GOLDBERG, Leonard S. 1936-

PERSONAL: Born March 19, 1936, in Charleston, SC. Education: Attended the Citadel, 1953-54, and College of Charleston, 1954-56; Medical College of South Carolina, M.D., 1959.

ADDRESSES: Home—Los Angeles, CA. Agent—Jane Jordan Browne, Multimedia Product Development, Inc., 410 South Michigan Ave., Suite 724, Chicago, IL 60605.

CAREER: St. Louis City Hospital, St. Louis, MO, intern and resident in medicine, 1960-61; Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, resident in medicine, 1963-64; Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL, resident in medicine, 1964-65; University of California—Los Angeles, fellow in hematology, 1965-66, research fellow in immunology, 1966-67; University of California—San Francisco, research fellow in immunology, 1967-68; University of California—Los Angeles, assistant professor, 1968-71, associate professor, 1971-75, professor, 1975-79, clinical professor of medicine, 1979—. Veterans Administration, clinical investigator 1968-71; Wadsworth Veterans Hospital, consultant in rheumatology, 1971—. American Board of Internal Medicine, diplomate in internal medicine, hematology, and rheumatology. Military service: U.S. Air Force, physician, 1961-63; served in Japan; became captain.

MEMBER: International Society of Hematology, American Association of Immunologists, American Federation for Clinical Research, American Rheumatism Association, American Society of Hematology, American College of Physicians (fellow), British Society for Immunology, Western Society for Clinical Research.

WRITINGS:

medical suspense novels

Transplant, Signet (New York, NY), 1980.

Deadly Medicine, Signet (New York, NY), 1992.

A Deadly Practice, Signet (New York, NY), 1994.

Deadly Care, Dutton (New York, NY), 1996.

Deadly Harvest, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997.

Deadly Exposure, Dutton (New York, NY), 1998.

Lethal Measures, Dutton (New York, NY), 2000.

Fatal Care, Signet (New York, NY), 2001.

Brainwaves, Signet (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor of reviews to medical journals, including Journal of Clinical Investigation, Clinical Immunology and Immunopathology, Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine, and Annals of Internal Medicine. Member of editorial advisory board, Journal of the Life Sciences.

SIDELIGHTS: Leonard S. Goldberg is one of the leading forensic doctors in the United States. In addition to acting as a consultant and an expert witness in medical malpractice trials, he uses his specialized knowledge in his medical thriller novels. The lead character in most of his books—which include Deadly Medicine, Deadly Care, and Deadly Harvest—is Dr. Joanna Blalock, a beautiful, brilliant Los Angeles forensic pathologist. Working with her lover, police detective Jake Sinclair, Blalock investigates suspicious hospital deaths, black-market organ transplants, and the like.

Deadly Care was described as a "brainy nailbiter" by Pam Lambert in People magazine. The plot concerns mysterious deaths at a prestigious Los Angeles hospital. Blalock suspects foul play either by agents of the hospital or from the patients' insurance company. While following the trail of clues, Blalock's car is forced off a hillside road, leaving her with amnesia. She is protected by a homeless woman who hides her in a deserted building. A Publishers Weekly reviewer dismissed Goldberg's characters as "largely twodimensional," but found that "a plethora of technical forensic detail adds much-needed gloss" to the book. And while calling the author's writing "at best serviceable," the critic added that "Goldberg … engages us with enough convincing and engaging shop talk to keep this thriller off the coroner's table." Lambert offered more wholehearted praise, declaring that Goldberg had "clearly hit his stride" with this, his fourth book. "Deadly Care offers not only fascinating forensics and insider insights into the health-care system but plenty of intriguing characters and a devilish plot—the perfect Rx for curing those reading blahs." Booklist contributor William Beatty went so far as to call Deadly Care "thought-provoking," thanks to its commentary on the dangers of managed medical care.

In Deadly Harvest, Blalock's younger sister Kate returns from an archeological expedition with a deadly Ebola-like virus. When Kate requires a liver transplant, Blalock discovers an international organization that sells organs to the highest bidders after harvesting them from unwilling "donors." Jo Ann Vicarel in Library Journal credited Goldberg with writing "a solid story" but felt that he "fails to allow enough time for character development and abruptly catapults the reader into a shockingly stark climax." She noted, however, that Goldberg "certainly knows how to bring authenticity to his novels." William Beatty endorsed Deadly Harvest in a Booklist review: "Thanks to his clear style and storytelling ability, this is another bell ringer for Goldberg, who, teaching and practicing physician that he is, appends to his yarn a note pointing out how desperate the real organ-transplant situation currently is."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, March 1, 1996, William Beatty, review of Deadly Care, p. 1120; March 15, 1997, William Beatty, review of Deadly Harvest, p. 1224.

Library Journal, March 15, 1997, Jo Ann Vicarel, review of Deadly Harvest, p. 90; February 1, 2000, Linda M. G. Katz, review of Lethal Measures, p. 116.

People, April 22, 1996, Pam Lambert, review of Deadly Care, p. 36.

Publishers Weekly, January 29, 1996, review of Deadly Care, p. 86; April 7, 1997, p. 75; October 8, 2001, review of Fatal Care, p. 50; November 18, 2002, review of Brainwaves, p. 47.