Aug 14 2024
Off

Grip: A suspense and conspiracy novel

By Lynnepi

I have a self-published novel available on Amazon at this link: GRIP. I finally have a post about writing! Here’s a description:

Small packages don’t always hold good things…

Claire Smithfield assumed she would follow the path set for her as a wife, mother and public health epidemiologist.  Instead, fate rewarded her with trips to divorce court and the unemployment line.  Determined to support her young daughter, she finally lands a job at Grandon Memorial Hospital. 

Grandon Memorial has staged its own comeback from the aftershocks of a grisly murder in the O.R.  Not long ago it almost closed down, but now its beds were filled with satisfied patients receiving award-winning care.  Claire can’t wait to start there until she has a wellness visit for new hires with the hospital physician.  Noting her recent stress, he prescribes an antidepressant – and company policy requires her to take it.  Not only that, but she’ll have blood draws to ensure her levels are “in the therapeutic range.”  The clinic nurse explains it’s part of Grandon’s mission to get to “zero safety events.”  If she didn’t need the job so badly, she would have walked away.

At first her concerns fade as she settles in with her friendly, workaholic colleagues.  But before long things get weirder after she discovers the secret to the hospital’s formula for success, a formula which sometimes has devastating consequences for patients.  When Claire encounters one of these scenarios she tries to get it shut down behind the scenes. Things don’t go as planned.  The ensuing attention proves inconvenient for Grandon Memorial’s executives, who are very protective of the system that keeps the accolades flowing and their wallets fat.  Can Claire stay out of their line of sight?

Posted inUncategorized

About The Author

I have a PhD in Public Health (epidemiology, biostatistics) and over 30 years’ experience in the design and statistical analysis of investigator-initiated clinical research at large community health care systems. I work primarily with physicians and to a lesser extent, pharmacists and nurses. Research is a “team sport” and I’ve learned plenty from the clinicians with whom I’ve worked. I have also worked with Institutional Review Boards (IRBs – multidisciplinary committees that evaluate proposed research for whether the benefits it may provide to the participants outweigh the anticipated risks) and have an interest in research ethics and conflicts of interest in research.