Being a doctor post Covid is hard, and extremely under-appreciated. Feeling this stress is Dr. Mark Lin, a hard working and compassionate doctor who tries to always do what is right for his patients. But when not one but two patients die while on his watch, and by computer errors, Dr. Lin can’t help but wonder if it was his mistake or Dr. Lucifer’s.
There has been a recent crippling string of cyber attacks done by the elusive hacker known as Lucifer’s Worm. Who is targeting corporations that many people depended on such as banks, Amazon, and courthouses which lead to a cyber type pandemic. Lucifer hopes these attacks will bring the world to chaos. Soon Mike discovers that he is Lucifer’s newest target, or more like his patients, who end up dying due to the hacker changing their medical files or medications leading to their deaths. Can Mike outwit this cyber foe before more innocent people die or will Mike be the next to be deleted?
Overall rating 2/5
People tend to glorify doctors but don’t see all the stress of working in the medical field. And for the doctors that truly work ethically, what would happen if they made a mistake? It would most likely result in someone’s death. This book makes you think of all aspects of death and stresses that envelop those that are in this line of work. However, if you do not work in health care this book does seem to be a bit bogged down in medical jargon which I think takes away from the storyline. I also could do with a brief nod to Covid but I feel that the amount of context that it took up in this book versus what the book was about could have been edited back. I do like how it shows as a society how we rely on technology too much in our day to day decisions and how one person or cyber attack could take down countries.
*Thank you to Anthony Lee, Netgalley and AuthorBuzz for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

The story was good, it tells the story of a Doctor that is trying to find the hacker that wants to end his patients life. it’s a very interesting mystery story, however I did find some medical terms that I had to search because they were new to me, this is cool because I learned new medical terms , but some people find this annoying

I had a hard time reading this and analyzing at the same time. I wanted to read this for fun since it’s a medical thriller but my background’s in the medical field. There were many things that did NOT add up especially if you’re in the medical field. Anyone who works in the hospital or medical field would totally get it. So how is it this author who had worked in the medical field for 15 years(I think) screw this up?
If I didn’t have knowledge in medical field, I would’ve enjoyed it and given it 3 1/2 stars.
I actually think the storyline/concept was a fantastic idea.

It’s not a bad way to start a debut. It needs some polishing and a lot of researches. Also needs a better editor.


2 1/2 stars from me

Thank you Anthony Lee and NetGalley for this copy of eARC.

As usual, all of my reviews are purely my own opinions without any influence from any publisher..

One of the best concepts in a book that I have seen in a while, but it fell a little short for me. I think the characters could have been developed further to give them some more depth. I did enjoy the medical and technology aspects. Just an ok book.

Dr. Mark Lin has an awful day. Three of his patients have medical emergencies nearly simultaneously. He has to choose where to focus while teams care for the other two patients. After the chaos, he begins looking at how this could have happened. He discovers that the orders he left in the charts have been changed. Did a colleague make the changes? He digs deeper. He has been hacked! A hacker calling himself Dr. Lucifer picked Dr. Lin as his victim. What does the hacker want? Money? Notoriety? Dr. Lin's resignation? With the aid of the hospital's IT department, Dr. Lin begins searching for the person behind the name.

This medical thriller moves at a good pace and manages to keep both medical and technical concepts clear. The characters are interesting and diverse. The main antagonist could be developed more. His motivation for being Dr. Lucifer isn't fully explored and this might be a missed opportunity to develop more fear of others like him. Adding to Dr. Lin's backstory would help explain his unenthusiastic approach to his job. Does the tampering with patient records bother Dr. Lin because of his care and concern for his patients or because he worries about his reputation? With cyberattacks and cybersecurity at the forefront of the news, this story is both timely and entertaining. Anthony Lee taps into technology and medicine to create a thriller that will certainly cause anxiety if you are headed to the hospital. This book will appeal to fans of medical thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced review copy!

The concept for the story is good. The character development for the main character is annoying. The writing felt choppy. I was hooked for the first half of the book. Then I was forcing myself to keep reading. The hunt for the bad guy was a little far fetched to me. It was an easy, quick read that served its purpose. Not horrible but not something I would tell a friend to go read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!
This is an Intriguing storyline from Anthony Lee - a debut medical thriller. I am partial to this genre and also have experience in the field. I enjoyed the exploration of a modern threat to medical practice but I was distracted by the holes and errors. Those with experience in the field and hospital protocols will find many inconsistencies that challenge the plausibility of the rest.

