Deadly cure : a novel / Lawrence Goldstone.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A remarkable new historical thriller by New York Times notable mystery author Lawrence Goldstone that evokes the New York City of 1899.

In 1899, in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Noah Whitestone is called urgently to his wealthy neighbor's house to treat a five-year-old boy with a shocking set of symptoms. When the child dies suddenly later that night, Noah is accused by the boy's regular physician--the powerful and politically connected Dr. Arnold Frias--of prescribing a lethal dose of laudanum.

To prove his innocence, Noah must investigate the murder--for it must be murder--and confront the man whom he is convinced is the real killer. His investigation leads him to a reporter for a muckraking magazine and a beautiful radical editor who are convinced that a secret, experimental drug from Germany has caused the death of at least five local children, and possibly many more. Noah is drawn into a dangerous world of drugs, criminals, and politics, which threatens not just his career but also his life.

Goldstone weaves a savvy tale of intrigue and stunning twists that incorporates real-life historical figures and events while richly recreating the closing days of the nineteenth century--a time when American might was on the march in the Pacific, medicine was poised to leap into a new era, radical politics threatened the status quo, and the role of women in American society was undergoing profound change.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

In 1899 Brooklyn, Dr. Noah -Whitestone is accused of prescribing a lethal dose of laudanum to an ailing five-year-old patient by the boy's powerful and politically connected regular doctor. To prove his innocence, Whitestone must investigate and face down the real killer. Along the way, he encounters a muckraking radical editor and soon gets drawn into a grim world of politics and experimental drugs. VERDICT -Goldstone follows his acclaimed debut historical mystery, The Anatomy of Deception, with another vibrant and distinctive forensic page-turner. For fans of Caleb Carr and E.S. Thompson.-ACT © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Set in New York City in 1899, this exceptional thriller from Goldstone (Anatomy of Deception) exposes the underside of American medicine at that time. Dr. Noah Whitestone is about to visit some patients from his Brooklyn practice when a neighbor, Mildred Anschutz, begs him to tend to her five-year-old son, Willard, who's suffering severe abdominal pain. Despite his providing appropriate treatment-two drops of laudanum to allow the child to rest-Willard dies, and his influential family holds Noah responsible. Desperate to clear his name and preserve his reputation, Noah tests a sample of an unknown pill that Arnold Frias, the regular Anschutz family doctor, prescribed to Willard; a radical journalist later informs Noah that Frias may be connected to a cabal that has already made millions peddling patent medicines that are either worthless or actively harmful. Despite his suspicions about the reporter's motives, Noah soon has reason to credit his account and finds his own life in jeopardy. Goldstone again blends fact and fiction seamlessly. Agent: Michael Carlisle, Inkwell Management. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

The sometimes unethical use of experimental procedures and medications by doctors is under scrutiny in Goldstone's latest Victorian medical mystery. Brooklyn doctor Noah Whitestone, pining for his dead wife and child, and ambivalently awaiting his next marriage, rushes to his neighbor's house to treat five-year-old Willard Anschutz, in the absence of the boy's regular doctor, only to watch the child die. Unfortunately, Willard's usual physician is both powerful and vindictive, and his pugnacious father is a famous military man on his way home. Noah is publicly accused of the child's death, but he knows Willard's demise came through pernicious opiate use of some kind. With his career and his life on the line, Whitestone fights to prove his innocence and expose the real criminals. A fascinating perspective on the introduction and misuse of patent medicines, this puzzler makes a forceful statement against the kinds of drugs that are still a problem today. With strong female characters, twisted bad guys, and a suspenseful, fast-moving plot, this immensely readable historical mystery compares well with Anne Perry's A Sunless Sea (2012) and E. S.Thomson's Beloved Poison (2016).--Baker, Jen Copyright 2017 Booklist

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Lawrence Goldstone is the author or co-author of more that a dozen books, and has written for the Wall Street Journal , Los Angeles Times , Boston Globe , New Republic , Chicago Tribune , and Miami Herald . He and his wife, author Nancy Goldstone, live in Sagaponack, New York.