Robert Carlson MD Sarasota Mystery Novel

The Cost of Living
Robert G Carlson, MD

Sacrificial killing of pregnant girls in sunny Florida transpires for the benefit of wealthy politicians and the financial gains of cutting-edge medicine. Only four days separate these poor girls and their babies from life and death. The controversy of stem cell research meets the thrills of Robin Cook's Coma in a novel with twists and turns on every page.
As a Board certified cardiothoracic surgeon, I bring 23 years of surgical experience to create the medical thriller, The Cost Of Living. I have eight publications in peer reviewed medical journals and one book chapter. The Consumer Research Council of America has recognized me as Top American Surgeon in the Guide to America’s Top Surgeons 2002-2003, 2006-2007, and 2010 editions.

The controversy of stem cell research meets the thrills of Tess Gerritsen's Harvest in The Cost of Living .Who has the right to kill your unborn child? Who has the right to sacrifice your life for their own fame and fortune and the good of their wealthy clients? Dr. Kentley Sinclair, cutting-edge human cloning researcher may not have that right, but who is going to stop him? The Cost of Living is a medical thriller that delves into the dark side of stem cell research and exposes the motivations of a cruel, megalomaniac physician,
Luring pregnant girls through an inner city woman’s clinic, Sinclair insists that his research can save their supposedly endangered babies; instead, he uses their wombs to grow his stem cells to help save the hearts of wealthy clients, and then disposes of both mother and baby.
One man, heart surgical resident Dr. Steele Russell, finds himself drawn into this vicious plot when Anna, the daughter of a beloved mentor, becomes entwined in Kentley Sinclair’s lethal web. Steele visits Dr. Sinclair to investigate his research, but has no clue of the bizarre chain of events to follow. Dr. Sinclair quickly realizes that Steele could disrupt his multi-million dollar cloning and stem cell research project and that he must be disposed of as quickly as possible. But will it be that easy?
As the body count escalates, Steele depends on his previous training as an Army Ranger to overcome unimaginable odds, protect his friends, and search for Anna. . Even worse, he finds himself propelled into the middle of a Secret Service operation with the Vice-President of the United States, a man desperately in need of Sinclair’s stem cells for his own failing heart.
Steele finds himself plunged into a rescue mission so intricate and perilous that his chance of success is at best miniscule. The arrival of his longtime military friend, The Spiceman, tips the scale in his favor and despite a near lethal injury, Steele overcomes the odds and saves Anna. At the end of it all, though lives were lost, many were saved; Steele's own life was changed forever.