Fatal Rounds could have been SUCH a hit (for me at least) if Rubin had taken more time to flesh out the beginning of the book a bit more. As it is, it feels like the reader is dropped in the middle of the story and then taken on an unexpected and bumpy ride til the end. I really loved the idea of these two very similar characters being on opposite sides and sparring with their wits and cunning. Having the same personality traits allows them to read each other in a way that another character would not be able to. The problem, however, is that their connection to one another is never truly established for much of the story, so it feels like they are unnecessary antagonists. Once I did finally figure out how and why they are connected, it was incredibly difficult to buy into the idea. I understand that part of the mystery hinges on the reader not understanding the truth, but I think it does the book a disservice. I am also not a fan of using mental illness, or difficulty as an excuse for a character to be unreliable. Rubin leans heavily on that trope, which again does the book no favors.

It Also doesn’t help that the characters were a little flimsy when it comes to development, and although the setting is very specific, it was quite generic.

Overall, the book was ok, but had the potential to be really fantastic. I look forward to seeing what else Carrie Rubin has to offer. I will definitely read from them again.

The main character's occupation adds a morbid and unsettling atmosphere. Perfect from the outside doctor Sam is fooling everyone but Liza. She digs deeper and deeper to find out the truth about him. Honestly, love the development of this story, and I would love it to become a movie!

This was a creepy and twisted fun ride of a book. I haven’t read anything quite like it before, in a good way! Would recommend.

Liza Larkin is a med school graduate about to begin her pathology internship. Her schizophrenic mother goes further into psychosis after seeing a man's photo. Liza does a reverse image search and finds out the man is a trauma surgeon at another teaching hospital. She switches her program choice to his hospital to see what he is up to. This book is a great example of what happens when the stalkee becomes the stalker. The plot was very fast paced with a very climactic ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

4/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and Carrie Rubin for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book was extremely good and well written. I loved the twist of the main character being a schizoid. I love not being able to tell if the main character is reliable or unreliable until the end of the story.

I loved the characters and following the mystery throughout the story. Trying to find out who is doing what and why. This book also shows mental illnesses (especially ones not talked a lot about) in a different light.

Would definitely recommend this book.

P. S. Was not gory, more of a psychological thriller.

This was a truly thrilling and captivating story of a stalker being the one who is stalked. It was full of murders, that didn't look like murders at all. Unique main character, whose inner monologue was never boring, caught myself admiring her chain of thoughts until the end. Fatal rounds has very satisfying ending, I didn't see it happening quite this way, but I'm glad it's how the story was concluded.
I had great time reading this book, the audiobook has a really good narration.

A drama with a medical setting that uses a boxing metaphor.

Liz Larkin is determined to prove that a respected trauma surgeon is intent on doing her harm. She selects the hospital he works at to do her internship and immediately begins her campaign to find out what he's done. Her backstory of a history of mental health issues makes her a very unreliable narrator. I hoped, however, that this was going to make the story unique.

As everyone around her is convinced that Liz is losing it and having some kind of delusional break from reality with her accusations and suspicions, she continues on her mission. When everything ends up exactly as I worried it would, I was extremely disappointed and let down. I didn't like Liz and the whole plot required more suspension of disbelief than I can manage. I was looking for a medical thriller and this was not it. The most interesting aspects of the narrative were the actual details about pathology and disease. I can't recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Indigo Dot Press for this e-book ARC to read and review.

A medical thriller with an unreliable narrator. What more could you ask for. Liza is smart, quirky, and socially awkward, which makes her, in my opinion, the perfect heroine. The book is well written, and will keep you hooked till the end.

Liza Larkin starts her first year of a medical residency at Titus McCall hospital where she recognizes a popular trauma surgeon Sam Donavan. Liza realizes the surgeon had appeared in several photos in the her family’s photo album. Why was Mr. Donavan in those photos and why does he seem to recognize her? Liza begins to investigate the mysterious doctor and discovers he maybe connected to several mysterious deaths. Could it be she is developing the same mental illness her mother has, That is what her friends and colleagues believe, but Liza is out to prove them wrong.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of Fatal Rounds by Carrie Rubin from Net Galley and Indigo Dot Press in order to read and give an honest review.

