Doctors and Friends centers around a group of female physicians who’ve been buddies since medical school. Kira is an infectious disease doctor; Compton, an ER doc; Hannah, an OB-GYN; Georgia, a urologist; and Vani, an internist. These five go on vacation in Spain and Morocco while two other friends remain in the States. Accompanying Kira is her ex-boyfriend, Declan, and her two children, Beau and Rorie. During this vacation, a rapidly-spreading unknown illness, eventually named Artiovirus, begins killing people.
Doctors and Friends was apparently written pre-Covid-19 pandemic, but author Martin captures the strains infectious diseases and pandemics can put on health care workers as well as the general population, all proven in the nth degree by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a physician myself, I can assure you, Martin got the details right from her descriptions of those first few days in medical school where students face weeks of dissecting a stinky cadaver to the horrific details of countless deaths and the wear-and-tear on physicians, other health care professionals, and hospitals.
These female physicians, even when far from home initially, work ceaselessly to save anyone they can, though their efforts are frequently futile. The physical, emotional, and mental stress is immeasurable and often life-changing. Despite the bleakness of the artiovirus pandemic, this isn’t a novel without light moments and happy endings that let the characters—and the reader—maintain their hope for the future.
********************
Doctors and Friends (Berkley, November 9, 2021) is available through:
********************
This post may contain Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small amount from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
