Secret Thoughts

A Medical Thriller

By: H. S. Clark

Narrated by: Ernest "Ernie" Sprance

Something is rotten in Seattle, where seven innocent people are dead from tainted cold medicine and some of the country's wealthiest CEOs are suffering from corporate espionage on a unprecedented scale. Dr. Paul Powers search for the truth turns him into the prime suspect and an international fugitive desperate to clear his name. But how do you catch a killer who knows exactly what you're thinking? H. S. Clark takes the reader on a wild ride along the cutting edge of medical technology and into the dark side of digital medicine.

©2012 H.S. Clark (P)2013 H.S. Clark

Great fun. Thrilling adventure.

SECRET THOUGHTS is a fast paced, breathless murder mystery that exposes the dark side of medical computing. A cyber who-done-it where the killer knows your next move, and your own thoughts can’t be trusted. Fun read.

The narration killed the book for me.

The narration killed the book for me. I don't think I can describe the problem with the narration except to say the reading sounded stilted and unnatural, a little robotic. It kept getting in my way, and I couldn't appreciate the story as much as I would have without that distraction. I usually enjoy that kind of medical thriller.

Steady upward climb--brilliant thriller!

I think that it’s a gift for any writer to utilize technical knowledge into a gripping narrative that appeals to everyman. H.S. Clark succeeded in that respect in his book, Secret Thoughts: A Medical Thriller. Einstein supposedly said that if you can’t explain something simply, then you don’t know it well enough. Not only did H.S. Clark paint a very clear picture of the medical world and in a manner that even someone with no background knowledge about it will understand what he wants to communicate. He also managed to create a brilliant story line—an exciting plot that zooms off into action from the moment you start reading.

As a fan of medical thriller, there are certain elements that I look for to get my attention. One is the sense of authenticity. There are so many novels that deal with topics that are clearly out of the author’s range of expertise, and sometimes, no matter how much they try to make the story sound accurate, there is still something amiss. With Secret Thoughts, Clark clearly knows what he’s doing—being an anesthesiologist himself—and just how much to use to fuel the story.

Other elements I look for in a medical thriller are heartbreak and betrayal. Yes, it can’t be an effective thriller without it breaking your heart first into a million tiny pieces before the redemption in the end. And I remember telling myself when I started reading the prologue, “I swear, if Kayla dies, I will flip.” But of course, the child dies, because how else do you start a thriller apart from introducing a mother-child fiasco that ends with the little daughter convulsing and literally dropping dead before her mother’s eyes?

On the one hand, the novel is fast-paced despite its heavy medical jargon. What’s even more wonderfully surprising is the ease with which you follow the story from page to page. On the other hand, although is brilliantly written, it really does leave me thinking how great this will be as a movie.

A Great Story to Listen To

Secret Thoughts is a great audio performance by Ernie Sprance and a provocative thriller by H.S. Clark. Secret Thoughts offers a chilling peek into the dangers of advanced medical technology. It’s the NSA, Dr. Moreau, and James Bond combined. It’s a murder mystery with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing right up to the end.

Couldn't wait for story to end.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I expected a real thriller but this was hardly an exciting "page turner."
The main character was interesting but hardly believable unless he was a superhero!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was disappointing. It wasn't surprising how it was resolved without the exciting twists and turns that make a mystery fun. I was determined to finish the book and did.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was laughable trying to do female voices.

Did Secret Thoughts inspire you to do anything?

No.