Moral Injuries
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- £9.99
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
From the Sunday Times bestselling and award-winning author Christie Watson, comes a heart-pounding new psychological drama of secrets, lies, morals and medicine.
'Unique and compelling'
ELIZABETH DAY
'True literary perfection'
EMMA JANE UNSWORTH
'Heart-stopping, twisting, funny and frightening'
CHRIS WHITAKER
'Enthralling, gripping, deliciously dark... An immersive, unforgettable gem'
RACHEL CLARKE
'Propulsive, funny and filled with suspense'
SARAH LANGFORD
You're trained to save the lives of others. How far would you go to protect your own?
Ruthlessly ambitious Olivia, anxious perfectionist Laura and free-spirited risk-taker Anjali couldn't be more different. Yet their friendship, which began on the first day of medical school, has kept them inseparable for twenty-five years. As wild all-nighters and exam pressures gave way to the struggles and joys of new motherhood and intense jobs, their bond remained unbreakable. Years ago they promised that nothing would come between them and that they'd do anything for one another, including burying one night they have never spoken about: a drug-fuelled university party that forced them to make a deadly choice that could still destroy them.
When an eerily similar tragedy strikes involving their teenage children, everything the three women have built threatens to shatter around them. And they are left asking: just how far can you stretch a friendship before it snaps?
'Each new twist screeches like nails on plaster'
KATHRYN MANNIX
'Where medicine meets morality... with page-turning twists'
NATHAN FILER
'Intelligent, propulsive and disturbing... I couldn't put it down'
NIKKI SMITH
'An extraordinary book'
JOHN SUTHERLAND
'No-one writes about the drama of medicine like Christie Watson'
DR GAVIN FRANCIS
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Through the novel’s three female protagonists who are caught in a conflict of loyalty and self-protection, Watson explores the moral dilemmas that arise from friendships. Olivia, Laura and Anjali are complex yet relatable individuals whose backgrounds encompass sexuality, relationships, class and status. Watson, a former nurse herself, delves into the challenges associated with healthcare, and the medical details entwined within the fiction provide an extra layer of intrigue. The characters’ moral quandaries lead to profound repercussions that challenge readers to reflect on their own notions of fidelity. Through a skilful use of flash-forwards and flashbacks, the story unfolds to reveal the multifaceted layers of the protagonists’ experiences and interactions. Watson’s thriller is a carefully crafted exploration of human complexity and the ethical consequences of actions that cannot be undone.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the propulsive if schematic latest from Watson (The Language of Kindness), three female doctors in present-day London find their friendship and their ethics tested when they're confronted with a secret from their past. Olivia, the perfectionist, is a cardiothoracic surgeon, while Laura works as a doctor on a helicopter rescue team and Anjali is a general practitioner. When Olivia's teenage daughter, Freya, attends a party with Laura's son, Rudy, another boy named Joe Duggard falls down a flight of stairs and sustains brain damage. With Joe in a coma, the women try to guard their children's futures. Laura's position on the hospital's ethics committee becomes particularly thorny, as she's empowered to determine whether Joe will be kept on life support or the children will face involuntary manslaughter charges. The situation echoes a drug-fueled party during the women's med school days, when a classmate was accidentally killed during a brawl and they fled the scene to avoid being implicated, and they argue now over who was at fault. Watson's tendency to withhold key information can feel gimmicky, but she shines in her portrayal of medicine as an imperfect blend of art, science, and emotion. Fans of medical fiction will admire this.
