The Final Push

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

synopsis

Synopsis

While on call for the trauma service, third-year medical student Michael Higgins finds himself in an extraordinary situation. He is summoned to the ER to participate in the evaluation and management of a critically-injured patient and soon discovers that the unconscious man lying before him is the same man who, two months earlier, committed a heinous act of violence that shattered Michael’s personal life. Following a lengthy emergency operation, the patient—known only as John Doe—is now under the care of the trauma team, of which student doctor Mike Higgins is a member. As John Doe’s condition gradually improves, Higgins’ personal life deteriorates further, but there might be a way to reverse the downward spiral: if he sees to it that John Doe never leaves the hospital, Michael Higgins’ world may right itself.

bio

Author Biography

I’m a former heart surgeon turned fiction writer. I write what can be described as medical mysteries, medical thrillers or novels of medical suspense, but I prefer to think of them as novels of surgical suspense. What is surgical suspense? Surgeons, surgical diseases and the operating room are all inherently dramatic. As a former surgeon, I’ve experienced this drama first hand and thought it would make for good fiction. My surgery training took me from the knife-and-gun-club of LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, to the famed Bellevue Hospital in Midtown Manhattan. My education as a writer includes an MFA degree where I was mentored by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane, among other accomplished faculty. I know a lot about medicine and surgery, I know a lot about writing and storytelling, and I believe that combining this vast and unusual right-brain/left-brain experience will make for interesting reading and discussion, so please visit often.

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Author Insight

Mike Higgins meets John Doe

In this excerpt from early in the story, third-year medical student Mike Higgins is called to the ER to participate in the evaluation and management of a severely-injured trauma patient known only as John Doe. As he examines Doe, Higgins soon discovers something that will knock his world off its axis.

Book Excerpt

The Final Push

He listened intently as the senior paramedic gave report: “The patient is a John Doe, no ID, probably late twenties or early thirties, hard to tell with the facial swelling. He was the unrestrained driver in a single-vehicle MVA. The car hit a utility pole at high speed. The passenger, also unrestrained, was ejected through the windshield and pronounced dead at the scene.” As the paramedics reported vital signs, known injuries, and treatment administered in the field, Higgins studied the patient.

John Doe strained against heavy straps securing him to the wooden backboard. A cervical collar kept his neck aligned. His swollen head resembled a bloody pumpkin. Lacerations on his face, forehead and scalp seeped blood, and his T-shirt was covered with it. His jeans were dirty and torn, the tears old and frayed, not related to the accident. As John Doe squirmed and moaned, he opened his eyes. His stare was glassy and vacant. His groans, guttural. He would need to stay strapped to the board with his neck immobilized until X-rays ruled out spinal injury.

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Richard Van Anderson

The Final Push

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Mike Higgins meets John Doe

Book Excerpt

The Final Push

Comment on this Bubble