Fatal Reaction (#1) by Belinda Frisch

2.0 out of 5 stars -- Attempt at medical thriller reads more like a soap opera. This novel, which apparently is supposed to be the first of a new series featuring Paramedic Ana Ashmore, is very predictable, has no suspense, and suffers from way too much romantic ridiculousness to be taken seriously as a mystery. Though it has, at its heart, an ethically questionable situation involving uterine organ transplantation, the medical science aspect took a back burner to melodrama. The perils and predicaments that Ana puts herself in have nothing to do with her job as a paramedic and, in fact, in the whole of the book, she handles only one actual ambulance call.

The story begins when Ana, who is on duty, sees a commotion at a dive hotel. When she is not called to the scene, she wanders on over anyway, and finds that the victim is already dead of a possible suicide, and that the woman is her sister! Ana rushes into the room and interrupts the crime scene investigation, finds out the details from her friend the cop, and from that point on, she starts her own investigation because she is sure that it was homicide. Her sleuthing leads her to revelations about her sister's recent cancer diagnosis and to the whole plot line involving the medical team performing cutting edge surgery. There are too many different characters to keep track of, all of them one-dimensional stereotypes, who are more concerned with who they are sleeping with than the care of their patients. There are no surprises as the whole spectacle finally winds down with a blah conclusion.

I don't plan to read the next book in this series and just felt relief that I actually stuck with this to the end. I try to read every medical mystery or thriller I can find, and I'm always open to trying new authors so I'm glad that NetGalley offered me this e-book ARC to review. I'll keep looking.