BLOG TOUR & REVIEW: Doc Doc Zeus by Thomas Keech @smithpublicity
Excited to be today's Blog Tour stop for Doc Doc Zeus: A Novel of White Coat Crime. Scroll below to get an in depth look into this novel, an author Q&A and my full review.
Doc Doc Zeus:
A Novel of White
Coat Crime
by Thomas Keech
“A complex, multilayered, and psychologically acute tale
about a predatory physician: well done.”
–Kirkus Reviews
In
a 2016 national investigation, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution examined
documents that described disturbing acts of physician sexual abuse in every
state. Rapes by OB/GYNs, seductions by psychiatrists, fondling by
anesthesiologists and ophthalmologists, and molestations by pediatricians and
radiologists occur far too often. Victims were babies, adolescents, women in their 80s, drug addicts and jail inmates,
and survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This culture of power and secrecy too
often goes unpunished, and author Thomas Keech is on a mission to tell the
untold story of the causes of and cures for physician sexual predation.
Fans of Jodi Picoult and Scott Turow,
readers who enjoy authors who push the line of social issues and controversies
that often get pushed under the rug, look toward Keech and his latest novel, Doc
Doc Zeus: A Novel of White Coat Crime [Real Nice Books, August
1, 2017].
Dr. Hardwicke Zeus is a successful
physician, who cheats on his wife, degrades his mistress, stiffs his medical
partners and defrauds insurance companies. Most problematic of all is his
deep-seated misogyny, which he takes out on his female patients. The medical
board knows he drugged and raped Katherine two years before, but is helpless to
do anything about it. His current victim is sixteen-year-old Diane. Diane is
intelligent and strong-willed, but she is also an unwed mother who at fourteen
has given her baby away for adoption, has lost faith in her church, and is
having trouble reconnecting with her only two friends. Even as she cherishes
her relationship with Dr. Zeus, Diane resists some of his sexual demands and
finds it necessary as a matter of survival to lie to him about taking the drugs
he prescribes for her. With a little help from a new friend, she gradually
figures out that she is being used, and what to do about it.
“The
Stories investigators hear are often very similar. A woman might feel the
doctor performing a slightly more intrusive examination than usual, but the
last thing in the world she wants to do is question the doctor closely about that,” contributes
Keech. “If
she goes back maybe six months later and it happens again, it’s
obvious the first time wasn’t just a slip-up. But It’s
just human nature to try to put something like that out of your mind. If it
happens a third time, the patients are often so disgusted they just want to get
out of there and never think about it again. Sometimes they blame themselves
for not realizing what the doctor was doing.”
Doc Doc Zeus portrays very real, emotional
encounters that can actually happen to any patient against their will. It shows
readers how medical boards go about trying to help these victims. Keech hopes
to prevent more of these degrading assaults from happening to people who may be
unaware of the abuse.
With thought-provoking portrayals, Keech’s
Doc Doc Zeus explores:
- The sinister nature of this crime which causes victims often to blame themselves for what was done to them
- The untold story of the causes of and cures for physician predation on patients
- Preventing guilt and shame of victims being sexually abused by a predator physician under the guise of medical treatment
- Opioid abuse by both physician and patient
- The importance of reporting abuse - even when its under the guise of love - once your mind is clear so other will not be subjected to the same treatment
“Physician
sexual predation is a unique crime in that the more lengthy and abusive it is,
the less likely the victim is to report it,”
adds Keech. “ I
don't think any other novel has attempted to portray the insidious psychological
twist by which the victims themselves often begin to feel at fault.”
My Review:
Immediately this book reminded me of the opening scene in Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Where the gynecologist is clearly not using gloves as he's "examining" his female patients. Dr. Zeus takes it a step further with drug induced rape and taking advantage of a teenage girl.
This book volleys back and forth through the POVs of Dr. Zeus and his sexual misbehavior, David, a lawyer who looks deep into the case of women accusing Dr. Zeus of sexual misconduct and Diane, the teenager that Dr. Zeus manipulates and feeds drugs to so he can conquer and feed his sexual appetite - his wife and mistress and other "girlfriends" don't hold a candle to her young, innocent skin.
