 |
Matthew Michellin—a young man recovering from a stroke that has affected the left side of his body—meets Dr. Mark Cooper while vacationing in the Leeward Islands. Mark presents Matthew with a life or death offer. Mark has developed a serum that can cure untreatable medical conditions, but he needs Matthew to convince the UK and USA medical, scientific, and governmental authorities of this fact without disclosing Mark's whereabouts since the authorities not only banned him from research funding, but also threatened to strike him off the medical register if he carries out research anywhere in the US or any of its tributaries—thus, the reason why Mark is stationed in unregulated territory. Indeed, contacting the authorities will endanger Matthew's life. But if he convinces them, it will change the course of medical history and Matthew's well being.
Inspired by a plethora of research based on his personal medical experiences, which includes the premature loss of his wife due to stroke, Steven Thomas-Leah's debut novel zeroes in on the dark side of Western medicine. Although purely a work of fiction, Thomas-Leah presents a hypothetical situation that is not that far-fetched since money and power often times win over the benefit of others. Thomas-Leah's third person narrative at times is bogged down with conversational wordiness and far-fetched scenes (i.e. when Matthew is beat up by the "Nutter"). Nonetheless, Thomas-Leah keeps his plot moving by including suspense and salacious activity while building up to an independent medical hearing and conclusion.
Thomas-Leah's goal for producing this book is that it "may inspire the reader to ask question's themselves of their own medical contact's and hopefully at least open some form of debate about stem cell treatment and uncover the truth one way or another..." Indubitably, Thomas-Leah has achieved his goal.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review