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The Price of Life
Eight-year-old Jennifer Haller's brain tumor is killing her. A timely CT scan would likely have saved her, and a new surgery offers hope for a cure, but Julie Haller is crushed when their insurance company refuses to pay for her daughter's operation. Shortly after Jennifer's diagnosis, Marine Captain Ed Haller loses his leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq. He comes home to rehabilitate while Jennifer wages her own losing battle with cancer and its treatment. Jennifer's death leads the family to Fort Worth lawyer Grant Mercer, whom they hire to sue Jennifer's neurologist. As Mercer works the case, Julie Haller learns the results of recent tort reform efforts, including a $250,000 limit in medical malpractice cases. She and her husband realize that a quarter-million dollar price tag on a beloved eight-year-old girl is simply inconceivable. They have no interest in the money, focusing instead on their responsibility to honor their daughter by seeking justice for her death. The murders of a lobbyist in Austin, a state senator on a remote country road, and an insurance executive in New York seem unrelated until Jennifer's doctor is kidnapped. Mercer makes the disturbing connection between the victims and his case, and discovers how far some people will go when the usual avenues of justice are too sharply curtailed.
307 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Greg McCarthy
7 books3 followersGreg McCarthy is an author and attorney. For twenty-four years, he has practiced law in Dallas and all over Texas, with a primary focus on personal injury cases. He has tried dozens of cases to juries as lead counsel.
For the first eighteen years of his practice, he devoted the majority of his time to representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice actions. Currently, he works as a mediator to help parties resolve their disputes and focuses his law practice on cases involving catastrophic injury or death.
Greg enjoys skiing, hiking, triathlons, hunting, playing the guitar, cooking, and wine, and teaches a weekly indoor cycling class. He lives in Arlington,where he is working on his next novel.
For the first eighteen years of his practice, he devoted the majority of his time to representing plaintiffs in medical malpractice actions. Currently, he works as a mediator to help parties resolve their disputes and focuses his law practice on cases involving catastrophic injury or death.
Greg enjoys skiing, hiking, triathlons, hunting, playing the guitar, cooking, and wine, and teaches a weekly indoor cycling class. He lives in Arlington,where he is working on his next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 26, 2011
Title: The Price of Life
Author: Greg McCarthy
ISBN: 978-0982649442
Pages: 266
Release Date: September 2010
Publisher: Otherworld Publications
Genre: Legal Thriller
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Summary: Eight-year-old Jennifer Haller’s brain tumor is killing her. A timely CT scan would likely have saved her, and a new surgery offers hope for a cure, but Julie Haller is crushed when their insurance company refuses to pay for her daughter’s operation.
Shortly after Jennifer’s diagnosis, Marine Captain Ed Haller loses his leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq. He comes home to rehabilitate while Jennifer wages her own losing battle with cancer and its treatment. Jennifer’s death leads the family to Fort Worth lawyer Grant Mercer, whom they hire to sue Jennifer’s neurologist.
As Mercer works the case, Julie Haller learns the results of recent tort reform efforts, including a $250,000 limit in medical malpractice cases. She and her husband realize that a quarter-million dollar price tag on a beloved eight-year-old girl is simply inconceivable. They have no interest in the money, focusing instead on their responsibility to honor their daughter by seeking justice for her death.
The murders of a lobbyist in Austin, a state senator on a remote country road, and an insurance executive in New York seem unrelated until Jennifer’s doctor is kidnapped. Mercer makes the disturbing connection between the victims and his case, and discovers how far some people will go when the usual avenues of justice are too sharply curtailed.
My review: The Price of Life is a gripping and intense murder mystery that tugs at your heart-strings. A family has suffered an unspeakable tragedy and is hoping for justice. But the Texas legislature and a greedy insurance company stand in their way. As the story progresses you might wonder whose side you're on while you read late into the night unable to put down this thrilling mystery!
Greg McCarthy's debut novel is also an eye-opening look at the tort reform laws passed by the Texas State Legislature. For the most part, these laws have eliminated medical malpractice cases by capping the amount of non-economic damages a jury can award. Plaintiffs can no longer receive more than $250,000 in punitive damages no matter how egregious a doctor's behavior or how much the plaintiff has been emotionally, mentally or psychologically harmed by medical malpractice.
