Pulse – Judy G. Walters

Steph Warren - Bookshine

Nov 4

*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and Zach Gutin at 64 Squares Publishing. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Blurb: The world has no shortage of moral ambiguity, especially in the emergency room. In Pulse, we meet Dr. Jackson, the emergency room physician who seems to have the big house, beautiful wife, and an impeccable reputation of one of the most respected emergency physicians in Dallas. As the layers are peeled away, Dr. Jackson's life isn't so perfect after all. Filled with unique twists, complex medical cases and personal issues, Pulse proves that there is always more to the story!

After quite a shocking opening, this book settles into following the two ongoing strands of main character Bobby Jackson's life. One is his crazy home life, including an abusive wife and challenges in his relationship with his daughter, plus a new friendship that has the potential to develop into something more. The other is his professional life, in which we see his cases and colleagues at work in his career as an ER doctor, some positive and some sadly not.

I was reminded a little of the Doctor Finley stories by A.J. Cronin, but brought into a modern urban ER department, rather than a little rural GP surgery! The family and relationship drama alongside this hospital setting also brought to mind any number of televised medical soap operas.

Some aspects of the main plotline felt a little bit far-fetched, but the main characters are well-developed and engaging and most of the cases presented feel realistic. Plus there is an interesting little chess side-plot for fans of the game. The balance between these different elements, the personal and professional, and the pace of the story-telling all worked perfectly.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of tv shows such as ER, Doctors, Holby City and similar, or anyone interested in a medical drama that highlights the humanity and vulnerability of the human beings who have to take lives into their hands on a daily basis.

Just then the doors to the emergency department opened and in came a stretcher with paramedics flanking it on either side.
"Age ten." One of them barked, wheeling the gurney in. "Mom said he was under for a while, not sure how long, but speculate seven to ten minutes. Where's Dr. Morrison?" He asked impatiently, looking past me. I've encountered many paramedics before, but none that seemed as nervous as this one. No matter how hard I tried, he refused to make eye contact. Instead, he was stoic, blank-faced and clearly going through the motions as if this were some sort of training drill. In hindsight, I was oblivious to the awkwardness that was rapidly filling the room like a poisonous gas, and on top of that, I was annoyed. Why was this guy asking for Morrison when I was standing right in front of him, ready to take charge?

- Judy G. Walters, Pulse