A novel by Henry Denker. Respected gynecologist Dr. Harvey Prince stuns bright resident Craig Pearson when, while performing an operation on Craig's friend Cynthia, he unnecessarily removes her uterus. As Cynthia's life suffers as a result, Craig sets out to expose Prince's malpractice, encountering resistance and skepticism from their colleagues at the hospital, while his own career is put into jeopardy.
Tropes
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Dr. Stiehl caught onto Prince and exposed him not due to personal exposure to a patient, but simply by studying his records and noticing that he had a significantly higher number of uterus removals than other doctors, with less warning signs for many of them.
- Bluffing the Murderer: After Dr. Stiehl's testimony, Prince tries to argue that it isn't conclusive proof, before they threaten to call another doctor from the hospital who resigned in protest over the lenient treatment he got. Defeated, Prince backs down, only for it to be revealed that they hadn't been able to find the contact information for that doctor, and aren't even sure if he's still alive.
- Broken Pedestal: Craig has a great deal of respect and admiration for Prince at the beginning of the book. Obviously, it goes flying right out the window after what he does to Cynthia.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Prince, when he thinks a conclave witness has been found against him, says that he won't make them call the man, sagging in defeat and walking out. Ironically, the guy wasn't ready to testify against him.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Prince is a callous careerist who cares far more for receiving acclaim as a surgeon than actually properly treating his patients and has unnecessarily removed dozens of healthy uteruses without the slightest remorse, just to get more praise for supposedly saving their lives by doing so.
- Promotion, Not Punishment: Not quite promotion, but the first time Prince was exposed for his actions, the hospital simply sent him out of the state with nice letters of recommendation to save themselves any embarrassment or financial liability. This time, the hospital refuses to do that, in order to ensure his career is ruined and he won't be able to ruin the lives of more unsuspecting patients.
- Riches to Rags: Dr. Stiehl lost a promising career after he opposed Prince, and was blacklisted, resulting in him working as a small-town doctor, who isn't entirely discontent with his life, but clearly reflects on how much more it could have been.
- Saying Too Much: Prince, while talking to his mistress about his wife, and how she supported him during the last scandal, he lets slip that's why he'll never leave her. This utterly disillusions his mistress, who suddenly has some damaging evidence to use against him.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: A witness against Prince is initially bribed into supporting his version of the story with the offer of a lucrative job once he finishes his residency, but ultimately admits the truth to the hospital staff without any prompting or pressure from Craig, and does so in full view of a furious Prince.
- Surprise Witness: A resident who (like Craig) exposed Prince at his last hospital is found and brought before the board of inquiry just as they were about to render a judgment in Prince's favor, and fire Craig.
- Threat Backfire: When Prince threatens to blacklist Stiehl all over again, Stiehl just gets more determined to testify and retorts that the people in the town he currently lives in reply respect him and have never heard of Prince, so his efforts would amount to nothing.
- Woman Scorned: The incriminating evidence against Prince comes from his nurse/mistress after she realizes he'll never leave his wife for her.
