Jonah K.
A novel by Bob Bell, MDCM, MSc, FRCSC, FACS, FRCSE (hon)
Passionate praise for this inspiring medical and legal drama!
“With ‘Jonah K.’, Dr. Bob Bell firmly establishes himself as a master storyteller. Bob weaves an inspired fictional tapestry, representing both the best and worst of the human condition. From the tragic legacy of residential schools and the crushing politics of academic healthcare, characters emerge full of courage, passion and resilience. This is a brilliantly written third book from a talented novelist. You won’t forget these intriguing individuals or this stirring story.”
Paul Alofs, Former CEO Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and award-winning author of “Passion Capital”
“Dr. Bob Bell’s riveting and dramatic story has the reader living in the fast-paced mind of a heroic trauma surgeon. He captured the misogyny and biased treatment women surgeons face in a way that is both triggering and empowering.”
Dr. Carmen Quatman, MD, PhD, Orthopaedic surgeon-scientist
“Dr. Bob Bell is probably the only author today who can turn acute insights on the general topics of human nature, history, politics, capitalism, and specific topics of healthcare delivery, into page-turning stories that are both compelling and inspiring.”
Keith Ambachtsheer, Former Chair Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and award-winning author.
Jonah Kay is a remarkably successful Bay Street lawyer despite living with the impact of intergenerational trauma caused by a notorious Canadian residential school. Dr. Brynn Allard is a brilliant young orthopaedic surgeon, increasingly frustrated by the misogyny of university surgical practice. This legal and medical drama follows Jonah and Brynn through the corporate murkiness of cannabis legalization, the challenge of healthcare delivery in remote northern communities, and nefarious practices in the international diamond trade. Readers will be delighted as Jonah’s and Brynn’s paths intersect along the James Bay coast – one of the most consequential places in the history of our northern land.
All proceeds from the sale of this novel will benefit the Indigenous Health Program at University Health Network – home to the Toronto General Hospital, named fourth best hospital in the world by Newsweek magazine.
Click here to make a donation to the Indigenous Health Program at University Health Network.
New Doc in Maple Ridge
A novel by Bob Bell, MDCM, MSc, FRCSC, FACS, FRCSE (hon)
“New Doc in Maple Ridge is a wild ride that takes the reader from a small-town ER to the battlefields of Afghanistan, to the underworld, to the courtroom, with high-spirited stops along the way in the bedroom. A real page-turner, grounded in the unparalleled, extensive experiences of Dr. Bob Bell.”
Deb Matthews, PhD, Former Ontario Minister of Health
“Dr. Bob Bell has written another medical thriller pitting ‘good vs. evil’. There is much more to the “new doc” than originally meets the eye....as there is to the quiet Arkansas town of Maple Ridge. Dr. Bob’s views on issues ranging from health-care delivery models to wealth inequality, race relations, and medical class-action law suits make this book not only a good read, but also a catalyst for reflection on some of the most pressing social issues of our time”
Keith Ambachtsheer, Former Chair PMH Foundation, Global Pension Expert, Philanthropist & Author
“Surgeon, hospital CEO, and provincial deputy health minister....Dr. Bob Bell has done it all, so no surprise that his new novel is steeped in medical authenticity. Then tension builds from the first page, when the new doctor in town saves a boy from choking on a peanut. Whether it’s treating a mobster’s STD, or reliving military action in Afghanistan, you feel that you are right there.”
Phillip Crawley, CEO/Publisher of The Globe and Mail
“Dr. Bob Bell has written a barn burner of a novel that reads like James Patterson at his best but with an expert medical thread throughout reflecting his pre-eminence as a surgeon. Terrific read.”
Robert Prichard, President Emeritus, University of Toronto
“After decades performing life-saving surgery as an elite surgeon, Dr. Bob Bell uses his surgeon’s attention to detail to craft a brilliant story populated by some of the most extraordinary characters you will ever encounter! I dare you to put this book down once you have started the remarkable journey with Dr. Ed Brinkley.”
Paul Alofs, Author of “Passion Capital”
“New Doc in Maple Ridge is a riveting, suspenseful story with fascinating characters with whom you can’t help but become attached. While subtly touching on the delivery of healthcare, it is a thrilling story of exceptional individuals who take on the mob to protect their community and themselves.”
Gord Nixon, Business Leader
Dr. Ed Brinkley concluded his career as a battlefield surgeon following highly classified tours of duty in the Middle East. He arrives in Maple Ridge, Arkansas to start over as a small-town GP and to settle down in a new home. Things are looking up for Ed when he meets the lovely Linda Davis, managing partner of Arkansas’ leading law firm.
But Ed refuses an unethical demand from Tony Malto, a local gangster who tries to bully the doctor, triggering traumatic memories from Ed’s past.
Ed’s response to Malto’s intimidation takes the reader on a page turning flashback to Afghanistan and on to Biloxi, Mississippi as Ed fights back to protect the woman he wants to love.
“New Doc in Maple Ridge” will inspire, educate and entertain. Order a copy today and enjoy!
Also by Bob Bell…
HIP
Dr. Andrei Kovalov, a brilliant but unscrupulous scientist, is at the top of his game working with the world’s premier hip replacement surgeon in Boston. The scientist has uncovered a major breakthrough in hip replacement design by coating the surface of a hip implant with a small molecule which encourages bone ingrowth into the implant. His team expects to sell millions of the new “super-B.I.G.” implant, which is going to create massive profits for the Boston medical industrial complex.
But Kovalov also knows from implanting the new device in arthritic dogs that the implant can cause very dangerous bone cancer two to three years after surgery. He has decided to hide and destroy this evidence.
Patrick Maloney certainly didn’t expect to end up in Boston. An unlikely circumstance elevated Maloney from a third-rate residency to a top job in international surgery in one of the premier hospitals in the world. When he discovers the cancer risk in the new “super-B.I.G.” implants, he’s not afraid to speak truth to power – even when his surgical future, as well as his relationship with the woman he has fallen in love with, are put at risk.
In a series of twists and turns, “Hip” is a journey through the Boston medical world as Patrick, and his mentor Sandy, work out a surprising solution that will delight the reader.
Trained as a bone cancer surgeon in Boston, Bob Bell takes us into the deep underworld of scientific corruption that could potentially hide lethal complications of implants that achieve approval by the federal regulator responsible for new surgical devices. The 510 k pathway to licence is predicated on simply demonstrating that a new device is similar in design to an implant already licensed for use without showing that it is either effective or safe.
More than 1 million Americans will get a joint replacement in the next year and this number is growing by 5% every year. The desire of middle-aged folks to avoid the disability caused by arthritis means that Americans are asking for surgery earlier and earlier in the course of their arthritic disease. However, as the popularity of the Netflix documentary “The Bleeding Edge” also shows, patients and doctors are becoming increasingly worried about the side effects of implanting various devices in the body for decades and concerned about the low bar for approval of new technology used by the federal regulator.
“Hip” takes these risks to a new level and shows how a new major advance could have lethal complications. Readers will be entertained, educated and frightened by the plausibility of what Kovalov could accomplish.
All profits from the book will be donated to a charity in support of cancer research, patient care and education.