COLLATERAL CARNAGE
Money. Politics. Big Pharma. What could go wrong?
As PTSD therapist Claire Wilheit is about to learn, a whole helluva lot.
A chance after-hours encounter with a fellow therapist reveals falsified patient files and thrusts Claire into a conspiracy poised to revolutionize treatment for US veterans now and for future generations, with deadly collateral damage.
Locked in a race against time to stop the release of one of most dangerous pharmaceuticals ever developed, Claire is plunged into an intrigue of corruption, runaway egos and medical hubris.
But she’s up against greed, power and a clock that’s about to run out.
Collateral Carnage is Chris Saper’s debut novel, a bone-chilling thriller set in a future much too close for comfort.
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Photo courtesy of BillDooling.com
My Story
I'm lucky enough to have had three pretty diverse careers spanning forty years. But solving puzzles has been at the heart of each one.
As a masters prepared health care administrator, I worked as a strategic planner, hospital administrator and implemented the pre-hospital/categorization program in Central Arizona.
A bachelor's degree in fine arts, put on the back burner for seventeen years, served me well as second career as a commissioned portrait artist. After all, what's a blank canvas except another big puzzle to solve? To date, I've completed nearly 400 commissions nationwide, and authored four books and four DVDs teaching other artists about my craft - and helping them develop their own.
As a voracious fiction reader, a relentless grammar nut, and Scrabble junkie, I love communicating clearly and with the best style I can.
And here we are! My first novel, set in the near future, about corruption and conspiracy within the government's delivery of mental health service to PTSD patients in the VA system.
Sound far-fetched to you? Not to me. I care about this stuff, deeply, and this is one way for me to elevate not only my own concerns, but those of so many of my fellow citizens.
Just published podcast:)
Thank you, Howard Fox, at successinsightpodcast.com for this opportunity! Listen in - it's only 15 minutes - and we talk about the writing process, inspiration, frustration and motivations!
Just in from The BookLife Prize...
Plot: A fast-moving pace is steeped in subterfuge and the danger of violently corrupt Big Pharma experimenting on PTSD patients in the VA Phoenix. The side story of Claire's evil sister also adds to the speed of the read.
Prose/Style: The voice is clean, sharp, and focused. Characters’ internal dialogues are exceptionally well crafted.
Originality: The focus on veterans abused by the VA system is unique for fiction, and when it's combined with Big Pharma greed and corruption, this story is not only original, it's also timely.
Character Development: The determined protagonists Claire and Aaron are a good team, and the antagonists are easy to loathe. Additional characters, such as Claire's cruel sister Stacy Atkins, have realistic and relatable personalities.
Blurb: The real-life ugliness of Big Pharma and Veterans Administration controversies are drawn into the limelight with this frighteningly believable work of fiction.
Score:
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Plot/Idea: 10
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Originality: 10
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Prose: 9
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Character/Execution: 10
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Overall: 9.75