Roulette is a Medical Thriller. A new drug has hit the Gainesville, Fl rave scene and what it’s doing to people is the stuff nightmares are made of. When the strange happenings go beyond what Sheriff Dewey Steen can handle, the feds send help in the form of Eric Bannon, a supposed forensic accountant. With Dr. Stacie Swann and Dewey’s nurse wife, Carol, the four set out to do the impossible – find the root of the devastating drug and stop it before the college population pays the price.
Bottom line: Roulette is for you if you like medical thrillers with high stakes, conspiracy elements, and riding by the seat of your pants.
Strengths of the story. There are several strengths of this story, the first being the premise of an extraordinary tale from ordinary beginnings. College kids and young adults doing drugs and going to raves is fairly ordinary. But if you ask ‘what happens if one of the drugs is new and experimental?’, then you are at the start of extraordinary.
The story is lead by four characters, not equally featured. All were well crafted and developed. It was added fun that there are two in their thirties and two in their fifties, balancing action and strategy, experience and knowledge. There is someone in the group that everyone will relate to.
The pacing of the story is excellent. It unravels at a pace that draws the reader into the intrigue, not spilling too much too soon, but also not drawing things out too long. The thriller and suspense elements were excellent as well.
Where the story fell short of ideal: There wasn’t much for me to pick on here. The bad guys, their motivation and actions were well thought out. Heroes and bad guys both drove the story, countering each other. The premise held up, the authors lived by the rules they created without relying on coincidence, incompatible twists, or just-in-time saves from outside the core team.
The race to the finish was fast paced and epic. At the end, I wanted to know more but was satisfied with what I was given.
TG Wolff 