…Well-written, cleverly plotted with interesting and multifaceted characters, author Carrie Rubin gives you a brilliantly executed, clever, page-turning psychological medical thriller…

Being a fan of Carrie Rubin’s Dr. Benjamin Oris series I was thrilled to get to read and review the first of her new series, Fatal Rounds.

When first year medical student Liza Larkin embarks on her journey to be a pathologist, she has her reasons. Diagnosed with a schizoid personality and having her schizophrenic mother in an institution, Liza is determined not to be defined by the label. Liza also has another motive, while putting together a photo album together for her mother she sees a stranger hovering in several of her photos. Two pictures, one at her father’s funeral and another at her graduation, convince her that her family is being stalked, making her determined to get some answers. When she figures out who the stranger is she changes her residency to Titus McCall hospital where the famed trauma surgeon Sam Donavan works and thus the stalker becomes the stalked. Preferring her introverted life with a close-knit circle, Liza struggles to bond with her colleagues but she has a mission, and she will do what she can to get answers. When she starts uncovering secrets about Sam, secrets that point to her father’s death Liza is drawn into a cat and mouse game that pushes her both physically and mentally to the edge. Well-written, cleverly plotted with interesting and multifaceted characters, author Carrie Rubin gives you a brilliantly executed, clever, page-turning psychological medical thriller. I cannot wait to read the next in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it!

This is one of the greatest books I have read. The main character has a mental illness, instead of cataloguing all the ways this could be difficult in her job, the author shows all the protocols and techniques that she uses to be great at her job.

Now this was a great thriller but the detail and care put in to mental illness made it so much better.

A must read.

Fatal Rounds by Carrie Rubin is a solid medical thriller with a unique main character who has a mental illness. It's been a while since I read a medical thriller, and I'm glad I chose this one to get back to the genre.

Liza Larkin is starting her first year of residency as a pathologist at a hospital where she is hoping to learn more about Dr. Donovan, who disturbingly appears in a few of Liza's family photos. What is he doing hanging around in her periphery? Liza is determined to find the answer and bring justice if needed. She gets herself in over her head but refuses to turn back. The action takes off from there leading to a suspenseful plot full of danger and drama. I found the short chapters helped move the story along quickly, and the pace felt even. I was compelled to keep reading even when I should have stopped for the night!

Liza's character is fascinating, since she is aware of her schizoid personality disorder and uses strategies learned from her psychiatrist to compensate for her limited social skills. Of course, this makes her an unreliable narrator, which I find appealing in a thriller, since the trope leaves the reader guessing as to whether the main character's perceptions are reliable. I found Liza to be likable too, since she usually aims to stand up for those who need it, and she seems to want to do the "right" thing in the end, even if that means she has to do some ethically questionable actions to get there.

I will recommend this to readers who like medical thrillers and general suspense.

Thanks to Indigo Dot Press and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A fast paced medical thriller that kept me reading late into the night. What happens when the stalker becomes the stalkee??? Plenty of action with a few twists and heart in your mouth moments. A very entertaining and gripping read.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

I enjoyed this fast paced medical thriller. The storyline was unusual and covered multiple subjects, including mental heath and pathology. The mental health aspect I thought was especially well covered and talked about different conditions and how they affect different people. The book built up suspense and tension, although I did find it lulled a bit in places. Liza’s character was amazing, her attitude towards life and people was unique and refreshing, her strength really came through and I quickly grew to like her. This book was a nice easy read and the story was unique.

Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed FATAL ROUNDS. I don't know enough about schizoid personality disorder to comment on whether the narrator's characterisation was an accurate portrayal, but having such an unreliable narrator made it much more interesting. That being said, it did have my biggest book-fashion faux pax, which is referring to capri pants as high fashion. They haven't been fashionable for at least 20 years and are possibly the ugliest form of pant in existence. Incorrect fashion descriptions aside, I'd read other books by Carrie Rubin if the opportunity arose.

