Entertaining despite the occasional stretching of your credulity

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	• The First Patient Michael Palmer St. Martin's Press, 2008 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 53 reviews view larger image
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The first casualty is credibility

When the premise of a novel is 'what if the President were mentally incompetent?' you have to wonder where the author has been for the last 7 years.

Michael Palmer's latest tale is a blend of medical mystery and political thriller. The story is a throwback to the outlandish plots of James Bond and The Man from Uncle, but without the tongue-in-cheek humor. In fact, Palmer's attempts at humor are a weak point. When the President says his dog is "strong as a tiger, wise as an owl..." etc, the hero says, "Maybe you should have named him Simile" which causes the President to laugh out loud. And that's about as funny as the jokes get, I'm afraid. But the book does have action and suspense (plus a dash of pedophilia and the torture of a woman, which some readers would be more comfortable without).

Readers of genre fiction like plenty of authenticity, as it gives them the excuse that their escapist reading is educational, and Palmer obliges with regular doses of medical facts. These do not always flow with the narrative and can be intrusive. But the writing is good enough and the story has pace and flair. This is not great literature and does not pretend to be. So if you are looking for a light read, are not perturbed by the above-mentioned torture, etc, and are prepared to believe the unbelievable, you might give this a try.

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Best Ever

This book keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through. It is entertaining, exciting, and informative. This book is Dr. Palmer's best yet. Don't miss it. I have added First Patient to my permanent library!

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Entertaining despite the occasional stretching of your credulity

Gabe Singleton is living the good life of the rural doctor, enjoying the wide-open spaces of Wyoming and the joys of riding a horse. Unfortunately, he has a past and is stunned when his roommate at the Naval Academy arrives unexpectedly via helicopter and almost pleads for his help. The roommate is Andrew Stoddard and he is now the President of the United States. Stoddard has been a good president and Gabe backs his policies. However, Stoddard is in the midst of a very difficult re-election fight and his personal physician has mysteriously disappeared. After bringing back old times, both good and bad, Stoddard manages to convince Gabe to fly back to Washington and take on the difficult task of serving the President.
Decades earlier, Gabe had gotten mindlessly drunk and while driving had caused an accident that led to the deaths of others. Although he has no memory of the incident, he has spent his life trying to atone for the mistake. It still haunts him, and he fears that it will resurface once he is in the destructive grinder that is Washington politics.
However, shortly after he is installed in the White House, an incident occurs that leads him to believe that Stoddard is going insane. That is not the case; the plot is much deeper and more diabolical than a simple case of insanity. The plot takes many twists and turns and the primary driver of the conspiracy against the President is a person that you would not place near the top of your suspect list.
The action is energetic and entertaining, although at the end it becomes a bit bizarre. In order to protect the President, Gabe feels it necessary to kidnap him and the existence of their hideout stretches your credulity.

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I'm Probably Going to be Reading More Palmer

Michael Palmer investigates and develops a horrifying and electrifying plot in The First Patient.

Though this is my first Michael Palmer novel, and though I am not a huge fan of political fiction, I found myself turning pages like mad and losing sleep. I developed the "one more chapter" syndrome a hundred or so pages into the 350+ page plus novel.

The strengths in this story are the intriguing plot and the behind the scenes "sneak" into the most powerful office in the United States. Palmer's medical knowledge made it more interesting to me, however, I tend to love medical thrillers since my day job is in a clinic.

The weaknesses within The First Patient were in the too quick romantic interest for Gabe, a slower beginning, and a slightly rushed conclusion. I did guess the most evil of all evil characters and I'm not usually great at uncovering clues, so there may have been a red herring issue that didn't ring true for me. If you usually guess correctly, you may find that true for you also.

If you love thrillers with a bit of romance and a lot of peril, you might want to look further into The First Patient. Sensitive souls may want to opt out because there is a horror element and a seriously nasty secret life for one of the characters. If you are a Palmer fan, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

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