A brilliant young doctor is dead ¿ and someone has to take the blame.Former refugee David Tran becomes the Golden Boy of Australian medical research and invents a drug that could transform immunology. Eight volunteers are recruited for the first human trial, a crucial step on the path to global fame for David and windfall gains for his investors. But when David dies in baffling circumstances, … motives are put under the microscope. With its origins in a real-life drug trial that ended in tragedy, Eight Lives is told from the perspectives of David’s friends, family and business associates, who all played a role in his downfall. A smart, sophisticated thriller that explores power, class and prejudice, Eight Lives will keep you engrossed until the last page.
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I REALLY liked this one. Thrillers are one of my favorite genres and it was awesome to see a fresh take in the form of a scientific thriller. The science was dumbed down in a way that made sense to me and was accessible. I understood the basics without getting too bogged down or overwhelmed by details.
Duong comes from Vietnam as a “boat person” when he’s little. His mom actually tied them to the mast of a ship so they can make it, and he has permanent scars as a result. David invented a super drug that I envisioned as the night king of the white walkers if the white walkers are an auto immune illness. The super drug can take down the cell that controls all the other cells, and then the other cells are knocked out too and the illness is defeated. Ly is David’s sister. Foxy is a rich people’s fixer who is tied up with David’s investor and his screw up son. Abigail is David’s vegan, social worker girlfriend. Rosa is his lab assistant who’s just been thrown off her old job after a big mistake. Miles is David’s school friend who now practices medicine. Each one feels responsible for his death. Each one holds some of David’s secrets. Each one has personal reasons to keep those secrets to him or her self.
More importantly the structure of this novel is perfect. Each of the characters has information the other characters don’t. We’re figuring things out along with them and the pacing of the information we get is spot on. If you can picture a spiral on a page, the novel felt like that, with the reader starting on the outside and slowly circling closer and closer to the truth. With each chapter the landscape shifts slightly and the reader is forced to re evaluate expectations. Exactly what a mystery/thriller should be. I even stayed up late to finish, which hasn’t happened to me in a long time. The author also managed to give each character a distinct voice without being overbearing about it.
Great vacation or rain day or snow day read. Would definitely recommend.
**Book Review**
Eight Lives by Susan Hurley
Thanks to @netgalley @affirmpress for an arc in exchange for an honest review. .
Eight Lives is based on the true story of a drug trial gone bad. Set in Australia, the “Golden Boy” doctor responsible for the trial dies under bizarre circumstances. He was working on a new immunology drug. The story is told through multiple perspectives, and it’s easy to get lost, so pay attention. Each voice is distinct with some likeable and others not so much. The characters have some relatable qualities and complex interactions and situations. The stakes are high in drug trials, and when things go bad, they go really bad. The story is harsh, realistic and suspenseful. As it unfolds, the story is a guessing game. It’s informative about the process and procedures of some drug trials. It’s also really terrible in many ways. Honestly, I found it both disturbing and fascinating because there is so much truth in this story. That truth is difficult to process. It’s just a hard look at the very nature of medicine and pharmaceutical companies and the corruption that fuels them. It’s a super shady business at best with the profit based on human lives, and it disgusts me. How much are you worth to the drug companies? If you needed a pill that costs $10,000 to save your life, would they give it to you? NO. Not in a million years. You would die. The story is a good reminder of how pharma rules the world and uses people for all sorts of unethical purposes. It’s an excellent read for everyone.
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