Thursday, April 12, 2007

The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer

Published in 2007. 372 pages.


I've read all of Michael Palmer's medical thrillers and enjoyed them all. This one, despite a bit of a slow beginning, was no exception.

In the afterword, Palmer says this:

My goal in writing suspense is first and foremost to entertain my readers and to transport them, however transiently, from the stresses and cares of their lives to the highly stylized world of the novel. My secondary goals are to inform and to present, without resolution, issues of social and ethical importance.

He goes on to discuss organ donation and "the importance of [our] participate in an act that [he] feel[s] defines humility and righteousness." I am an organ donor, as is my sixteen-year-old daughter. If you aren't already an organ donor, I hope you'll consider it too. For more information, see OrganDonor.Gov. Utahns can sign up here.

2007.23

2 comments:

  1. I can tell this is one I need to read. Thanks for the great review.

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  2. I just finished reading a new medical thriller, LOCKED IN. I'm not one to read much thriller fiction, but with the medical slant on malpractice issues I thought I would give it a go. Now I'm a fan of medical thrillers and scanning the web for more recommendations!

    Written by a new author, Dr. Michele Esposito, as his bio reads, "has spent ten years as a private practice radiologist in the Tampa Bay area, and uses his vast experience to give readers an insider's view of medicine and malpractice law." Make me wonder how close to truth this story really could be.

    I went to his site to see if I could find out more about him. It's got a nice excerpt if you want to give it a read. www.mikeespositomd.com

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