Burnout
by Joe Uricchio, M.D.
CHB Media


"You need to get out of here. Let your head settle. You need a vacation."

Dr. Jack Burke, an orthopedic surgeon, has grown apathetic about caring for his patients. It has been two years since his wife suddenly left with their son. Noticing that Jack has neither fully recovered from the collapse of his marriage, nor has he had a vacation in four years, he has basically burned out, Jack's medical team makes arrangements for him to get a bit of R&R and sends him to a resort in Belize. Amid a small group of vacationers, Jack meets Elena and they fall in love. Although Jack is near the end of his pleasant hiatus from work, the last thing he expects to witness during his extended morning run is a terrorist attack. Jack plans to sneak back into the resort to rescue his newfound friends, but he has no idea if any of them will still be alive, especially Elena.

An orthopedic surgeon by profession and now rising author, Uricchio combines fictional characters with a real world setting to produce a suspenseful human-interest tale. Uricchio's third person debut is a continual flow of succinct chapters that alternate between Jack's life and the clandestine plans of the malevolent Rasheed (Uricchio's antagonist) and his terrorist organization. Of particular interest, Jack (Uricchio's protagonist) is not your typical physician. Although his personal issues initially create a weak persona, circumstances awaken a quasi-superhero side to Jack. Having learned a thing or two about tactical maneuvers while imbedded with the Navy Seals in Iraq, Jack knows some rather swift ninja-like moves, which he makes full use of in Belize. In addition to his use of all the aforementioned literary devices to build suspense, he also throws in scenes that catch readers unaware. Action-packed with a bit of romance, Burnout is definitely hard to put down.

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