Weapon of Choice: A Laura Nelson Thriller

by Patricia Gussin

Overview

New York Times and USA Today Best-Selling Author

Bad Bacteria—Bad People—A horrifying mix

Life is good for Dr. Laura Nelson. Her kids have their ups and downs but seem well adjusted to high school and college; her research project at the university is going well; and she is highly regarded as the chief of surgery at Tampa City Hospital. This sense of tranquility is disrupted when she is drawn into the diagnosis of the first case of HIV/AIDS seen in Tampa.

But the challenge of this new disease is dwarfed by the disaster that impacts Laura's life a few days later. A highly resistant bacterial infection is raging in the surgical intensive care unit, and patients are dying. To make matters worse, Laura's daughter is exposed to the bacteria and begins to show symptoms.

Desperate at this point, Laura calls her young friend, Dr. Stacy Jones, at the CDC in Atlanta. Stacy arrives in Tampa, unaware that a deadly plot is underway in Atlanta as a covert white supremacist cell plans an unthinkable attack on a massive scale.

Caught in the middle, Laura and Stacy encounter an opportunity to connect the Tampa nightmare with the impending Atlanta devastation. But can they prevent it?

Fans of Robin Cook and Tess Gerritsen will love this truly infectious thriller

While all of the novels in the Laura Nelson Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Shadow of Death
Twisted Justice
Weapon of Choice
After the Fall

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608090525
Publisher:	Oceanview Publishing
Publication date:	10/27/2012
Series:	The Laura Nelson Series , #3
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Patricia Gussin is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author who is also Board Certified in Family Medicine and has had a career as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry. Her award-winning novels tell the stories of normal people under extraordinary stress. The choices they make. The consequences that follow. The process of endurance and recovery. Shadow of Death, nominated best first novel by International Thriller Writers, is followed by Twisted Justice, Weapon of Choice, and After the Fall. They comprise Medicine and Mayhem: The Laura Nelson Thriller Collection. Her standalone thrillers include And Then There Was One, The Test, and Come Home.

Editorial Reviews

Set in 1985, Gussin’s mildly engrossing third medical thriller featuring Dr. Laura Nelson (after 2007’s Twisted Justice) finds the thoracic surgeon facing Tampa City (Fla.) Hospital’s first-ever HIV/AIDS case. In addition to her patient, Matthew Mercer, Laura must also deal with infectious disease researcher Victor Worth, who has only recently discovered he is Matthew’s father. Angered that his former employer, Keystone Pharma, has passed up a drug that could save Matthew’s life, Victor plots to experiment on hospital patients. CDC researcher Charles Scarlett, meanwhile, draws up an even less safe prescription, this one consisting of flesh-eating bacteria, on behalf of a white supremacist group, the Order. Also included among the plethora of characters and plot twists are Laura’s woes over an illness suffered by her daughter, Natalie; a bit of romance; and the difficulties of single motherhood. There are too many organisms in the petri dish, but Gussin manages to bring it all together for a slam-bang finish. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Relentless suspense and pitch-perfect medical details make Weapon of Choice a knockout, a truly infectious thriller you won't be able to put down!” —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times best-selling author

“Authentic, insightful, and incredibly scary—everything a powerful medical thriller should be! Fans of Robin Cook and Michael Palmer will be riveted by this cautionary tale.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha and Macavity-winning author

“This is a taut and fast-moving thriller set against a dramatic backdrop . . . For fans of medical thrillers, a solid and satisfying read.” ―Booklist

“Though set in the recent past, Weapon of Choice raises very contemporary concerns about antibiotic resistance, bioweapons, and containment.” —Science Thrillers

“Strongly etched heroes and villains anchor a top-notch bio-medical thriller that rivals the best work of such masters as Robin Cook and Michael Crichton.” ―Sacramento Book Review

Praise for Patricia Gussin

“Brave, unflinching suspense—elegant, intelligent, and superb.” —Lee Child, New York Times best-selling author

“Reaches deep into the heart of any parent's nightmare, then ratchets up the tension five or six notches more, sending the reader on a roller coaster ride of false leads and fresh suspects that will leave you gasping at the end.” ―Lisa Gardner, New York Times best-selling author

“Here is a novel as riveting as it is relentless, driving toward a climax that will have you burning through pages late into the night.” ―James Rollins, New York Times best-selling author

“The lines between right and wrong and good and evil are smudged almost beyond recognition, but there's emotional clout that resonates, all leading to a provocative conclusion.” —Steve Berry, New York Times best-selling author

From the Publisher

"Relentless suspense and pitch-perfect medical details make Weapon of Choice a knockout, a truly infectious thriller you won't be able to put down!"

New York Times best-selling author Tess Gerritsen

Switching setting and point of view with skillful pacing, Patricia Gussin builds enormous tension as time is about to run out to control the emergency in Tampa and thwart the plot in Atlanta.”

“Strongly etched heroes and villains anchor a top-notch bio-medical thriller that rivals the best work of such masters as Robin Cook and Michael Crichton.”

” Set in 1985, the doomsday premise ofWeapon of Choiceseems just as eerily possible today.”

San Francisco / Sacramento / Portland Book Review

Weapon of Choice kept me on the edge of my seat…Gussin’s medical experience brings authenticity to every page. The twists and turns kept the tension high and my poor fingernails ended up bitten to the quick. If you like medical dramas and/or thrillers then you’ll want to check this one out.”

popcornreads.com

"This is a taut and fast-moving thriller set against a dramatic backdrop...For fans of medical thrillers, a solid and satisfying read."

Booklist