While reading a mystery, I enjoy trying to figure out who is doing the killing and following along with the detectives' investigation as they narrow down the suspect list, eventually apprehending the murderer. Here, McCarthy ingeniously and very subtly suggests a suspect. It seems so obvious that this character is guilty except for one reason. But if not him/her, then who? McCarthy does a wonderful job of keeping things well paced, making us turn the pages as we are immersed in entertaining and interesting dialogue, spoken by captivatingly well-defined and real, recognizable characters. The reader will identify with some for their warmth and inquisitiveness or maybe their suffering. And then there are those without which no murder mystery would be complete: the vile and putrid "bad guys." Even when the case seems wrapped up and the end is near, McCarthy surprises us with a bone-chilling twist that's you won't soon forget. It's the kind of ending that makes the book worth reading simply because you don't see it coming. Add it all up and the author has created a successful legal thriller that works on many levels from the suspenseful and gripping murder mystery to the political and social commentary not often found in the mystery genre, and several levels in between. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys an intelligent, thought-provoking and exciting legal thriller.
I received an ARC copy of The Price of Life from Kelley & Hall Book Publicity.
Author: Greg McCarthy
ISBN: 978-0982649442
Pages: 266
Release Date: September 2010
Publisher: Otherworld Publications
Genre: Legal Thriller
Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Summary: Eight-year-old Jennifer Haller’s brain tumor is killing her. A timely CT scan would likely have saved her, and a new surgery offers hope for a cure, but Julie Haller is crushed when their insurance company refuses to pay for her daughter’s operation.
Shortly after Jennifer’s diagnosis, Marine Captain Ed Haller loses his leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq. He comes home to rehabilitate while Jennifer wages her own losing battle with cancer and its treatment. Jennifer’s death leads the family to Fort Worth lawyer Grant Mercer, whom they hire to sue Jennifer’s neurologist.
As Mercer works the case, Julie Haller learns the results of recent tort reform efforts, including a $250,000 limit in medical malpractice cases. She and her husband realize that a quarter-million dollar price tag on a beloved eight-year-old girl is simply inconceivable. They have no interest in the money, focusing instead on their responsibility to honor their daughter by seeking justice for her death.
The murders of a lobbyist in Austin, a state senator on a remote country road, and an insurance executive in New York seem unrelated until Jennifer’s doctor is kidnapped. Mercer makes the disturbing connection between the victims and his case, and discovers how far some people will go when the usual avenues of justice are too sharply curtailed.
My review: The Price of Life is a gripping and intense murder mystery that tugs at your heart-strings. A family has suffered an unspeakable tragedy and is hoping for justice. But the Texas legislature and a greedy insurance company stand in their way. As the story progresses you might wonder whose side you're on while you read late into the night unable to put down this thrilling mystery!
Greg McCarthy's debut novel is also an eye-opening look at the tort reform laws passed by the Texas State Legislature. For the most part, these laws have eliminated medical malpractice cases by capping the amount of non-economic damages a jury can award. Plaintiffs can no longer receive more than $250,000 in punitive damages no matter how egregious a doctor's behavior or how much the plaintiff has been emotionally, mentally or psychologically harmed by medical malpractice.
While reading a mystery, I enjoy trying to figure out who is doing the killing and following along with the detectives' investigation as they narrow down the suspect list, eventually apprehending the murderer. Here, McCarthy ingeniously and very subtly suggests a suspect. It seems so obvious that this character is guilty except for one reason. But if not him/her, then who? McCarthy does a wonderful job of keeping things well paced, making us turn the pages as we are immersed in entertaining and interesting dialogue, spoken by captivatingly well-defined and real, recognizable characters. The reader will identify with some for their warmth and inquisitiveness or maybe their suffering. And then there are those without which no murder mystery would be complete: the vile and putrid "bad guys." Even when the case seems wrapped up and the end is near, McCarthy surprises us with a bone-chilling twist that's you won't soon forget. It's the kind of ending that makes the book worth reading simply because you don't see it coming. Add it all up and the author has created a successful legal thriller that works on many levels from the suspenseful and gripping murder mystery to the political and social commentary not often found in the mystery genre, and several levels in between. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys an intelligent, thought-provoking and exciting legal thriller.
