Clinical Trial [Paperback]

April Christofferson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 2001

The deadly hantavirus has killed dozens of Native Americans, so when a reputable pharmaceutical company claims to have developed a vaccine against the deadly disease, it should be good news. But when ImmuVac asks Dr. Isabel McLain to conduct a clinical trial of the vaccine on the Blackfeet reservation in Browning, Montana, the proposal gets a distinctly mixed response from both her and the suspicious Blackfeet. Is the new drug truly safe, or are the Blackfeet being used as human guinea pigs?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dr. Isabel McLain, lately shy of a cushy life and a very bad marriage, has shucked it all and bolted east to the impoverished Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana. It's there, shortly into her doctoring tenure, that young and healthy Joe Winged Foot comes into the clinic with shortness of breath and comes out, shortly thereafter, dead, the first of several Blackfoot to succumb to the rare, contagious, deadly, and nearly untreatable hantavirus.

Coincidentally, Dr. Ken MacStirling's newly developed hantavirus vaccine is only waiting on a clinical trial. Fortunate, yes? Not according to activist tribal lawyer, Monty Four Bear, who states that better circumstances would prevail if a population other than his own were used as guinea pigs.

"I had some of the same thoughts." Before Monty even had time to respond, Isabel McLain continued. "Why not wait, until the vaccine has been tested? But Dr. MacStirling pointed something out to me. We're talking years, years, before this product is on the market. In the meantime, how many more lives will this despicable disease claim? Even if the answer is only one, that's one too many. I will do everything in my power," her voice weakened momentarily, "... everything, to make sure that what happened to Joe and Will and Dolores doesn't happen again. Not here. Not on this reservation."

Isabel is fiery, committed, and gorgeous; ditto Monty; something goes seriously (and intentionally) awry with the vaccine; the two diametrically opposed firebrands join forces; canoodling ensues. Anyone surprised yet? Probably not, but in Clinical Trial, April Christofferson's second medical thriller (see 1999's The Protocol) the author wisely dishes up enough sympathetic good guys and ancillary bad guys--Isabel's crooked and licentious husband, Alistair; nasty players from an even nastier Canadian mining outfit; a furious Soviet scientist working for MacStirling's biotech firm, et al.--to crowd out the lack of depth and to keep us happily wondering for long enough which Reds are herrings and which are not. --Michael Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Set mostly on a Montana Blackfoot reservation, this well-constructed fourth thriller from Christofferson (The Protocol) features a fine cast of heroes and villains battling over medical ethics, drug-company tactics and the hard facts of reservation life. As the story begins, Dr. Isabel McLain has fled her failed Seattle marriage for the reservation's small medical clinic, where she has grown involved in the difficult life of the tribe. Then the rare, fast-acting hantavirus kills three of her patients. An Oregon biotech company, ImmuVac, wants to test its hantavirus vaccine on the reservation. Is ImmuVac simply trying to save Blackfoot lives or is it unscrupulously using Native Americans as guinea pigs? Despite her misgivingsDand objections from local teacher and activist Monty Four BearDIsabel okays the trials: her reputation, and the health of the tribe, will depend on their outcome. Meanwhile, national worries about biowarfare makes the vaccine for hantavirus particularly lucrative: What risks will ImmuVac take to reap the profits, and what else is on the company's agenda? And why has Isabel's vengeful ex-husband, a doctor himself, turned up on the rez? Christofferson's smooth plotting and prose show the dexterity of a novelist coming into her own. She's especially good with her large cast of Blackfoot characters, who reveal themselves and their histories gradually through the choices they make. The pharmaceutical-industry intrigues come across as merely workmanlike; yet the strands of Christofferson's plot twine together to combine strong characters with a satisfying conclusion, one that more than lives up to her previous work. Agent, Julie Castiglia.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (December 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812574680
• ISBN-13: 978-0812574685
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,756,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Read, May 6, 2002

By 

N. Sausser "pucksau" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clinical Trial (Paperback)

A clinical trial of a vaccine for hantavirus on a Blackfeet reservation in Montana is the main story in this book. However, there are several other plot lines included. The story jumps from one situation to another quite frequently early on. Some of the connections are pretty unbelievable, but the characters carry the tale and the story begins to come together about halfway through the book. Towards the end, the pace picks up and tension builds to a satisfying conclusion. An entertaining, if not always believable read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding medical thriller, September 30, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clinical Trial (Hardcover)

Dr. Isabel McLain moved onto the Montana Blackfoot reservation seeking purpose after her marriage failed. However, practicing medicine on the Native American reservation is far from perfect as the clinic is run down and lacks funding. The situation turns deadly when the Hantavirus kills some of her patients.

ImmuVac claims to have a vaccine that will stop the deadly virus. The company wants to test it on the Blackfoot, but the people are divided. Monty Four Bears believes the biotech company wants to use his tribe as guinea pigs. Isabel thinks otherwise as the Oregon-based company is highly regarded in the field. Money is to be made with a vaccine like this one, but who is right and is the risk of proving so worth taking?

April Christofferson, author of the well-received PROTOCOL, provides her audience with an exciting Native American medical thriller. The story line works because the prime cast seems genuine as they debate the issue with both sides having doubts about the merit of their position. The characters propel the story line forward, leaving sub-genre fans with a powerful novel that works on all levels.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clinical Trial, December 14, 2001

By 

L. Rogers "Eager Reader" (Mountlake Terrace, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clinical Trial (Hardcover)

A great medical thriller that was almost impossible to put down! Action keeps moving, and surprise turns keep it interesting. A great read for those who like medical thrillers with a little romance thrown in - but not enough to distract from the story - just enough to make it believable.