A tragic accident ends Laura Nelsons career as a surgeon. After accepting a position as Vice President for Research in a large pharmaceutical company, Laura works to finalize the imminent approval of the companys groundbreaking new drug. But Jake Harter, a malicious Food and Drug Administration employee, cannot let that happen. He is obsessed with Adawia Abdul, the beautiful Iraqi scientist who discovered the drug. As soon as the drug is approved, Adawia will collect a substantial bonus and reluctantly return to replace her dying father, the lead scientist in Saddam Husseins bioweapon program. As Husseins henchmen apply brutal pressure to assure Dr. Abduls speedy return to Iraq, Harter uses his influence to stall the drugs approval. If Laura gets in his way, he will eliminate her as he has her predecessor and his own wife.
Industry Reviews
Dr. Laura Nelson, chief of surgery at Tampa City Hospital (Fla.), reluctantly seeks a new career after suffering a serious hand injury in Gussin's superior fourth and final series thriller (after 2012'sWeapon of Choice), set a year after the Gulf War. Laura agrees to become an executive at Keystone Pharma, a company about to release a wonderful new drug, Immunone, for which she helped organize the clinical trials. Meanwhile, FDA project manager Jake Harter is desperate to keep Immunone from being approved, for his own nefarious reasons. Jake is also willing to hide vital data and commit murder to keep his lover, Iraqi researcher Adawia Abdul, from leaving the U.S. Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein's minions are pressuring Adawia to return home so that she can create bioweapons. Gussin deftly resolves the various plotlines at the climax. Along the way, she vividly depicts her characters' interior lives, especially Jake's slide into monomania as he collides with the determined, clear-headed Laura. -- Publishers Weekly *Starred Review*
Gussin completes her Laura Nelson series with an action-packed medical thriller...Gussin uses her experience as a surgeon and medical researcher to create a complex, realistic story that will appeal to readers with a taste for thrillers centering on science and politics. -- Booklist
This book is the fourth and, sadly, the end of the Laura Nelson series that has been so incredible to read - This fascinating series has the reader chomping at the bit for yet another piece of the puzzle every single time one of the books comes to an end. The writing, the characters, the plot - everything is so well done. Patricia Gussin will continue to gift fans with another amazing tale very soon. But Laura Nelson and her relentless determination and heroine status will be missed. -- Suspense Magazine
After the Fallis the sixth novel for this author, the fourth in her Laura Nelson series. The plot is a good, solid one, pulling in the many characters who move it along nicely, and incorporating global issues that are relevant today. As the thriller reaches its conclusion, there is a brief hint that this one is not the last we shall see of Laura. -- Bookloons.com
This fourth Laura Nelson thriller is a page-turner par excellence. An accidental fall leaves Laura in great pain. Her smashed hand cannot be reconstructed sufficiently for her to continue performing surgery. The title phrase, however, has other echoes - like a fall from grace or esteem. Such a fall is something that Laura fears when confronted with the need to reveal - or have revealed by others - painful secrets from her past. In the end, readers will have nothing but admiration for Dr. Laura Nelson. That means, of course, that Dr. Patricia Gussin has done it again: provided a thoroughly satisfying formula of character, action, science, emotion and danger. -- Florida Weekly
The fourth Dr. Laura Nelson medical thriller (see Weapons of Choice, Shadow of Death and Twisted Justice) is an exciting cat and mouse tale due to a powerful cast especially the vigilant doctor; but particularly brilliant is the lunatic FDA employee's descent into deadly obsession. Anticipating the showdown, readers will relish this winning drama. -- The Midwest Book Review
"An action-packed medical thriller . . . Gussin uses her experience as a surgeon and medical researcher to create a complex, realistic story that will appeal to readers with a taste for thrillers centering on science and politics." Booklist
"Dr. Laura Nelson, chief of surgery at Tampa City Hospital, reluctantly seeks a new career after suffering a serious hand injury in Gussin's superior fourth and final series thriller" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"In the end, readers will have nothing but admiration for Dr. Laura Nelson. Gussin has done it again: provided a thoroughly satisfying formula of character, action, science, emotion and danger." Florida Weekly
Praise for Patricia Gussin "Brave, unflinching suspenseelegant, intelligent, and superb." Lee Child, New York Times best-selling author
"Reaches deep into the heart of any parent's nightmare, then ratchets up the tension five or six notches more, sending the reader on a roller coaster ride of false leads and fresh suspects that will leave you gasping at the end." -- Lisa Gardner, New York Times best-selling author
"Relentless suspense and pitch-perfect medical details make this a knockout, a truly infectious thriller you won't be able to put down!" -- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times best-selling author
"Here is a novel as riveting as it is relentless, driving toward a climax that will have you burning through pages late into the night." -- James Rollins, New York Times best-selling author
"The lines between right and wrong and good and evil are smudged almost beyond recognition, but there's emotional clout that resonates, all leading to a provocative conclusion." Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author
