Excerpt from Mercy

Things that are happening this week: I am enjoying writing a new book in the Zachary Goldman Mysteries series for Nanowrimo this month. It is coming together nicely. I have books in a couple of giveaways if you click on the banners down below. Be sure to check back here this Friday for a special Christmas short story in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series! And now, on to the teaser!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.

On to a medical thriller this week, one of my favourite genres. Daniel and Michael Palmer serve up Mercy: a Novel, where an “angel of death” serial killer is eliminating one patient after another. I am enjoying the detailed descriptions of the medical procedures, the suspense, and the character development of the protagonist and her family. In the tradition of Robin Cook’s Coma, the Palmers bring you Mercy. My teaser:

“How are you feeling, Walt?” Doc asked.

“Like I’m dying,” Walt said.

“Everyone is dying, Walt. We’re just moving at different rates of speed, is all.”

Daniel Palmer, Mercy

Dr. Julie Devereux is an outspoken advocate for the right to die — until a motorcycle accident leaves her fiancé, Sam Talbot, a quadriplegic. Sam begs to end his life, but Julie sees hope in a life together. With the help of an organization that opposes physician-assisted suicide, Julie has Sam coming around to her point of view when he suddenly dies from an unexpected heart attack. An autopsy reveals that Sam died of an unusual heart defect, one seen only in those under extreme stress — in fact, it appears that Sam had been literally scared to death.

As Julie investigates similar cases, she finds a frightening pattern… and finds herself the target of disturbing threats. The more cases Julie discovers, the more the threats escalate, until she is accused of a mercy killing of her own. To clear her name and save her career, she must track down whoever is behind these mysterious deaths… but time is running out as someone has decided that killing Julie is the only way to stop her.