The Endorphin Conspiracy

by Fredric Stern

In the late 1950's, the CIA, at the height of communist paranoia, established PROJECT MK ULTRA to develop drugs that could be utilized to effectively brainwash foreign enemies. In 1963, the project came to an abrupt halt when several of the CIA's own agents were unwittingly given high doses of LSD at a weekend retreat, and later suffered severe flashbacks, depression, and in one case, suicide as a result.Thirty-five years have transpired since the fateful MK ULTRA project was shut down. A group of zealots, including several of the original participants, now in highly placed government and academic positions, has kept the program, known as the SIGMA PROJECT, alive. Shifting their focus to the development of highly potent synthetic endorphins and utilizing PET (positron emission tomography) scan technology, they are on the threshold of a major breakthrough in the ability to understand and control the brain's thought processes. And they will let no one get in their way.Dr. Geoffrey Davis, a former medic in the Navy Seals, is the chief resident on the neurosurgery service at the New York Trauma Center. From his first day back on the job after spending a year in the PETronics Research Laboratory of Dr. Josef Balassi, strange events begin unfolding. A crazed janitor, a former head injury patient at the NYTC, explosives in hand, takes a little girl hostage at the Central Park Zoo. A respected Hasidic rabbi opens fire with a machine gun on a crowded subway train. Several of Geoff's patients die under mysterious circumstances while on his neurosurgery service, and key aspects of their medical records, including their PET scans, vanish, leading Geoff inexorably toward the frightening conclusion that all of these events are in some way connected to activities at the NYTC's PETronics Institute. As the deadly conspiracy swirls around him, Geoff becomes increasingly isolated, on the run from the CIA, the police and his own medical staff. At stake is the ability to control the human brain, and Dr. Geoffrey Davis is the only one with the knowledge, courage, and ability to stop THE SIGMA PROJECT!THE ENDORPHIN CONSPIRACY is a first rate medical thriller, a chilling story rooted in today’s medical technology. A breathless ride from start to finish, it’s a novel you won’t want put down until you turn the final page!

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Science Fiction, Amazon

287 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2012

Reviews

[Marina Fontaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's an OK book. The beginning, with all the buildup is better than once it finally gets going. The old trope of evil corporation in cahoots with the CIA is, well, old. An intern worrying about ethical implications of receiving free stethoscopes from corporations sounds fairly laughable in these days of Obamacare on the march. The choreography of the final confrontation between the baddie and the hero is, once again, laughable in practical terms (yeah, make it possible for the immobilized hero to move, why don't you?), not to mention the "talking killer" trope being done to death and then some. HOWEVER, it's a quick read, entertaining enough, and has some good emotional scenes. Not enough for the "like" rating, esp. considering how many better books have gotten only 3 stars from me, so just "OK" it is.

NOTE: I don't understand all the complaints about medical terminology. Any fan of ER or House (or anyone who had visited a hospital more than once) should have no problem, and if you are not into medically themed stories, why would you pick this one up in the first place?

[Liquid Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

This medical thriller is a casual read for entertainment. To me, it is what I envision a "Dime Store" novel to be, which is not negative in the slightest sense. It is simply my way to express a book that moves along, has some action and suspense, and can be read without a huge commitment from the reader.

Brainwashing and its carry-over from the CIA's Project MK ULTRA has led to SIGMA Project, which is still nefarious but is run by high-level government and academic officials. There is some fun science (medical thriller after all) and decent characters. Of course, the main character, Dr. Geoffrey Davis is a former Navy Seal medic so you know he is going to get to the bottom of why patients with head injuries are doing crazy things.

Read October 2014: Kindle Freebie

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous read!! Loads of medical terminology, but it doesn't hinder the flow of the story. Hard to put down..looking forward to more from this author.

[Jacob Peled · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like medical thrillers, but this one contain too much unnecessary technical data. A thriller is not supposed to be a textbook. When describing an incident in the MEI or PetScan room, a full description of the way a MRI machine is working is unnecessary. The book is full with such detailed technical and surgical details.
The main story behind the scene is very shallow and unbelievable, making the all story superficial. The author tried to use stereotype heroes in order to attract the reader.

• A doctor that is an ex-navy seal using its knowledge to defend himself from the bad guys
• An unclear CIA involvement in a confused story. Not very clear who is the bad guy and why.
• A computer hacker.
• A poor attempt to create a love story etc..

Unfortunately these typical ingredients that usually work in a suspense spy thriller didn’t work properly in that story.

[Vinette Dephillipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great medical thriller.

An exciting story about a chief resident doctor who uncovers a ring of people and doctors involved in testing substances on patients without their knowledge. The untried substances ended up killing the patients.

Lots of things happen . But I am going to let you read about them for yourself.

Enjoy the book.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read with an interesting hero and support cast. However, there were way too many medical detail and a looooong explanation of how to break a numeric code...easy to skim over, but somewhat irritating!

