Resistant by Michael Palmer

by:  Michael Palmer
published by:  St. Martin's Press
publish date:  May 20, 2014

When Dr. Lou Welcome fills in last minute for his boss at a national conference in Atlanta he brings along his best friend, Cap Duncan. But an accident turns tragic when Cap injures his leg while running. Surgeons manage to save the leg, but the open wound is the perfect breeding ground for a deadly microbial invader committed to eating Cap alive from the inside out. The germ is resistant to any known antibiotic and the government scientist tasked with finding a cure has been kidnapped. Turning to the Centers for Disease Control for help, Lou Welcome uncovers a link to a shadowy group known as One Hundred Neighbors that has infiltrated our society and is using our health institutions as hostages. Like the deadly germs they can unleash, One Hundred Neighbors will stop at nothing to further their agenda. From the hospital corridors where anything you touch can mean your end, to the top corridors of power in this race against time, Lou must stop an epidemic, save his best friend, and face even his own most terrifying demons.

This was Michael Palmer's last book before his untimely death last year.  It was the 3rd book in he Lou Welcome series.  I like Michael Palmer's books and I was saddened by his death.  I haven't been a really big fan of the character Lou Welcome though.  He seems to be kind of unrealistic.  I can suspend disbelief for the sake of a novel, but the capabilities of Dr. Lou Welcome are fantasy land material, especially in this book.   In Resistant Welcome, an ER doctor, started battling rogue FBI agents and terrorists.  Because, you know, any fit ER doctor could pull something like that off.  It was getting a little crazy up in here.  The medicine part of the book was really fascinating though, that part was interesting.   Overall, I was a little disappointed in this last book by a favorite author, but it won't ruin things forever.  I'm hoping they'll find some other books he had going and maybe get those released.

Review & Giveaway: Political Suicide by Michael Palmer

By:  Michael Palmer
published by:  St. Martin's Press
publish date:  December 11, 2012

Dr. Lou Welcome is back in this heart stopping medical thriller. A desperate phone call embroils Lou in scandal and murder involving Dr. Gary McHugh, known around the Capital as the “society doc.” Lou has been supervising McHugh, formerly a black-out drinker, through his work with the Physician Wellness Office. McHugh has been very cavalier about his recovery, barely attending AA and refusing a sponsor. Now, McHugh has been found unconscious in his wrecked car after visiting a patient of his, the powerful Congressman Elias Colston, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Soon after McHugh awakens in the hospital ER, Colston's wife returns home to find her husband shot dead in their 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 when he encounters motive, method and opportunity he is hard pressed to believe in his friend—that is until a deadly high-level conspiracy begins to unravel, and Lou acquires information that makes him the next target.

I was a big fan of Oath of Office.  Dr. Lou Welcome is a great character and I like the job he has.  I was happy to find out he was a returning character in Political Suicide.  Not only is Dr. Welcome a great character, but I particularly like the relationship he has with his teenage daughter and she is also back in Political Suicide. 

I think fans of Michael Palmer will be happy with this book.  All Palmer's books are great and this one was up to par.

Want to find out?  We're giving away a copy!

This copy will be coming from the publicist so US shipping address only please!

Just leave a comment with a valid email address at the end of this post.  One winner will be picked randomly on 12/18/12.

A Heartbeat Away

by:  Michael Palmer

published by:  St. Martin's Press

publish date:  February 15, 2011

The New York Times bestselling author and master of suspense delivers another novel at the crossroads of politics and medicine in this shocker of a thriller.

On the night of the State of the Union address, President Max Hilliard expects to give the speech of his career. But no one anticipates the terrifying turn of events that forces him to quarantine everyone in the Capitol building. A terrorist group calling itself “Genesis” has unleashed WRX3883, a deadly, highly contagious virus, into the building. No one fully knows the deadly effect of the germ except for the team responsible for its development—a team headed by Hilliard, himself. The only one who might be able to help is virologist Griffin Rhodes, currently in solitary confinement in a maximum security federal prison for alleged terrorist acts, including the attempted theft of WRX3883 from the lab where he worked. Rhodes has no idea why he has been arrested, but when Hilliard offers to free him in exchange for his help combating the virus, he reluctantly agrees to do what he can to support the government that has imprisoned him without apparent cause.

Meanwhile, every single person in line for presidential succession is trapped inside the Capitol—every person except one: the Director of Homeland Security, who is safely at home in Minnesota, having been selected as the “Designated Survivor” for this event. With enemies both named and unnamed closing in, and the security of the nation at stake, Griff must unravel the mysteries of WRX3883 without violating his pledge as a scientist to use no animal testing in his experiments…and time is running out.

First off, I'm really sorry I've been so absent lately.  Work is CRAZY!!

On to this book...it was very good.  If you've read Michael Palmer in the past and liked him, you'll enjoy this book.  This was a great medical thriller wrapped in a suspenseful political thriller. 

This book had all the things you want in a good action story;  lots of twists and turns, the unlikely hero, the beautiful love interest, and the diabolical bad guys.  The progression of events seemed fairly realistic to me.  How the virus got into the Capitol building wasn't too terribly far fetched.  I could definitely see this being made into a movie...like Hot Zone.

My only issue was with the end.  I wasn't really impressed with who Genesis was.  I guess I was expecting something else, like Dr. Evil maybe.

As a little side note, I had first started reading this book right before the real State of the Union Address.  It was kinda creepy.  I kept waiting for something to happen.  Cue Twilight Zone music...