Book Feature: Political Suicide by Michael Palmer

Title: Political Suicide: A Novel by Michael Palmer
Release date: December 11, 2012; St. Martin's Press
Audio: Macmillan Audio
Genre: medical thriller

"Sarah, I see that Dr. McHugh is still in jail."

"The DA's certain he's the man. They don't want this to turn into a circus."
"He's been a good citizen. Any chance we could get him out?" (ch. 10. From an ARC; final copy may differ)

DESCRIPTION: "Dr. Lou Welcome gets a desperate phone call re a murder involving his friend, Dr. Gary McHugh, known around the Capitol as the "society doc". McHugh has been found unconscious in his wrecked car after visiting his patient, Congressman Elias Colston, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who is later found shot dead in his garage.

Something about McHugh's story has Lou believing he is telling the truth, that the Congressman was dead when he arrived and before he blacked out. Lou agrees to look into matters, but he is hard pressed to believe in his friend— until a high-level conspiracy begins to unravel, and Lou finds information that makes him the next target." (publisher)

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Book Review: A Heartbeat Away by Michael Palmer

Title: A Heartbeat Away
Author: Michael Palmer
Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: First Edition edition (Feb. 15, 2011)
Genre: Political/medical thriller
Source: ARC from author

Plot: This is a medical and political thriller, involving a bio terrorist attack right in the Capitol building. A lethal virus is set off by a terrorist group, Genesis, in several parts of the chamber in which Congressional members, their staff, and the press are gathered for the President's State of the Union address.

There has to be a lock down and quarantine of the entire building, with the President, the Vice-President, and Speaker of the House included - the three in the top leadership position. President Allaire makes a desperate decision to find an antidote for the virus - he orders the freedom of a convicted terrorist, Griffin Rhodes, a virologist who had been jailed for stealing this same virus. Rhodes claims to have been set up, but agrees to work tirelessly against Genesis to perfect the antidote, his research at the time of his incarceration.

Who is Genesis and who are the masterminds behind the plot to destroy the government?

Comments: The plot may seem far-fetched but it serves as a great vehicle for a thrilling read. Rhodes races against time to save people about to die a horrible death inside the Capitol. At every turn, he is thwarted by Genesis. I found the action and plot very good reading and enjoyed the medical aspect of the thriller up to the end, where I found a disappointing wrap up of the story in the final blame for the terrorism plot. It seemed too easy an answer to give, like the ending of a James Bond movie, to be taken with a big grain of salt. The thrill of getting to the end of the book was all fun, however.

Objective rating: 4 out of 5.

Book Review: The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer

The Last Surgeon by Michael Palmer.  Published by St. Martin's Press, Feb. 16, 2010.

A good plot, fast paced action through quick dialogue, and an entertaining and suspenseful read  throughout.

A doctor with a heart of gold is pitted against a ruthless psychopath who has been hired as a contract killer by an unknown group. The killer thinks he is being humane by using bloodless and painless methods of dispatching his victims, but uses psychological terror nonetheless. Dr. Nick Garrity, in contrast, uses his talents to give medical care to the homeless and to war veterans. How their paths will cross, what far-reaching plot is behind the contract killings, and who will come out the winner are questions that kept me reading. Definitely an adults-only thriller, which builds suspense through psychological threats. Certainly not for the squeamish.

Publisher's description: "Everyone  told Gillian Coates that her sister's suicide was just that: a suicide.
    Everyone told Dr. Nick Garrity that his best friend, Lt. Umberto Vasquez, had simply disappeared, battling the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder.
    Gillian doesn't believe it. Nick doesn't believe it. And soon, they discover a chilling connection between these two seemingly random events...a common denominator that will lead a killer to the next victim...and the last surgeon.

 Thanks to author Michael Palmer for providing an  ARC for an objective review.

Challenges: 100+, Thriller and Suspense, Chill Baby, Chill!