Publication Date: September 18, 2014
Healthy women are dying from post-abortion sepsis and R.N. Gina Mazzio is sure that the deaths are homicides. Gina is determined to find the culprit. When her brother shows up emotionally scarred after a long deployment in the Middle East and her ex-husband who she helped put away after he tried to kill her jumps parole, Gina’s life is coming at her from all angles. Can she solve the case and manage to stay alive?
[easyazon_link asin=”B00NPUT6ES” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Bone of Contention (Gina Mazzio RN Medical Series Book 4)[/easyazon_link] is the fourth novel in the RN Gina Mazzio series.
The author gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.
[easyazon_link asin=”B00NPUT6ES” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Bone of Contention (Gina Mazzio RN Medical Series Book 4)[/easyazon_link] is a novel with a social consciousness taking stances on the topics of abortion, the impact of war and the inability of the system to protect the victim in domestic violence cases. Set in San Francisco, the novel takes a solid swing at the establishment and its tendency to damage when it dictates.
R.N. Gina Mazzio fits well into a piece that is in turns heated and driven by conviction. Having not read the previous three novels, this reader comes into the series at a place where the authors clearly know their character and what drives her. There’s less concern at seeing her as perfect but more as real. When her brother Vinnie comes home after having suffered a medical release, her anger is very real in that she’s not sure where it’s focused. As a stand-alone reader of the series, the scene gave a sharp sense of the character that would soon be perusing dark forces as she’s evading a known evil. Gina is not a character that asks the hard questions about the things we, as humans, would rather not consider. She’s a Bronx girl, tough and savvy and never willing to give up and able to think and act quickly in a crisis.
[easyazon_link asin=”B00NPUT6ES” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Bone of Contention (Gina Mazzio RN Medical Series Book 4)[/easyazon_link] could have easily fallen into the cozy genre. Gina is pulled into a case unable to leave questions unasked, but the story is brutal in a way that cozies usually aren’t. When we are with Gina’s ex-husband, Dominick, his emotions are raw and brutal. We are treated to his delight in trailing her and planning her demise. His narrative is framed in a way that sends chills down the spine. In one scene, he’s running hoping to see her crashed car and her dead. Reading the passage, the authors make clear that his anger is misdirected but do so in an elegant and understated way that led this reader to nod agreeably. Isn’t that always the way? The abuser is taking their anger out on the abused, but the source of their anger has nothing to do with that person.There are moments of dialogue that feel somewhat forced in [easyazon_link asin=”B00NPUT6ES” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Bone of Contention (Gina Mazzio RN Medical Series Book 4)[/easyazon_link] but overall the story is fast moving and interesting. The ex-husband’s story line is the most interesting and most original. The psychology of Dominick’s character and that he feels trapped by his ex-wife, as though he can’t move on with his life until she’s gone is something that was a stroke of genius on the part of the authors.
The anti-abortion activist group led by Amory Mason was interesting. They were so extreme as to be unbelievable, but I think anyone who hasn’t heard of the Westboro Baptist Church would find their fervency and narrow viewer perspective hard to believe. The group is multi-layered and a bit terrifying. In one scene, Mason muses about his reluctance to use women in his schemes because they’re reluctant to do what needs to be done and leaves the reader without a doubt that this is one bad dude.
I’m not usually a fan of medical thrillers but found [easyazon_link asin=”B00NPUT6ES” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Bone of Contention (Gina Mazzio RN Medical Series Book 4)[/easyazon_link] interesting because we do not only get to see some of the medical procedures involved and the characters at work, but the overall mystery aspect of the novel stands independently.
We know what the characters don’t which was a clever way for the story to play out in allowing us to get a clear view of motivations without being weighed down in exposition that could perhaps be a bit too scientifically alienating for the average reader.
[easyazon_link asin=”B00NPUT6ES” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Bone of Contention (Gina Mazzio RN Medical Series Book 4)[/easyazon_link] is a solidly interesting medical thriller. If you’re a fan of the thrillers written by Sandra Brown or Phillip Hawley, you will enjoy following Gina Mazzio in her quest for justice. Readers who choose novels to escape real life may want to pass [easyazon_link asin=”B00NPUT6ES” locale=”US” new_window=”default” nofollow=”default” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]Bone of Contention (Gina Mazzio RN Medical Series Book 4)[/easyazon_link] on the Kindle shelves but if you like very real stories, pick the book up today and be sure to let me know what you thought.
You can read an excerpt and buy Bone of Contention by Bette Golden Lamb and J. J. Lamb on:
Amazon U.S. • Amazon U.K. • Amazon Canada
For more information, visit Bette Golden Lamb website and J. J. Lamb website. You can connect with Bette Golden Lamb on Facebook and Twitter @GoldenLamb.