From the hand of skilled surgeon Dr. John Raffensperger comes a penetrating medical thriller that lays the essence of corrupt 1950s Chicago open to the bone, deftly weaving a story that is equal parts mob, murder and medicine in his debut novel, Diamonds of Death (Five Star Publications, ISBN 978-1-58985-
Korean war veteran Dr. Tom Slocum returns to Cook County Hospital, unsure of his surgical ability since losing a friend on the table during a battlefield procedure. Little did he know an operation performed on a robbery suspect with a gunshot wound would propel him into another war, this time with local Chicago mafia, city officials and cops on the take.
Little Louie's scheme to take over the Chicago mob is momentarily halted by his men's bungled fake robbery of the boss' priceless diamonds. Now, Louie needs the diamonds back to save his own skin but suspects they were stolen by the doctor during the operation on the wounded bagman.
Now, Dr. Slocum is being pursued from all sides under suspicion of having the heisted jewels and has extra weight to drag around in the form of reporter Lauren Nordstrom who insists on coming along for the bumpy and bloody ride through Chicago's streets, harbor, underground passageways, hospitals and county morgue.
With no one to trust, including dirty cops and city officials, can Tom rely on the nosy reporter who seems more interested in the stones than in the story? Can he risk a tricky surgery to save a boy with less than one day to live? Will his drastic measures to save his life, including stealing a dead body, ruin what's left of his medical career?
Only Tom's scalpel can save him as he unknowingly performs his most important operation, but will it be enough to get back his life?
Scheduled for release in January 2008, Diamonds of Death (ISBN 978-1-58985-