This doctor is a deplorable human being on every level. You hate him from the very first page. You applaud David for not looking the other way for an easy victory in court and you want to shake some sense in Diane. The author does an outstanding job of putting you in their minds. The fact that this can, and does happen, is skin crawling. Physicians abusing their power is a very real thing and while this is a fictional book, the subject matter is all too real. As someone who finds the human psyche fascinating and especially in the case of real to life situations, I was deeply engrossed in this novel. While the subject matter may be difficult for some readers, it does not take away from how well written it is. I could go on and on and on about everything the author explores in this book, but I won't - I will just suggest that if the above is anything at all that you're interested in, pick up a copy of this book.
This book volleys back and forth through the POVs of Dr. Zeus and his sexual misbehavior, David, a lawyer who looks deep into the case of women accusing Dr. Zeus of sexual misconduct and Diane, the teenager that Dr. Zeus manipulates and feeds drugs to so he can conquer and feed his sexual appetite - his wife and mistress and other "girlfriends" don't hold a candle to her young, innocent skin.
This doctor is a deplorable human being on every level. You hate him from the very first page. You applaud David for not looking the other way for an easy victory in court and you want to shake some sense in Diane. The author does an outstanding job of putting you in their minds. The fact that this can, and does happen, is skin crawling. Physicians abusing their power is a very real thing and while this is a fictional book, the subject matter is all too real. As someone who finds the human psyche fascinating and especially in the case of real to life situations, I was deeply engrossed in this novel. While the subject matter may be difficult for some readers, it does not take away from how well written it is. I could go on and on and on about everything the author explores in this book, but I won't - I will just suggest that if the above is anything at all that you're interested in, pick up a copy of this book.
Author Bio:
THOMAS
KEECH is a retired Assistant Attorney General for the state of Maryland having
represented the State Board of Physicians for sixteen years in its attempt to
discipline doctors who were sexual predators, perpetrators of insurance fraud,
violators of self-referral laws, and many other types of misbehavior. Prior to
this, he served for thirteen years as the Chairman of a state administrative
appeals board. Before that, he was an attorney and lobbyist for the Legal Aid
Bureau of Baltimore for seven years.
Currently,
Keech is a contractual consultant to the Maryland State Board of Physicians,
where he write regulations, coordinateS with other boards and agencies, and
participates in investigations.
He
also authored Unemployment Insurance [Maryland Institute for Continuing
Professional Education of Lawyers, 1991], As well as the novels The
Crawlspace Conspiracy [Baskerville, 1995], Prey for Love [Real Nice
Books, 2011], and Hot Box in the Pizza District [Real Nice Books, 2015].
The novels dealt with state politics, teenagers entangled in suburban
corruption and college romance, respectively.
Doc Doc Zeus is all about
medical crime. Has there ever been a fictional story like this one written
before?
This book might be
unique in that it focuses not only on the predator doctor but also on the
victim –
how she got caught
up in the doctor’s evil trap, how she was affected, and how she
eventually learns to trust and learn from the people around her.
Without giving too
much away, what would you say is the main conflict in Doc Doc Zeus?
Dr. Zeus’s evil manipulation
of all the levers of power to indulge his sexual and financial fantasies is
challenged by the dedication of a novice investigator –
and the surprising
inner strength of his teenage victim.
Most books that
really connect with readers speak to some universal truths. What universal truths
are illustrated or discussed in your book?
The sociopaths we
will always have among us, but the rest of us can limit their damage if we
forge ahead, forgive ourselves for our own mistakes and do the same for those
who are truly our friends.
Can you tell
readers how your personal background and experience informed your writing of
Doc Doc Zeus?
As counsel to the
Maryland State Board of Physicians for sixteen years I assisted the Board as
they heard charges against physicians. My work required me to have an intimate
knowledge of the case, including the witness interviews, the testimony, and the
hearings, as well as the procedures and trial tactics of both the prosecution
and the defense.
Why did you choose
the predator, Dr. Zeus, to be a male?
The great majority
of physician sexual predators that I dealt with were male, the great majority
of victims female. My guess is that either male patients are not reporting
assaults by female physicians or it isn’t happening that
often.
What do you want readers
to remember about your story or characters long after they have finished
reading?
Diane trusted her
friends and kept a fingerhold on reality even as she was being swept away by
Dr. Zeus and his drugs. Maybe that happened because her parents never abandoned
her. There are people even in high levels of our society whose only concept of
truth is whatever is best for them at the present moment; these people are
dangerous and must be watched carefully.
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