Natural Causes

Rating:
Summary: Pick it Up
Review: After reading about the first 6 or 7 chapters I thought this book was slow moving (not exactly boring)... just slow. So I put it down for three weeks and then I continued from where I left off. The whole second half was full of suspense and tons of action. I definitely couldn't put it down. This was my second Michael Palmer book, and after reading Critical Judgement this is ranked my #1 MP book. If only the beginning hadn't been slow.. it would definitely be a five star novel.

Rating:
Summary: Do you want vitamins with that?
Review: For a while now, I've been on the Michael Palmer 'kick'. His novels are full of plot twists, detailed characters and just the right amount of suspense.
Natural Causes is just another of his well written books that will keep you hanging on until the end. The best part about his books is the right from page one, you're hooked.
Natural Causes does have some truth to it and makes you wonder about 'Natural' supplements.

Rating:
Summary: Do you want vitamins with that?
Review: For a while now, I've been on the Michael Palmer 'kick'. His novels are full of plot twists, detailed characters and just the right amount of suspense.
Natural Causes is just another of his well written books that will keep you hanging on until the end. The best part about his books is the right from page one, you're hooked.
Natural Causes does have some truth to it and makes you wonder about 'Natural' supplements.

Rating:
Summary: Not Palmer's best but a good read
Review: I finished my first Michael Palmer book - Extreme Measures and couldn't wait to read another. Natural Causes has the same complex medical background but is just not as exciting or complex. I enjoyed the conflict between alternative and traditional medicine. Natural Causes has suspense and intrique and if I had not read Extreme Measures first I would probably give it 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: UNNATURALLY LONG
Review: NATURAL CAUSES is a decent medical thriller, with some complex twists and turns thrown in, but Palmer takes too long to get to these twists. Once he does, however, he keeps the plot cooking. I liked the characters of Sarah Baldwin and Matt Daniels. The accused doctor and her defense make an intriguing couple, battling with the ethical logicities of being client and lawyer and lovers. The villains, and there are many of them, are cliche and the twists toward the end can be seen earlier if you pay attention to the lot of the clues Palmer buries. Particularly good among the supporting characters is Dr. Rosa Suarez, the CDC whose investigation into the cause of the DIC brings the final clues. Cinematic, to say the least, but a little long in the tooth to make it a classic. Palmer does know however how to blend his medical knowledge and a crisp mystery too.

Rating:
Summary: UNNATURALLY LONG
Review: NATURAL CAUSES is a decent medical thriller, with some complex twists and turns thrown in, but Palmer takes too long to get to these twists. Once he does, however, he keeps the plot cooking. I liked the characters of Sarah Baldwin and Matt Daniels. The accused doctor and her defense make an intriguing couple, battling with the ethical logicities of being client and lawyer and lovers. The villains, and there are many of them, are cliche and the twists toward the end can be seen earlier if you pay attention to the lot of the clues Palmer buries. Particularly good among the supporting characters is Dr. Rosa Suarez, the CDC whose investigation into the cause of the DIC brings the final clues. Cinematic, to say the least, but a little long in the tooth to make it a classic. Palmer does know however how to blend his medical knowledge and a crisp mystery too.

Rating:
Summary: Great medical thriller, great characters!
Review: This book captures you from the very beginning and makes you see the world through the eyes of Dr. Sarah Baldwin. Very detailed medical information and a fast read. Keeps you going from the first page to the last.

Dr. Baldwin is the kind of doc most people in this open-minded society would want to have -- one with the Western science medicine as well as using holistic practices such as accupuncture. She gets in trouble after two women die and one woman is maimed in their pregnancies after taking her herbal supplement for pregnancy, which she recommends instead of the usual vitamins. An intrigue follows which delves into politics and money. Great mystery up until the very end, when one of the last people you'd suspect turns out to be the bad guy!

My first taste of Michael Palmer, and I'm looking forward to reading more!

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this one down. Great thriller!
Review: This is the first book I've read by Michael Palmer, but it won't be the last. "Natural Causes" grabbed me from the first pages and didn't let go until the end! I was still wondering who to trust up until the last chapter. I really enjoy thriller/mysteries and combining it with medicine makes it that much more interesting for me. I will definitely recommend this book to all of my reading buddies.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This was a really good book. I found once I started reading it, I just couldn't put it down! It has mystery, suspense, and drama. I really liked it!

Rating:
Summary: Almost too complicated, villian-riddled plot thrills!
Review: We're fans of Palmer and have read most of his booklist, now standing at ten novels. We like his ability to describe medical complexities in plain enough terms to get us through but with plausible enough premises that the scare factor heightens his suspenseful storylines. "Natural Causes" continues in this vein as pregnant women start losing their babies and dying themselves from a rare blood disorder. Is it being caused by (our heroine) Dr. Sarah Baldwin's use of "herbal supplements"? Or is it related to her former lover's mysterious oriental-herb-mix weight loss miracle product? A team of lawyers, doctors, CDC specialists, and our heroine in self-defense plow through a labyrinth of plot twists and turns before the truth will out toward the end. That so many of the central characters turn out bad gets a bit depressing after a while; and some of the sinister goings-on with shady underworld types get a little hard to believe. And how the rattlesnake poison found in Sarah's locker tied in never was revealed that we could tell. But admittedly the pages kept turning til the satisfying conclusion spells out almost all.

Palmer has a fine imagination and excellent craft. Sarah was a rather remarkable lead character with the somewhat unique combination of extensive traditional medical training (she's an MD and a surgeon) as well as a two-year stint in Thailand learning acupuncture and other alternative healing methods. Palmer uses her talents as a ploy to discuss these methodologies in interesting detail. While this time our author almost outdoes himself with the complexity of his tale, we suspect most will enjoy it thoroughly as they read on into the night!