First Lady Dr. Darlene Mallory is a pediatrician and wife of 2-year president Martin Mallory. She is trying to help her friend Russ Evans, who resigned as Secretary of Agriculture after an indiscretion in a motel with an underage woman. Evans claims to have been set up and Darlene believes him. She is contacted by a mysterious man who claims to have proof of Evans’ innocence and that Evans was forced out of office because of his policies against genetically modified food. Against her husband’s wishes, she sets out to clear Evans’ name.

Darlene’s efforts bring her together with Lou, who has become convinced that people are being adversely affected by the rapidly growing corn being produced and harvested by a huge, powerful corporation. Their feelings for one another intensify as they race against the clock, trying to stop a massive shipment of the genetically modified corn bound for worldwide distribution.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Genesis, a domestic terrorist organization has released a deadly, highly contagious virus into the State of the Union Address. The president, Dr. Jim Allaire knows the virus well–his administration was developing it before he abandoned the project. Allaire is forced to quarantine the Capitol and all 700 in it. Our government’s only hope is Griffin Rhodes, a virologist whom Allaire has been holding in solitary confinement in a federal prison for nine months because of a suspected terrorist act.

Background Information

A HEARTBEAT AWAY was born after a discussion with my editor, Jennifer Enderlin. Spurred by the success of The First Patient and The Last Surgeon, Jennifer and I decided I would write another medical/ political thriller. The initial idea was to explore the relationship between the president and vice president from a medical point of view.

I was in a very expansive mood when working out the plot, and decided to answer the question of what would happen if everyone on the list of presidential succession were either killed or put in great danger. On the back cover of the book is the actual list beginning with the VP and going through the speaker of the house and the president pro tem of the senate. Finally, are the members of the president’s cabinet.

The more recent the cabinet post, the further down the list. At the bottom is the Secretary of Homeland Security. I also had to deal with the so-called designated survivor, also known as the doomsday successor. This person is sent away for events where all the others on the list are present. It is not a desirable job, but in the book it becomes one that is only a heartbeat away from the president. In addition to the political theme, the novel deals with a protagonist who is a brilliant virologist, but refuses to experiment on or test on animals. A HEARTBEAT AWAY is as thrilling and tense as any I have written.

Kindle weekly bestsellers*:
1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo — Stieg Larsson (3=position last week)
2. The Last Song — Nicholas Sparks (4)
3. The Help — Kathryn Stockett (2)
4. Shutter Island — Dennis Lehane (1)
5. Split Image — Robert B. Parker (10)
6. The Girl Who Played With Fire — Stieg Larsson (5)
7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks — Rebecca Skloot (9)
8. The Last Surgeon — Michael Palmer (new)
9. Fantasy in Death — J.D. Robb (4 for week ending March 6)
10. The Silent Sea — Clive Cussler (new)

*Source: Publishers’ Marketplace

AFP – RELAXNEWS

The Last Surgeon: Most Terrifying Killer Since Hannibal Lecter

“Franz Koller is one of the most deadly villains to grace the pages of a novel since the introduction of Hannibal Lecter. Koller is a killer who enjoys his work and does it methodically with no regard for his victims. He appears in the first chapter of Michael Palmer’s new novel The Last Surgeon and that chapter is as chilling as any murder scene ever written…. This is the kind of book you read with a bright light on and all the doors locked. Franz Koller will creep you out and is the stuff of nightmares. He is the one who puts the chill in this thriller and he does it with a demeanor void of humanity…. grab this book up quickly and start its suspenseful ride. Palmer will have you in the palm of his hand as he manipulates the plot and manipulates the pulse of the reader.”

Read the full review here.

The New York Times bestselling author and master of medical suspense delivers another shocker of a thriller filled with insider details and a terrifying psychopath.

