Code Blue With Intent


Fiction - Thriller - Medical
198 Pages
Reviewed on 12/03/2019
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Marilyn Esper Kelsey grew up in Vermilion, Ohio before moving to New Jersey, where she finished nursing school and became an RN. She married and raised three children before moving with her husband to Charleston, S.C., where she continued her nursing career. After becoming a grandmother, she and her husband moved back North.

She retired after 45 years of nursing, but a love of medical thrillers inspired her to begin writing a hospital murder mystery. She draws from her experiences with doctors, nurses and hospital staff, and while some characters are greatly exaggerated, readers will never know whichones—and she is not telling!

In 2016 she published an early grade chapter book, “Missy’s Lowcountry Adventure.”
She has been a member of several writer’s groups, including a chapter group in Charleston, the S.C. Writers and Illustrators, the Rehoboth Beach Writer’s Guild, and the Mystery Writers of America.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Darryl Greer for Readers' Favorite

Code Blue With Intent is author Marilyn Esper Kelsey’s foray into medical thrillers. Her lead character is Kate Ross, an RN case manager at Northwest General Hospital, Morristown, New Jersey, renowned for its surgeons and innovative surgical techniques. Despite its impeccable reputation, Kate and her colleagues become concerned when an unusual number of patients start dying. That concern is heightened when it appears they were all insured by the same company, Premier Regional. As more and more patients die, Kate becomes suspicious of her colleagues, even her own love interest, Dr. Jake Fenelli, and as the story unfolds, the suspects build. Just when it seems obvious who the killer is, along comes someone who is more likely. Meanwhile, over at Premier Regional, things aren’t all that rosy. There are too many bothersome patients who have a history of multiple hospital admissions. This is seriously affecting the insurer’s bottom line just at a time when they are trying to merge with a larger, more economically sound medical insurer. What to do? Back at Northwest, layer by layer, Kate is unraveling the truth but as she gets closer to identifying those responsible for the deaths, she is placing herself in mortal danger.

It is hard to believe that Code Blue With Intent is Marilyn Esper Kelsey’s first medical thriller. It has all the positive hallmarks of a Robin Cook novel. The writing is tight, the tension builds steadily from the outset through to the explosive dénouement. Clearly, the author is either a former health practitioner herself or has carried out a monumental amount of research. The setting of Northwest General is very real, there is an authentic feel about the medical-speak, hospital procedures and drugs used in the story. The scenes are highly visual, the characters real and the dialogue believable. The book appears to have been professionally edited, something that cannot be taken for granted these days. At times I had to ask myself if the story wasn’t a little too implausible but on reflection, I don’t think it matters. Code Blue With Intent is a gripping, hard-to-put-down read that will scorch your fingers as you turn each page.

K.C. Finn

Code Blue With Intent is a work of thriller fiction set in the medical field, and was penned by author Marilyn Esper Kelsey. Short and sharp in its presentation, this exciting and unusual novel focuses on potential medical conspiracy in the middle of serial deaths and romantic entanglements. The central female protagonist is Kate Ross, an RN case manager who seems to be getting on with her normal life. But when patients start dying and the ties from those deaths lead her towards a prominent insurance company, Kate begins to question both her co-workers and the new lover she has fallen for, sinking deeper into the murderous conspiracy that looms all around her.

Written for adults due to its intense themes, profanity and some sexual situations, this is a genuinely intense thriller that mixes credible medical concepts with real human emotions for its maximum impact. Where medical thrillers can sometimes end up being all about the paperwork and the whispers in the background, author Marilyn Esper Kelsey brings readers right into the heart of the action through her protagonist, Kate. We feel each tremble of doubt and uncertainty as Kate uncovers more and more of the complex plot, building a successful atmosphere of fear and suspicion. When the conclusions are reached, they are highly satisfying, and the pace of the novel brings them forward with sudden, shocking thrills as the book nears its end. Overall, Code Blue With Intent is a tense and well-penned thriller that has everything you could want in a thrilling medical murder mystery.

Samantha Gregory

Code Blue With Intent by Marilyn Esper Kelsey is the story of a nurse called Kate Ross, who discovers that a patient's death might not be of natural causes and that someone at her hospital could be involved. She starts to investigate, worried that it is someone close to her. She is close to one of the doctors, they both supported each other through big moments in their lives, but everyone becomes a suspect. We do get insight into the other characters too and what their lives are like outside work. Kate learns through phone calls with the insurance people that patients who are constantly admitted are costing them money. Could they have something to do with it? Someone is guiding a hospital employee to carry out their work and they are not giving them much of a choice.

Marilyn Esper Kelsey has written an interesting book in Code Blue With Intent. Kelsey seems to have the medical lingo down and the story is well written. The chapters are quite short, but I liked that. Kate is a mother and widow who has worked as a nurse for years. She is good at her job and when she suspects foul play, she can't let it drop, even if it will put her in danger. I think people who enjoy thrillers and mystery books would enjoy this book. It was a quick read and I finished it in a couple of sittings. I would recommend Code Blue With Intent by Marilyn Esper Kelsey as it was a good read.

Bob McH

Fun quick read and good story line. Enjoyed the read very much.