Great book! It has everything-ex-special Ops guy is now a pediatrician working in an ER in Los Angeles and takes on evil Big Pharma conducting illegal experiments on Indigenous people in Central American. There are strong female characters too. It was published in 2007 but really isn’t dated. Only sad thing is that the author wrote only this one novel. ( )

Setting the scene for a medical story is often difficult and unrealistic, but Philip Hawley was able to make the opening hospital scenes believable and intense when a young boy arrives with an unknown deadly illness. The web of secrets and lies creates an interesting and unforgettable story.

Stigma is a first-rate medical thriller/action/adventure and I would never have guessed this was an author’s first book. Philip Hawley’s book can stand right along side books by the more “famous” authors. Each character is developed carefully so that the reader becomes involved with each of them and the story.

The story doesn’t just stay in the hospital though, it travels out of the country and off on an adventure I didn’t expect. It is a good story with interesting characters, and is the type of story that will appeal to both men and women. ( )

A decent fast paced read for a first book, I would read another by this author. 482 pages. traveling. ( )