Reviewed by Nancy Boutin, MD
Dr. Farris is a partner in the Oregon Anesthesia Group and a member of the Medical Society of Metropolitan Portland.
How far would you go to expose a dangerous colleague? What if she was your Attending--and your lover?
When Malcolm Ishmail, a second-year general surgery resident at Maricopa County, pulls a rotation as the only house staff assigned to the brilliant, mercurial, beautiful, Dr. Mimi Lyle, he knows she has a reputation among the residents for two left hands and too many bad outcomes. He also knows she is the darling of the academic neurosurgical community and viewed by the higher-ups at "'Copa" as a shining star reflecting on their program.
He is surprised, however, to find she is charming, seductive, and ultimately, predatory. Learning the cause of Mimi's incompetence, and dealing with emotional aftermath of her surgical misadventures, he decides he must step forward--regardless of the consequences.
Later, covering a nearby ER, Malcolm is on duty when a troubled, asthmatic 13-year-old codes unexpectedly. After a too-long resuscitation, the child is transferred to the Maricopa PICU. As the ensuing investigation targets Malcolm, he begins to suspect Mimi is somehow exacting her revenge.
Malcolm's story, recounted in first person narrative, tells three tales. "The Book of Mimi," "The Book of Henry," and the narrator's "now," are interwoven through the novel, the dilemmas and ethical decisions of each part influencing and informing the others. As Malcolm admits, "Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment." And at times, he demonstrates terrible judgment. However, his deep sense of duty and justice redeem him.
Engaging dramatic fiction induces measurable physiologic changes in its reader. For suspense novels the parameters usually include elevated b.p. and h2 hypersecretion, with occasional adrenalin spikes. Lie Still does just that, and despite a pervasive sense of dread--like watching a disaster in slow motion--it's impossible to stop turning pages. It will be interesting to see if readers who have never been residents, never run a code, never had to defend decisions in a case that went south, have the same reaction.
Lie Still isn't really a who-done-it. It isn't even a how-done-it. Rather, it succeeds as a medical coming-of-age story. In the end, Malcolm learns the satisfaction derived from the practice of medicine must come, not from power or prestige, but from the people we touch.