Blades of Gory (Scalpel - Paul Carson)

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	Scalpel - Paul Carson
Date:	18/02/09 (118 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great fun, action packed

Disadvantages: Silly, central villian a little bizarre

I am constantly amazed how fast the world moves on and that fiction becomes out of date so quickly. The very cream of fiction will age gracefully and will become of its time and not be punished because it feels old fashioned. Written in 1997 I felt 'Scalpel' was outdated already due to its Aids storyline. In the 70s and 80s an Aids diagnosis was seen to be a death sentence. Even into the 90s it was felt that you could live longer, but death was soon. Now medicine has improved and for those that are rich enough you can live for some significant years with Aids, you life will never be the same, but you do have some left to live. Therefore, a sufferer's outlook should reflect this - not like Dr Lynch did whose secret diagnosis of Aids sends him on a killing spree of everyone that has ever annoyed him!

Dublin is a thriving city during the late 90s and a busy city means a busy hospital. This is seen in one of the leading maternity hospitals in the area and things are made worse when Harry O'Brien, a hugely successful business man, decides his child should be born here. As a child is born, elsewhere in the hospital Doctor Lynch realises he is dying. Never liked by his colleagues for his strange ways Lynch's self diagnosis of Aids is enough to tip him over the edge. He plans to kill those people that mocked him for so long. With a killer on the loose the hospital goes into panic, things are made worse when the O'Brien baby is kidnapped. The two crimes must be solved as quickly as possible if lives are to be spared.

I read a lot of crime fiction and have come to realise that the overarching genre title of crime is far too broad in most cases. Within this genre there are pure crime books, thrillers, whodunits, science fiction and many other offshoots. 'Scalpel' fits into the sub genre of exploitation crime thrillers! If you take this book seriously you are in for a mighty shock, which is strange as the book starts off very formally. For the first 50 pages of so I believed I was in for an intense hospital based crime thriller. It was not until the introduction of Dr Lynch and his mental breakdown that things took a turn for the hokey. Perhaps this was not a purposeful act by author Paul Carson, but by having such a bizarre killer at the centre he has created fiction that is silly, but fun.

The book is split evenly between the two cases - the murder and the kidnapping. Although the two do overlap a little, they are mostly run parallel as Carson compares the two inquests. This works well as both cases are pretty thrilling, especially after the half way point and the chase begins. Carson writes in a similar vain to the excellent John Sandford and his 'Prey' novels. We know immediately who is to blame and the entertainment is found in the police trying to track the killer down. Like Sandford, Carson does an excellent job in bringing the book to a gripping finale. The last 50 pages in particular are a great example of how thriller fiction should conclude.

There is no doubt that there are many issues with the book, not in least due to the bizarre nature of Lynch's mental breakdown. Carson does paint a picture of Lynch's past that explains why he is a sociopath, but how could he have hidden these feelings so well as to become a gynaecologist, possibly the most intimate role a Doctor could have? As a Doctor I would have thought he would be up to speed with the very latest drug analysis and prognosis rates. I understand that with Aids Dr Lynch would be unable to continue to practise practical medicine, but going on an instant killing spree just seemed very odd! Odd as this is, without it, the book would have not been anywhere near as exciting. Lynch is a nasty piece of work and is realised well by Carson. I would put this book more in a field with the 'Da Vinci Code' in terms of accuracy.

As popcorn fiction 'Scalpel' is up there with the best of it. Silly, entertaining and action packed this is less crime and more thriller. As a rule I should not have enjoyed the book with its constant disregard for common sense, but that would be to poopoo what is a fun title. If you are looking for something a little more bizarre and entertaining to ease your brain after some more cerebral fare then why not try sharpening your eye on 'Scalpel'?


Author: Paul Carson
Year: 1997
Price: amazon uk - £5.99
play.com - £5.99

Summary: Popcorn fiction at its most thrilling!