Kelly Adkinson, an emergency room RN, wheels a gunshot victim into the ER while being held at gunpoint herself. The victim's brother is demanding that someone do something to save his brother. Dr. Mark Baker is the doctor on duty that night, and his first thought is to find an exit, a way to escape and save himself. Kelly and Mark work together in an ER room to get IVs started on the victim and do CPR.

Both know that the gunshot victim is already dead, but they are trying to buy some time and figure out what to do to save everyone's life. Police officer Ed Purvis bursts through the door and shoots the man holding them at gunpoint, but Purvis takes a bullet himself for his efforts. Mark wheels the officer up to OR, but Purvis doesn't make it.

After a long night of questioning from the police, Mark and Kelly are allowed to leave the hospital. The next day they are told by investigators that the two brothers are part of the Zeta drug cartel that has infiltrated Texas from Mexico. They are a deadly bunch and always seek revenge when they lose one of their own. Mark and Kelly are now targets of the cartel. Later they learn that two members of the OR staff have been shot and killed, so Mark and Kelly team up to try to stay alive. Can they outmaneuver the cartel before the police and DEA catch them? Mark and Kelly dated for a few months prior to this incident. Will this experience bring them closer together or tear them apart?

Dr. Richard L. Mabry brings us another great inspirational medical thriller with FATAL TRAUMA. I always enjoy his novels. He begins FATAL TRAUMA with a scene of tragedy, excitement and suspense and never lets up. It's a page turner you just can't put down. Both characters are facing the same predicament, but handle it very differently.

Kelly is a Christian and has peace in her heart knowing that God is ultimately in charge. Mark holds great fear in his heart and can't seem to find peace anywhere. He wrestles with many questions about what kind of person he must be to react to this situation as he is. This is a wonderful story about finding peace and letting God have control of your life. "Inspirational" and "thriller" don't seem to go together in the same sentence, but it's one of my favorite genres, and Dr. Mabry certainly does it supreme justice.

Book Summary

It began with Dr. Mark Baker facing a gunman who had nothing to lose. It could end with him behind bars.

In the Emergency Room, Dr. Mark Baker and Nurse Kelly Atkinson stand at the mercy of a gunman who declares, "If he dies, everyone here dies." At the end of the evening three men lie dead. One of them is a police officer Mark and a surgeon, Dr. Anna King, couldn't save. The other two are members of the feared Zeta drug cartel, and their threat of revenge puts the lives of Mark, Kelly, and others at risk.

It isn't long before the shootings begin, and Mark finds himself under suspicion as a killer, yet still a potential victim. Because of Kelly's growing love for Mark, she is hurt when he turns to his high school sweetheart, now an attorney, for help.

Who is the shooter? And can Mark find out before he becomes the next victim?

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