Publication Date: July 22, 2017
Publisher: Gab Date Productions, LLC
Page Count: 238
Why I read it: The author, B.B Cary, contacted me to ask if I would be interested in receiving a copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for sending!
First Sentence: "There she stood- a scrap in the middle of a circle of vultures."
Synopsis: A little boy has gone missing, and a doctor with a wild card streak has to decide whether to risk family, career, and even her life to find him.
Sydney is fierce and protective. Gorgeous and gracious. Multiracial, with serious skills. She can patch you up — but she can break you, too, and she will if she has to. With killer arms and a job to die for, she skates through the desolate dawn streets of New York City, trying to stay out of trouble … except when nasty things happen that unleash her lifelong rage against injustice. Then, get out of her way.
Sydney might be a mystery to others, but to her it’s pretty simple: Everyone should play nicely. Life should be fair. But it isn’t.
So when a child’s disappearance leads to a web of shadows and deceit, Sydney enlists a crew of hospital workers, strung out addicts, and a brilliant tech hermit from a past she rarely visits. Together they must try to find a way to bring down a criminal enterprise whose tentacles reach high and deep.
My Thoughts: Sydney is a doctor with an edge. She rides a motorcycle, doesn't take crap from anyone, but easily makes connections with those that deserve it. She's friendly with some of her colleagues but keeps to herself for the most part. She was adopted and I gather that she had a tough couple of years as a child. She and her adoptive mother and sister are close, though, and she goes through a lot to try and make sure her junkie sister stays safe. Sydney's loyalty is one of her best qualities, and it's also a trait that helps her get a lot of resources. The story was clever and I enjoyed the way that it unfolded. I also found the writing to be interesting- some of the time, we were in on Sydney's plans, and sometimes we were behind. I never felt that I knew what Sydney was actually up to and I liked that. Some of the descriptions were overworked and distracting- her "cafe au lait skin" and her "cobalt blue water bottle"- but it wasn't anything that took away from the overall story. I liked that Sydney is a woman of color and that she's an anesthesiologist. It was interesting to read about some of the inner workings of the hospital and of the surgery room. There were a ton of side players and lots that I couldn't keep straight. Quite honestly, I was perfect happy to let some of the details go and just read along and get the big picture. I will say, though, if you are a detail person or someone who needs the fully backstory, you might not like this. I would have also liked more character development in Sydney. There were a lot of holes and we didn't get a ton of background information about her- I felt sort of detached. I would have liked to know about her backstory and about how she got so good at her extracurriculars outside of the hospital. That does leave room for a sequel!
Favorite Quote: "'Did the administration do anything about it? No. They fired the guy but kept it quiet and squashed it like it never happened. No press...All I'm saying is when 'the powers that be' want it quiet, it doesn't matter what happens or where you are, it's kept quiet.'"
Read Alike: The Keye Street series, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Rating: 3/5 Very compelling main character and I love that she's a badass woman of color. The store was fast paced and I kept reading to find out what was going to happen next. If you can suspend your disbelief on some of the plot points, you'll enjoy.
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