The fourth and apparently last novel in this well-written series finds a changed dynamic in the relationships among the various protagonists, all health care workers at the fictional Angels of Mercy Medical Center in Pittsburgh. Those changes are brought about by the events that took place in the closing pages of the prior book, “Urgent Care,” culminating in the shooting of one of them, nineteen days before the start of the present book. That one was Detective Jerry Boyle, whose fiancée, Dr. Gina Freeman, now finds herself taking care of him instead of the other way around.
After having been in a coma for three days after having been shot in the head and abdomen, he is now recovering at Angels after having a blood clot and a bullet removed from his brain, and is being tended to by Gina and the other friends/colleagues at the hospital: Amanda Mason, Gina’s roommate and a fourth-year medical student; Lucas Stone, Amanda’s fiancé and Jerry’s neurologist; Nora Halloran, the by-the-book ER charge nurse; her fiancé, Seth, a surgical resident; Trey, district chief of Pittsburgh’s EMS; and Lydia Fiore, the ER charge nurse who was the real target that night. All the action – and there is plenty of it! – takes place within the hours surrounding New Year’s Eve, making their only New Year’s resolution as basic as a determination to simply live through the night.
Lydia has a secret, arising from her mother’s murder eighteen years ago when she was only twelve, which led to her now being targeted by a hit man, and though they all escaped that event with no loss of life other than that of the hired killer, the danger still exists, and there are still killers out there determined not to let her get away again. Compounding this is that as they descend on Pittsburgh, so does a blizzard, which effectively shuts down the city when all power goes out and the roads are closed. With virtually all hospital staff and patients held hostage until Lydia is found and turned over to the killers, the ingenuity of all are tested. The author has again created a tension-filled narrative, and the life-and-death scenario kept me completely engaged right up until the exciting conclusion. It has been a treat to meet this ultra-competent group, and the series will be missed. Recommended.