I received an ARC copy of The Price of Life from Kelley & Hall Book Publicity.
July 26, 2016
PROTAGONIST: Grant Mercer, medical malpractice attorney
RATING: 3.5
There’s just about nothing worse for a parent than to lose a child. Eight-year-old Jennifer Haller didn’t need to die. She had a brain tumor. If the doctor who originally saw her when her symptoms first appeared had ordered a CT scan, her death would almost certainly have been prevented. And even without that scan, a new experimental surgery with an extremely high success rate most likely would have saved her. But the insurance company refused to pay for Jennifer’s operation. At the time that all this was going on, her father, Marine Captain Ed Haller, lost his leg in Iraq.
Julie and Ed Haller turn to lawyer Grant Mercer to file a lawsuit to make the original doctor and insurance company accountable for what happened to Jennifer. Mercer is quick to point out that due to recent changes in the tort reform laws, the financial settlement if they win the suit will be no more than $250,000, with lawsuit expenses and lawyer’s fees deducted from that total. Certainly, this payment doesn’t begin to make up for the loss of a child. The Hallers are not in this for the money; rather, they are seeking justice for Jennifer’s death.
As Mercer begins working on the case, Jennifer’s doctor is kidnapped. Investigation reveals some strange goings-on, including the murder of a state senator, a lobbyist and the CEO of the insurance company that denied the claim. Mercer establishes that all of the victims were in some way connected either to the tort reform legislation or Jennifer’s situation. He fears the worst.
McCarthy has a nice, smooth writing style which makes the narrative flow very well. He does a great job of introducing the various characters in the book, providing their requisite background in a natural way. Grant Mercer is the lead character, and he is very well drawn. He is an honest and caring attorney. When he first meets with the Hallers, he takes care to explain exactly how medical malpractice suits work, including the fact that they rarely turn out satisfactorily, even if the plaintiffs win the case. The insurance companies have no interest in settling such cases, due to the low amount of financial risk.
I wished that McCarthy had turned more of his focus on to Julie and Ed Haller. Certainly, the reader can imagine the terrible emotional turmoil that these parents underwent as their daughter sickened and died. But those feelings weren’t really elaborated on in the book. It would have added greatly to the emotional impact of the book if they had been. I also wished that the author had left his political opinions out of the narrative. They weren’t necessary—readers who feel differently about those things would likely be alienated.
It was interesting to learn about the medical malpractice issues; I know that I felt angry about the intrinsic unfairness of the tort reform legislation, which doesn’t serve to benefit the victims at all. Although the plot was predictable, I found THE PRICE OF LIFE to be an enjoyable read.
RATING: 3.5
There’s just about nothing worse for a parent than to lose a child. Eight-year-old Jennifer Haller didn’t need to die. She had a brain tumor. If the doctor who originally saw her when her symptoms first appeared had ordered a CT scan, her death would almost certainly have been prevented. And even without that scan, a new experimental surgery with an extremely high success rate most likely would have saved her. But the insurance company refused to pay for Jennifer’s operation. At the time that all this was going on, her father, Marine Captain Ed Haller, lost his leg in Iraq.
Julie and Ed Haller turn to lawyer Grant Mercer to file a lawsuit to make the original doctor and insurance company accountable for what happened to Jennifer. Mercer is quick to point out that due to recent changes in the tort reform laws, the financial settlement if they win the suit will be no more than $250,000, with lawsuit expenses and lawyer’s fees deducted from that total. Certainly, this payment doesn’t begin to make up for the loss of a child. The Hallers are not in this for the money; rather, they are seeking justice for Jennifer’s death.
As Mercer begins working on the case, Jennifer’s doctor is kidnapped. Investigation reveals some strange goings-on, including the murder of a state senator, a lobbyist and the CEO of the insurance company that denied the claim. Mercer establishes that all of the victims were in some way connected either to the tort reform legislation or Jennifer’s situation. He fears the worst.
