Some Cuts Never Heal
Author Timothy Sheard has captured the pulse of hospital life and given voice to the unseen minions who keep a great medical institution running in this finely crafted murder mystery. With the James Madison University Hospital board of directors desperately seeking a new revenue stream, an egomaniacal surgeon attempts a reckless new procedure that promises to bring millions of dollars to the hospital and international fame to the physician. But the body of a lovely pharmaceutical...
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Author Timothy Sheard has captured the pulse of hospital life and given voice to the unseen minions who keep a great medical institution running in this finely crafted murder mystery. With the James Madison University Hospital board of directors desperately seeking a new revenue stream, an egomaniacal surgeon attempts a reckless new procedure that promises to bring millions of dollars to the hospital and international fame to the physician. But the body of a lovely pharmaceutical representative has been found in a patient’s bed, threatening to ruin the hospital’s reputation and shatter its financial security. Amateur sleuth Lenny Moss, custodian and union rep for the hospital workers, is determined to solve the mystery and bring the killer to justice despite the frenzied work pace and inhuman hours he and his co-workers are enduring, as their jobs and one man’s freedom hang in the balance. From the operating table to the pharmacist’s desk, from the emergency room to the human resources office, Sheard’s vividly drawn characters map out the anatomy of a crime with the discerning eyes of the finest clinician and the dogged determination of a master detective. Battling indifferent hospital policymakers every step of the way, the nurses, aides, critical care workers, secretaries, and morgue attendants of James Madison University Hospital prove that unity in the face of danger can defeat even the most cunning criminal.The Hartford CourantThis is a really good yarn, if that isn't too old-fashioned a phrase.
\ Kate's Mystery Books NewsletterSheard has done a fine job of bringing alive those numerous men and women we never see--from dietary to laundry to maintenance--who do the hospital's invisible work. I look forward to more Lenny Moss mysteries.\ \ \ \ \ Rocky Mountain NewsIf your pulse quickens for ER on Thursday nights, you'll want a dose of Timothy Sheard's medicine in Some Cuts Never Heal.\ \ \ The Hartford CourantThis is a really good yarn, if that isn't too old-fashioned a phrase.\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyLenny Moss, the hero of Sheard's This Won't Hurt a Bit (2001), returns in this engrossing, well-researched medical thriller. The board of directors of Philadelphia's James Madison University Hospital desperately need a new source of revenue. Dr. Martin Kadish, a decidedly egomaniacal surgeon, opts to attempt a risky, revolutionary new procedure involving quadruple-organ transplants. If successful, the procedure will bring him international renown and earn the hospital millions of dollars. Before Kadish can wield his scalpel, a young pharmaceutical representative is found dead in a patient's bed. The bad publicity sure to result will ruin the hospital's reputation. Enter Lenny Moss, custodian, union rep and amateur sleuth, who's determined to solve the case and bring the killer to justice. Sheard, a critical care nurse with 30 years experience, knows his way around an operating room, and doesn't hesitate to describe in sanguinary detail the ins and outs-literally-of medical procedure. Thus, the novel's effectiveness will depend on the reader's squeamishness level. This well-plotted page-turner is guaranteed to scare the bejesus out of anyone anticipating a hospital stay anytime in the near future. (Jan. 6) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalHospital maintenance worker Lenny Moss (This Won't Hurt a Bit) is also a union representative widely popular with hospital employees. Unfortunately, a harmless prank backfires on him when a young drug representative dies in an empty room supposedly occupied by an actual patient. Lenny investigates not only the dead woman's possible murder but also a doctor's unethical approaches to getting an organ donor for his wealthy patient, gathering bits of information from his contacts to make things right and stop the killer. Drawing on 30 years' experience as a critical care nurse, Sheard provides realistic details of hospital routine and budget-cutting politics. Other bonuses are polished prose and elements of warmth and humor. Strongly recommended for most mystery collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsBetween sweeping, mopping, and other housekeeping chores at James Madison Hospital in Philadelphia, Lenny Moss, custodian extraordinaire, solves homicides. No question, Lenny's got the sleuthing thing down pat. "I often find," he says with Holmesian aplomb, "that when the whole truth comes out, ugly or not, it usually leads to the real criminal." Wow! And you better believe he can walk the walk, too, as he proved in his debut outing (This Won't Hurt a Bit, not reviewed), when he outclassed a passel of Philadelphia's finest and kept a wrongly accused co-worker from being railroaded. So, naturally, when hottie drug rep Colleen Creedon is found murdered in Room 709, the call goes out for Lenny. Even homicide detective Joe Williams, recognizing a natural when he sees one, turns to Lenny for collegial consultation. Who in James Madison's volatile world had it in for the sultry Colleen: relentlessly ambitious Dr. Kadish; sly and foxy Dr. Fox; besotted pharmacist Mike diPietro; or hateful, venal (please, please, let him be the guilty one) chief of security Joe West? In between bouts of detection, Lenny, now wearing his union rep hat, has to cope with a wearying array of sticky labor relations problems. But though he's beaten with a blunt instrument, left for dead in a hospital fridge, and given ample cause for a maltreatment suit, Lenny cracks his case. Lenny the custodian/union rep is thoroughly believable. As for Lenny the sleuth: Send for the Hardy Boys.\ \ \ \ \ Editor Library JournalIf your pulse quickens for ER on Thursday nights, you'll want a dose of Timothy Sheard's medicine in Some Cuts Never Heal. The inside workings of a big-city hospital, including graphic descriptions of yucky procedures and what the staff does to clean up while the glamorous docs are on the golf course, are the heartbeat of this book.\ \ \ \ \ Elains Rounds BuddIf you're a devotee of TV's "ER," you'll devour "Some Cuts Never Heal"...This book is more graphic in taking the reader through surgeries and autopsies than would be acceptable on TV...Sheard, a 30-year critical-care nurse, vividly takes the pulse of James Madison University Hospital in much the same way "ER" seduces viewers with the inner life of the emergency room.…The earthy dialogue of the non-medical staff humanizes the hospital's worworkday…This is a really good yarn, if that\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyThis well-plotted page-turner is guaranteed to scare the bejesus out of anyone anticipating a hospital stay anytime in the near future.\ \ \ \ \ The EditorIf your pulse quickens for ER on Thursday nights, you'll want a dose of Timothy Sheard's medicine in Some Cuts Never Heal. The inside workings of a big-city hospital, including graphic\ \ descriptions of yucky procedures and what the staff does to clean up while the glamorous docs are on the golf course, are the heartbeat of this book.\ \ \ \ \ THE LAWYEROur favorite union representative for the unionized workers at James Madison University Hospital is back in Some Cuts Never Heal...Lenny knows better than anyone that a little prank can go awry. One goes horribly awry when the body of a young female pharmaceutical representative turns up in a supposedly empty hospital room. Unfortunately the staff has been ordering meals and supplies to that room so, of course, who are the prime suspects? Sheard …has done a fine job of bringing alive thos\ \
