Viable Hostage by Audrey J Cole

I enjoyed this suspenseful novel set in Seattle. It revolves around missing pregnant women. Members of the Seattle Police Department, known from previous novels in this series, get involved when one of the missing women is the roommate of a sergeant's niece.

This novel centers on the medical community. Young women involved are medical students at Elliott Bay University. One suspect is an anesthesiologist and professor at the university.

Cole has woven interesting medical information into the exciting plot. We are taken in to watch heart surgery, for example. I had no idea the anesthesiologist stops the patient's heart long enough for the surgeon's to work. There are ethical issues also included, such as whether it is ever right to sacrifice the life of a person to possibly save the lives of many others.

I am enjoying the Emerald City series. The characters are well drawn. There is plenty of action and suspense. I appreciate the introduction of ethical issues. I'll be looking for the next in the series.

This is the fourth novel in the Emerald City Thriller series. You can read my reviews of the earlier novels in the series: The Recipient, Inspired by Murder, and Summer Nanny.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Audrey J Cole is a registered nurse and a USA Today bestselling author of thrillers set in Seattle. A Sequim native, Cole lived in Australia for five years before returning to the U.S. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. You can find out more at https://www.audreyjcole.com/.

Rainier Publishing, 248 pages.