Publisher's Weekly Review
Medical student McCarthy's accomplished first novel and series launch plunges Harry Kent, a London ER doctor who also serves as an on-call doctor for police matters (the British term is police surgeon), into a difficult situation: 17-year-old Solomon Idris has taken hostages in a fast-food restaurant and he needs medical help. Idris will let three hostages go if a physician treats him. Kent enters the restaurant, where he starts to treat Idris, but when the snipers covering Kent hear a gunshot, they shoot, wounding Idris. The teenager is taken to a hospital, where someone tries to kill him. The angry, determined Kent makes it his mission to save Idris-and to find out what made him resort to such a violent act. Kent's considerable backstory as an army doctor in Afghanistan includes his connection to James Lahiri, a doctor who saved Kent's life overseas and has been treating Idris in London. McCarthy provides a fascinating look at the sociology of crime and policing while deftly exploring the motivations of Idris, Kent, and Lahiri. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company (U.K.). (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Harry Kent is a London doctor who moonlights as a police surgeon. After a long night at the hospital, he is called into a hostage situation at a fast-food restaurant in south London. Solomon, the young hostage taker, is ill, and Kent gets him into the hospital, which turns out to be a major problem there are people who want Solomon dead, and some of those people could be some of Kent's colleagues. DI Frankie Noble is on the case, and she is a cop who doesn't mind breaking a few rules when she needs to. Frankie and Harry become an item, but that just adds to the fun of this lightning-fast British medical thriller that also feels like a police procedural at times. There is a bit of medical jargon sprinkled throughout the book, but fans of ER, Chicago Med, or Grey's Anatomy will feel right at home here, and readers who enjoy fast-paced thrillers, like those from Val McDermid and Mark Billingham, should enjoy this as well.--Alesi, Stacy Copyright 2016 Booklist
Library Journal Review
[DEBUT] This debut mystery introduces Dr. Harry Kent, a veteran of Afghanistan who was critically injured while serving in a forward medical unit and saved by his best friend. Now working with the London Metropolitan Police as a police surgeon, he is called in to treat 17-year-old Solomon Idris, who has taken hostages in a local fast-food restaurant and who is one of his old friend's patients. Solomon demands to talk to a lawyer, but as Kent is treating him, the police storm the restaurant and shoot the teenager. The boy is rushed to the hospital, and the next day his life is again endangered when his treatment is mixed up. It becomes clear that someone does not want Solomon to talk, and Kent begins to suspect that the "someone" is in the medical field. Verdict This fast-paced mix of medical thriller and crime novel keeps readers guessing until the surprising finale. McCarthy's medical knowledge as a fourth-year medical student and the South London setting give this book an authenticity that draws mystery fans in and will have them looking forward to the next Dr. Harry Kent novel.-Lisa O'Hara, Univ. of Manitoba Libs., Winnipeg © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.