I did finish this work but found myself skimming sections of superfluous detail that did not add to the main plot. This debut is not top of my list but this author has potential to generate a five star medical thriller and I would try a second read in this series.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A cyber attack changes the life for Dr . Lin. Three of his patients suffer medical errors. Dr. Lucifer threatens to kill more of Dr. Lin patients. Why? Dr Lin seeks out the technology team and hopes together they can stop him! Can they succeed?

Doctor Lucifer by Anthony Lee is a medical triller by a debut author, and I appreciated the premise of a medical suspense. Working in the medical field, I liked that I was able to follow along with the terminology the author used, bringing a level of realism to the book. I think the author has loads of potential as a successful novelist in the future, but it was clear this was a debut novel. Although not my favorite read, I appreciated the opportunity to read this authors work.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The storyline and plot are great, I felt like it was different than a lot of what I read. I also really liked that a lot of medical parts were explained just enough, like not too much or too little. What I didn’t care for though was the main character. He’s whiny and self centered and a lot of his inner thoughts/dialogue were annoying. His bouncing between “poor me and my crappy childhood” and “why doesn’t anyone appreciate me!” swings were too over the top for me. His attitude for the majority of the story were a souring point for sure.

I enjoyed this book and kept my interest throughout. I felt myself in a panic having anxiety during the more hectic scenes. Well written!

first of all, I was drawn to this book based off the cover alone.
this one is a blend of medical drama and cyber-thriller.

also just a heads up this book contains a lot of medical jargon, which I really like so if you are ok with that, this book will definitely keep you intrigued :))

Overall, I enjoyed the concept of this book and the story of a doctor being targeted by cyber attacks pinning the deaths of his patients on him. The book started off pretty well paced, with a likable main character. Toward the middle of the book it seemed to get repetitive with the cyber attacks but Dr. Lin not doing anything differently to seek out help or reporting any of the personal threats and calls he’d get., which in the case of a medical professional wouldn’t happen. They’d be smart enough and have enough common sense to report these things to protect themselves and their career. By the end, I was so ready to just know how the story would wrap and to find out who Dr. Lucifer was that when I did I was underwhelmed. Also, the way Dr. Lin handled himself, as well as his overall inner monologue we’d read just eventually made him into an extremely unlikeable person. It was a far cry from how the character started in the beginning. I appreciate the advance reader copy of this book, and enjoyed the story concept, the whole thing just fell a bit flat for me.

Thoughts while reading. Debut novel.
Tesla owner? Not a positive for me.
Sounds like he's justifying his behavior as a doctor throughout the first chapter.
This book is making me angry, the fact that a computer hacker is causing such devastation.

This book has a very interesting premise. I don't like to think about how vulnerable everyone has become with our online information. At times the writing felt a little flat to me. I wanted more excitement, but the tone came across as clinical. The book would benefit from a more engaging writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Congratulations!! This wins the award for worst book I've read in 2024 (and I've read 90 at the time of reading this!). In fact, this may be one of the worst books I've read in the last 5 years. It was just
couldn't cut it in residency puts out a vanity project to show that he COULD have been a physician if he wanted to but actually just proves he's clueless and not completing residency did all of his future patients a favor."

Per his bio, the author graduated from medical school, but I can't find any evidence that he completed residency--and it's QUITE obvious that he didn't, because anyone who has ever worked in a hospital for more than a week would have caught half of the errors. Even if they weren't working in a clinical setting. For example, the CONSTANT references to "COVID-19." Sure, use the full term once to explain it on the off chance someone lived under a rock from 2019-2022. But not a SINGLE person who has ever worked in healthcare calls it that--it's just "Covid." Yet every single conversation among doctors/medical staff uses the full term. And so much of the dialogue in general is stiff or just....weird. There's a conversation about drinking milk for two pages because the main character didn't have a rib fracture.

And don't get me started on the "treatments." The dosing was SO wrong it's clear that it was never proofread by an ACTUAL physician. But don't worry, he still wants you to know he went to medical school, so he's going to go into great detail about things he DOES actually know about and not explain them in terms folks who don't understand medicine will know (ACLS, ET tubes, etc).

