BOOK REVIEW
DEAD STILL
By Barbara Ebel, MD
A Dr. Annabel Tilson Novel. (Book 1)
Published August 23, 2016
Reviewed by
Elizabeth A. Amin, MD
I
n this medical mystery, Annabel Tilson is
a medical student embarking on her third
year and her first clinical rotation in General
Surgery in Cincinnati, Ohio. From the author’s
notes, we learn that Annabel’s family history
has been outlined for us in a series of four
previously published novels; these being the
Danny Tilson Novels in which the protagonist
is Annabel’s father, a neurosurgeon of local renown, in Nashville,
Tennessee. “Dead Still” is the first novel featuring Annabel herself
as protagonist.
If, like me, the reader is not familiar with the Tilson family, the
knowledge of Annabel’s privileged connections is not revealed
until one is approximately a third of the way into the novel. More
significant perhaps for this very bright young lady, who is often
second-guessing herself, is the fact that apparently an older sister who died young, was the sibling who was headed for medical
school. From time to time in “Dead Still” Annabel questions her
own ability and motivation as she deals with the unexpected in her
new clinical encounters.
Annabel embarks on her six-week rotation hoping to do well.
There is no evidence that she is particularly attracted to surgery. In
fact it soon becomes obvious that another specialty she encounters
during the six weeks, holds much greater interest for her. She is
mature enough never to mention her famous father, and whether
or not her peer group knows is irrelevant. They all seem to get along
well together. On the other hand, one of the surgery residents she is
paired with finds her medical pedigree a real irritant and does his
best to portray her in the worst light possible. Naturally, Annabel
gets the better of him by the end of the novel. More importantly
she makes a name for herself as an independent thinker, who is
compelled to get to the bottom of several completely unexpected
post-op deaths involving “her” patients.
Dr. Ebel, an anesthesiologist herself, skillfully centers this medical
mystery in the Anesthesia department. Annabel’s partner in investigation is a second year resident whose academic knowledge of
Anesthesiology and caring bedside manner draws her to him even
before she enlists his help in unraveling the cause/s of the unexplained deaths. I found the style of the book almost dichotomous. Up
until the point where Annabel “clicks” to the worrisome nature of the
patient deaths that she is witnessing the writing is chatty and light.
I can imagine a readership of adolescent and young adult women
who follow the progress of their heroine. There is an “everydayness”
about her actions and behavior, including a very modern, high risk
behavior, which is balanced against the ultimate goal that she has
set for herself, i.e. becoming a doctor. Once she becomes a medical
(continued on page 26)
NOVEMBER 2016
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