The Price of Life
Greg McCarthy
Otherworld Publications, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-9826494-5-9
Hardcover
This novel contains many of the pluses and minuses typical of a first novel. It has the germ of a good idea for a plot, many interesting observations, and excellent expert information based on the author’s background. The author has practiced law in Texas for more than two decades, primarily in the areas of personal injury and medical practice. And it is from this experience that the book was born. Unfortunately, biographies do not make for a good murder mystery, and the book is overloaded with too many situations and conversations that are obviously derived from Mr. McCarthy’s life and law practice, many of which should have been edited out as irrelevant.
The plot, however, is a good one: An eight-year-old girl suffering from a brain tumor is denied insurance coverage for an “experimental” operation to remove it. Her father, a U.S. Marine Captain who has served four tours in Iraq, returns home just as she dies. Her death might have been prevented a year earlier had the physician ordered an MRI and discovered the tumor when it was small and could be removed. Thus, a medical malpractice suit brought by attorney Grant Mercer, who suffers from his own form of burnout. And the inevitable discovery of political machinations to limit awards for malpractice to almost nothing, as well as the extremes to which people will go to obtain “justice.”
The aspects of the legal ramifications of limiting malpractice awards and the details about bringing cases through the system, including depositions, are necessary for the reader to understand the subject, though overly detailed. That said, it is unfortunate that too often there are lengthy tirades on a variety of subjects which probably could have been eliminated. While an interesting effort, I suspect it could have been much better.
[It should perhaps be noted that the book has also been published in paperback format.]
Reviewed by Ted Feit, October 2010.
Buried Under Books 