, MA)
Fast Paced, but Disappointing
Kelly Parsons probably has a future in writing thrillers, if this book is any indication, but to be a true success, he might want to consider some character and plot development. Steve Mitchell, MD, the protagonist, is not a likeable character. He pays little attention to rules and authority (electronic hacking and privacy, defying senior MD orders) and cheats on his pregnant wife, even though there is absolutely no justification for this, other than the stress of the job and the intensity of work relationships when under stress.
Did Dr. Mitchell do what you would have done to thwart the serial killer? Unlikely. Unlikely that a moral, educated, family person would use such poor judgement. Dr. Mitchell should have confessed to his wife, and have involved hospital security, human resources and the police department in the mysterious deaths of patients. From there, an undercover strategy could have been developed that would be as interesting and fast paced, as the one used in the book.
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