Side Effects

Rating:
Summary: Medical thriller at its best!
Review: I am a complete medical thriller junkie. I hardly ever read the more "mainstream" fiction/thrillers that are written, but I will always read a medical thriller. Michael Palmer's Side Effects does not disappoint. This is, in fact, the first novel I've read by Palmer, and I will definitely take the opportunity to do so again.

The plot was really interesting, I think the characters were well-developed and real, and the "action" scenes were exciting. Palmer can take real life and make it that much more interesting by throwing in controversy and conflict. The relationship between Kate and her husband was a real relationship, and I was glad to see her husband fight so much in the end to save Kate's life and career.

If you're into medical thrillers, then I would recommend this book for sure.

Rating:
Summary: Medical thriller at its best!
Review: I am a complete medical thriller junkie. I hardly ever read the more "mainstream" fiction/thrillers that are written, but I will always read a medical thriller. Michael Palmer's Side Effects does not disappoint. This is, in fact, the first novel I've read by Palmer, and I will definitely take the opportunity to do so again.

The plot was really interesting, I think the characters were well-developed and real, and the "action" scenes were exciting. Palmer can take real life and make it that much more interesting by throwing in controversy and conflict. The relationship between Kate and her husband was a real relationship, and I was glad to see her husband fight so much in the end to save Kate's life and career.

If you're into medical thrillers, then I would recommend this book for sure.

Rating:
Summary: Not a good read.
Review: This book was Michael Palmer's worst. The book begins in Germany during WWII with Nazi doctors conducting experiments on humans. Then, forty years later the story continues. Usually his books are full of suspense and drama. This book lacked both. I kept reading it in hopes that it would get better. Unfortunately, it didn't. I don't recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Not a good read.
Review: This book was Michael Palmer's worst. The book begins in Germany during WWII with Nazi doctors conducting experiments on humans. Then, forty years later the story continues. Usually his books are full of suspense and drama. This book lacked both. I kept reading it in hopes that it would get better. Unfortunately, it didn't. I don't recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Medical Chiller with great plot and characters!
Review: We thought Michael Palmer's medical thriller ("The Sisterhood") was quite good, especially for a first novel; this one, his second outing, just might be great! An interesting prologue from Nazi Germany sets the stage for a story about illegal (and of course, unethical) testing of unapproved drugs on unaware human subjects. Incredible suspense and tension are generated through a number of faceted story lines:

- Leading lady Dr. Kate Bennett, a hospital pathologist, fights the establishment at every turn to uncover the truth;

- The wealthy patrician father of Kate's husband is ready to interfere in their lives and marriage at every turn for the political gain of his son;

- Women are dieing of uncontrolled bleeding with mysterious uterine problems almost new to medicine found in the autopsies;

- A greedy drug firm is in cahoots with a women's medical center to dispense secret drug tests;

- Unscrupulous hospital management is ready to lie, cheat, and murder to perpetuate the conspiracy.

A gripping story and complex plot is one thing, but Palmer's descriptive writing style and careful revealing of characters and situations really fleshes out this very believable tale. For once, the words "terrifying" and "vivid" on the paperback cover seem justified. We enjoyed this as one of our best reads of the summer -- highly recommend!

Rating:
Summary: I've read all of his books except "Patient"
Review: Yes - his books seem to following the typical formula/recipe for medical mystery thriller - BUT, each of the eight paperbacks of his books I finished in record time and couldn't get enough of them! After reading the first one "Silent Treatment" I ordered the other seven to read too! Yes, I too am fairly good at guessing the next "thing" that will occur in mystery books that I read - but I am pretty good at doing so with mystery movies and TV series too - so this is nothing new to me. I have to say that I have also passed on his books to friends and family to read and they are just as captivated by his writing ability and plots as I have been! They are a good, exciting, fast read and if that is what you are after you won't be disappointed - give his books a shot - I certainly did - and I'm not in the least bit disappointed that I did.