Book Review: Code Crisis
Code Crisis. Joe Purpura,
Greenleaf Book Group Press, Hardcover. 343 pages.
Reviewed by Catherine Marcroft.
The foundation of Joe Purpura’s first novel, Code Crisis, is a good one. The shock of events on September 11th, 2001 have forever divided this country’s history into before and after that terrorist attack. The fear that acts of terror on such a scale could happen again still lingers. What’s explored in this book is the idea that soft targets like a hospital not far from the coast might be vulnerable. This vulnerability is particularly poignant for those who suffered the loss of a loved one in the attack, like our hero, Dr. DeLuca.
Dr. Vince DeLuca, is a California gynecologist practicing out of Santa Barbara Community Hospital. He has some impressive credentials, old personal sorrows and a life style that tries to make the best of a gaping hole; sadness seems to win the day more often than not.
When Dr. DeLuca is called to see a patient suffering an ectopic pregnancy in need of emergency care, the patient makes a request of the good doctor, to contact a “friend” if things don’t go well. That request, combined with some post-surgery anesthesia ramblings, prompt a call to the FBI, which sets our story in motion.
The call is answered by Special Agent Carolyn Talbot, who gathers the puzzle pieces Dr. DeLuca provides, fits them into intel already in play, and suddenly we are in the early stages of a very dastardly plot against this country. Dr. DeLuca is inextricably involved due to his proximity to his patient and, over the course of the book, his growing feelings for Agent Talbot.
Agent Talbot goes all in with her trust for Dr. DeLuca as a deputized agent for team Good Guys. Together they must fight this plot while getting acquainted and taking care of each other. The story races along, it is nearly all our heroes can do to answer attacks hurled at them as they are increasingly known to the enemy as obstacles to the intended chaos.
Author Joe Purpura is an OB/GYN. It is when he puts his medical knowledge and experience to use that this book feels particularly strong. At one point some impressive and gruesome medical problem-solving is required to save a life.
Not every book is for every reader. This one is, admittedly, a page turner, but this reviewer warns readers who are sensitive to descriptions of rage and violence, it may not be for you. As Joe Purpura does in his dedication for Code Crisis, this reviewer adds praise and thanks to the women and men of our country’s intelligence services.