McCarthy has a nice, smooth writing style which makes the narrative flow very well. He does a great job of introducing the various characters in the book, providing their requisite background in a natural way. Grant Mercer is the lead character, and he is very well drawn. He is an honest and caring attorney. When he first meets with the Hallers, he takes care to explain exactly how medical malpractice suits work, including the fact that they rarely turn out satisfactorily, even if the plaintiffs win the case. The insurance companies have no interest in settling such cases, due to the low amount of financial risk.
I wished that McCarthy had turned more of his focus on to Julie and Ed Haller. Certainly, the reader can imagine the terrible emotional turmoil that these parents underwent as their daughter sickened and died. But those feelings weren’t really elaborated on in the book. It would have added greatly to the emotional impact of the book if they had been. I also wished that the author had left his political opinions out of the narrative. They weren’t necessary—readers who feel differently about those things would likely be alienated.
It was interesting to learn about the medical malpractice issues; I know that I felt angry about the intrinsic unfairness of the tort reform legislation, which doesn’t serve to benefit the victims at all. Although the plot was predictable, I found THE PRICE OF LIFE to be an enjoyable read.
September 7, 2012
Finally returning to my towering fiction stack, I picked up this one first as it was an advance reading copy, which is now available, from a publisher that exhibited across from me at Gen Con. It's a crime drama about an Iraq war veteran and his wife looking for justice for the death of their young daughter through a medical malpractice case.
For something outside my usual genre, this was a pretty enjoyable read. For the most part, it flowed quite well; chapters and scenes melded into one another smoothly and made it very easy to continue reading. Character development was pretty interesting and there was some banter that made me smile. As a book outside my preferred genre, it seemed fairly run-of-the-mill, and read a lot like an episode of Law & Order, though I must say, I found the ending a little predictable. Again, perhaps that's just my preference - I'm sure those who dig crime dramas think fantasy is all the same, and perhaps there is shine to this particular specimen that I can't identify. This book did seem fairly well researched and was certainly topical, addressing issues such as PTSD for Iraq veterans, experimental laser surgery and its place in the American healthcare system, and new technology for cell phone tracking, to name a few. I must also admit some selfish pleasure, having come from Austin, at much of the book taking place in central Texas and the hill country. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I could see myself reading it again - which, considering how many books are on my plate, is a pretty fair compliment.
For something outside my usual genre, this was a pretty enjoyable read. For the most part, it flowed quite well; chapters and scenes melded into one another smoothly and made it very easy to continue reading. Character development was pretty interesting and there was some banter that made me smile. As a book outside my preferred genre, it seemed fairly run-of-the-mill, and read a lot like an episode of Law & Order, though I must say, I found the ending a little predictable. Again, perhaps that's just my preference - I'm sure those who dig crime dramas think fantasy is all the same, and perhaps there is shine to this particular specimen that I can't identify. This book did seem fairly well researched and was certainly topical, addressing issues such as PTSD for Iraq veterans, experimental laser surgery and its place in the American healthcare system, and new technology for cell phone tracking, to name a few. I must also admit some selfish pleasure, having come from Austin, at much of the book taking place in central Texas and the hill country. Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I could see myself reading it again - which, considering how many books are on my plate, is a pretty fair compliment.
November 19, 2011
McCarthy's debut novel is thrilling and leaves the readers wanting for more!
Plot: A medical malpractice orginates suit due to the death of a little girl. This comes after a new law caps at malpractice lawsuits at $250,000, which how can you put a price on the life of a little girl? At the same time, there are mysterious murders that seem to tie back to this malpractice case. McCarthy will leave you at the edge of your seat wondering who the real murderer is going to be!
Plot: A medical malpractice orginates suit due to the death of a little girl. This comes after a new law caps at malpractice lawsuits at $250,000, which how can you put a price on the life of a little girl? At the same time, there are mysterious murders that seem to tie back to this malpractice case. McCarthy will leave you at the edge of your seat wondering who the real murderer is going to be!
June 28, 2011
I'll add my official review as soon as I finish reading the book. Let's just say, I've already recommended it to my co workers who are attorneys. 7 chapters in and your book has already made me cry and it's tugged at my heart!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews