Fatal Intent

Fatal Intent by Tammy Euliano is a fast-paced medical mystery thriller. The story follows the main character Dr. Kate Downey who starts looking into the unexpected deaths of elderly patients after minor surgeries, which shouldn’t have killed them. Kate is an anesthesiologist and was part of the team involved in the surgeries. While she suspects the surgeon Dr. Charles Ricken, she does not have any evidence to prove it. The Chief of Staff is quick to blame Dr. Kate Downey as she is already under probation for a previous error, she committed during a heart transplant. Kate now has to prove her innocence to not only save her job but her career as well. And she must do it while caring for her husband who’s in a vegetative state after an accident while on duty. 

When Christian O’ Donnell, a lawyer and the son of one of the victims, offers to help her, she finds herself with an accomplice and a good friend. Kate wrestles with her growing feelings for Christian while she feels guilty for her feelings when her husband is in such a state. 

The whole story takes place within a two-three weeks window and is paced very well. Clues that lead to the original killer are placed throughout the book, plus one to the author for managing to do this in as subtle a manner as possible. One of the most annoying things I find in thriller novels is when clues end up becoming spoilers. Tammy Euliana has managed to provide the readers with enough to keep it interesting, but at the same time keep us guessing. Dr. Kate Downey is a lovable character and as a reader, I felt an instant connection to her. She goes through a variety of internal emotional conflicts during the two weeks of traumatic events as the story unfolds. It culminates by leading her to an impossible decision where she must make a choice on who to save among all her loved ones. An impossible choice for any human let alone a Doctor who has taken an oath to protect all lives. 

The Climax of the story reveals the killer and the figure behind the killer. While I was able to guess who it might be, I was pleasantly surprised by the manner in which it was revealed. It kept me on the edge of my seat and had me turning the pages without missing a beat. The only aspect that I did not like was the stereotyping of POC. The author describes a Black Man for the security guard role, an Asian Ph.D. researcher, and a Latina Housekeeper. I would’ve preferred it if the author hadn’t done that and left their ethnicity out of the descriptions for these very minor roles that are a blink and you miss roles in the book. Religion and the right to live or die is a big concept of this book. However, the author has managed to base the mystery on this concept without making it controversial. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and recommend it to everyone who loves a good mystery thriller, especially those who love medical mysteries. 

I give it a solid 4/5 stars.

Fatal Intent by Tammy Euliano was a great mystery that kept me intrigued until the very end.

Just enough twists and turns to keep you interested. Love the MC -  Dr. Kate Downey. Overall I give this a 5 star review. This book was provided to me in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Elderly patients were dying days after having surgery. This book had many twists and turns and kept me guessing from the first page through the last. This book was well written  and I cant wait to read Tammy's next one.

Fatal Intent came out of nowhere for me and sucked me in.  A thrilling medical story that has it's fair share of twists and turns with action and friendships to keep things real.  

I am really hoping that the author has more books with these characters up her sleeve.

Fatal Intent by Tammy Euliano was an enjoyable read. The topic was intriguing, and the characters and plot held my attention from the beginning. Even though this was a medical mystery, it was written in such a way that individuals who are not in the medical field, would be able to understand and follow the plot. I like reading mysteries that keep me guessing, and offer a surprise ending. This novel did both! I would recommend this book, and I'm looking forward to reading additional novels by Tammy Euilano.

This medical thriller raises all the questions around death and dying and whether individuals are permitted to “play God”. It was a good book, fast paced with its twists and turns. A Medical ethical mystery. I got somewhat confused attempting to keep all the characters straight but overall would recommend reading Fatal Intent.

Great book from a great author full of suspense and drama would read more from this author in the future

I thought I knew what was going to happen.  I did not see all of what was coming!  Love that!  Great book

A very good read. It gripped me from the start. The topic is an interesting one. I for one would not want to live a half life and would hope for a mercy killing, so my family didn't have to willow in my slow passing. We often joke about it, but it is a very serious subject with very serious consequences, I would hope by then there will not be any legal issues. All in all a very thought provoking topic.

3.9 Stars

Anesthesiologist, Dr. Kate Downey, has enough issues to deal with. When the elderly patients who were under the care start to die, she worries how it would affect her already troubled career. As more deaths occur, and Christian, the son of one of the dead men, wants to check if there was something sinister, Kate agrees to check the reports with him. 
The incidents at the hospital, the hostility from the Chief of Staff, a surgeon, and a medical student begin to push her into a corner. Kate knows she needs to get to the bottom of the issue. Together with Christian, Aunt Erm, and a few others, she starts collecting information.  
She gets threats, has to take a leave of absence, and almost loses her life. With her husband, Greg, lying in a coma for a year with no signs of improvement, Kate has a lot to lose. How she gathers evidence, fights the killer, and finally comes to terms with some things in her life forms the story. 
The book starts on a slow note, and with so many characters being introduced, it gets hard to keep track. But the story picks up speed, and it gets easier to remember the characters. Not all of them are important, so it’s easy once we get into the story. 
The narration slows down and picks up at the appropriate places, making the story quite intriguing and engaging. While the readers know who the killer is and even probably why the way the climax was handled was very good. There is action, enough of it to keep us reading page after page without taking a break. 
Some of the characters felt unidimensional as if that’s all they could do. It did bring down the interest a little. However, Aunt Irm, gets our attention. The way her mind works, and how she expresses it makes her a strong and sensible character. While Kate is hesitant, cautious, and wondering, Aunt Irm doesn’t hesitate or stall. She is straightforward and better at connecting the dots. 
The theme deals with Religion and God, but the author handled it deftly without overemphasizing, taking sides, or preaching. This balance works well for the book. 
Overall, the story needs some patience and determination to read the first 20%. But stick around, and you’ll enjoy a good medical thriller (even if some of it is too complex for non-medics to understand). 
Thank you, NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing, for the ARC copy. 

