Most Popular Books by Michael Palmer

Dr Jessie Copeland is a respected neurosurgeon. She spends her days waging life-and-death battles in the OR and her spare time holed up in a lab, leading the development of a tiny robot that could revolutionize brain surgery.

From The Sisterhood, Michael Palmer''s first New York Times bestseller, to The Patient, his ninth, reviewers have proclaimed him a master of medical suspense. Recognized around the world for original, topical, nail-biting suspense, emergency physician Palmer''swork has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Now he reaches controversial and startling new heights in a terrifying tale of cutting-edge microbiology, unbridled greed, and murder, where either knowing too little or trusting too much can be FATAL. In Chicago, a pregnant cafeteria worker suffering nothing more malevolent than flulike symptoms begins hemorrhaging from every part of her body. In Boston, a brilliant musician, her face disfigured by an unknown disease, rapidly descends into a lethal paranoia. In Belinda, West Virginia, a miner suddenly goes berserk, causing a cave-in that kills two of his co-workers. Finding the link between these events could prove FATAL. Five years ago, internist and emergency specialist Matt Rutledge returned to his West Virginia home to marry his high-school sweetheart and open a practice. He also had a score to settle. His father died while working for the Belinda Coal and Coke Company, and Matt swore to expose the mine’s health and safety violations. When his beloved Ginny succumbed to an unusual cancer, his campaign became even more bitterly personal. Now Matt has identified two bizarre cases of what he has dubbed the Belinda Syndrome--caused, he is certain, by the mine’s careless disposal of toxic chemicals. All he needs is proof. Meanwhile, two women, unknown to one another, are drawn inexorably to Belinda, into Matt’s life--and into mortal danger. Massachusetts coroner Nikki Solari comes to attend the funeral of her roommate, killed violently on a Boston street. Ellen Kroft, a retired schoolteacher from Maryland, seeks the remorseless killer who has threatened to destroy her and her family.Three strangers--Rutledge, Solari, and Kroft--each hold one piece of a puzzle they must solve, and solve quickly. If they don’t, it will be far more than just their own lives that are at risk. Michael Palmer has crafted a novel of breathtaking speed and medical intricacy where nothing is as it seems and one false step could be FATAL.

Dr. Eric Najarian. He''s young, talented, and ambitious. He has all the qualities they''re looking for at White Memorial Hospital. He doesn''t know he''s being watched. Judged. An elite clique of medical professionals thinks he has what it takes to join their secret club. All the young doctor has to do is agree to play by their rules. But Eric has already seen too much. A missing corpse. An unspeakable mutilation. A brutal abduction. It''s only the beginning of a plot of terrifying evil. A sinister plan the group will stop at nothing to hide. And if Eric refuses to become their colleague--he will be their next victim.

“A suspenseful page-turner . . . jolts and entertains the reader.”—Mary Higgins Clark Inside Boston Doctors Hospital, patients are dying. In the glare of the operating room, they survive the surgeon''s knife. But in the dark, hollow silence of the night, they die. Suddenly, inexplicable, horribly. A tough, bright doctor will risk his career—his very life—to unmask the terrifying mystery. A beautiful and dedicated young nurse unknowingly holds the answer. Together they will discover that no one is safe from . . . the sisterhood “Teriffic . . . a compelling suspense tale.”—Clive Cussler

In his most high-concept suspense novel to date, "New York Times" bestselling author Palmer delivers a thriller pitched at the crossroads of presidential politics and cutting-edge medicine.

With every one of his ten novels a New York Times bestseller, emergency medicine physician Michael Palmer is recognized by critics and fans worldwide as a master of medical suspense. Now Palmer delivers a relentless thriller that slices to our deepest fears with surgical precision—a tale as timely as it is terrifying, as harrowing as it is plausible. Welcome to The Society. At the headquarters of Boston’s Eastern Quality Health, the wealthy and powerful CEO is brutally murdered. She’s not the first to die—nor the last. A vicious serial killer is on the loose and the victims have one thing in common: they are all high-profile executives in the managed care industry. Dr. Will Grant is an overworked and highly dedicated surgeon. He has experienced firsthand the outrages of a system that cares more about the bottom line than about the life-and-death issues of patients. As a member of the Hippocrates Society, Will seeks to reclaim the profession of medicine from the hundreds of companies profiting wildly by controlling the decisions that affect the delivery of care. But the doctor’s determination has attracted a dangerous zealot who will stop at nothing to make Will his ally. Soon Will is both a suspect and a victim, a pawn in a deadly endgame. Then, in one horrible moment, Will’s professional and personal worlds are destroyed and his very life placed in peril. 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.

