3.5 🌟 for Anthony Lee’s Doctor Lucifer. This was my first ever novel written by Mr. Lee, and I would be willing to give additional works a read. Thank you to NetGalley for allotted me the opportunity to be able to review after the initial release date for the exchange of an honest review.

I have to say this one hit me hard. Having been a medical professional, the opening of this book (the double code scene) gave me flashbacks. As that is actually a situation I experienced no less than three times. So I instantly connected with the main character. And I have to say in today’s world, with more of more medical care components being computerized/digital the entire premise of the novel felt eerily believable. This is a compelling and intense medical thriller. I would say this was an impressive debut for Anthony Lee and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next. Thanks so much to AuthorBuzz and NetGalley for the ARC.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/doctor-lucifer-anthony-lee/1145317978?ean=2940186108719&bvnotificationId=41248b90-1a04-11ef-bc02-12bb8616f409&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/310240995

Doctor Lucifer by Anthony Lee just was not my cup of tea. I know the main character is described as an anti-hero, so I was expecting that he would be unlikable, but usually anti-heroes are still relatable. I did not find that to be the case here. For example, sometimes the main character was sanctimonious about how annoying other doctors behave, but then he behaved the same way himself. Sometimes he talked about how much he cared about doing the best thing for his patients, and then he would talk about how very much he disliked them and hated having to care for them. It just felt schizophrenic. I also didn't think the dialogue seemed natural and realistic, and the storyline did not flow. For instance, the main character would explain his problem to three or four people in the row and would use pretty much the same description and the same amount of detail with each person he encountered. It was very repetitive and tiresome. There are numerous medical thrillers, such as those written by Tess Gerritsen, that incorporate lots of medical information written for the general public that moves the plot line along. In the case of Doctor Lucifer, the medical information seemed to bog down the storyline, making it feel technical rather than interesting and exciting. All in all, this debut novel felt like a very rough draft.

Great new read by Anthony Lee. Totally fresh take on medical thrillers. I really enjoyed the action and story dynamics. The characters were fantastic and kept me reading way past my bedtime Gritty, thrilling and all too believable.
Thank you NetGalley and Anthony Lee for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I felt like this one we get a lot at the beginning with three people having medical emergencies and then the rest of the book is figuring out why and who.

There are a few twists in this one that make you think one way but the ending was surprising once you find out who is behind everything!

I work in the healthcare field so I'm always up for a medical thriller. Thanks to ARC I was able to read this fabulous book! It kept me guessing the entire time and just when I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong! Edge of seat thriller!

This book makes me want to seek out more medical thrillers. I love the scenario because it reminds us that cyberterrorism can turn our lives upside down more than any pandemic.

The novel is fast-paced which is perfect for my ADD mind and I wanted to see how the story would end. I'll be on the lookout for more work from this writer!

This was such a great book! I was able to read an ARC (advanced readers copy) of this book and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. While reading you will change your mind multiple times throughout about who Doctor Lucifer could be, just to find out in the end you were wrong!

This is an okay story for a new author. The plot is easy to understand. The characters and dialogue are okay.

This one was quite scary to me and while I enjoyed the setting and how eerie it was, I was a little out off by the actions some of the characters took.

This is a fascinating look at the medical field when Dr. Mark Lin, an internist who is wildly popular and successful discovers his hospital has been hit with "Lucifer's Worm," a cyber pandemic affecting all the computers. Now, not only have patients' charts been changed, but medications and doses have been doubled, causing death, cardiac arrest, and rampant panic among all who work there. Lin feels it's somehow personal as he is getting "666" on his personal cell and can't figure out who would be so bold as to deliberately cause harm to patients when some are ready to be discharged. He's personally attacked in the parking lot and gets in a fight with one of his own doctors, all while hoping their cybersecurity team can figure out why they're being targeted. It's a crazy race to keep people alive as tensions run high and the "worm" seems to elude them at every turn!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I absolutely love the premise of this book. It’s fascinating and terrifying and something that is truly an unknown threat.

That being said, the book was heavily weighed down by too much mundane conversation, especially early on in the book. A shift into more internal dialogue would have made the earlier parts of the novel more engaging.

