Cutting Edge Suspense: Life and Death Stakes in “Doing Harm”

P.D. Workman
2 min readOct 22, 2024

If you haven’t yet had a chance to pick up Muffin to Hide, released last week, head on over to my blog post now!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.

Doing Harm” by Kelly Parsons is a gripping medical thriller that blends the intricacies of surgery with a heart-pounding narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats.

At the center of this thrilling tale is Steve, an up-and-coming surgical resident. As he navigates the challenges of his demanding career, he also faces the pressures of fatherhood — his third child is on the way.

Parsons excels in portraying the procedural aspects of medicine with authenticity and detail. I suspected that he was a surgeon himself, and it took some looking but I found a biography and interview here.

Things take a dark turn when a patient dies under suspicious circumstances, and the investigation focuses on Steve himself. Steve grapples with helplessness and fear for both his career and his family’s safety.

A must-read for fans of medical dramas and thrillers.

Warning: Like many thrillers, Doing Harm contains some strong language. Avoid if you are sensitive to this.

And, at this point, I’m blissfully unaware of how that simple mistake marks the beginning of the end of Mr. Bernard.

Kelly Parsons, Doing Harm

Summary

Chief resident Steve Mitchell is the quintessential surgeon: ambitious, intelligent, confident. Charged with molding a group of medical trainees into doctors, and in line for a coveted job, Steve’s future is bright. But then a patient mysteriously dies, and it quickly becomes clear that a killer is on the loose in his hospital. A killer set on playing a deadly game with Steve. A killer holding information that could ruin his career and marriage. Now, alone and under a cloud of suspicion, Steve must discover a way to outsmart his opponent and save the killer’s next victim before the cycle repeats itself again and again…

A chilling and compelling thriller that also takes you into the hospital and details the politics and hierarchy among doctors, as well as the life and death decisions that are made by flawed human beings, Kelly Parsons’ Doing Harm marks the gripping debut of a major fiction career.

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P.D. Workman
P.D. Workman

Written by P.D. Workman

Writing riveting mystery, suspense, and young adult fiction about real life issues.

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