Rating: 
Summary: A real thriller and educational too!
Review: This book, the author himself an actual doctor, centers around a medical breakthrough that everyone is hoping will cure heart disease. Especially hoping for a miracle cure is cardiologist Brian Holbrook whose dad is suffering from devastating heart problems. After rushing his dad to a Boston hospital, Brian hears about this new drug and hopes to get his dad into the testing group as he refuses surgery. But alas, like all things that sound too good to be true, so it is with this miracle drug. Brian manages to get himself on staff at the Boston Heart Institute after proving he is a brilliant doctor, even though he has an addiction to pain killers stemming from a football injury years ago. After taking this new drug, his dad doesn't improve as Brian had hoped and ends up dying. Suddenly, things begin to look suspicious and patients that appeared to have been cured by this heart medication are being killed. The good doctor begins to figure out the whole plot behind the rush to get FDA approval and as a result, finds his life in jeopardy. Unsure who can be trusted, he is pretty much on his own against some very determined people. The story is fast paced and quite interesting, especially coming from a doctor's point of view. The ending has a couple of good twists and I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. This is the first book I have read by Michael Palmer, but am anxious to get my hands on the rest!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellant
Review: This is the second time that I read this book and will read it again. It is full of suspense and intrigue. A definite read for anyone who enjoys medical thrillers.
Rating:
Summary: A real thriller and educational too!
Review: Well, this is another of the fast paced medical thrillers that fans of Michael Palmer have come to expect and as usual, the good doctor delivers. In this novel, author and medical doctor Michael Palmer delivers up a character with a set of problems that have combined to almost destroy a once promising medical career. Dr. Brian Holcomb is one of those doctors you don't hear too much about; he is an MD who has had his medical license revoked as a result of his addiction to prescription pain-killers and his illegal writing of prescriptions for himself to feed that addiction. After we first meet the former Dr. Holcomb, newly divorced and working at a car rental counter, we discover a sympathetic character. Palmer has a talent for painting these pictures and despite the fact that every reader knows that Brian's situation is one of his own making, he is still someone we feel for. We also hope he gets his license back. Eventually, Brian does get his license back. However, it is conditional and he is kept under strict observation. His medical skills have not degraded and he proves his worth to the hospital that has taken a chance on him. Soon, he is given the chance to work on a study for a drug that purports to unblock arteries blocked by plaque and the other deposits that lead to arteriosclerosis and fatal heart attacks. Initially, this windfall assignment leads Brian to think that he can get his father into the study. You see, Brian's dad has been severely handicapped by past heart attacks and Brian doesn't want to lose him. Brian schemes to get his father into the program but then, certain information is released by the author so that the reader and Dr. Holcomb find out that the medication may not be all it appears to be. The much ballyhooed potential may just be a scam. Palmer leads the reader down the same path he has used in past novels. Brian finds himself in trouble with the hospital and the law, when he is accused of killing a friend, another doctor. Brian weaves in and out of near death experiences as he attempts to find answers for why he is being set up. The ride we go on with Brian is one that Palmer has become a master of. It is high speed - low drag and it leaves the reader panting and gasping for air. I also believe that this book is something of a sermon for Dr. Palmer. After years of working in emergency medicine in Massachusetts, he has recently turned his attention to dealing with physicians who have substance abuse problems. This novel is as fine a warning as any doctor (and their potential patients) will see in novelized format. Dr. Palmer once again has delivered a fast-paced, gripping medical thriller. As far as I am concerned, he has this genre to himself. I look forward to his next effort. If you like thrillers and medical mysteries, you won't go wrong reading MIRACLE CURE. I will agree with other reviewers here at Amazon who stated that there was an air of predictability to this novel. You know what? I don't care. I read these books as escapist entertainment. I don't expect Tolstoy and that's not what the author is writing. When you accept what these novels are, and keep that in mind, they become that much more enjoyable. Dr. Palmer has been practicing medicine for over 20 years and has been writing for a good part of that time. From my corner, he seems to be pretty competent at both fields of endeavor. Like many of his other readers, I anxiously await his latest installment. I hope he'll be writing these novels for a long time to come. Paul Connors
Rating:
Summary: If It Seems Too Good To Be True, It Usually Is......
Review: Well, this is another of the fast paced medical thrillers that fans of Michael Palmer have come to expect and as usual, the good doctor delivers. In this novel, author and medical doctor Michael Palmer delivers up a character with a set of problems that have combined to almost destroy a once promising medical career. Dr. Brian Holcomb is one of those doctors you don't hear too much about; he is an MD who has had his medical license revoked as a result of his addiction to prescription pain-killers and his illegal writing of prescriptions for himself to feed that addiction. After we first meet the former Dr. Holcomb, newly divorced and working at a car rental counter, we discover a sympathetic character. Palmer has a talent for painting these pictures and despite the fact that every reader knows that Brian's situation is one of his own making, he is still someone we feel for. We also hope he gets his license back. Eventually, Brian does get his license back. However, it is conditional and he is kept under strict observation. His medical skills have not degraded and he proves his worth to the hospital that has taken a chance on him. Soon, he is given the chance to work on a study for a drug that purports to unblock arteries blocked by plaque and the other deposits that lead to arteriosclerosis and fatal heart attacks. Initially, this windfall assignment leads Brian to think that he can get his father into the study. You see, Brian's dad has been severely handicapped by past heart attacks and Brian doesn't want to lose him. Brian schemes to get his father into the program but then, certain information is released by the author so that the reader and Dr. Holcomb find out that the medication may not be all it appears to be. The much ballyhooed potential may just be a scam. Palmer leads the reader down the same path he has used in past novels. Brian finds himself in trouble with the hospital and the law, when he is accused of killing a friend, another doctor. Brian weaves in and out of near death experiences as he attempts to find answers for why he is being set up. The ride we go on with Brian is one that Palmer has become a master of. It is high speed - low drag and it leaves the reader panting and gasping for air. I also believe that this book is something of a sermon for Dr. Palmer. After years of working in emergency medicine in Massachusetts, he has recently turned his attention to dealing with physicians who have substance abuse problems. This novel is as fine a warning as any doctor (and their potential patients) will see in novelized format. Dr. Palmer once again has delivered a fast-paced, gripping medical thriller. As far as I am concerned, he has this genre to himself. I look forward to his next effort. If you like thrillers and medical mysteries, you won't go wrong reading MIRACLE CURE. I will agree with other reviewers here at Amazon who stated that there was an air of predictability to this novel. You know what? I don't care. I read these books as escapist entertainment. I don't expect Tolstoy and that's not what the author is writing. When you accept what these novels are, and keep that in mind, they become that much more enjoyable. Dr. Palmer has been practicing medicine for over 20 years and has been writing for a good part of that time. From my corner, he seems to be pretty competent at both fields of endeavor. Like many of his other readers, I anxiously await his latest installment. I hope he'll be writing these novels for a long time to come. Paul Connors
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting topic; uninteresting story!
Review: Why do I feel as if this story could have happened to Dr. Anybody in Anywhere General Hospital in Anytown USA? The topic of rushing an experimental "miracle drug" to market without adequate and meticulous testing is a timely one. However, this novel demonstrates a severe lack of depth in the character development and setting. It seems as if the plot was first constructed and, later, the characters and setting were added as an afterthought.
Rating:
Summary: I've read all of Palmers books except the new release!
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.
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