Four murders.
Three accidents.
Two suicides.
One left…

THE LAST SURGEON

Michael Palmer’s latest novel pits a flawed doctor against a ruthless psychopath, who has made murder his art form. Dr. Nick Garrity, a vet suffering from PTSD—post traumatic stress disorder—spends his days and nights dispensing medical treatment from a mobile clinic to the homeless and disenfranchised in D.C. and Baltimore. In addition, he is constantly on the lookout for his war buddy Umberto Vasquez, who was plucked from the streets by the military four years ago for a secret mission and has not been seen since.

Psych nurse Jillian Coates wants to find her sister’s killer. She does not believe that Belle Coates, an ICU nurse, took her own life, even though every bit of evidence indicates that she did—every bit save one. Belle has left Jillian a subtle clue that connects her with Nick Garrity.

Together, Nick and Jillian determine that one-by-one, each of those in the operating room for a fatally botched case is dying. Their discoveries pit them against genius Franz Koller–the highly-paid master of the “non-kill”—the art of murder that does not look like murder. As Doctor and nurse move closer to finding the terrifying secret behind these killings, Koller has been given a new directive: his mission will not be complete until Jillian Coates and Garrity, the last surgeon, are dead.

Background Information

As you may know, each of my books has been built around a medical ethical issue such as euthanasia, alternative healing, managed care, ecological contamination, and organ distribution. Two years ago, I met a Marine veteran with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) on a brief flight from Boston to D.C. Although we did not stay in touch, I was very moved by our conversation, and not long after returning home I began thinking about weaving a story around this sad, frightening condition.

The result is the terrifying tale of Army trauma surgeon Captain Nick Garrity, working on a mobile medical van caring for vets and the homeless in D.C. while he tries to conquer the fallout from the suicide bomber who killed everyone in Nick’s field hospital in Afghanistan except Nick and his best friend, Umberto. When Umberto, whose PTSD is even more virulent than Nick’s, disappears, Nick is brought into the crosshairs of brilliant psychopath Franz Koller, the remorseless master of the non kill murder that does not look like murder.

THE LAST SURGEON is as exciting and fun to read as it was to write, and we are introducing it with an energetic social media campaign. I am writing you in the hope that you will become a part of it. In addition to your review of the novel, my son, Daniel Palmer, and Berklee School of Music professor, Thaddeus Hogarth, have produced the first ever (to my knowledge) theme song created for a novel, along with a new promotional video.

Dr. Thea Sperelakis, diagnosed as a teen with Asperger’s syndrome, has always been an outsider. She has a brilliant medical mind, and a remarkable recall of details, but her difficulty in dealing with hidden agendas and interpersonal conflicts have led her to leave the complex, money-driven dynamics of the hospital, and to embrace working with the poor, embattled patients of Doctors Without Borders. Her father, Petros, is one of the most celebrated internal medicine specialists in the world, and the founder of the cutting-edge Sperelakis Center for Diagnostic Medicine at Boston’s sprawling, powerful Beaumont Clinic.

Thea’s rewarding life in Africa is turned upside-down when Petros is severely injured by a hit-and-run driver. He is in the Beaumont ICU, in a deep coma. No one thinks he will survive. Thea must return home. Two of Petros’ other children, both physicians, battle Thea and her eccentric brother, Dimitri, by demanding that treatment for their father be withheld.

As Thea uncovers the facts surrounding the disaster, it seems more and more to be no accident. Petros, himself, is the only witness. Who would want him dead? The answers are trapped in his brain . . . until he looks at Thea and begins slowly to blink a terrifying message.

In The Second Opinion, Michael Palmer has created a cat-and-mouse game where one woman must confront a conspiracy of doctors to uncover an evil practice that touches every single person who ever has a medical test. With sympathetic characters and twists and betrayals that come from the most unlikely places, The Second Opinion will make you question…everything.

THE FIFTH VIAL

Natalie Reyes has a chip on her shoulder. She’s had a tough life and worked hard to get herself, against all odds, to Harvard Medical School. But her efforts are thwarted when she is suspended from school. With time before her reinstatement, her mentor sends her to Rio de Janeiro Brazil to present a medical paper. There, Natalie is kidnapped, shot trying to escape, and left for dead in an alley. She survives, but loses a lung. And now, all her dreams are shattered.

