Oath of Office [Hardcover]

When stressed out Dr. John Meacham goes on a shooting spree, killing a number of his patients and fellow employees, Dr. Lou Welcome is blamed.

Lou had been overseeing his friend, Dr. Meacham's progress at Physicians Wellness. This organization counsels and attempts to help doctors with psychological problems, resulting in their loss of anger. They also counsel doctors who over medicate themselves with drugs and alcohol.

As the story progresses, we observe Lou's compassionate nature while a number of other characters exhibit unexplained anger that seems to take control of their body for a time, and then, if they survive their aggression, the anger seems to go away. Afterward the person seems almost unaware of what happened. We witness a number of tragic events due to this anger. Lou tries to find the cause. He goes to the Chief of Police in King's Ridge but the chief tells Lou that he doesn't have any real evidence to back his claims.

He meets Dr. Darlene Mallory, the First Lady of the United States. They form a bond together, attempting to find answers to this mystery.

The characters are realistically portrayed. Lou's thirteen-year-old daughter, Emily, is a charmer. The author brings Lou and Emily to life at moments such as when they are playing monopoly. In reality, Lou is using the game to keep Emily occupied while he questions her about herself and her life with her mother and step-father.

How many parents don't know how to communicate with teenagers and this method of keeping a teenager active with something while asking questions is a very good lesson.

The plot is laid out nicely with some interesting surprises. I found the book entertaining and recommend it to readers who enjoy medical thrillers and good suspense.

Note: I received a copy of this novel for an honest review.

I have read most of Michael Palmer's books wondering how he could add more excitement and deeper involvement than in his preceding books. "Oath Of Office" is no exception as I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book wondering while advancing through the book how the author can be so knowledgeable as he delves into so many subjects in various fields and subjects? The story begins as Dr. John Meacham has a huge verbal fight with a patient, certainly not the type of thing he would normally do. As that patient stormed out of his office he started thinking beyond the normal box that all those in the office would give him trouble reporting the incident to the hospital and other boards. He decided he would just stop any of them from hurting his future and started shooting and killing any patients in the office and waiting room, his own staff, and any doctors in the immediate vicinity, followed by shooting himself. Dr. Lou Welcome was a good friend of Dr. John Meacham and couldn't believe that this man could take the actions he had taken with such finality to everyone involved. Dr. Meacham had barely survived the bullet he put in his head and despite all the medical attention he was given, including some from Lou, he didn't make it.

The wife of the President of the United States, Darlene Mallory, was a good friend of the Secretary of Agriculture, Russell Evans, and was hurt that he had been caught with a hooker and had to resign his cabinet job. She needed to find out if the story was true or not. Their meeting was done secretly, planned well with the help of one of the Secret Service agents assigned to cover Mrs. Mallory, Victor. Victor was a very good agent but also was top notch at helping the presidents' wife do almost anything she wished to do, outright or secretly. Lou was beginning to suspect something was going on affecting the minds of some causing them to do some outlandish and not near normal activities that had started with his friend killing so many and Dr. Meacham's wife not acting normal also.

Lou had been taking boxing lessons from a good friend, Cap, and had for some years. This helped Lou stay in good physical shape and he loved the action and boy, did he need some relaxation now after all he had been through the past few days. He and Cap worked out and had a good chance to talk. The town of Kings Ridge was the closest populated area and Lou went there to meet Chief Stone, Chief of the Kings Ridge Police force. Lou told Stone that he was suspicious of some strange things going on in the area with people doing and saying some strange things, some things from their local hospital, the local doctors, and the actions of Dr. Meacham. The chief took note but did not feel there was anything wrong.

Action really picks up even more so involving all of the above, the President of the United States who was involved in a reelection campaign so did not have much time for close friends or his wife, Lou's friends and associates, Secret Service agents, and many more. As I said, Michael Palmer has spun a great tale in this book and to try to tell you any more than I have would ruin your enjoyment while reading the book. The writing is excellent, the plots are great, and the characters are very real. When the book gets into genetically modified goods, we enter a current problem facing our world right now. How dangerous are these GE products?

Whoooa! Palmer's latest has a feel of horror...and you'd never guess why!

Dr. Lou Welcome has great empathy for medical personnel who, for whatever reason, gets hooked on alcohol or other type of substance, including drugs.

Mainly because he's been there...

In fact, part of his own rehabilitation has been to work with others who have the same type of problems. One of those men was John Meacham--and he has just gone on a rampage, killing everybody in his office, including two patients! Lou's boss wants to know what happened, but Lou wanted to know what had happened for his own reasons--he knew Meacham had been clean! So what could have set him off?

You would think that now we are going to investigate how he might have obtained some illegal substance, taking it without even realizing it perhaps. But what that substance is and where his investigation leads is much more scary than some type of new drug... Especially as other people also begin doing illogical activities..

Welcome begins his investigation by learning that Meacham had said only one thing, "No Witnesses!" As he pieced things together, he learned that he had become angry with a dangerously obese patient and got her so upset that she had ran out of the office. With Meacham's last words being "No witnesses" Welcome had to assume that Meacham feared that a complaint would be made against him and he would lose his license permanently. That seemed to make a little sense, except that, Roberta Jennings, the woman he had verbally attacked, was still alive...Meacham was not acting rationally in killing everybody else except her.

In the meantime, in Washington D.C. the President of the United States once again had not shown up for an event that was sponsored by the First Lady. She was very interested in a food program for children. Obviously disturbed, she nevertheless went on with the program, but received a message about an old friend, the former Secretary of Agriculture, who had been fired. She had always felt he had been framed and so went to a secret meeting to learn more... And, she learned more than she had ever expected!

Welcome's investigation took him to Meacham's home town next to talk to his wife Carolyn. Meacham had died and now he was riding with Carolyn, only to have her begin to act strangely. She became fixated on a car ahead of them with a back light missing...chasing after it to prevent an accident, only to cause them to have one themselves!

More and more strange behavior was identified and it seemed to be most happening there in the town where the Meacham's had lived.

When they began to think it may be something around that town, it all began to come together, but what was it and how were they going to identify what it was and who was involved?

Reading about what people were doing in that town adds the feelings of horror...doing the exact opposite of what would really be the most logical thing to do... Michael Palmer has topped his other books in this one! The realism of the plot is so potentially possible and probable that you can't help but be hooked, turning the pages, wanting to know more, but becoming even more horrified as more is discovered! Could it really happen? Not the exact activities within this novel, but something else? This one will leave you afraid...and will not be easily dismissed or forgotten. And how is the President and his family involved?!

Forewarned is forearmed? Palmer is sharing a potential reality for all of us. Even if it's fiction, you need to read this one, in my opinion... A thriller like no other!

GABixlerReviews

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