DEATH IN VEGAS

DEATH IN VEGAS                                 MARGARET GOODMAN, MD
Posted:  Feb. 10, 2015

Dr. Olivia Norris takes on the mostly male world of Las Vegas boxing power brokers. Olivia is a brilliant, attractive Chicago neurologist, married to her work, admired by her colleagues, and estranged from her family. When her brother, a rising boxing star, is tragically injured in a championship prize fight, Olivia swoops in to uncover what went wrong. Did Curtis’s bout go on too long? What injuries did he suffer and why? Did the ringside physician give him appropriate care? Is the hospital doing everything they can for him?

Her search for answers forces Olivia to reconnect with her family. She uncovers secrets from her past that have a powerful impact and inspire her to dig even deeper into the dark world of performance-enhancing drugs. 

To find the real truth, she travels to Mexico with the handsome, former ringside physician Dr. Bart Rossi. There, they find themselves attracted to each other, while also uncovering the dangerous, illegal side of boxing. Before she can return home, Olivia realizes that her determination to find the truth could kill her and her new friends too.

Both mystery and romance, DEATH IN VEGAS is a page-turner that offers a unique perspective on sports from an insider –a former ringside physician who is an outspoken advocate for boxers.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This book is fiction but the message is all about the safety or lack thereof in the boxing world. The author Margaret Goodman, MD. Has made the characters seem real and the story real as you are reading this book. About a female doctor who is neurology and is at the department heads house for a party when a boxing event happens on the TV, she tries to leave but is stopped repeatedly before she hears that Curtis Montana is down and there is something horribly wrong, the announcers are wondering why no medical staff are rushing to the ring and it seems like it is taking forever. You then find out the back story between the mother, daughter, brother, sister and what a story it is. Through a divorce she kept her father’s name her brother changed his name to their mother’s maiden name. She leaves Chicago and arrives in Las Vegas and is having to not only deal with her brother who is barely alive but also a mother who she does not get along with. Then more and more is reviled as the story goes along. Another boxer had passed away a few weeks back and one before that, once she starts to get comfortable she makes Las Vegas her permanent home and then more questions are brought up after the reading of the will when her brother passed away. This makes her and another doctor and a reporter to start digging around to find out why these tragedies are happening. During their investigation another boxer dies and this starts them in the direction that they had not seen before because they all had been going to a certain trainer, medical person who was not part of the boxing commission. They thought it was legal listening to other people. This lead opens up to hopefully start an investigation. The author is wanting to bring awareness to the lack of certain tests like MRI, not being so that by these test and others they can make the sport safe. So if a fighter shouldn’t fight he does not, for his protection not for the promoters. I hope more people read her book and listen to her in order to make boxing safer. An excellent book. I got this book from net galley. 4 STARS