Life Support addresses controversial, medical and moral issues, placed in a fictional setting, written by someone eminently qualified to do so. Dr. Gerritsen is a retired internist whose knowledge and background bring a realism to her writing that has few equals. She quickly proves that the field of microbiology can offer a showcase for horror.

Toby Harper is working the night shift in the Emergency Room on her 39th birthday. Her party is interrupted by the admission of an elderly man, who is trembling, twitching, confused and delirious. When she is unable to reach an immediate diagnosis, he is shifted around for testing. Toby, as the only ER doctor, responds to the needs of other patients, and while doing so, the elderly man vanishes.

Disturbed by the accusation of carelessness in overseeing the care of this patient, and haunted by her inability to reach a diagnosis, Toby begins a search for the patient and for an explanation for his medical condition. She is quickly confronted with lies, scents of corruption and threatening secrets.

A second admission to the ER of a man with comparable symptoms to the vanished patient alerts Toby. His care is swiftly taken from her by his physician, Dr. Wallenberg, a haughty endocrinologist from Brant Hill, a retirement community that caters to the wealthy aging population. When the patient dies, Toby demands an autopsy which reveals the presence of Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease. (Mad Cow Disease). With the possible outbreak of this contagious disease a real threat, Toby is irrevocably committed into a maze of terror that accompanies each step of her search.

In her personal life, she is challenged by being the primary care provider for her mother who is afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. Threatened from all sides, her home life begins to unravel as well.

Life Support sustains constant, high levels of tension in a story that moves rapidly forward on several fronts in a short period of time. While the author deserves accolades for an ingenious plot, the price paid for this is a story where the characters are so busy reacting to each new crisis that there is little time for them to interact with each other. It leaves you with characters who do not evoke much empathy.

I'm afraid I've been spoiled by other authors who move their plots along by combining characters reacting to crisis with extensive character development and interaction. More character interaction would have permitted the author to vary the unrelenting pace of the mounting conflicts in this book. For me, some variation would have made Life Support more enjoyable to read. It is these deficiencies that dictate a three heart rating.

--Thea Davis