Book Nook with Edwin Ansel

Book Nook

Cut to the Chase

D. Marshall Craig, MD, Author —Reviewed by Edwin Ansel

By day, Dr. Kyle Chandler is a trauma surgeon, mending torn bodies, holding life in his hands, staring down Death with a passionate “not my patient, not today!” By night, when any normal person with his career would be huddled on the couch with the remote and a glass of wine, Kyle is instead plunging into the high-stakes game of 19th Century French antiques.

Really? At first it seemed an unlikely pairing, like bacon dipped in chocolate. On second thought I’m thinking, heck yeah, why not? It’s a novel. I don’t want to read about ordinary people doing ordinary things. So when dabbling in antiques become as much a life and death matter as meeting an ambulance at the emergency room, I say, Bring it!

Kyle is the brainchild of D. Marshall Craig, MD., and the hero of this medical/Beaux Arts thriller, “Cut to the Chase.” Dr. Craig has over thirty years’ experience as a surgeon and is now a winemaker as well as a novelist, so maybe Kyle’s resumé is not so unlikely at all.

A novel can be a buffet, should be, really. A bit of this and that, everybody will find something good. Dr. Craig’s story is just such a buffet.

First of all, the scenes in the ER are both finely detailed and compelling. Real medicine is being described, and you can’t look away. And there’s a heartfelt critique of “managed care” where bean-counters are making life and death decisions and doing it badly. It’s pretty clear that Dr. Craig found that system to be monstrous, and that he wants us to beware of it.

Kyle is a gifted surgeon and a canny investor in antiques, but he is also a bit of an ingénue, constantly opening doors and walking down dark alleys when he shouldn’t. But fortunately he has super-competent, charismatic people to help him. Sydney Alfred is an older, wiser man who helps get Kyle into collecting and also out of trouble. Though he seems to be just another country club guy, he knows people, people with certain skills.

And there’s Caroline. Smart, sophisticated, elegant. Kyle is smitten, anybody would be, but he is suddenly thirteen years old again, a complete idiot, but also so genuinely in love with her that she can’t not like him back. Or maybe even more than like…

Dr. Craig notes that he has been influenced by good television scripts, and it shows. “Cut to the Chase” is structured like a TV series, short episodes moving in a longer arc towards the big finish. It’s a great way to tell a story, and this one is a wild ride.

CML’S WINTER READING LIST

Check out these other titles that have been mentioned in CML Magazine this past year.

n Images of America: Beech Mountain

The Beech Mountain Historical Society

A comprehensive look at Beech Mountain, then and now. (Published by Arcadia Publishing, www.arcadiapublishing.com/) n Blowing Rock: Crown of the Blue Ridge

Todd Bush, Author and Photographer

A pictorial journey through Blowing Rock, NC with over 200 beautiful images of this beloved mountain town and the surrounding Appalachian High Country scenery, communities and faces. (Publisher, Don Iverson) n A Smoky Mountain Boyhood: Musings, Memories, and More

Jim Casada, Author

“Jim Casada’s passion for the work of the great outdoor writers is well known, and with ‘A Smoky Mountain Boyhood’ he cements the case for his inclusion in their ranks.” –

Rob Simbeck, Amazon reviewer (Published by the University of Tenn. Press, utpress.org) n Even As We Breathe | Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Author

“A fresh welcome, and much needed addition to the fiction of the Appalachian South and its neglected people and places.” – Charles Frazier, bestselling author (Published by Fireside Industries, www.kentuckypress.com/fireside-industries/) n Check out a variety of works by Michael C. Hardy

Award-winning local author, historian and CML contributor Michael C. Hardy has published a long list of books on the history of our region. Recent titles include Lee’s Body Guards: The 39th Battalion Virginia Cavalry; Kirk’s Civil War Raids Along The Blue Ridge; and General Lee’s Immortals. Visit Hardy’s Facebook page at www.facebook. com/Michael.C.Hardy or website at www.michaelchardy.com. n Jeff’s Journey | Rick Herrick, Author

“An ever-widening circle of love grows from one courageous man, Jeff, at its center to encompass his family, his friends, his work, and his community in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina to create this emotionally honest and large-hearted story.” - Holly St. John Bergon, New York State University (Published by Resource Publications) n Hardly Easy | Kimberley Jochl, Author

“Interesting, lively and informative about a teen girl who wanted to learn how to fly—against the wishes of her parents. Encourages the practical use of a STEM program in school to teach the science behind aircraft and flying.” – Kathy A., Amazon reviewer (Published by Wilfred Lee Books LLC) n Rhapsody | Mitchell James Kaplan, Author

“Kaplan builds an enchanting world featuring musical giants George Gershwin and Kay Swift...This spellbinding and luminous tale will linger in readers’ minds long after the final page is turned.” Publishers Weekly (Published by Gallery Books, simonandschusterpublishing.com/gallery-books/) n Adventures in Park Valley: The Panicky Picnic

Penny Lea, Author; Tony Uriz, Illustrator

“This is a great story to read with the youngsters in your life that shares an all-toopowerful, yet simple lesson: Kindness wins!” – CML review (Published by Palmetto Publishing Group, www.palmettopublishing.com) n Canvas and Cuisine: The Art of the Fresh Market

Jorj Morgan, Author; Susan Fazio, Artist

“Part coffee table book, part travel log, this visually delicious, delectably readable cookbook pays tribute to what may be the world’s most important treasure: fresh, locally grown food.” – Amazon (Published by Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc., www.dorrancepublishing.com/) n The Ashe County Frescoes of Benjamin F. Long IV

Janet C. Pittard and David B. Chiswell, Authors

“...presents the most up-to-date and complete history of the frescoes that decorate the walls of the two Episcopal churches in Ashe County, NC.” – CML review (Published by McFarland Books, mcfarlandbooks.com/) n Waterfalls & Wildflowers in the Southern Appalachians: Thirty Great Hikes

Timothy Spira, Author

“An artistic and athletic feat. . . . As useful for vacation-at-the-cabin reading sessions as it is as a field guide.” - Asheville Citizen-Times (Published by the University of NC Press, https://uncpress.org/)