Official Review: Clinical Execution by M.E.Haul
Posted: 05 Jun 2018, 01:01
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Clinical Execution" by M.E.Haul.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Clinical Execution by M. E. Haul is a tale of infidelity, politics, revenge, and murder. Daniel Bishop is a successful surgeon with a wife, a grown-up daughter, two dogs, and a lovely home in the UK. Life is good until his wife, Sarah, decides that being a housewife is boring. She spices up her life by joining the right-wing British Heritage Party and having an affair with Guy Forsythe, the philandering party leader. Daniel is appalled, especially as he is half Jewish himself, and they are a holocaust deniers. The anti-immigration policies of the party make life very difficult for Daniel, as many of his colleagues in the National Health Service hail from outside of the UK. As Daniel’s wife becomes more successful, so his life falls apart. An altercation with Guy gives Sarah the excuse to bar Daniel from his daughter’s wedding and to take his house and half of his pension. To add insult to injury, Daniel is requested to give up the job he loves so dearly.
Understandably, he wants revenge.
This is a good story. It is also very contemporary with the current rise of right-wing parties in the UK, and the hostile environment being created for immigrants. I enjoyed how the murders were worked out and executed. I also really felt for Daniel when his date with Elaine Roberts went so badly wrong.
Unfortunately, despite having so much potential, I found the writing style annoying and the first half of the book rather boring. There were hospital rounds which had no relevance to the story, and the emergency surgery carried out at the start of the book didn’t transmit any sense of urgency. The dialogue was terribly stilted, and there was some rather old-fashioned gender stereotyping. All of the nurses were female; all of the surgeons were male, and one of the surgeons had slept with most of the nurses in the theatres. I ended up flicking back to check if maybe the book was set in the 1970s.
The second half was a big improvement. There was some exciting action, clever plotting, revenge, violent murder, and we got to meet a female police officer and a female pathologist. However, I would have preferred it if less time had been spent referring to the policewoman as ’sex on legs’ and ’well fit’.
Unfortunately, there were many typographical errors. In one instance, Daniel’s surname is given as Parker instead of Bishop. DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) Parker is sometimes referred to as DIC (Drunk In Charge) Parker. Incorrect words were used, like ’treat’ instead of ’threat’, and apostrophes were misapplied.
Much of the research was very good, particularly the crematorium details. However, ’Rackhams’, the department store where Sarah shopped, became ’House of Fraser’ in 2003. Also, the burial of your domestic pet in your own garden is perfectly legal in the UK, so the police shouldn’t have had any objection to his dogs’ grave.
Finally, I felt that the author was labouring after the American market. It’s therefore ironic that the book is now being reviewed by a British woman who lives in the West Midlands. The author explained references to British TV presenters and shops; described where locations are in the country, and added ’sterling’ whenever money was mentioned. Also, the Scottish accent of DCI Parker was translated almost throughout. I’ve never seen an American author feel the need to translate ’howdy’ into ’how do you do’ for the British market, so I don’t see the need for it in reverse. It also alienates the local readers.
I was initially going to give this 1 star, but I increased it to 2 out of 4 stars, as I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first. I really feel that this could be a very good book. It just needs a really good editor to shake it up and make it what it ought to be. Nevertheless, it should appeal to people who like a story of righteous (and bloody) revenge.
******
Clinical Execution
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2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Clinical Execution by M. E. Haul is a tale of infidelity, politics, revenge, and murder. Daniel Bishop is a successful surgeon with a wife, a grown-up daughter, two dogs, and a lovely home in the UK. Life is good until his wife, Sarah, decides that being a housewife is boring. She spices up her life by joining the right-wing British Heritage Party and having an affair with Guy Forsythe, the philandering party leader. Daniel is appalled, especially as he is half Jewish himself, and they are a holocaust deniers. The anti-immigration policies of the party make life very difficult for Daniel, as many of his colleagues in the National Health Service hail from outside of the UK. As Daniel’s wife becomes more successful, so his life falls apart. An altercation with Guy gives Sarah the excuse to bar Daniel from his daughter’s wedding and to take his house and half of his pension. To add insult to injury, Daniel is requested to give up the job he loves so dearly.
Understandably, he wants revenge.
This is a good story. It is also very contemporary with the current rise of right-wing parties in the UK, and the hostile environment being created for immigrants. I enjoyed how the murders were worked out and executed. I also really felt for Daniel when his date with Elaine Roberts went so badly wrong.
Unfortunately, despite having so much potential, I found the writing style annoying and the first half of the book rather boring. There were hospital rounds which had no relevance to the story, and the emergency surgery carried out at the start of the book didn’t transmit any sense of urgency. The dialogue was terribly stilted, and there was some rather old-fashioned gender stereotyping. All of the nurses were female; all of the surgeons were male, and one of the surgeons had slept with most of the nurses in the theatres. I ended up flicking back to check if maybe the book was set in the 1970s.
The second half was a big improvement. There was some exciting action, clever plotting, revenge, violent murder, and we got to meet a female police officer and a female pathologist. However, I would have preferred it if less time had been spent referring to the policewoman as ’sex on legs’ and ’well fit’.
Unfortunately, there were many typographical errors. In one instance, Daniel’s surname is given as Parker instead of Bishop. DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) Parker is sometimes referred to as DIC (Drunk In Charge) Parker. Incorrect words were used, like ’treat’ instead of ’threat’, and apostrophes were misapplied.
Much of the research was very good, particularly the crematorium details. However, ’Rackhams’, the department store where Sarah shopped, became ’House of Fraser’ in 2003. Also, the burial of your domestic pet in your own garden is perfectly legal in the UK, so the police shouldn’t have had any objection to his dogs’ grave.
Finally, I felt that the author was labouring after the American market. It’s therefore ironic that the book is now being reviewed by a British woman who lives in the West Midlands. The author explained references to British TV presenters and shops; described where locations are in the country, and added ’sterling’ whenever money was mentioned. Also, the Scottish accent of DCI Parker was translated almost throughout. I’ve never seen an American author feel the need to translate ’howdy’ into ’how do you do’ for the British market, so I don’t see the need for it in reverse. It also alienates the local readers.
I was initially going to give this 1 star, but I increased it to 2 out of 4 stars, as I enjoyed the second half a lot more than the first. I really feel that this could be a very good book. It just needs a really good editor to shake it up and make it what it ought to be. Nevertheless, it should appeal to people who like a story of righteous (and bloody) revenge.
******
Clinical Execution
View: on Bookshelves
Like Helen_Combe's review? Post a comment saying so!