Overall a unique approach to a medical thriller and I look forward to more books in the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dr Mark Lin is an internist at Ivory Memorial Hospital
Mark’s parents immigrated from China whom instilled disciple, a strong work ethic and determination to strive for better into him. He grew up staying dedicated to school work and wanted to be a doctor to do better for others.
The nation is hit with a computer virus named ‘Lucifers Worm” that cripples banks, businesses and the public service industry. The hospital only thinks that the virus has only created issues with emails; but Dr Mark finds out that this is worse than anyone could imagine.
When Mark comes into work and he gets the updates from the Nocturnist Jay on all his patients, something goes terribly wrong. His patient with CHF codes and dies after exhausting all available options and while that is happening- his other patient codes due to anaphylaxis and he has to let another code team assist since he can’t leave the patient he’s working on. After he pronounces the first patient dead - another patient has a code for Rapid Response. That patient is diabetic and was admitted due to issues with his glucose. After Mark gets everything under control, he starts to check his notes and see that incorrect medication has been administered to all three patients. He knows he didn’t put incorrect orders into system so he doesn’t know how such mistakes could happen.
Mark comes up with the idea that maybe this has something to do with Lucifer’s Worm, so he goes down to IT and brings it up to them to see if they can investigate and see if there is anyway all of this could be from the virus.
The book has a lot of medical jargon that I enjoy since I like to watch a lot of medical shows, so if you are ok with that then this book with definitely keep you interested. The author takes the story through several twists that will have you holding your breathe. Turns out Mark is the only doctor this is happening to and he has to figure out how to either fix or stop the anomalies to save his patients. You will never guess who is behind the virus or what Mark does to end it all…
I look forward to more Medical Thrillers from Anthony Lee!

Review of eBook

It isn’t turning out to be the best shift at the hospital for Doctor Mark Lin. He’s just finished consulting with Doctor Jay McKinnon, the nocturnist who cares for his patients when he is off-duty when the Code Blue alarm sounds.

Before he is able to finish caring for Christopher Flint, a Code Blue sounds for another of his patients. Then a Rapid Response call is issued for yet anther of his patients.

Three of his patients coding almost simultaneously? What is happening?

When all the patients have been cared for, Doctor Lin sits down to document the treatment and discovers that the treatment protocols listed in the patients’ charts are not at all what he’d prescribed.

Why are the treatment protocols different? Who changed them?

And who is trying to kill his patients?

=======

The clever and inventive plot in this medical thriller involves a cyberattack in which patients’ records are purposely altered, leading to catastrophic results. The strong sense of place, supported by instructive medical information, kept the story moving along. [One does wonder, however, why, after the initial computer issues, the hospital staff . . . including Doctor Lin . . . did not simply abandon the computer records and revert to “old-fashioned” handwritten charts.]

There’s a bit more explanation throughout the telling of this tale than readers might expect to find in a thriller, but providing the reader with the medical background seems appropriate. Ultimately, the unfolding story is quite twisted and not at all what the reader might have expected. But it does make for great escapist reading.

As readers hear more and more about computer hacking and Artificial Intelligence in the real world, this story acquires an added plausibility. As readers find unexpected revelations and long-held secrets are exposed, the story takes on an added sense of urgency in the need to find and stop the culprits.

Readers who enjoy medical stories, thrillers, and computer-generated mayhem are sure to enjoy this imaginative tale.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from AuthorBuzz and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#DoctorLucifer #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and AuthorBuzz for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Doctor Lucifer by Anthony Lee due to be published May 24, 2024.
A computer hacker is infecting Dr. Mark Lin’s patient files with the Lucifer’s Worm virus. For some strange reason, the virus only seems to be attacking Dr. Lin’s files. Can he try and outwit the criminal hacker before he loses any more patients and ruins his stellar reputation at the hospital?
For a debut author, this book was pretty good. The main character was annoying, though. Mark Lin was arrogant, whiny, and definitely hard to like at times. He constantly talked about doctors who thought they were better than others when he seemed to act the same way towards his patients, their families, and other medical professionals.
Sometimes the medical aspects got a little tedious, but the basic plot of the story was, unfortunately, believable in this day of hacking, viruses, and AI. It kept my interest throughout the entire book as I waited to see how Dr. Lin and the IT department solved the mystery of the virus and why someone was out to get him specifically. The ending was quite shocking!
I look forward to reading more books from Anthony Lee!
#NetGalley #AnthonyLee #AuthorBuzz #DoctorLucifer

Okay, so I will start this with what most of the other reviewers have been saying, that there is potential here and the author has the ability to be a 4/5 star writer, but it is clear that this is a debut. Some of the writing was very YA, and the consistent switching between first person to not really first person bothered me. Also, the main character is suppose to be this great doctor, but he won't shut up about his Tesla and music tastes. It feels like we are suppose to believe that the character is just "so much better" than the others, but he reads like a middle school boy.

