The circle's discussion this evening was a bit different from our usual practice. This time we were invited to recommend authors and titles for future Whodunit reads. Many great sounding recommendations were offered and I look forward to diverse reading ahead.
This month's book was "Mortal Remains" by Peter Clement. A real departure from our usual fare in that it was a medical thriller. The first of this genre we have done in club. The author has been a medical doctor for 28 years and an ER physician for 20 of those years. He writes under his first and second name so as to keep his writing life and his medical life completely separate. We can all assume he is very successful as he now writes full-time.This month's title was inspired by a real-life disappearance of a female medical student.
Most seemed to enjoy the book, though comments were made that there was too much medical terminology, that the plot was a bit too predictable and that there were too many plot 'threads' to be tied up. Most enjoyed the story and some mentioned it would have made a great movie. Certain scenes were portrayed vividly -- the initial diving scene, the scene where Mark Roper was shot at while driving, and the well scene were mentioned in particular. Favorite characters were Bessie, the geriatric doctor and Nell, the town's busy-body. It was remarked upon by several that the elder Dr. Braden was particularly sinister and that his son was a bit of a wimp.
The devious Dr. Melanie who made patients ill in order to 'cure' them was rather creepy. The club deemed Lucy to be a 'red herring' (we all love those). The side-plots of the home for unwed mothers and the maternity hospital were intriguing.
Most agreed that the threads of the plot were tied up satisfactorily.
This novel differed from most in that it had two 'culprits'.
The winners of this month's freebies were: Marlene, Caroline, Cedella and Judy.
Two of the winners were new to the club which was a nice welcome for them.
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