The Deception: Courtroom Drama [Mass Market Paperback]

Barry Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1998

From Barry Reed, New York Times best-selling author of The Choice, The Indictment, and The Verdict, comes a suspenseful psychological thriller and courtroom drama involving medical malpractice and sexual intrigue.

At seventeen, Donna DiTullio was a highly ranked tennis player with world-class potential. At twenty-one, she's hospitalized as a suicidal manic-depressive. But under the care of Dr. Robert Sexton and with the help of some experimental medication, Donna is ready to be discharged. Then, unexpectedly, she leaps from a fifth-floor balustrade, leaving herself paralyzed and near death.

Attorney Dan Sheridan is called in to sue the hospital and its owner, the Archdiocese of Boston. Sheridan presses his investigation against the powerful interests of the Church and the medical establishment, an investigation and subsequent trial that test all of his skill as a lawyer and lead to an ethical dilemma that will nearly cost him his life.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Deception is a gripping thriller that delves into the complexities and mysteries of both the medical and legal fields. When tennis prodigy Donna DiTullio jumps from a fifth-story balcony in an apparent suicide attempt, many people want answers. What complicates matters is the fact that when she jumps, DiTullio is in the hospital for treatment of manic depression, though she is due to be discharged later that day. It is strange then, that after seeming to recover, the young woman takes a near fatal plunge. How could the doctors have misdiagnosed their patient's mental condition so egregiously? When lawyer Dan Sheridan steps in to sue the hospital he runs headlong into a powerful conflict with the Archdiocese of Boston, which owns it. The story that ensues is a gripping, well paced examination of justice and ethics. Author Barry Reed is a veteran trial lawyer, and his legal acumen is obvious as he leads the reader through this absorbing courtroom drama whose ingenious plot turns will keep the reader riveted until the very last page. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Although the intense legal infighting that pumped up Reed's bestsellers The Verdict and The Choice is in place here, this novel about a malpractice suit loses energy in other ways. Donna DiTullio is a promising young tennis star who leaps from the sixth-floor atrium of a Boston hospital after making a seemingly miraculous recovery from manic depression. She survives, but in a near-comatose state, and Reed's customary hero, attorney Dan Sheridan, takes up her legal cause in a suit against the hospital, which is owned by the Archdiocese of Boston. Soon, Sheridan comes to question both the effectiveness of the experimental drug Donna was taking and the compassion of her psychiatrist, Robert Sexton. The action picks up considerably as Sheridan survives an attempt on his life while engaged in some legal legwork, and as he finds himself in a race against time and his would-be assassin to save both the case and Donna's life. As before, Reed's great strength is his ability to convey the ordinary, day-to-day corruption that throws up an almost insurmountable mountain of obstacles for his hero to overcome. He focuses so much attention on Sheridan's problems and issues, however, that he generates only token sympathy for Donna; that flaw, plus a rather predictable outcome, flatten the novel's ending. But Reed, as always, does entertain, including enough wryly ironic passages on the practice of medicine and the law to give the suspense a welcome moral kick.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 422 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312964943
• ISBN-13: 978-0312964948
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,217,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten but Still Entertaining, January 16, 2002

By 

mark munger (Duluth, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Deception: Courtroom Drama (Mass Market Paperback)

Barry Reed is a fine story teller and trial lawyer who hasn't really been noticed since his debut effort, "The Verdict" made its mark in the theaters in the 1980's. Paul Newman is a hard act to follow but Barry's clear vision and dedication to craft flow throughout "The Deception". Rather than waste your time on lesser effort by other "attorney-writers" pick up any one of Reed's novels and enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mundane story when compared to reality, July 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Deception: Courtroom Drama (Mass Market Paperback)

While I really enjoyed the story line, there were occassional jolts of implausibility, and inattention to medical details. I beleive the author should make friends with a nurse for the medical editing, preferably a critical care nurse who can describe a ventilated patient with authenticity. Took me a couple of beats to get back into the story when I said "Do what?" after some descriptions of our comatose heroine. Mr. Reed has almost "got it" in describing the less altruistic values of the medical guys, but doesn't go nearly far enough - I'd give anything to tell him about the real world of the "Medicine Men" and their lifestyles (from a position of wife, victim and nurse). To those readers who question the implausability of the story, I say, "phooey" - this story has impact and carries all the elements of truth (as good fiction must), but only scratches the surface of the real truths. Keep digging, Barry

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars interesting plot, however predictable conclusion, March 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Deception: Courtroom Drama (Mass Market Paperback)

good story, interesting characters. however, conclusion was not 'shocking' as some reviews stated, but rather predictable with all the clues and hints given by the author.