Halfway around the world, medical genius Joe Anson is working on a serum that could save millions of lives…if only he can battle a fatal illness long enough to complete his research. Brilliant and paranoid, Anson is running out of time. And those watching from the shadows will stop at nothing to see him succeed.

In Chicago, detective Ben Callahan is hired to find the identity of a dead man with mysterious marks on his body. One lucky break could lead Ben into a conspiracy bigger than just a missing person and a mysterious accident.

Three people, with no apparent connection. Three people who don’t realize they hold the key to a secret society with God-like aspirations and roots in antiquity. Three people who will learn the meaning of trust and betrayal, power and genius, lies and truth, in a world where everything is give or take.

See what these New York Times bestsellers are saying about The Fifth Vial:

“An ingenious medical thriller, suspenseful and cleverly plotted.” –Kathy Reichs, author of Cross Bones

“A nail-biting thriller you don’t want to miss.” –Catherine Coulter, author of Point Blank

“A complex plot, fascinating characters, and plenty of action. The Fifth Vial is a roller coaster ride that winds its way through Boston, Africa, India, and Brazil on its way to a terrific surprise ending.” –Phillip Margolin, author of Proof Positive

“From knowledge comes power, and from power, temptation. Michael Palmer’s The Fifth Vial is a tale set at the very edge of our medical knowledge, and of a thrilling heroine who confronts a theft that haunts me still.” –Tess Gerritsen, author of Vanish

“A compelling and thought-provoking tale that will have you looking over your shoulder. It’s both realistic and terrifying and it will keep you up all night!” –Iris Johansen, author of On the Run

“There’s a compelling truth at the center of this high-octane thriller. The twists keep you reading and the questions Palmer poses keep you thinking all night long.” –Tami Hoag, author of Prior Bad Acts

“Not only is this one heck of a medical thriller, it’s…a premise that scared the daylights out of me. Could this happen? Palmer makes you think so.” –Sandra Brown, author of Ricochet

“Michael Palmer, perhaps the best of our medical thriller writers, has penned an action-packed tale that will have you checking all your body parts for days afterwards.” –Terry Brooks, author of Armageddon’s Children

Rookie detective Patty Moriarity is in danger of being removed from her first big case—the managed care killings. To save her career, she has no choice but to risk trusting Will, knowing he may well be the killer she is hunting. Together they have little to go on except the knowledge that the assassin is vengeful, cunning, ruthless—and may not be working alone. That—and a cryptic message that grows longer with each murder: a message Grant and Moriarity must decipher if they don’t want to be the next victims.

Author Notes

The desire to write a thriller dealing with managed care actually sprang from my medical job (see www.physicianhealth.org). My clients are Massachusetts physicians who have encountered difficulty with physical illness, mental illness, substance abuse, anger management, and other behavioral problems. While the overwhelming paperwork and practice restrictions of managed care did not cause their problems, they certainly added to them. There is so much unhappiness, exhaustion, and disillusionment in the medical profession right now that I really felt I had to write about it. Many doctors are working twice the hours they once did just to keep their incomes from plummeting. This at a time when $100,000 or more in medical school loan debt is the norm.

As an ER doc, I only had to deal with issues of record keeping (if I didn’t write down “rectal negative,” as far as the insurance companies were concerned, I didn’t do one), and not finances (I was salaried by the hour). In private practices, the paperwork demands are gargantuan and much work goes unpaid for. Currently, many physicians are fighting back, organizing to design and advocate for some sort of national health insurance that will cover everyone (tens of millions are currently uncovered) and relieve doctors of the crushing burden of paperwork. Enter the Hippocrates Society.

The Society took me two years to create and write, but I am very pleased with the result. It is one thing to choose an issue to write about such as euthanasia, infertility, pharmaceutical company excesses, academic fraud, holistic healing, and the like. It’s another to deal with those issues in the context of a novel of suspense. I think you’ll have a great time reading The Society, and hopefully get a feeling for how your caregivers and their patients have been affected by managed care.