Official Review: Clinical Execution by M.E.Haul
Posted: 20 Oct 2017, 03:24
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Clinical Execution" by M.E.Haul.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Clinical Execution is a crime fiction story by M. E. Haul. This is the author’s debut novel.
Told in the third person, this book follows the story of Daniel Bishop, a well-respected vascular surgeon who works at the Central and General Hospital in the Midlands of England. He is extremely competent in his work, liked by most his colleagues, admired by his students and has a large clientele base. He performs a variety of operations in his daily practice, ranging from routine stripping of varicose veins to emergency life-saving surgery on ruptured aortic aneurysms. Overall, he is very satisfied with his work life.
Daniel’s wife, Sarah, is less than satisfied with Daniel’s commitment to his work and, after years of being a stay at home mother to their daughter, Camilla, is now feeling both bored and neglected by her husband. Now that Camilla has gone to University, Sarah decides to do something for herself. She joins the controversial British Heritage Party (BHP). BHP was created by Guy Forsythe, a man with a lot of charisma and good looks. The policies of his party predominantly focus on returning Britain to its pre-immigration state, claiming that the current multicultural laws are discriminating against Christians. Guy wants all immigrants to be returned to their homelands unless they have specific skills that would benefit Britain.
Daniel is not happy with his wife’s decision to join BHP and is concerned about how it will impact on his work. Like most health care facilities, there is a large multicultural workforce in the hospital where Daniel is employed. He does not want his colleagues thinking that his wife’s association with BHP reflects his own personal views in any way. As Sarah’s role in BHP rapidly progresses, Daniel’s world begins spiralling downwards. Not only does his wife’s political ambitions go against all he believes in, he then learns his wife is having an affair with Guy. As his world comes crashing down, Daniel begins to lose all that is dear to him. With each loss, Daniel becomes increasingly bitter and even more determined to exact revenge. As a result, we see Daniel transform from a dedicated surgeon into a calculating, cold-blooded killer.
This book had a mixture of positive and negative aspects. I really liked the concept of this novel. The characters were well-developed and, by writing in the third person, the author enabled the reader to gain insight into the thoughts and actions of each character. The plot was well-structured and had the potential to be an intense thriller. There did, however, seem to be a mismatch in the level of detail between the first and second halves of the book. The first half of the novel was descriptively written, providing a comprehensive introduction to the characters, their backgrounds and the events leading up to Daniel’s need to seek revenge. This style of writing enabled the reader to feel Daniel’s anguish as his life slowly unravelled.
While the author’s attention to detail during this section was predominately positive, at times the extensive descriptions removed the sense of urgency from a situation. One example was when the doctors were treating a patient who was experiencing a life-threatening emergency. This should have been portrayed as an intense, fast-moving race against time to ensure the man’s survival, however, one doctor spent considerable time providing a lengthy explanation to the patient about what they were going to do, right down to the routine of washing their hands and putting on sterile gloves. I am not sure if this in-depth conversation was for the benefit of readers who lack medical knowledge, but I was left thinking that knowing all this information was probably the least of this patient’s concerns. Regardless of its purpose, it diminished the the urgency of a critical situation.
In contrast, the second half of the book could have benefited from a more elaborate narration. I felt this section frequently missed opportunities to develop the elements of suspense due to insufficient detail. The accounts leading up to pivotal events could have been expanded, thus enabling the reader to share what Daniel was thinking and feeling while waiting for his prey. Instead, these events seemed somewhat hurried. This prevented the reader from both engaging with the character and experiencing the intense feelings that should be present during these situations. The ending of this story was also quite abrupt and left the book feeling incomplete. I felt many of my questions remained unanswered, and I finished the story without any real sense of closure. The final sentence, however, leaves the reader wondering if there will be a sequel.
Unfortunately, this book contained multiple errors. Incorrectly placed commas frequently disrupted the flow of the writing. At other times, punctuation was completely omitted, resulting in long-winded, and often disjointed, sentences. Both these issues led to passages needing to be reread, either to determine the correct meaning or to comprehend what was being portrayed. The first error occurred in the introduction and I hoped this was a one-off mistake, however, it proved to be a persistent finding throughout. There were also some spelling mistakes, e.g. ‘trilled’ instead of ‘thrilled’ and ‘cleaver’ instead of ‘clever’. It did not appear to have been professionally edited. I also note that it was independently published.
There was one particular aspect in the book I found distracting. Trying to read the dialogue spoken by DCI Ron Parker became quite tedious over time. This character had a Scottish accent and, during his conversations, the author followed every word spoken in Scottish dialect with the English word in brackets. One example of such conversation was,
As can be seen, these words were not that difficult to translate, so brackets may not have been necessary. If, however, if the author felt these translations were warranted, they only needed to be inserted after each word’s first use. This would have made reading the dialogue easier.
I rated this book 2 out of 4 stars. While this novel had the potential to be a heart-stopping, gripping read, it did not quite hit the mark. The plot was well thought out but the lack of suspense was quite disappointing, especially as I feel this is a necessary element for this genre of book. I also deducted a star due to the numerous errors since these hindered the flow of the story considerably, however, this issue could be greatly improved with the input of a professional editor.
This book would suit readers who enjoy a well-developed plot combined with some light action. The ability to overlook grammatical errors would also be advantageous. People seeking a fast-paced, gripping read or intense psychological thriller would probably find this novel does not sufficiently meet their needs.
******
Clinical Execution
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2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Clinical Execution is a crime fiction story by M. E. Haul. This is the author’s debut novel.
