Another Five Patients

This suspenseful thriller traces foreign medical graduate Dr. Kip Paiva, an emigrant and survivor of human trafficking in post-apartheid South Africa. Her refuge from a Zulu militant captor comes to an end, as his brutal violence has finally tracked her across the ocean. While her past catches up to her, Dr. Paiva also becomes the scapegoat of a malpractice suit. Frightened for her and her son's lives, Dr. Paiva begins a journey fueled by bottomless resiliency and a mother's love. Her story intertwines through five others, all riveting, and all taking place in the busy and energetic Spectrum Health General Hospital in New York. Debut author Melissa Crickard uses this microcosm to illustrate larger aspects of modern medicine, such as the evolving healthcare crisis, the developing roles of women in the workforce, and union employee rights.

Another Five Patients combines international intrigue and hospital politics with individual human stories involving hospital staff, patients, and their families. The result is a captivating experience that reminds us that, whether doctor, mother, or child, we are all people, with flaws and emotions in a world of uncertainty.