Title: Sick
Author: Christa Wojciechowski
Publisher: Blood Bound Books
Genre: Medical Thriller, Psychological Fiction
Published: October 14, 2025
Pages: 282 pages
Susan Branch is in a different kind of prison. She is a prisoner of her husband’s illnesses. From broken bones, surgeries, rashes, and medications she sometimes steals from her job as a medical clerk of a podiatrist, Susan is forced to take care of her ailing husband. John is diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, a complicated blood disorder, and for Susan, “In sickness and in health” takes on a literal meaning.
“Medications to give, wounds to clean, bed pans to empty, and food to serve.” (pg. 20) Taking care of John has become Susan’s life, going to work her only reprieve before returning to a home where she is locked inside the unsanitary cell of her and John’s bedroom.
As the story unfolds, John begins to feel less like a husband and more like a helpless child trapped in a man’s body. Susan reads to him until her voice cracks, feeds him baby food, hums lullabies meant to soothe infants, and speaks to him like a mother coaxing a toddler to behave, calling him a ‘good boy.’
John pouts, sulks, and whines when things don’t go his way, and Susan seems to shrink a little more each day, her life orbiting entirely around John’s frailty. She is no longer a wife, not even quite a woman anymore, but a nurse, a mother, a prisoner in her own home.
As the story progresses, we learn more about John Branch’s history, his upbringing, and his perspective on life. Readers gain insight into how John Branche’s response to the trauma of his childhood has influenced his adult decisions. When I read this story years ago, I said he was retarded. However, this progeny of old money is not retarded at all. John is quite the mastermind and narcissist with a sophisticated way of manipulating those around him. John does not believe his actions are wrong. He thinks we are all guided by our natural instincts. Speaking of nature, the author plays well with irony and karma.
This story is well-written and fleshed out. The more you read, the more is revealed. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, there are more layers of the onion to peel off. The author keeps you on your toes, and the more I read, the more I found myself imagining watching an episode of American Horror Story.
Psychological fiction might just be my new favorite genre. I love twists and things that make me go “Whaatt??”
There are parts of the story where I felt sorry for Susan, and parts when I didn’t. Is she a prisoner, or is she also sick? Or, as John would say, are we all just a little sick?
“Most of us hide it so deep within that we can convince ourselves it doesn’t exist, while it gestates like a mutant embryo. But you can detect it in everyone. You can sniff it out. You can see it in people’s eyes when they think no one is watching them. There are tells—religion, porn addiction, smoking, or something as innocent as nail biting. Anything to distract themselves from the beast slumbering inside.”
– John Branch
Ratings
- Plot Movement / Strength: 5/5
- Entertainment Factor: 4/5
- Characterization: 5/5
- Authenticity / Believable: 5/5
- Thought Provoking: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Sick is Available Now on Amazon
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