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MWSA Review
If you are looking for a medical sci-fi technothriller to read, look no further than Heroic Measures, Book 1 of the Death Benefits series, by Joel Shulkin, MD. Shulkin has crafted a roller coaster ride of a thriller.
Stephen Englehart is a top Armed Forces medical examiner, whose goal in life is to help bring peace to families of the fallen. But during a not-quite-routine, combat-death autopsy, he stumbles onto a mystery when the photos of the body and rank of the servicemember don’t match the physical remains on his autopsy table. During the procedure, the supposedly dead marine wakes up and creates havoc in the morgue. Englehart refuses to let the misidentification mystery rest and pursues what looks like a military conspiracy.
Just when I thought I knew who the good guys were, the author flipped the script, keeping me in suspense to the end. Characters were believable, and the medical sci-fi aspects were explained with enough techy-talk to make them plausible. The surprises just kept coming. There is a bit of a Captain America comic book feel to the book, and the author explains that very well.
Review by Betsy Beard (February 2025)
Author's Synopsis
Stephen Englehart, an Armed Forces medical examiner. dedicates his life to bringing peace to the families of fallen soldiers. Tagged as one of the best, he’s able to spot forensic clues others miss. But when the body of a US Marine, supposedly burned beyond recognition, shows up with hardly a scratch, even Stephen is stumped. Were the bodies switched? Then, in the middle of the autopsy, the impossible happens.
The soldier wakes up.
Something incredible—and dangerous—is happening to the military’s elite, and Stephen may be the only one who can figure it out. And when Stephen’s sister, a Green Beret, goes missing, the entire military machine seems designed to stop him from finding her. To find the truth and save his sister, one man must stand against an army. Can he be the hero he never thought he could?
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Mystery/Thriller/Crime
Number of Pages: 380
Word Count: 87000