The master of medical suspense takes you to prestigious Boston Heart Institute, where some patients are dying to get well “A highly entertaining tale of greed and medicine run amok.”—Chicago Tribune After a troubled past, Dr. Brian Holbrook has been given a second chance to prove himself. At state-of-the-art Boston Heart Institute, he’s been chosen to join the medical team testing a new miracle drug. The initial results are so promising that Brian pushes to get his father—who suffers from a dangerous heart condition—accepted into the study. But Brian is beginning to suspect his superiors are hiding something. Why are crucial records disappearing? Why did a patient making startling progress suddenly die? Is the miracle drug a prescription for death? The answers could cost Brian more than his career. For at Boston Heart Institute, knowing too much is the quickest way to the morgue. Praise for Miracle Cure “Packs plenty of heart-stopping action.”—Associated Press “A fast-paced lively thriller.”—Boston Sunday Herald

In his five bestselling novels, from The Sisterhood to Natural Causes, physician Michael Palmer has drawn on years of firsthand emergency-room experience to create the drama of a frighteningly authentic world--a world where the line between medicine and murder is scalpel-thin. Now, in his most harrowing suspense novel yet, Palmer reveals how the power to heal can become a license to kill.... With his wife, Evie, scheduled for surgery the next day, Dr. Harry Corbett goes to the hospital for what he hopes will be a quiet evening of reconciliation. In recent weeks Evie, never quick to share her feelings, has been more closed and distant than ever. But when Harry reaches Evie''s room, it is too late for reconciliation. Shockingly, without warning, Evie is dead. The police suspect homicide. And their only suspect is Dr. Harry Corbett. Harry is not prepared for the stunning revelations that follow: His bright, beautiful, highly ambitious wife was leading a double life; she may have had dangerous secrets. But what secret could have been explosive enough to die for? Then the killer strikes again, boldly, tauntingly murdering one of Harry''s favorite patients in such a way that only Harry knows the death was not natural. This time Harry is certain: The killer, medically sophisticated, coolly arrogant, moving undetected through a busy urban hospital, could only be a doctor. And he wonders--how many more will die? Desperately Harry probes deeper, following the only clue Evie left. What he finds is a sinister pattern that threatens patients in every hospital in the city. Harry is engaged in a life-and-death battle of wits with a chillingly efficient monster. And until the doctor is unmasked, no patient is safe from his lethal silent treatment. Michael Palmer has done it again, delivering a no-holds-barred novel of medical intrigue-- a gripping thriller that features the most terrifying physician since Hannibal Lecter. Silent Treatment will keep your pulse racing from beginning to end

The President’s teenage son is threatened by a potentially fatal illness rooted in dark secrets from a long-buried past. The White House is not an easy place to grow up, so when Cam Hilliard, the president’s sixteen-year-old son, experiences fatigue, moodiness, and an uncharacteristic violent outburst, doctors are quick to dismiss his troubles as teen angst. But Secret Service agent Karen Ray is convinced there’s something more to Cam’s issues—something serious enough to summon her physician ex-husband for a second opinion. Dr. Lee Blackwood must make a diagnosis from an array of symptoms he’s never seen before. His only clue is a young patient named Susie Banks, who seems to be suffering from the same baffling condition—and who was just hospitalized after an attempted murder. As Lee and Karen race to save Cam’s life, they begin to uncover betrayals that breach the highest levels of national security. Returning to the Washington, DC setting of The First Patient, The First Family is a riveting medical drama from acclaimed novelist Daniel Palmer, in the tradition of his late father, New York Times–bestselling novelist Michael Palmer.

Michael Palmer and Matthew Palmer join forces to pen the story of John, a low-level criminal looking for the next big score in the in the factory town of Logan. A small-time criminal joins a gang, he does a year in prison, and he swears he''s better than all of it. That''s when he decides he will rob the home of the Harpy, an ancient women living out her last days in a moldering mansion above town. But things don''t go as John expects, and Harpy is given a reward that may well be a curse. With this information, John swears he''s invincible...but has he thought of every angle? "The Deal" by Michael Palmer and Matthew Palmer is one of 20 short stories within Mulholland Books''s Strand Originals series, featuring thrilling stories by the most legendary authors in the Strand Magazine archives. View the full series list at mulhollandbooks.com and listen to them all!

In the tiny town of Patience, California, newcomer Dr. Abby Dolan has noticed a frightening syndrome among her emergency room patients. It begins with a baffling, seemingly minor set of symptoms, but builds relentlessly until it plunges its victims into insane, murderous rages. As she searches for clues to this deadly mystery, Abby''s superiors make it clear her probing is unwelcome. Soon Abby will learn just how high the cost of the truth may be--and how far someone will go to keep a lethal secret. But she may not find the answer until it''s too late to save her patients, her career...her life.

