Moral Injuries by Christie Watson
Olivia, Laura and Anjali met on the first day of medical school and their friendship would keep them inseparable for a quarter of a century. Olivia is ruthlessly ambitious, which is a bonus when you aim to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. Laura is a perfectionist and a trauma doctor. Anjali is the free spirit of the group and she becomes a GP. When we first meet them they're at a drug and alcohol-fuelled party and it's going to end in tragedy. We don't know who suffered the tragedy or the consequences. Twenty-five years later there will be an eerily similar event that will impact the three friends. This time, it's their teenage children who are involved.
| Moral Injuries by Christie Watson | |
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| Category: Thriller | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A psychological drama about secrets, lies, medicine and morals. Highly readable. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 320 | Date: March 2024 |
| Publisher: W&N | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: {{{isbn}}} | |
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Last time, they swore they would never speak about what happened again - and they've stuck to that. This time it's Olivia and Laura's children who are involved and Olivia is not going to allow a promise made last century - or her closest friendships - to stand in the way of protecting her child. It's not just the friendship that's now at risk - it's three careers on the line and the freedom and future of two teenagers.
It was a cracker of a read. An examination of ethics in medicine threw light on some dusty corners of my brain. I liked, too, the look at female friendship and the stresses of working in the modern NHS. The most impressive part, though, is the plot. There's a dual timeline - 1999 and 2024 - and the three women each give their version of what happened and how it affected them. You will have to concentrate to follow what's happening. There were several occasions when I had to go back a chapter or two to find out what was happening. Otherwise, the crafting is superb and made for a read which was very difficult to put down.
Christie Watson is a nurse by training and for someone not in the business, the medical side of the story was realistic: I felt present but not to the point where it became stressful. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio download (which I bought myself) narrated by Miranda Raison. Her range of voices is excellent. There are a lot of women in the cast and I was always confident about who was speaking. The pacing is good and I would happily listen to more from Raison.
You might also enjoy Right to Die by Hazel McHaffie.
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