When a soldier wakes up in the middle of his autopsy medical examiner Stephen (who has been fighting to be able to examine him since his supposed name and description and body don't match up) is understandably shocked and uncertain of what to do. Some dangerous people are unhappy when he decides to investigate and stumbles onto the existence of a super soldier program. And the answers to his questions become both more important and difficult to find.

I struggled a bit when rating this one. Although I wasn't a massive fan of the fist few chapters there was nothing inheritably wrong about this book. It was long but there was enough excitement to keep me interested in what was happening, even if points were a little cliched or predictable. And I really liked the inclusion of Sharon's perspective to provide another point of view and a less info dumpy way of providing some of the answers. The super soldier program was interesting, even if the technology was not the most believable. But overall it didn't quite all come together in the way I hoped it would from the description. The middle was the strongest part in my opinion although it is possible that parts were still being edited before the final version (the ARC did have some highlights toward the end which needed some fixing). I also think that some of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more. Overall not a bad read and probably worth checking out if the idea interests you. It goes by a lot faster than the page count suggests! I do wish it had worked a bit better for me though.

Super Soldier meets the Undead meets Robin Cook’s Medical thrillers

I am thankful to folks at Netgalley & the author for approving an ARC of this medical thriller that doesn’t hide its love for superheroes in its sleeve while crafting an engaging and brisk narrative that however doesn’t escape the cliches of the genre.

What worked for me
- The lead character and his background – its not often that you get a medical examiner as a lead, especially one with superhero comic obsessions – that itself made him super relatable to me
- The author’s love for comic books shines through in all references – I absolutely dug that trying to find where all he inserted them in – be it comic book creator names or comic book characters themselves
- The narrative is propulsive and thrilling without any dull moment – the tension level ratchets up to 11 right from the beginning and never lets go
- The lead’s childhood trauma and its impact is engaging and shroud more than it reveals
- There are a whole set of threads that come together even before the central mystery plays out that it is engrossing – most seem relationship-driven – personal and professional

What didn’t work for me
- Cliché-filled and trope-filled especially towards the late stages of the book made it predictable towards the end
- The characters, barring the lead and his sister were kind of cardboard-ish which made the identity of the perpetrators not so difficult as well as a couple of story twists

Heroic Measures is the first book in what promises to be a thrilling and exciting series – while the book isn’t without its share of predictable tropes, I have hopes given how the book ended and what it promises to set up for the future
3.5 Super Soldiers on 5

Loved this book. It was very well played out, i loved all the characters! Joel is so talented in his writing and this book really shows that

So You're Investigating A Dead Body - That Moves. What Do You Do? And thus, the critical hook here. Shulkin combines his own military experience generally with his general medical knowledge as a working MD and spins a tale he openly admits (in the Author's Note) was designed to pay homage to some of the great comic book tales of old - and it absolutely works. The Nick Fury level spy story, the Purple Man horror of not being in complete control of your own body, in addition to the far more obvious Captain America and Hulk aspects here. Indeed, Shulkin takes nearly the entirety of the Marvel *comic* stories - where *oh so much* of the villains' actions revolved around some version of trying to recreate the Super Soldier program that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America - and manages to use that as inspiration for a plausible-enough real-world tale of how those things could actually play out.

Thus, for those looking for a fun action read with balls to the wall "total nonstop" action... this is going to be a ride you're going to love. For those needing a palate/ mind cleanse from the seriousness of whatever drama/ suspense/ thriller had your brain in a twist or from the latest bubblegum pop saccharine sweet romance (with perhaps some ghost pepper spice, if that is your thing)... this is going to give you exactly that. A fun few hours of engaging your brain just enough to follow along with all the twists here - and shutting it down enough to simply enjoy the ride. (At nearly 400 pages, this is on the longer side for many readers, though perhaps fantasy readers will enjoy the "speed read", since their books generally double that length. ;) )

Overall a fun read that does everything Shulkin set out to do and likely then some, this is absolutely one to check out almost no matter your normal preferences.

Very much recommended.

Heroic Measures is a fast paced military action thriller about an American Medical Examiner working on an army base in Germany, who uncovers a shocking conspiracy to create unkillable supersoldiers. It’s the opener for a planned series and according to the author’s afterword, was inspired by his love of superhero stories.

Stephen Englehart never got over the violent deaths of his parents when he was only young, and threw himself into a pathology career so he could give other families the answers he never got for himself. When bodies from a massacre in the Middle East are diverted to his base, the initial autopsy findings don’t match the information his team have been given, and Stephen suspects something sinister is afoot - and then a supposedly dead soldier wakes up! Meanwhile his sister Sharon, a formidable Green Beret, is looking forward to catching up with him en route to her next posting - but then she goes missing…

Not knowing much about the US military hierarchy and structure, I initially found this a bit bewildering, between all the different ranks, acronyms and base names, but once the plot got going that didn’t matter and this turned into a fun adventure story with fantastical elements straight out of Marvel. It’s well written - the author is a practising physician and it shows in the various forensic details described.
There’s murder, intrigue, twists, a little romance, a female protagonist who’s way more kick-ass than her geek-hero brother, and dastardly villains - I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel, Extraordinary Measures, which is due out next year.

Thanks to the author for the ARC. Heroic Measures is published on September 17th 2024.

A bit of a slow start but then picks up the pace
Dual timelines that intersect. Military advancements, testing humans and regeneration . The scary thing is you can imagine this scenario happening. Looking forward to more books by Joel.

Military readers may enjoy this medical thriller. The premise was interesting but i found the story too unrealistic. Military Incredible Hulks are too Sci-fi for me. The instigator for all the mayhem was easy to figure out.

military, medical-examiner, medical-doctor, pathology, PTSD, regret, relationships, relationship-issues, relatives, forensic-medicine, forensic-pathology, siblings, missing-persons, thriller, suspense, cover-up, combat, action, secrets, lies, conspiracy, unputdownable, new-series, first-in-series*****

This retired RN was entirely caught up in this action thriller despite its moderate misogyny. The story is intense and rapidly switches from one aspect to another at the pace of Olympic slalom skiing.
Looking forward to the audiobook READ BY AUTHOR
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from BooksGoSocial via NetGalley. Thank you
#DeathBenefitsBk1 #Forensics #MedicalThriller #MilitaryMystery #BookTwitter #ibpa #ZeroDarkPublications

A captivating and engaging read that held my attention from the outset. The plot was rife with intrigue and suspenseful action. As someone who hasn't explored the medical thriller or military genres before, I found this book to be quite an enjoyable experience, full of unexpected twists and turns.

A gripping and fast paced medical military thriller. A great combination. Shulkin delivers a great read filled with action, medical science and military operations. Without getting to deep into the science, he delivers on the level that the reader can grasp. You will not be disappointed in this novel.

In the mixture of genres isn’t enough to get you interested, the way they are worked together in the story should. When a “dead” soldier ‘comes to life’ on the autopsy table the thrill ride is just beginning. Action, betrayals, action, intrigue, action, misdirection, action, deception, and more action make for an excellent novel.