There is also apparently no legal department in this ENTIRE hospital, because anyone who has worked in a hospital sees 25 plot holes MINIMUM just by embracing standard hospital procedures. Examples:

OBVIOUSLY spoilers below!!

1.) Three of his patients code at the same time, one doesn't make it, it's determined to be a medication error, and he's not placed on leave?? He's allowed to keep working?
2.) He and another doctor get into a physical altercation, and neither of them are even sent home for the day, let alone suspended.
3.) He is admitting fault in the medication errors TO THE PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES. Again, NO WAY a legal department would have allowed that to happen! And any actual physician knows better than to do that.
4.) He gets assaulted and shoots two people in self-defense and isn't even required to spend the night at the hospital? He goes back to work the next day? And again WHERE IS LEGAL??

Oh and this all happens in the span of three days.

SPOILERS END

He also makes fun of multiple medical shows (House, Grey's Anatomy, ER) for being ridiculous and unrealistic, but my dude....you lifted an entire section of your plot DIRECTLY from an episode of house, and this is 80 times more insane than any plot on any of those shows. And I've watched every episode of Grey's and House.

We also don't get the main character's back story until 68% into the book when he's driving around aimlessly and we had some time to kill. Not only was it SO late in the book, it also...did nothing to further the story or explain anything in a meaningful way.

From there, the ending is just insane and stupid. It's not worth reading for that reason. I won't spoil it in case you're inspired to read the worst book I've read this year (and it's my 90th at the time of writing this!), but....yikes. This book is trying to do 20 different things, and doesn't do a single one of them well.

I wish I could say something redeeming about this book. I really do, because writing is difficult and takes courage to put a book out into the world. But all I can really say is that the author claims to have sent this out to over 170 agents, and when none of them picked him up, he had "no other choice" but to self-publish. I love my independent authors. I am ALL about supporting self-published work. But this is one of those times that 170 rejections should have been seen as a sign that this was just....not good. Sometimes, the problem is you.

It was absolutely awful, and I can't imagine how this is expected to be a series. Save your time and energy, don't read this one.

I really loved this book!! It had so many twists and turns. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!! This was my first book by this Author, and it won’t be the last!! Quick read!! Highly recommended!! You won’t be disappointed!!

This one was tough for me to settle into, but I’m an RN, so all the medical terminology was familiar and once the story took off, I was engaged. The plotline involved a hospitalist who was the target of cyberattack which affected his patients—-what a scary story, but I think it could happen! I thought the book was too long and might have benefited from some editing to condense the story and help it flow better. The author did a good and creative job of coming up with a premise for the book. I am willing to read more efforts by him.

In a chaotic global cyber crisis caused by the Lucifer's worm virus, a hacker nicknamed "Doctor Lucifer" seeks revenge on medical staff, focusing on Dr. Mark Lin, a caring hospital doctor looking after patients. Dr. Lin faces a disastrous day with back-to-back emergencies resulting in patient harm due to medication mistakes. Despite his stellar reputation, false drug orders are pinned on him, along with altered patient records.

Confused by the sudden attacks, Dr. Lin must clear his name and stop Doctor Lucifer with the help of the hospital's tech team. As the hacker escalates actions like tampering with medical devices and records, Dr. Lin also deals with colleague conflicts and a vengeful widow seeking justice.

This gripping tale tells of Dr. Lin's fight to uncover the hacker, protect his patients, and save his career from ruin in the face of mounting challenges.

"Doctor Lucifer" is one scary book. Imagine you're a conscientious doctor who is diligent in the care of his patients. This accurately describes Dr. Mark Lin, the main character. One Monday morning his world starts collapsing around him when someone or something starts changing the orders he's written in his patients' charts.

At the same time, the hospital's email system has been flooded with malware. Moments later Dr. Lin and a coworker learn that something called Lucifer's Worm has been disabling computers all over the world.

Then things get really bad. Patients receive drugs that Dr. Lin never ordered or in much higher dosages than he did order them. Mayhem ensues.

Dr. Lin is determined to unmask the villain he's nicknamed Dr. Lucifer. Will he succeed?

"Doctor Lucifer" is a page-turner, filled with tension throughout. I recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance reader's copy. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

The book was so realistic and scary. It really made me think. This could truly happen. Wow!

Computer hackers could do really serious damage if they were able to hack into our hospitals, doctors files and medical records. Wow! What a number terrorists could do.

The book was very realistic, and I found it engaging.

Recommend.