Soap Opera Nurse

Whenever I see medical consultant listed in the credits of a TV show or movie, I always wonder what their role really is. In Marni Graff's Death Unscripted the role is revealed. Former nurse Trudy Genova is the medical consultant on the long-running soap opera, Thornfield Place being filmed in New York City.

And what's a soap opera without several hospital scenes. In this book, lead character Griff Kennedy, not anyone's favorite actor, is having a fake heart attack in the scene. Trudi's job is to connect the leads from the heart monitor to his chest while the computer manipulates his heart rhythm to fake the heart attack. She inserts atropine eye drops into his eyes to dilate them for the close shots. Within minutes Griff is acting as if he is in distress and everyone marvels at his acting ability, until he clutches his stomach, points towards Trudi and shouts "You, YOU," then falls down dead.

Naturally Trudi is a suspect and she sets out to prove she is not

guilty. When another member of the cast is found dead from anaphylactic shock brought on by a nut allergy, Trudy is more determined than ever to find the killer.

Death Unscripted is an excellent book with a carefully woven plot that intersects in several ways. I enjoyed learning about the behind the scenes activities of a television show and will pay more attend to the authenticity that is achieved in medical scenes in the future. I look forward to the next book in this series.