Weapon of Choice: A Laura Nelson Thriller by Patricia Gussen

Weapon of Choice: Laura’s life is in a good place. Her two sons are doing well in college, her twin daughters are well adjusted teens, and she is Chief of Surgery at the Tampa City Hospital. She is called in to consult on an unusual case that she suspects to be a highly feared and fairly unknown disease. This story takes place during the time when AIDS was little understood and highly feared. But it isn’t her AIDS patient that is responsible for the highly toxic disease that infects the Tampa City Hospital ICU. Not directly at any rate. Laura calls an old friend of hers for advice, as Sandy is now a bigwig at the Center for Disease Control. There are many layers of plots and subplots to this story that I just cannot touch with a short synopsis. Did I mention Laura’s daughter contracted the disease? Or that a covert white supremacist cell is planning a large scale biochemical attack that targets Atlanta’s high society? There is just so much going on in this book, you really ought to read it.

If I had to gripe about something it would be that the character of the AIDS patient’s father was just completely unrealistic. He’s shown as a very scientific and unemotional person. He has only known that he even has a son for a few short months. Yet the drastic measures he takes that must be completely against all of his moral fibers is just horrifying and impossible to believe that any rational scientist would take such action.

The editing is close to flawless. The plot is incredibly dark and twisty, keeping you in suspense as to what will happen next. All in all, well worth the time that it takes to read.

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