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Murder by Another Name

Jo Stone
Outskirts Press, Inc (2011)
ISBN 9781432765600
Reviewed by Enid Grabiner for RebeccasReads (01/11)

There is much to be said about letting nature take its course!  Too many wrinkles, sagging breasts, crooked noses, and depressive disorders are treated with miracle drugs and surgery.  Are they good alternatives to “just dealing with the problem”?  These days there are cures and solutions for just about any medical issue threatening the well being of the patient.    Good intentions by drug development companies, researchers and doctors often provide life-saving and prolonging results.  Many medical solutions that reach the public appear to be safe.  Sometimes down the line, however, long-lasting unanticipated side effects appear.   We all seem to take our chances of the good outweighing the bad outcome.

In this novel, Dr. Dan MacNamara  is encouraged by a drug company to use and tout their new breast implants as their product appears to be an improvement over older models which caused hardening of the area around the silicone product.   When a young mother, in whom he has implanted these new silicone gel products develops liver cancer and autoimmune complications, the link between the two becomes startling and he becomes alarmed.  He removes them and finds they are not stable in the body.  A lawsuit results.  Then an explosion killing a drug representative and seriously injuring the doctor further sets off alarm bells.

This stages a medical and legal dispute that impacts the lives of all involved.  Jo Stone, through the efforts of her fictional lawyer, Janet Stephenson,  explores the issue from all sides, presenting with a great amount of researched information, the technicalities of dealing with the fields of medicine and law.  As an attorney, she tried many cases involving breast implants, lending a realistic view of the process of getting justice.

Doctors educated with what appears to be good information from the drug companies, written research and FDA approval, use and prescribe as does Dr. Dan MacNamara.   When corrupt companies fueled by greedy executives cross ethical boundaries, the results can cost lives.  Patients die.  This is the crux of this novel.

This was a fascinating read and the only issue which diminished my reading pleasure was the fact that there are too many one-sided good guys and bad guys!  People are rarely that black and white.  A bit of extra effort on the nuances of characterization would have made an excellent novel spectacular!!!

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