Barbara McMichael, the bookmonger
"Lie Still" by David Farris, William Morrow, $24.95.
Timing is everything. A couple of months ago, when a family member was scheduled for surgery, I might not have enjoyed the new medical thriller "Lie Still" nearly as much as I did last week -- now that my relative is safely out of the hospital.
This heart-stopping debut from Portland author David Farris is enough to give anyone pause when it comes to the medical profession. A good part of the reason is that it reeks of authenticity -- Farris is a pediatric anesthesiologist who drew from actual case histories he has worked on for most of the background stories in this book.
The plot, however, revolves around the professional missteps of surgical resident Malcolm Ishmail. The young doctor is banished from a fast-track career at a high-profile Phoenix hospital after he is seduced by his charismatic neurology professor, Dr. Mimi Lyle. She confides in him about her chronic failings while operating. This confirms what already had been the subject of muted gossip around the hospital, and because her disability puts patients at risk, Ishmail feels compelled to report it to his superiors.
They don't want to rock the boat, however, particularly when Dr. Lyle retaliates against Ishmail with charges of sexual harassment. She might have some flaws as a neurosurgeon, but she is an expert when it comes to messing with one's mind.
In the months following, Ishmail struggles to revive his career at a small desert hospital that seems light-years away from Phoenix. But when a 13-year-old kid comes into the ER complaining of asthma, and suddenly goes into cardiac arrest, Ishmail has more than his career to resuscitate.
The boy lapses into a coma. Suddenly, Ishmail must contend not only with the damaging claims by his former lover, but also with the threat of a malpractice suit in the case of the boy.
Only as Ishmail struggles to defend himself in both instances does he discover that the two events might have some connection. To anyone else, however, it looks like a case of paranoia.
To escape his double debacle in Arizona, the young doctor retreats to his hometown in western Nebraska, where dramas every bit as affecting as the big-city cases occur in humble little hospitals out on the prairie.
Farris has a terrific ear for dialogue and a deep understanding of the hierarchic nature of the medical world. For those who might retain a degree of skepticism about how life-and-death mistakes can be covered up at high levels, I need point no further than recent testimony in Seattle concerning Protocol 26 -- the experimental bone marrow treatments at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
"Lie Still" is full of insider medical detail, ethical quandaries, Emergency Room action, Operating Room suspense, and sex -- not necessarily in that order.
While I wouldn't prescribe this book to anyone who is scheduled for surgery any time soon, others will find this smart and suspenseful escapism.
The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publishers of the Northwest. She can be reached at bkmonger@nwlink.com.
Author David Farris will discuss his new medical thriller, "Lie Still," at 2 p.m. April 17 at Whodunit? Books, 301 E. Fourth Ave., in Olympia. Call 360-352-8252 for more information.