Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405010156
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by JUDY KWELLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Clinical psychologist Steven Spruill is the author of two earlier medical thrillers, "Before I Wake" and "Painkiller." The "woman in distress" motif is strong in his novels and "My Soul To Take" is no exception.
Dr. Suzannah Lord is a successful and attractive young surgeon. She had trained to be a neurosurgeon - the superstar role in medicine - under the brilliant Roland Lancaster. In fact, she was a part of the team that developed the vision- restoring microchip that could be implanted in the brain to reverse blindness.
But Suzannah was squeezed out of the historic experiment by a combination of sexual harassment and old-boys politics.
She still knows just enough about the dangerous side effects of the implant to be hunted down by an outlaw faction of the CIA, as well as by Roland Lancaster who sees her as a threat to receiving FDA approval and his place in medical history for the breakthrough discovery.
Beyond those conflicts, "My Soul To Take" has an intriguing premise (which I won't give away), a tight and suspenseful storyline and interesting characters.
In short, Steven Spruill is emerging as a strong competitor for Robin Cook in the "medical science from hell" subgenre of best-sellers.
- Judy Kweller is vice-president of an advertising agency.
by CNB