|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
almer's 10th medical thriller rides on his usual wave of unrelenting adrenaline, and will make readers think twice the next time they're due for a routine vaccination. The physician-hero this time is Matt Ruttledge, a doctor in bucolic Belinda, W.Va. When several of his patients turn up in the emergency room, babbling incoherently and sporting unsightly lumps on their faces, Ruttledge blames the town's main employer, a large mining operation with a history of safety abuses and environmental neglect. As more patients turn up with the same fatal symptoms, Ruttledge discovers that a larger culprit may be responsible: a new supervaccine that's about to hit the market. Backed by powerful political interests and drug companies, the vaccine, called Omnivax, had been tested in Belinda a decade earlier, and its deadly side effects are now finally surfacing. Joined by a group of like-minded medical professionals and a colorful cast of civilians, Ruttledge sets out to stymie the makers of the vaccine. Omnivax's backers, however, have no intention of letting a lone doctor and a gaggle of bumpkins kill their cash cow. As with Palmer's other popular thrillers (The Patient, etc.), the plot at times turns wild to the point of disbelief, and the occasional red herring practically screams its presence the moment it swims into view. But the former ER physician's ability to craft gripping suspense, likable heroes and hateful villains as well as a thought-provoking dialogue about the risks of the nation's vaccination program keep the pulse pounding.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Palmer excels at packing current medical issues into a web of suspense. The action begins immediately as people in various cities become afflicted with some unknown malady with bizarre symptoms. Some die quickly from seizures and blood loss, others develop a progressive mental illness along with "Elephant Man"-like growths on their faces and bodies, culminating in uncontrollable violence. Dr. Matt Rutledge is certain that a case he has seen, involving a mine worker for the Belinda Coal and Coke Company, is related to the mine's criminal offenses. He was raised in the West Virginia town and lost his father to alleged safety violations, and his wife to a rare cancer. Certain that her illness was induced by groundwater contamination, Matt has a double score to settle with BC&C. Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, Ellen Kroft, member of the advocacy group PAVE (Parents Advocating Vaccine Education), is struggling with her vote as part of a group evaluating a new megavaccine, Omnivax. In Boston, medical examiner Dr. Nikki Solari has watched the mental deterioration of her talented roommate as strange growths appear on her face. Both Ellen and Nikki travel to Belinda in search of answers. As expected, the three protagonists get together and set about solving the medical mystery, with danger, attempted murder, and bureaucratic strangulation surrounding them. Palmer skillfully juggles many subplots, integrating colorful characters and using current bioscience topics. FDA testing, vaccines, environmental toxins, spongiform encephalitis, greedy pharmaceutical executives, and bad cops-all contribute to the novel's action, suspense, and intrigue.
Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Carol DeAngelo, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Honey. I ain't feelin' good. Think I'll take some Omnivax.",
By
This review is from: Fatal (Mass Market Paperback)
The medical thriller probably begins as far back as Upton Sinclair taking on the greedy, amoral manufacturers, but it certainly was refined by Crichton and then the offshoot, one could argue, might be Kellerman, Robin Cook and even Jeffrey Deaver to some extent. But clearly, no one does it better than Michael Palmer.Matt Rutledge returns to West Virginia to practice medicine, recollecting the love of his coal miner father, killed in a mine collapse, terribly missing his lovely wife who died suddenly by an anomalous carcinogen, and befriended by the evil (no, nice twist, not really) Slocum Brothers. Far north, Nikki Solari, concert-style classical violinist turned blue grass musician and full time pathologist buries her closest friend who became psychotic and stepped in front of a fast moving Peterbilt. Dr. Matt ER's two miners, one of whom went beserk several hundred yards beneath a mountain, and Ellen Kroft, a consumer advocate on a Federal Committee to investigate a cure-all vaccine for children, is gravely disturbed by the White House's push to release the "fountain of youth-kill all the bad bugs vaccine," Omnivax, and is being presured by the self-interested members of the committee. Naturally all forces, good, evil, confused, heartbroken, come together in Belinda, West Virginia ('Country Roads, Take me Home.') A little wild from time to time and the reader needs occasional doses of the suspension of disbelief pill, nevertheless engaging, articulate, well written and relentless in its excitement. Worth the trip. A pill not hard to swallow. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating medical thriller,
By
This review is from: Fatal (Mass Market Paperback)
A pregnant woman starts to haemorrhage, a violinist awfully disfigured by an unknown disease is drawn into paranoia, a miner goes berserk causing the death of two co-workers. What is it that links these deaths? Could it be the way the Belinda Coal and Coke Company disposes of its waste near the town of Belinda? But Dr Matt Rutledge needs proof and soon his research campaign becomes very bitterly personal. Meanwhile, two women unknown to each other are drawn inexorably to Belinda and into Matt's life - and into deadly 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 the puzzle they must solve. If they don't do this in due time, their own life may be put at risk.As usual, Michael Palmer wrote a breathtaking medical thriller and a fully enjoyable page turner. Philippe Horak / phorak@gibz.ch
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun fast read,
By
This review is from: Fatal (Mass Market Paperback)
Michael Palmer is a best-selling writer of medical thrillers. In this, his latest work, Dr. Michael Rutledge of Belinda, West Virginia has returned home following the death of his wife and father. He is convinced the toxic waste of the local mining company is responsible and wants to prove it. Going against the local powers can prove to be quite dangerous. Meanwhile, pathologist, Nicki Solari, is looking into the death of a friend of hers who died of an unusual illness. She travels to Belinda, her friend's hometown to seek answers. Nicki eventually meets Michael and they realize they might have a common goal.In another plot line, Ellen Kroft questions the safety of a new super vaccine. Her fear is that it has not been adequately tested and the risk to life is very real. Ellen sits on a committee evaluating the vaccine. After an unwelcome visitor threatens her child, Ellen tries to get to the bottom of the threat. The path, once again, leads to Belinda, West Virginia. Eventually, Michael, Nicki and Ellen join forces to fight a common, yet, dangerous, enemy. FATAL is a fun, fast reading novel which questions the underlying motivation of getting vaccines on the market. What is especially impressive about this work is that ,in spite of having a strong agenda, the author manages to never wane from telling an exciting tale. Of course, there are some stereotypic characters present given that it takes place in the backwoods of West Virginia, however, overall they are a believable bunch. Michael Palmer fully understands what makes a thriller successful as is evidenced here.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
