Does your occupation define you? For many, what they do is a part of who they are. So, when Dr. Laura Nelson slips on the ice crushing her wrist and hand, her days as a surgeon are over.
Extraordinary events push Laura into the path of a killer. But in the beginning it all just looks like bad luck and bad timing, but a good job, when she recovers and accepts the job as VP at a pharmaceutical company.
But the dominoes have been put in place. A madman working for the FDA, whose lover, Adawia, is one of the top scientists on a breakthrough project, knows Adawia will be forced to return to the Middle East and an arranged marriage as soon as the FDA approved the drug. So he devises a way to keep the drug from getting approval. But the drug is too good to keep pushing back and too much money is involved. The bodies start to pile up and now the murderer sees Laura as the last domino keeping him from what he wants.
The story clips along at a good pace. I had not read the previous Dr. Laura Nelson novels (this is #5) but I didn’t feel like I needed to go back to know what was going on. The story is pretty straight forward, you just don’t know where the killer is going to look next for a victim.
The characters are strong and the relationship between Laura and her love interest, Tim, is solid and interesting. She has some secrets of her own and they’re pretty big. You feel for her right away. You can tell she loved her job and losing it was a big blow for her. But, she’s strong and that’s good because things just get worse and she has to handle a lot of different balls in the air while staying safe and dealing with relationship issues.
The villain is worth note as well. I love that he is complex. You almost agree with him sometimes and that’s just scary. I love it when a villain is so sure they are doing the right thing and you can even understand their logic. Great villain!
After the Fall is suspenseful, well written, well researched with great characters. It is truly edge-of-your-seat reading!
You can find out more about the author and book at her website http://www.patriciagussin.com/.
