about the Novel
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Discover hope and resilience in every page of Mhairi Haarsager, M.D.'s gripping medical thriller, where themes of moral injury unfold.
In this quick-hitting thriller set in Baltimore in the late 1980s, Lussi Sim, a Norwegian-born neonatologist, uncovers a deadly conspiracy that reaches from her intensive care unit to the highest levels of international intelligence.
Haunted by childhood trauma and driven by a need to protect others, Lussi has devoted her life to saving sick newborns. An excellent physician, she copes with the stresses of her job by reflexively entering the “rescuer” role she adopted when attempting to protect her mother from spousal abuse. This instinct has always been to confront conflict headlong, even when diplomacy would be safer.
When she uncovers the medical conspiracy involving a newborn infant, rooted in a secret financial arrangement between the CIA and a Middle Eastern royal family, Lussi herself becomes the next target. As the story unfolds, her life is threatened both by the perpetrators and her own risk-taking. To save innocent lives, she must, with the invaluable assistance of her nurse colleague, Ann Castle, outwit powerful actors before they silence her forever.
Testimonials for Moral Injury
FROM READERS
"I couldn't put it down. Moral Injury would make a great movie."
"Exciting read."
"Excellent."
"...right up my alley."
"Loved the first one, ready for the second!"
FROM REVIEWERS
“...a taut medical thriller that will keep readers in suspense until the bitter end”
"...a riveting medical thriller!”
Moral Injury “is an action-packed page-turner filled with unexpected twists and turns.”
“I highly recommend this fantastic medical thriller.”
“...a tense, action-packed, riveting medical thriller.”
Haarsager’s “debut medical thriller, Moral Injury, is just what the doctor ordered.”
Moral Injury “is an action-packed, page-turner, medical thriller.”
Coming soon... The Shadow Shield, a sequel to Moral Injury
Catch up with the characters in Moral Injury -- friends and enemies -- in a riveting climax.
* * *
A year has passed since the shocking international plot that threatened Dr. Lussi Sim's life. In 1988, the average person in the West can avoid thinking about the Cold War. Not so in the East, nor for her husband, Prof. Howard Sim, a scientist who develops antidotes to biological warfare agents. As we will see in The Shadow Shield, this makes him a prime target in both the East and the West.
Excerpt: ...The room was spacious and resembled a surgical operating room. John was instructed to lie on the operating table. The surgical lamp was positioned directly above his head and switched on. Blinded by the light, John could not make out the details of the man with the gun looming over him. However, he could see enough to deduce that something was seriously wrong with the man's face. ...
What is Moral Injury?
Moral injury refers to the psychological distress that arises from actions that violate one’s moral or ethical beliefs. This medical thriller's principal character, Lussi Sim, M.D., delves into the profound impact of moral injury on individuals, society -- and herself.
about the Author
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Mhairi Haarsager is my married name, but I practiced medicine as Mhairi G. MacDonald, M.D. in the U.S. for over 40 years. My medical education was in Edinburgh. I am of Scottish heritage; my given name is Gaelic. I was born at the end of World War II in what was then Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, to two British codebreakers.
Like the main protagonist in this book, I was an immigrant and a newborn-intensive-care physician with PTSD. The book is set in the late 1980s, when openly admitting that one suffered from a mental disorder was unlikely to enhance a medical career.
During my years of clinical and research practice, I published widely in my medical field, including textbooks and research papers. I also edited a medical journal. I was on the faculty of George Washington University and retired as Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics.
After I retired, relearning the skills required to fulfill my lifelong ambition to write fiction took far longer than I anticipated. I owe my success to the contributions of many excellent writing tutors.