“Has everything—a terrifying plot . . . breakneck pace . . . vividly drawn characters.”—John Saul Kate Bennet. A bright hospital pathologist with a loving husband and a solid future. Until one day her world turns dark. A strange, puzzling illness has killed two women. Now it endangers Kate''s closest friend. Soon it will threaten Kate''s marriage. Her sanity. Her life. Kate has uncovered a horrifying secret. Important people will stop at nothing to protect it. It is a terrifying medical discovery. And its roots lie in one of the greatest evils in the history of humankind.

This collection of essays sheds light on the writings of leading figures in the history of political philosophy by exploring a nexus of questions concerning mastery and slavery in the human soul. To this end, Masters and Slaves elucidates archetypal human alternatives in their import for political life: the philosopher and king; the lover of wisdom and the lover of glory; the king and the tyrant; and finally, the master and the slave. Palmer re-examines these ideas as a framework for achieving a deeper understanding of the work of famous thinkers--from the ancient to modern times--including Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Rousseau. As well, the book addresses distinctions between the ''ancients'' and the ''moderns, '' and touches on the work of contemporary theorists such as Leo Strauss, George Parkin Grant, and Allan Bloom.

After a bad accident, Julie''s fiancae survives as a quadriplegic who just wants to die. Without any help to be had, he passes away from an unexpected heart attack. An autopsy reveals that Sam died of an unusual heart defect, one seen only in those under extreme stress. In fact, it appears that Sam had been literally scared to death. As Julie investigates similar cases, threats begin to confront her. The more cases Julie discovers, the more the threats escalate--until she finds herself accused of a mercy killing of her own.

Dr Abby Dolan was on the fast track at a major San Francisco hospital when she made a critical choice: to follow her fiance, Josh Wyler, to the picturesque California town of Patience, where he has a new job with the manufacturing giant Colstar.

Michael Palmer, the New York Times bestselling author of A Heartbeat Away and The Last Surgeon brings us a shocking new thriller at the crossroads of politics and medicine. What if a well respected doctor inexplicably goes on a murderous rampage? When Dr. John Meacham goes on a shooting spree the office, his business partner, staff, and two patients are killed in the bloodbath. Then Meacham turns the gun on himself. The blame falls on Dr. Lou Welcome. Welcome worked with Meacham years before as a counselor after John''s medical license had been revoked for drug addiction. Lou knew that John was an excellent doctor and deserved to be practicing medicine and fought hard for his license to be restored. After hearing the news of the violent outburst, Lou is in shock like everyone else, but mostly he''s incredulous. And when he begins to look into it further, the terrifying evidence he finds takes him down a path to an unspeakable conspiracy that seems to lead directly to the White House and those in the highest positions of power.

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 James Allaire 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 Allaire, 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 Allaire 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. Tense, thrilling, and entirely plausible, A Heartbeat Away will make you reflect, wonder, and be truly afraid.

In His Important New Book, Michael Palmer, Assuming No Prior Philosophical knowledge on the part of the reader, examines the controversial issues of euthanasia, abortion and experimentation on humans and animals, as well as the right to self-determination and the limits of confidentiality.

TRAUMA Prepare to be hooked from page one of this shock-inducing medical thriller from New York Times bestselling author Michael Palmer and his son, acclaimed suspense novelist Daniel Palmer. Dr. Carrie Bryant is a much-admired neurosurgical resident at an esteemed Boston hospital. When the relentless pace of her residency leads to a life-shattering error, Carrie loses her confidence—and decides to quit her residency and move back home. Her new life’s purpose: To help her combat-vet brother, Adam, recover from a crippling case of post-traumatic stress disorder. “A unique novel that shows the strength of both authors’ work.”—Mystery Scene The experimental program at the VA Medical Center promises the possibility of curing the ravages of PTSD forever. It seems like Adam’s best option, but Carrie has her doubts when one of her patients goes missing...and then another. Carrie joins local investigative reporter David Hoffman in the hunt for answers. The hospital, however, is determined to keep its secrets at all costs. As Carrie and David descend into a labyrinth of murder and corruption, the price Carrie could pay for asking the wrong questions is her own life... “When it comes to inventive plots for medical thrillers, nobody does it better than Michael Palmer.”—Huffington Post

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.

Toby is eight years old. He had a routine operation. It was fine. Now he''s gone home to terror. Months have passed. But Toby still bursts into tortured screams. Because something is very wrong. Toby can remember evey moment of the operation. All the trauma. All the pain. He relives evrey horrifying detail of surgery while he''s awake. Now someone must expose the unspeakable truth about this hospital. Or else an innocent child will die. And he won''t be the last. The next victim is being wheeled into surgery right now.

