This one was hard for me to review since I really hate saying negative things about books and authors. It wasn’t that this book was horrible, it was fine, and had some good strengths. But I just couldn’t overlook some things.

The good first! I really liked the premise of the story. People at drug companies doing bad things are not hard to accept since we’ve all seen and read reports about this. And I love when a big, bad company gets taken down by the little guys. John Grisham, anyone?!?

And the science was well written. You could look at it deeper if you understand it or enjoy that type of writing or you could just read it and get on with the rest of the story.

As for the things that I couldn’t overlook it came down to the tech, an intelligent woman not acting it (or not being written as such to somehow progress the story), and blindly trusting a guy you just met over someone you’ve known for years and years.

When it comes to the tech, I had to look at the release date of the book to make sure it wasn’t published in 1997 instead of 2017. Some of the examples; an old id badge that still works (it would have been deactivated, especially in this sort of company), people in high ranking positions not having their computer password protected, files that are restricted just being there for any employee to look at. Either this company is still using protocols from the early 1990’s or something went wrong in the editing process. I could overlook one thing, but all of these, plus more, was just too much.

As for Maggie being an intelligent woman, which I believe she was meant to be, she was constantly contradicting herself. And although in many cozies the main character can be scattered, how else can you read a 250 page book if the sleuth didn’t constantly have questions and change her thoughts, I felt like this was meant to be more of a suspense then cozy, especially with the swearing and graphic crime scenes. I think if it was more of a cozy or more of a suspense, instead of something in between, I would have enjoyed it.

And finally, the whole trust factor between a guy she just met and a guy she’s known for years and has done nothing but be by her side… I just can’t. I realize the reason why, but to me that was sloppy storytelling.

With so many books and series out there, I don’t think I’ll be continuing the Maggie O’Malley Mysteries. ( )

Maggie O'Malley, fresh out of college, lands a job at a prestigious pharmaceutical company, Rxcellence. She's really interested in working toward a cure for cancer, which killed her mother, but winds up working on an acne drug. Not an auspicious start, but the pay is good and there's room for advancement.

She has a second-hand cell phone and one night while out with friends from work, receives an appointment reminder for a meeting with a woman she's never met nor an appointment she never made. Shortly after she's stunned to find out the woman was killed, apparently in a hit-and-run accident. Then a day or so later she receives another reminder, and this person is killed as well.

You'd think that would be mystery enough, but it's not. Maggie herself becomes the target of something sinister, she is suspended from work, and discovers that the dead people have a connection to Rxcellence. With the help of her childhood friend Constantine, she's trying to find out what the connection means, and who is framing her.

I really wanted to like this book more, but Maggie doesn't seem capable at all. She's clumsy, breaks things, spills things, etc.; not the type of person anyone would want to have in a lab around breakable items. By the frequency of her little accidents, every vial and test tube should have winded up on the floor in pieces at some point. This is the one area I had problems with.

Aside from that, the plot was very good, and there was just enough intrigue and suspense to keep one interested. I think my favorite character was Constantine, and I hope to see a lot more of him in future books. This is a first novel by this author, and as such, a worthy effort. I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended. ( )

Protocol by Kathleen Valenti is the first book in A Maggie O’Malley Mystery series. Maggie O’Malley has just started her new job as a clinical research associate at Rxcellance. Maggie is enjoying drinks with co-workers after her first day at work when she reminder for a meeting on her phone. However, Maggie did not schedule the meeting nor does she recognize the woman. As she is leaving the bar, Maggie glances at the television and sees a report about a hit and run accident involving the same woman. Maggie checks it off to a coincidence until it happens again. Maggie contacts Gus who purchased the phone for her. They start looking into the victims and find a connection back to Rxcellance. Maggie and Gus dig into the case and they soon catch the attention of the killer. Can Maggie find the necessary proof to put the culprit away before she becomes the next victim?

When I read the blurb for Protocol, I was intrigued. It sounds like a great medical suspense novel. However, the final product was disappointing (for me). The story lacks suspense or scare factor. I wanted to be drawn into the story and riveted until the very last page. Instead, I found myself bored and skimming to get to the end (to see if I correctly identified the perpetrators). I think, though, that some readers will be surprised when some of twists are revealed. For the most part, the book is easy to read and has a good pace. There are technical sections relating to medical research (medical conditions, chemistry, drug interactions) that slow down the pace (some of it is a little too technical for laypeople). The writing is unpolished. I wish the editor had given the book another going over and tightened it up. The book is too long and the author left some dangling threads at the end. My rating for Protocol is 2 out of 5 stars (I was not a fan). The big problem was the main character—Maggie O’Malley. She bumbles, stumbles, overreacts, loses items, breaks things and blushes her way through the book. I am surprised that she has not started an epidemic (by dropping something deadly in the lab). Maggie “trusts” a man that she has only been out with twice more than Gus she has known since childhood. She barely knows him, but Maggie is willing to risk her life for him. Most of the characters were not fully developed and the plot seems implausible (which I can overlook if the rest of the book was captivating—which it was not). I do want to warn readers that Protocol contains foul language and gory crime scenes. ( )

Protocol started out slow with a character I thought was going to be like the girl who strolls in to the creepy house alone. UNEXPECTED writing skills developed and Maggie O'Malley evolved into a gutsy gal with a phone that announces the next to DIE! I read page after page in rapid succession to find out how Valenti planned to conclude this "Who did it?". First in a series with little clues to what will happen next. Plan to follow this author and her next O'Malley Mystery. "A copy of this book was provided to me by Henery Press via NetGalley with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read and my comments here are my honest opinion." ( )

If you enjoy having your heart in your throat, white knuckles, holding your breath, this is a book for you.
What an imagination this author has, a phone wiped clean and resold, and then, oh my, unbelievable, but yes this is just one of the horrors that wait, and thus you are going to be page turning.
You become Maggie a young, talented, recent graduate, and walk with her as she begins her job, that seems to be a lifeline for her Dad. We never expect all that is about to happen, and why and who, and then when the answers start to come, you cringe even more.
There is a bit of romance here, but lots of grief, and we want it to end, but is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Fast paced and get ready to plunge right in, you won’t be disappointed and it doesn’t take very many page for your heat to start pounding.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Henery Press, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )