Description
In her latest work, author Audrey Gale merges three genres: historical fiction, medical thriller and coming-of-age story, cast with imperfect, relatable characters.
After an agonizing climb to earn his pathology specialty from Harvard Medical, early discoveries in the microscopic realms threaten not only Dr. Randall Archer’s hard-won place in the field of medicine, but his very life.
Dr. Randall Archer has always been a misfit…
…in the brutal blue-collar home where he grew up
…as a 16-year-old escaping to college, then medical school, on a full scholarship to Harvard.
…in the highest echelons of Boston society, where the woman he marries and the blueblood research partner with whom he shares his laboratory belong.
Archer’s brilliance as a pathologist catapults him into direct and dangerous conflict with the medical establishment he fought so hard to join. As the Great Depression presses down around him, Archer teeters at the edge of a precipice. He must choose between his hard-won career and the sacred oaths he took as a doctor and scientist—before all his choices are lost forever.
My Thoughts
This is a difficult book to classify. There are elements of suspense, mystery, and intrigue but also history and a little bit of romance. For this reader, the suspense, mystery & history worked most successfully; I could have done without the romance. Even with that minor issue, I found the story engaging and well-written.
The rapid pace of scientific advancement in the early-mid 20th century always makes for a fascinating and mysterious topic. The concept of scientific advances being quashed because of profit isn’t a new one, but Gale paints a vivid and gripping picture of one scientist’s story and persecution.
Clocking in at just over 260 pages, this makes a nice rainy afternoon read.
Publication Date: September 26, 2023
Published By: Books Fluent
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy
It's All About the Book 
Thank you for a thoughtful review!
Audrey Gale
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