Review: Death by Placebo

Nelson K Foley, Death by Placebo (San San 2025)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230821260-death-by-placebo?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_16

The President needs a liver donor, live or dead
The President (dictator) of (fictional near Eastern country) Balarutan, Viktor Rachmanil, needs a liver transplant. But the patient is a ‘self-destructive denier’ and an ‘entitled demander’. Drs Rybak and Romanchuk steel themselves for dropping the bombshell with a vodka.
Going abroad for the op might have been an option, but Rachmanil is cautious about the power vacuum he’d leave behind. The only person he listens to is his press secretary Natasha, and his ferret Snowflake, is a constant companion.
The search is on—for a live donor or a brain-dead donor. The hospital checks out his three children as possible donors, but there is a ‘problem’ with Danica. To find a dead donor, Rachmanil contemplates ‘seeking out a suitable donor in advance’. Marcus Trubila, a member of his security service, knows what he means.
There is an international conference of liver specialists in Vienna, and the hospital hopes to recruit foreign talent for the surgery. Danica goes along and spends time with Dr Andea Mancini.
I do like it when plot intricacies are spelled out a bit, but the fact that the President is looking for a liver donor is repeated too, too many times.
There’s a great twist at the end.