Told in the third person, this book follows the story of Daniel Bishop, a well-respected vascular surgeon who works at the Central and General Hospital in the Midlands of England. He is extremely competent in his work, liked by most his colleagues, admired by his students and has a large clientele base. He performs a variety of operations in his daily practice, ranging from routine stripping of varicose veins to emergency life-saving surgery on ruptured aortic aneurysms. Overall, he is very satisfied with his work life.
Daniel’s wife, Sarah, is less than satisfied with Daniel’s commitment to his work and, after years of being a stay at home mother to their daughter, Camilla, is now feeling both bored and neglected by her husband. Now that Camilla has gone to University, Sarah decides to do something for herself. She joins the controversial British Heritage Party (BHP). BHP was created by Guy Forsythe, a man with a lot of charisma and good looks. The policies of his party predominantly focus on returning Britain to its pre-immigration state, claiming that the current multicultural laws are discriminating against Christians. Guy wants all immigrants to be returned to their homelands unless they have specific skills that would benefit Britain.
Daniel is not happy with his wife’s decision to join BHP and is concerned about how it will impact on his work. Like most health care facilities, there is a large multicultural workforce in the hospital where Daniel is employed. He does not want his colleagues thinking that his wife’s association with BHP reflects his own personal views in any way. As Sarah’s role in BHP rapidly progresses, Daniel’s world begins spiralling downwards. Not only does his wife’s political ambitions go against all he believes in, he then learns his wife is having an affair with Guy. As his world comes crashing down, Daniel begins to lose all that is dear to him. With each loss, Daniel becomes increasingly bitter and even more determined to exact revenge. As a result, we see Daniel transform from a dedicated surgeon into a calculating, cold-blooded killer.
This book had a mixture of positive and negative aspects. I really liked the concept of this novel. The characters were well-developed and, by writing in the third person, the author enabled the reader to gain insight into the thoughts and actions of each character. The plot was well-structured and had the potential to be an intense thriller. There did, however, seem to be a mismatch in the level of detail between the first and second halves of the book. The first half of the novel was descriptively written, providing a comprehensive introduction to the characters, their backgrounds and the events leading up to Daniel’s need to seek revenge. This style of writing enabled the reader to feel Daniel’s anguish as his life slowly unravelled.
While the author’s attention to detail during this section was predominately positive, at times the extensive descriptions removed the sense of urgency from a situation. One example was when the doctors were treating a patient who was experiencing a life-threatening emergency. This should have been portrayed as an intense, fast-moving race against time to ensure the man’s survival, however, one doctor spent considerable time providing a lengthy explanation to the patient about what they were going to do, right down to the routine of washing their hands and putting on sterile gloves. I am not sure if this in-depth conversation was for the benefit of readers who lack medical knowledge, but I was left thinking that knowing all this information was probably the least of this patient’s concerns. Regardless of its purpose, it diminished the the urgency of a critical situation.
In contrast, the second half of the book could have benefited from a more elaborate narration. I felt this section frequently missed opportunities to develop the elements of suspense due to insufficient detail. The accounts leading up to pivotal events could have been expanded, thus enabling the reader to share what Daniel was thinking and feeling while waiting for his prey. Instead, these events seemed somewhat hurried. This prevented the reader from both engaging with the character and experiencing the intense feelings that should be present during these situations. The ending of this story was also quite abrupt and left the book feeling incomplete. I felt many of my questions remained unanswered, and I finished the story without any real sense of closure. The final sentence, however, leaves the reader wondering if there will be a sequel.
Unfortunately, this book contained multiple errors. Incorrectly placed commas frequently disrupted the flow of the writing. At other times, punctuation was completely omitted, resulting in long-winded, and often disjointed, sentences. Both these issues led to passages needing to be reread, either to determine the correct meaning or to comprehend what was being portrayed. The first error occurred in the introduction and I hoped this was a one-off mistake, however, it proved to be a persistent finding throughout. There were also some spelling mistakes, e.g. ‘trilled’ instead of ‘thrilled’ and ‘cleaver’ instead of ‘clever’. It did not appear to have been professionally edited. I also note that it was independently published.
There was one particular aspect in the book I found distracting. Trying to read the dialogue spoken by DCI Ron Parker became quite tedious over time. This character had a Scottish accent and, during his conversations, the author followed every word spoken in Scottish dialect with the English word in brackets. One example of such conversation was,
‘Also can ye (you) get one of the lads tae (to) go and talk tae (to) the landlord of the White Lion again tae (to) see if he remembers the Carter’s gesturing a toast tae (to) Daniel Bishop, after they had returned tae (to) their seats?’
As can be seen, these words were not that difficult to translate, so brackets may not have been necessary. If, however, if the author felt these translations were warranted, they only needed to be inserted after each word’s first use. This would have made reading the dialogue easier.
I rated this book 2 out of 4 stars. While this novel had the potential to be a heart-stopping, gripping read, it did not quite hit the mark. The plot was well thought out but the lack of suspense was quite disappointing, especially as I feel this is a necessary element for this genre of book. I also deducted a star due to the numerous errors since these hindered the flow of the story considerably, however, this issue could be greatly improved with the input of a professional editor.
This book would suit readers who enjoy a well-developed plot combined with some light action. The ability to overlook grammatical errors would also be advantageous. People seeking a fast-paced, gripping read or intense psychological thriller would probably find this novel does not sufficiently meet their needs.
******
Clinical Execution
View: on Bookshelves
Like jwalker73's review? Post a comment saying so!