Betrayal of Trust
A Medical Thriller
The medical thriller Betrayal of Trust probes the ethical fault lines of scientific ambition and justice.
In Geoffrey M. Cooper’s pulse-pounding medical thriller Betrayal of Trust, an assassin targets medical professionals.
The morning after Eric delivers a groundbreaking presentation on a new cancer drug, he is found dead from a clean stab to the heart. Then another cancer researcher, Steve, dies in a staged mugging. The killer’s motivations are unknown. With the body count rising, Brad, the director of a medical research institute with professional ties to the victims, becomes both a target and the bait. His fiancée, Karen, is a police lieutenant with an FBI background; she assists him through an investigation of misconduct, betrayal, and doomed ambition.
The book opens with the assassin, operating under the alias Shirley, preparing to stalk Eric, assembling wigs, contact lenses, makeup, and technology to assist. As the book continues, it switches between the killer’s perspective and the investigative threads at a rapid pace. The tension is relentless, with each chapter bringing fresh revelations and suggestions of imminent danger, whether through a hospital garage ambush or a climactic showdown in Brad’s office.
In his central role, Brad balances his scientific rigor with personal vulnerability. He is horrified by Steve’s death and frustrated over losing the promising clinical trials. At his opposite, Karen, a tough professional, offers emotional insights and procedural knowledge; she intuits where the killer’s rage originated. Secondary characters, including Ginger, a postdoctoral student, and computational students Barbara and Penny, are present to flesh out the collaborative world of cancer research. Even Shirley is developed in sympathetic terms, her backstory of betrayal sparking a twisted form of empowerment that’s both shocking and fascinating.
The prose is lean and functional, mirroring the sterile clinical settings. Scientific and medical details about antibody-drug conjugates and trial protocols weave into the narrative, including through conversations used to decipher trial phases. In suspenseful moments, commanding details appear, as with the sudden crack of a gunshot. A harrowing confrontation in Brad’s office pits Shirley against her final target, leading into a cathartic resolution that humanizes Shirley without glorifying her actions. The closing also hints at Brad and Karen’s coming professional and personal adventures in Maine, generating continued interest in the ongoing series.
Betrayal of Trust is a sharp, suspenseful thriller in which betrayal and injustice infect the otherwise sterile world of cancer research.
Reviewed by
John M. Murray
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