Thursday, March 21, 2013

Pre-Review of Deadly Rhythm by Peter Kowey, MD

*Won through a Goodreads Giveaway*





I recently decided it was time to get back to actual paper books so the novel Deadly Rhythm by Peter Kowey MD arriving in the mail was a good place to start... initially. The novel begins with an old man, Al Romanzo, having a fall in a nursing home that eventually leads to his death at a hospital. In an effort to squeeze the hospital for money his children file a malpractice lawsuit when there were questions of how someone comes to the hospital for a fall but leaves dead by reason of cardiac arrest. Dr. Phillip Sarkis is called in by the insurance lawyer to investigate whether the claim has any merit and what their liability is.

Dr. Phillip finds evidence of foulplay and other victims which sets him on a crusade to find who is the person murdering old men. He enlists the help of his girlfriend Dorothy and her P.I. father Dick. They soon unravel more than they want to and are placed in harms way.

Now! The premise for this novel seems like a winner. I am a fan of Michael Palmer and Tess Gerritsen so I didn't hesitate to put a bid in to win this novel. I was stoked upon hearing I'd won and after waiting for it for two months, it arrives and I crack it open. After reading a few pages my excitement level dropped tremendously. I wanted to like this book so much but I can't honestly say that I do. The story is actually an interesting story and I think it's really sad that someone is knocking off old men who have something exceptionally good in common. And Kowey's writing style doesn't make it seem that all the medical terms are intimidating.

My gripes with this book are that the story doesn't seem to be unfolding. It's almost like I'm listening to someone dictate a story as opposed to being right where the action is. He uses a lot of "later this evening" or "a few days later" as if we aren't to know that time has moved forward. And his description of the malpractice lawyer makes him seem like the scum of the earth. There was a scene in the beginning that the lawyer seemed like he was going to assault another lawyer in the middle of the boardroom and the rookie lawyers were just going to let it happen. The guy was so cliche and exaggerated that I actually found him comical.

I hope this review wasn't too harsh but I have to be honest. If the read wasn't fast paced or have an interesting premise I may have chucked it out of window. But I did want to know why and who were killing these helpless old men. That is the only reason I finished the book. I'm sure with this being only Kowey's second novel, a few writing quirks will be ironed out in future novels. Until then... **

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