Don’t Go

Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline              Audio:  11 hrs., 22 mins       Mass Market Paperback:  464 pages                             

Another excellent book by Lisa Scottoline.    Where does she pull all of these great stories from?    Her words make you feel like you are right there experiencing the story.   This poor guy.   He is serving as an Army doctor over in Afghanistan and all he wants to do is serve out his tour and go home to his wife and new baby daughter.  A lot is going on in Afghanistan and while he is dealing with that turmoil – his wife dies at home of an apparent accident.   Now he has to go home and bury her and decide who will care for his infant daughter.    His wife’s death is devastating to him and  he only has 10 days leave to make funeral arrangements and sort out childcare and what to do about his home.   His wife’s sister and her lawyer husband have stepped up to care for the baby which is a godsend.   When he has to go back to complete his tour he knows she is in good and loving hands.    He willingly signs over temporary custody of his daughter while he is away so in the event she would require hospitalization or medical care they would have permission to get her proper care.    His brother-in-law being an attorney saved them lots of time getting all the paperwork through the proper channels in a hurry.   After the funeral and ag the end of his 10 days leave, he went back feeling he had done the right thing.   Circumstances can change in an instant, however.    Four of his buddies are killed right in front of him en a little boy comes to them with a puppy who’s leg is severed.  The soldiers are discussing how against the rules it would be to help the pup but the guy, Mike’s, heart melts for the boy and his bleeding dog.  He decides to go against the rules and help, but they soon find out it was a ploy when who they thought was the boy’s grandfather who was standing by a donkey pulls out a grenade and blows 4 of the soldiers up before they can move out of the way.   This messes with Mike’s head severely and thereafter he suffers from PTSD.   They were all just there talking and laughing and now he is picking up what is left of their body parts to send home to their families to bury.   Then his CO is pushing him to sign on for another tour of duty as his medical skills as a surgeon are needed there so badly.   They had already been short-handed, now they were short 4 more surgical staff.    He waffles as his world crumbles around him.   He wants so much to go home and be with his little girl who he is a stranger to now, but, after discussing it with his sister-in-law  and brother-in-law who assure him they love him and his daughter and don’t mind at all watching her while he serves another tour of duty.   You have to watch folks when they are too agreeable to do things as this soldier doctor soon finds out.   He goes through so much in this story it had me saying OMgosh! So many times.   It’s like somebody keeps saying what could be worse?   Then this poor guy finds out.   He is too quick on the uptake to react to external stimuli for one thing.   This is such a good story another page turner you won’t want to put down.   I highly recommend this story and Lisa Scottoline as an author.     Her writing keeps the reader enthralled.  

 - Shirley J.