UNDER THE KNIFE

By Kelly Parsons

For those who fell head-over-heels in love with the high-action suspense delivered in the title, “Doing Harm,” you will be doubly thrilled by this one.

At the beginning of this story we are introduced to Morgan Finney, a biotechnology maven who has just buried his wife. His wife, however, didn’t have to meet her maker; there was actually some kind of mistake made that Finney is blaming on the doctor: Dr. Rita Wu.

Mr. Finney’s wife, Jenny, was the only person who seemed to get along with him and he depended on her for everything. Now, having lost his wife to what he believes was outright negligence, he has decided that Dr. Wu should be gone too.

Picking a small notebook out of his pocket, he writes the words: “Dr. Rita Wu. I’m going to kill her.” That is his vow, but he also makes a promise to himself that he will make the doctor suffer as badly as Jenny did.

He begins to work on his plan: before he kills the woman, he wants to ruin her life, her career and anything else he can think of. Finding aid in a very mysterious man named Sebastian, Finney uses every bit of medical technology there is on the planet to torture Rita. He ruins her reputation and literally brings her to the edge of madness. Rita, alone and fighting for her life, also receives help—a former lover who will work day and night to expose Finney’s intentions before the doctor meets the same fate as Jenny.

This tops the charts in both suspense and horror, in my mind. It doesn’t “scare” you at first, but the plot definitely sneaks up on you when you least expect it. Kelly Parsons has hit yet another home run.