Wow! This was my first Carrie Rubin book but definitely won’t be my last! I loved it! The story was so good and perfectly executed. And the characters were amazing! Loved the cat and mouse tension as well as the dark twists and turns.
Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. This was an intense medical thriller that I had a great time reading. It centers around Liza Larkin who has a schizoid personality, but doesn't let it stop her from pursuing her goals. She wants to be a pathologist to study the brain because of her diagnosis and her mother being schizophrenic. While she's making a photo album for her mother she notices a strange man is in three of her photos. One of her graduation, one at her father's funeral and another that might be the same guy. On a whim she changes her residency to Titus mcall hospital to find out just who this man is. He turns out to be a trauma surgeon named Sam Donavan. Shes convinced Sam is a stalker and an unaliver and takes the steps she needs to prove it, even though they aren't quite ethical. I love the turnaround of the stalkee become the stalker. At some points it got a bit slow with so much description, but overall it was a good read for those that like thrillers. Tw: mental health issues, death, unaliving

A medical thriller about Liza and what she would do to protect her fragile family. Her mother is schizophrenic, her father has passed and her brother is depressed. Liza chooses to continue her training in the medical field at a hospital where Dr. Donovan is working. She feels like he is stalking her, so in turn she stalks him. This started because her mother saw a picture of Dr. Donovan and she goes into a deeper episode. That starts her curiosity. Liza is a strong and smart character. The other characters play well into the story line. A very riveting thriller that is entertaining.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Indigo Dot Press for this ARC, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was really intriguing to me and grabbed my attention because of the themes, which are stalking a stalker and the life of a doctor. I struggled a bit with medical jargon, but I looked it up and that's sort of the point of this book.

I liked the protagonist Liza and rooted for her to get to the truth of Dr. Sam Donovan's behavior. Although I can relate to Liza's personality to some extent because I'm autistic, the author does a good job of making sure Liza's personality disorder is credible. I also thought the side characters and sideplots pushed the overarching plot forward. It's quite rare to think that no character went to waste.

The gist of the story is that Liza enters her residency at the Titus McCall Medical Center, which is not where she initially wanted to go. Changing your residency is mental to stalk a particular doctor there and the reader is already hooked as to why she'd do that. Liza is able to see that Dr. Sam Donovan appears in some old photographs, which is a triggering point for her mother. Although there isn't a lot of information to go on, Liza is suspicious of Dr. Sam Donovan and is determined to get to the bottom of everything.

The ending is a bit unexpected, very explosive and totally delivers, so the book is an easy 5 stars for me. I read this book in one sitting and I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in mental illness and medical thrillers.

In Carrie Rubin's latest medical thriller, Fatal Rounds (Indigo Dot Press (2022), recent medical school grad, Liza Larkin is starting her pathology internship at Titus McCall, a renowned hospital though her #2 choice. For Liza, a brilliant and eclectic doctor with a brain like no other, she could have gone to her #1, but picked this one because of the popular and successful Dr. Sam Donovan. She's not stalking him. In fact, she thinks he's stalking her and by working with him, hopes to find out why. With her father dead, her mother schizophrenic, and her brother mildly depressed, it falls to Liza--with her superior intellect, her clever ability to connect dots, and her own considerable mental issues bordering on autism to be the strength behind her family. That means stopping anyone who endangers her mother or brother. Because of her own medical history, those who might support her are reluctant to do so, but as she finds more facts that can't be denied, ugly truths no one wants revealed begin to take shape. For Liza, the threats that brings to her have no weight against protecting those who need her.

I've read many of Carrie Rubin's books--The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter and The Bone Curse (click for reviews) for example. Being a medical doctor herself, developing a credible plot for a medical thriller is second nature. If this is your preferred genre, do yourself a favor and start reading her books. For this one, here are a few lines that stick with me:

"...I am indeed an island. Everyone else is on the mainland."

"I don't listen to music. Nature and my thoughts are enough."

"She [Liza's schizophrenic mother] chose my name, Liza, because it sounds like the German word for quiet: leise. Probably because she had so little quiet in her own head."

“You are not a list of symptoms, Liza. You are not a diagnosis."

"Like a good doctor only a whole lot better"

I don't find a lot of medical thrillers that are credible to their genre and put me as a layperson into the action. Carrie does this with ease. Highly recommended for those who love thrillers, fast-moving plots, and quirky characters.