Here are my overall critics:
*Don't mention a Tesla every couple of pages, none of us care.
*Pick a POV and stick to it
*No one uses someone's name that many times in conversation
*If you want your character to come across as kind, don't have characters say it, instead show it
*Don't make the main bad guy have the same personality as the hero
*Secrets? Sure. Secrets that make no sense and should be revealed? Yes
*Make the side characters matter

This is the first book for this author, and you can tell.
Since the release date is fast approaching, I read it all in one day, and it was painful.

Great story idea, but the execution was lacking.

"Dr. Lucifer" presents a promising debut with potential for growth. While the hospital cyberattack premise is captivating, the execution falters due to disjointed writing and excessive explanations. The main character lacks depth and authenticity, hindering reader engagement. Despite these flaws, glimpses of intrigue emerge in the latter part of the narrative. With refinement, the author has the capacity to deliver more compelling works in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Anthony Lee, and AuthorBuzz for the ARC to read and review.

I will preface this by saying this author has potential and for a first book, it wasn’t awful. There are some improvements needed but potential for future 4-5⭐️ books is there.

Writing:
It was fairly evident that this was a debut novel. The writing fell short for me. Many times I skimmed pages to just get through some sections. Often there was over explanations of medical diagnoses which came across as condescending. I have a background in healthcare so perhaps that’s why I interpreted as such. I’m sure non-healthcare readers would appreciate the in depth explanations. The writing felt more diary or journal entry to me. If it had been structured as such, it would have been great. I did not care for lengthy sections on song selection, his Spotify playlist or is navigation through town. That was all filler content that should have been cut. Ideally, 30-50 pages could have been cut out and the content wouldn’t have been missed.

Additionally, the author goes on about Covid-19 numerous times. I don’t know about other readers but I could do without mention of that dreaded time. The author’s opinions and stances shine through quite vividly. I got the sense that he may be jaded and bitter and it came out in his main character. While not necessarily a bad thing, I don’t think it really worked for this book. It seems like this book was his outlet for his own personal feelings. The main character also assaults several people by “kicking them in the balls”, kinda threw me off. Why is a ball kicking the go-to method of choice? Seems weird for a grown, professional man to do that.

Plot:
As for the plot, I loved the idea of having a cyberattack cause havoc in the hospital as a plot to a thriller. It is a very believable thing to happen and I was excited to read how this would play out. I feel like there was some twists and angles that could have been pushed more to give this book the wow factor. It was so close to gripping my attention but fell short. Some more development on how to catch him and what he did to cause mayhem would have been interesting. And if I had to read “Lucifer Worm” one more time…

Characters:
The main doctor, Dr. Lin was so beyond irritating. I could not stand this character. He was whiny, annoying, unprofessional, arrogant and just flat out stupid. He had numerous interactions with Dr. Lucifer but really did nothing about it? His patient e-charts were hacked and no one thought to switch to paper like the old days? The rest of the characters had little to no development.

Takeaway:
The book is okay, it’s not very fast paced and took me longer than usual to get through. I skimmed about 20 pages of just filler content. The plot was interesting but lacked any real thrill. The characters were weak and minimally developed. It’s a good way to kill some time but I wouldn’t say it’s the next best thing. The author has huge potential and I think could put out some big things in the future. As a debut, it’s not bad. I would likely read another book from this author.

⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, Anthony Lee, and AuthorBuzz for providing me with this ARC of Dr Lucifer.

Dr. Lucifer is about hospitalist Dr. Mark Lin of Ivory Memorial Hospital. We meet Dr. Lin on his last few days before his 6 day off break when he gets a company wide email regarding a computer hacking program called Lucifer’s Worm. Little does Dr. Lin know that he’s about to be targeted by a hacker calling himself Dr. Lucifer in a race against time to stop the harmful deeds being done to his patients.

Honest thoughts: 3/5 stars
I would like to start by saying this author has potential for a higher rated book. I felt this book was written in a manner that felt like a play by play or a dear diary of someone’s day. It felt like there was a lot of explaining of what was happening as well as detailed descriptions of the medical terminology used in the book. In addition there was quite a bit of dialogue, but it lacked serious character development. We also got numerous descriptions of songs and how they made our MC feel, which I didn’t love. This book starts to get really interesting for me only after deciphering a far fetched poem sent via email to our MC. At this point it becomes very twisty and you want to know what happens next. The last 50-75 pages were the best part of the book in my opinion. With that being said I would read the second installment of this series or a similar book by this author.

This review is cross posted on Goodreads and Instagram