Bookworm Speaks!- Unfortunate Event by Marc David Veldt

Bookworm Speaks! 

Unfortunate Event 

by Marc David Veldt

Acquired: This book was provided free of charge through Word Slinger Publicity

Paperback: 226 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 3, 2015)

Language: English

Get it HERE

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The Story: After a patient dies following a routine operation, hospital administration needs a scapegoat. They find their victim in Dr. Jack Andrews, a brilliant anesthesiologist.

Andrews’s actions had no bearing on the patient’s death, but he finds himself thrown to the legal wolves by his so-called colleagues as they scramble to protect themselves.

Facing a relentless, amoral prosecutor and allied with a malpractice insurance company acting in its own best interests, Andrews loses everything—his money and his standing in the medical community. His money-obsessed wife divorces him, taking with her their two children.

Jack’s opponents think they’ve won. They think they’re the most ruthless players in the game of life. But Jack’s about to introduce them to the game’s next level. He’s got nothing left to lose, and a mind trained to make life-or-death decisions. People start to die—people who wronged Jack Andrews.

A tense thriller, Unfortunate Event explores the dark side of operating room culture, the cutthroat world of malpractice law, and the mind of one man as his world crumbles around him.

The Review: After having to suffer through corny medical dramas on tv with his mother, Bookworm avoided the medical drama genre for a long time. After seeing the description of this book, though, he decided to give it a read. What he got was a very engaging book with a dynamic storyline. 

What really sets this book apart is the style in which it is written. It is written in a very direct, clinical approach (no pun intended). Its uncomplicated and little technical, but that is okay. Not every novel needs to be florid work of prose suffused with grandiloquent assertions. This does, however lead into one of the books flaws as several passages get too technical and direct. This happens frequently in the latter parts of the book. We really do not need exact details of the firearms that Jack utilizes on his quest for vengeance. Exposition is a useful tool but it can quickly grow boring for a reader. 

This direct manner of writing also affects the characters as well and not in a positive manner. The various characters we meet along with Jack, including Jack himself, are rather sparse in nature. We experience Jack the closest and he is a multifaceted character but still very direct. We do not really experience a deep venture into the characters personalities. Oftentimes they are so shallow that the perspective swaps characters or ‘head hops’ frequently which can become very confusing for a reader. 

All that being said, this is a very gripping book. The direct nature of the narrative means there is not that much poetic text to get lost in and lose the reader’s interest. Character’s do not have to be deep and multifaceted in every book, they just have to be interesting. Even though he is technically becoming a villain, we cannot help but root for him. 

That is also what makes this book so compelling. Jack Andrews starts out as a relatively mild-mannered, even meek character. As the book goes on and his life is slowly destroyed, he transforms into a cunning predator. There is a certain tragic element to this but it is also thrilling, whether or not we care to admit it. Transformations are always compelling to watch. Seeing Jack become so strong, even in the name of vengeance, makes us very interested. 

The most dangerous kind of person is one who has nothing to lose. 

To be completely honest, the reason we are so invested in Jack is because he serves as a wish-fulfillment character. Justice is so subjective in this country, whether or not we care to admit it, and the temptation to take it into our own hands is a popular fantasy, even though we lack the power and/or courage to actually do anything about it. This is a very cynical book. Bookworm hopes that not too much of it is based on the author’s personal experience. That really is the main problem with this book. It is extremely dark and tells a frank picture of present-day American society that most of us would prefer to ignore. Bookworm may like this book but it did not arouse positive emotions. The reader may end up hating themselves for liking it. 

The most glaring flaw, though, is not the cynicism but the way the book ends. It ends rather abruptly. During the latter half of the book after Jack begins his killing spree, a detective named Michael Weber gets on the case to prove Jack’s guilt. That part of the story feels a bit tacked on and Michael as a character, like a lot of this book’s characters, is very flat. Again, deep characters are not needed in a book such as this but it is noticeable nonetheless. Anyway, Michael

Bookworm does hope that this book does get a sequel. Bookworm really wants to see the divorce attorney and the ex-wife get theirs. 

Final Verdict: Unfortunate Event does the thriller thing right. The text seizes the reader right from the beginning and the reader finds themselves rooting for Jack every step of the way. The reader in question though may find themselves disliking the lack of depth and the serious amounts of cynicism. 

Four out of Five Stars

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