A massive cover-up gone awry A prominent physician accused of murder Uncovering the truth could put the entire country at risk Dr. Gary McHugh, known around Washington, D.C. as the "society doc," calls his longtime friend Dr. Lou Welcome in a state of panic, certain he is about to be arrested for murder. McHugh was found in an alcoholic blackout in his wrecked car after visiting a patient of his, the powerful Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Elias Colston. Soon after McHugh leaves, Colston''s wife returns home to find her husband shot to death in their garage. McHugh has no recollection of committing the crime and no one who would possibly believe in his innocence, other than Lou. As more facts come to light, even Lou has serious doubts. But something about McHugh''s story nags at him and as he looks into matters, pieces of the puzzle don''t point to his friend''s guilt so definitively. With the help of Sarah Cooper, an ambitious attorney with her own reasons for hating doctors, Lou finds himself at the center of a deadly, high-level conspiracy where the difference between right and wrong is a matter of interpretation, and the words "whatever it takes" have a chilling meaning. If Lou and Sarah don''t uncover the real reasons Colston is dead, they may not survive themselves, and the entire country could be at risk for attacks that could destroy the very fabric of national security. Once again, bestselling author Michael Palmer proves that he is the king of suspense in this page-turning thriller, Political Suicide, set at the crossroads of politics, the military, and medical science.

In this outstanding book, originally published in 1997, and subsequently translated into many languages, Michael Palmer presents a detailed and comparative study of the two most famous theories of religion in the history of psychology: those of Freud and Jung. The first part of the book analyses Freud''s claim that religion is an obsessional neurosis—a psychological illness fueled by sexual repression—and the second part considers Jung''s rejection of Freud''s theory and his own assertion that it is the absence of religion, not its presence, which leads to neurosis. Originally given as a series of lectures at Bristol University, this Classic edition of Freud and Jung on Religion is important reading for general and specialist readers alike, as it assumes no prior knowledge of the theories of Freud or Jung and is an invaluable teaching text.

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. The open wound is the perfect breeding ground for a deadly microbial invader committed to eating Cap alive from the inside out. Turning to the Centers for Disease Control, Lou uncovers a link to a shadowy group known as One Hundred Neighbors who are using health institutions as hostages.

Under the Maurla Tree is Michel Palmer’s third book of short stories. Many of his stories are formed from his personal experiences, as a young boy growing up in the New York countryside to his world travels. And some stories just spin out of his imagination. With another series of captivating short stories, that are bound to pique the interest of any reader, Michael Palmer’s latest offering is sure to incite emotions of joy, laughter and sadness, intertwined with some truly surprise endings. Keith Wells Author (As I Saw It and To All of Those I’ve Come to Know)

At Passages is Michael Palmer''s first book of poetry in seven years--and his first book with New Directions. A collection in seven parts, At Passages explores the "hum of the possible-to-say," and, as its title suggests, delves particularly into the paths and meetings of language and meaning: "as much the unseen / as the visible / As much what has disappeared / as what remains."

With another series of captivating short stories, that are bound to pique the interest of any reader, Michael Palmer’s latest offering is sure to incite emotions of joy, laughter and sadness, intertwined with some truly surprise endings.

“Reinvents the medical thriller.”—Library Journal Dr. Sarah Baldwin races to a Boston hospital with a young woman whose normal labor has suddenly become a matter of life and death. As she struggles to save both mother and baby, she doesn''t know that two other women have already died under horrifying identical circumstances. And so begins Sarah''s own nightmare, as she learns that the prenatal herbal vitamins she prescribed are the only thing these women have in common. Soon Sarah is fighting to save her career, her reputation—her life. For she''s certain there must be some unknown factor linking these women, and as she gets closer to the truth, it becomes clear that someone will do anything—even murder—to keep a devastating secret.

The Promises of Glass, Michael Palmer''s first new collection since At Passages (New Directions, 1995), contains seven sections: "The White Notebook", "The Promises of Glass", "Q", "Four Kitaj Studies", "Five Easy Poems" "In an X", and "Tower". These gorgeous new poems explore language and the "salt sea of autobiographies". His work also examines what Marjorie Perloff has described as "the absurdist ''displacement by degrees'' one experiences in the post-urban world of late twentieth-century America."

Natalie Reyes goes to Rio to present a medical paper and is kidnapped then left for dead. Joe Anson is working on a serum that could save millions. Ben Callaghan is hired to find the identity of a dead man. What is the connection between them?