#FatalIntent #NetGalley

Great read.  The author really draws the reader into the story. Will definitely read another book by this author. This was very well written, I could not put the book down.

Review of Fatal Intent by Tammy Euliano.

When I began my clinical years in medical school, I soon realized that we humans often mishandled end-of-life issues. I particularly remember an attending physician who believed that if we did nothing heroic to save a person’s life, even if they had begged us not to, that this was “playing god.” It seemed to me that making such lifesaving efforts no matter what the patient wanted was exactly like “playing god,” but the attending would hear nothing of such an argument. I no longer remember that doctor’s name, but I can still feel the chill from his gaze as he pointed his finger at all the house officers and medical students while saying that this was his intent and we better not disobey him. There was an older male patient who was terminal from metastatic lung cancer. He could no longer communicate with us, but he had previously told us he did not want to be kept alive with respirators and other such devices. His family begged us to put him on a DNR (do not resuscitate) list, but the attending told us not to observe such wishes. The nurses, residents, interns and medical students were aghast. I had no authority, but I agreed with the rest of the staff that if a life threatening matter arose, we would do what we could to honor the patient’s and family’s wishes. Late at night, already unconscious, he involuntarily extubated himself. Given the hour of the day, the attending was at home, probably already asleep. Those of us who were in the hospital just moved slowly to respond, and the patient died. The attending was none the wiser. In what I judged to be inhumane attitude by the attending, I remember being horrified at being placed in such an unreasonable position by an inflexible and haughty physician. The decisions about such patients is always difficult, when one should pull the plug on a respirator and allow the end of life to occur. It is not always obvious when one should make all possible heroic efforts and such dramas play out on a daily basis throughout the world.

Fatal Intent by Ms. Euliana is about an end of life circumstance for a much younger man, Greg, who was Kate’s husband who was being kept alive. Kate was an anesthesiologist, having completed medical school and her residency. She had become an attending physician at the local medical school. She became aware that several patients were dying after what had been minor surgeries (the definition of minor surgery is surgery that’s done to anyone else but you). She suspected she was encountering someone who had found a way to terminate patients without it appearing to look like murder. There were some people in the hospital hierarchy who did not appreciate Kate’s investigation into the matter and who tried to ruin her reputation. This was a well-written murder mystery which presented the real human struggles that are behind such circumstances. Well done Ms. Euliano – you’ve brought to mind some of my own memories that I had not thought about in many years, and you’ve done so with compassion.

I liked this one. It was so interesting to see the inner workings of a hospital and how things run. (whether accurate or not, it was interesting getting that glimpse)

I was not disappointed with the action and the pace. However, some of the characters felt a little bland to me and needed further development. Also, the medical jargan was a lot and could have had some further explanation to some pieces while still maintaining the medical background. 

The ending came as a bit of a surprise. I don't think anyone really could have pieced this together to figure it out before the reveal. Overall, not bad but could have used some edits to smooth some areas out.

I received this book through "NetGalley" Read Now program.

This story begins with Kate discovering that 3 of the patients that she performed anesthesia on have died. Since she was placed on probation, she decided that she needed too look into the cases to find out what happened. She brought this to the attention of the surgeon to see if he had any ideas. He just said that they were all sick and people die. Because of this conversation, the surgeon filed a complaint with the chief of staff as well as the Medical Board. In her defense, she explained to the chief of staff and the people dying as well as an explanation for a complaint filed by a study that she tried to help with his problem solving an simulation of a person going into distress. The student needed to be able to perform in order to pass her course.

Kate was place on a leave of absence, so she continued investigating the deaths of patients in her hospital. She along with Chris, a son of one of the patients, in addition to one her students. In the course of the investigation, Kate had her house broken into as well as potentially being killed while vising one of the patients that was still alive. Also, the pursuit of other cases which were similar as well as 2 that happened just recently in Atlanta and which resulted in the death of Kate's student.

After the Atlanta incident, Kate was placed in another predicament when she received a call that her husband, who was in a coma, required emergency surgery. The facts all fell in place while at this location.

To find out the events that happened at the hospital her husband was in, whether Kate was vindicated, and who all of the parties involved with the killings were, then you must read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Probably not the best book to read 4 weeks out from surgery but a great read following Dr. Kate Downey and the mysterious deaths of patients after minor surgeries.

A gripping tale, and a very interesting topic as there are not enough medical thrillers in my opinion! I did find it a little tricky to keep up at first as there were so many characters introduced in a short period of time, but underneath that was a great thriller which developed clearly once I pushed through my initial confusion. 

I loved reading through Kate's discoveries, investigations and the twists and turns along the way. I really think this was a great book and i'm excited to see more from the author.