[PMM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read! It got bogged down a little with the medical terminology and explanations. These could have been less technical and not have changed the flow of the story. But at the end of the book I couldn't put it down and had to finish to find out the conclusion.

[Barry Edstene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, everything you want in a fast paced thriller. Loved every page and understand that minor mistakes are made in any novel. Lord knows I could not write one. But please fix the fact that the m11 pistol was a sig, a 1911 is a Colt.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book

You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA

[Shawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Superman as a doctor. Shooting a gun in an ICU. A patient just out of 8 hour surgery talking and throwing himself around. REALLY?

[Pat aka Tygyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoff is starting in neurosurgery at a trauma center. He had done some research with the staff there regarding PET scans and head traumas and is very excited to continue working with them. But he is getting emails he doesn't understand. People who have had head traumas, PET scans, and seemingly much better are murdering people or committing suicide. What is Geoff missing about these patients? He enlists the aid of a Medical Examiner. She has a secret. She was suspicious of these deaths before Geoff brought them to her. Her father died about 40 years ago when a secret government experiment went very wrong. She thinks the experiments have been restarted. Is she just a conspiracy nut? Now more than just patients are turning up dead or badly injured. Geoff has amassed critical information, can he get it to someone he trusts in time. Who can he trust? Then Geoff is hit by a car and ends up in his own hospital with head trauma and having the same treatments as those patients he has been losing. What will happen?

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

MEDICAL CONSPIRACY EXPOSED! would be the newspaper headline IF it were possible to expose all the conspiracy players. The doc with the balloons and the cop with the balloons both showing up in the head trauma unit at different times to visit different patients tells me that the entire conspiracy is yet to be solved.

The book was a good quick read. The author's writing mechanics were excellent! The characters were all multifaceted personalities with figurative and literal skeletons or corpses in their closets. The protagonist was the ONLY person I trusted, and I could spin some questions about the government sanctioned and funded research going on in the hospital department where he served as chief resident.There is something about those balloons that niggles my brain.

Thank you, Mr. Stern, for a good read.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be prepared for medical terminology in this fast-paced thriller!

Character development was quite well done. Having lived through the era of MK-Ultra and heard of abuses of ordinary citizens by our own government, this book was not far fetched in its plot. The editing was well done and errors were minimal. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the notion of what might happen when rogue elements in our intelligence community aren't kept in check!

[Tabitha Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read, but the plot and characters aren't quite believable. You're not going to get lost in the story line. Its still overall a good read if you want something that is going to challenge you without straining you. However I do think this author has the potential to do some great things once he gets a few things ironed out.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A GREAT MEDICAL THRILLER!

If you love medical mysteries this one will keep you reading even when you shouldn't be! A talented neurosurgical resident becomes the chief resident at a NY trauma center and uncovers a conspiracy that spans 40 years. I won't give the story line away. That would ruin your enjoyment. But do read this terrific book!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Have not read a medical thriller in a long, long time. The pace and the writing were very good. The only thing against the book is it is a bit predictable with regard to the antagonists. But the writting makes up for this and held this reader's attention through to the end. 

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great medical thriller! This book was written by an M.D. It was a great story that took several chapters to grav me but when it did, I was hooked. I love reading/learning about the brain & the possibilities. This work of fiction was suspenseful & engaging. I look forward to reading this author again.

[brianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book overall. I was unsure in the beginning because of all the medical terminology but I quickly caught on and the book moved along well. The conspiracy idea really drew me in and kept me interested. All in all, a good book.

[Christina Relis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and fast paced

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. It had very detailed and specific information regarding code breaking and neurological chemicals.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid medical thriller. Some of his computer technology seemed to lack the expertise that he shows in his medical writing, which was a little offputting at times, and I couldn't quite bring myself to believe in an ex-Navy SEAL neurosurgeon, but otherwise a good enough read.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

No stars would be appropriate. With my retirement income, I have started getting free books for the Kindle. They are free for a reason: nobody would pay money for these! Guess I need to get a library card!

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the tradition of Michael Crighton, physician author Frederic Stern focuses on research to cure schizophrenia that goes wrong and actually causes it. See a resident in neurosurgery who gets caught up in a conspiracy and those who come to his aid.

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Medical thriller that moved at a quick pace. Chief resident seems to be connection to a series of deaths that has him running for his life and unsure of who to trust. Author is a doctor, but did not overload on technical jargon. Fun read.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars- not believable but kept me interested

[Gertie]

This is free until March 29th, 2014: http://amzn.com/B009N3OWD6

[sharon marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read!

if you like medical reads this will get your attention and keep you spell bound to the very last page......

[Tim Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Slow start, fast finish. A little bit of difficult reading in the middle. I was still engrossed in the read.

[Deborah Escobar · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, good characters and interesting premise.

[Jeff Wetherington]

I could not get through more than 20 pages of this book. Too many spelling and grammatical errors.

[Rebecca Fronckowiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

Very good story, characters and plot twists. Keeps you guessing who are the good guys? I'm recommending to those who like fast paced action.