“...a short, fast, tight book, giving us what we like best about Lenny Moss, hospital custodian and union steward.”

“This is a great book for labor studies students who want to experience the intensity of a big fight vicariously but realistically. The piling-on of stressors culminates in a happy ending when Lenny finally gets a night’s sleep.”

“The sixth Sheard book, A Bitter Pill, both the managements efforts to privatize the hospital, which would result in most of Moss’ friends losing their jobs, and a murderer challenge the Lenny’s wits. Engrossing novel. The protagonist, Lenny Moss, is a “simple” metropolitan hospital custodian, but he has an affinity for solving crimes. Of course he doesn’t solve them on his own, but he has many of the large crew of hospital staff who are all willing to pitch in to assist. Did I mention that he is also the union steward who eventually repays any assistance he gets with his intellectual services. The best features of Sheard’s books are his cast of characters, and many of them are characters, indeed. They are all fascinating. It is to the readers’ benefit to get to know each any every one of these people, so you are encouraged to read the books in order.”

“For readers who have enjoyed the author’s past books, without putting in any spoilers which defeat the very idea of a mystery story, you’ll likely not be disappointed here. An author’s biggest challenge is to not repeat him or herself in successive books of a series and I didn’t detect that sin present here. If anything could be improved for me, it would be the uni-dimensional nature of the corporate/management opposition players, who seem to basically exist only to be defeated by good union collective action regardless of any economic consequences or other fallout in the process. The sides drawn in the conflict are starkly black verses white with little gray to be found in-between. Some people like it that way, while others may prefer a more complex morality tale that requires thinking about all sides of the issues in order to reach one’s own conclusions. For those who don’t feel that unions are the panacea to all problems in life, you may find it laid on too thickly here - unless you are able to ignore the bias, enjoy the mystery, and not let it all upset you too badly about the state of care you might encounter in your next hospital visit. Fortunately, not every hospital is like James Madison.”