Patricia Gussin’s new novel After the Fall is a brilliantly written, well researched thriller novel that looks at obsession, loyalty and what we are willing to do for love.Tell us the synopsis of your book.
Reader’s Entertainment: Tell us the synopsis of your book.
Patricia :
In “After the Fall” Dr. Laura Nelson falls on the ice, tragically ending her career as a surgeon. Soon after, she accepts a position as Vice President for Research in a large pharmaceutical company. But as she works to finalize the approval of the company’s groundbreaking new drug, her efforts are thwarted by Jake Harter, a malicious FDA employee. Jake is obsessed with the beautiful Iraqi scientist who discovered the drug and when the drug is approved, the woman will collect a substantial bonus and return to Iraq. Once there, she will replace her dying father, the lead scientist in Saddam Hussein’s bioweapons program. While the Iraqis will stop at nothing to get their young scientist back, Jake Harter will stop at nothing to keep her, even if it means killing Laura.
Reader’s Entertainment: What do you feel is the most unique aspect of your story?
Patricia :
Laura is an accomplished, respective transplant surgeon whose career is shattered when she falls on the ice. When she takes a position in the pharmaceutical industry, she expects to face new challenges, but she does not expect a threat to her life. “After the Fall” is a blend of medicine and family and career and long buried secrets that implode in a terrifying intersection of good and evil.
Reader’s Entertainment: Tell us about your main character(s).
Patricia :
Laura Nelson was a medical student and young mother in “Shadow of Death”; a surgeon and mother of five kids in “Twisted Justice”; chief of surgery and the mother of teens in “Weapon of Choice”, and now a pharmaceutical executive in “After the Fall.” Laura has grown along with her children in the quartet of books, but she’s still strong, resilient and compassionate. And, in “After the Fall”, she comes full circle with her past and she faces the future with love on the horizon.
Reader’s Entertainment: What genre(s) is this and who do you think will enjoy reading it? (type of audience)
Patricia :
Readers of psychological thrillers, especially those who appreciate the infinite depth of family dynamics and realize the terrifying dimensions of the psychopathic mind. Audiences who enjoy medical suspense and those who’d like an inside look at the world of pharmaceutical development will enjoy this one.
Reader’s Entertainment: Have you received any feedback on it yet, and if so, what was it?
Patricia :
“After the Fall’ has had some great reviews, including a starred review in Publishers Weekly and a wonderful review in Booklist. I have had a lot of feedback from readers and reviewers when they realize that “After the Fall” will be the last in the four-book Laura Nelson series, that the young medical student starting out in Detroit is now the vice president of the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world and living in Philadelphia.
Reader’s Entertainment: Tell us something about yourself that most of your readers may not know.
Patricia :
Many readers do know that I am a physician and the mother of seven and that’s why I focus on medical careers and family dynamics in my thrillers. But many may not know that I have had firsthand experience as a vice president in a major pharmaceutical company. That’s why I can bring a huge degree of realism into the setting of “After the Fall.”
Reader’s Entertainment: What’s next for you?
Patricia :
Laura’s been through so much in the past twenty-five years of her life that she deserves a more secure, placid future. Next for me, will be a younger protagonist, perhaps one of Laura’s twin daughters, or perhaps both of them.
Reader’s Entertainment: Where can people interact with you and find out more about you and your books?
Patricia :
I am active on Facebook. www.facebook.com/patricia.gussin and visit my website www.patriciagussin.com and twitter as well. You can find lots of information on my publisher’s website www.oceanviewpub.com
