The Last Surgeon - Michael Palmer

I’ll start the new year with the review of a really great thriller, one of the best I’ve read in quite a while. I hope you like it as much as I did.

About the book: “Everyone told Jillian Coates that her sister’s suicide was just that – a suicide. Everyone told Dr. Nick Garrity that his best friend, Lieutenant Umberto Vasquez, had simply disappeared, battling the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jillian doesn’t believe it. Nick doesn’t believe it. And soon, they discover a chilling connection between these two seemingly random events…a common denominator that will lead a killer to the next victim…. and the last surgeon.

 The Last Surgeon, like each of Michael's books, is built around a medical ethical issue. Two years ago, Michael met a Marine veteran with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). Moved by their conversation, Michael began thinking about weaving a story around this sad, frightening condition.

The result is The Last Surgeon--the terrifying tale of Army trauma surgeon Nick Garrity, working on a mobile medical van caring for vets and the homeless in D.C., while he tries to conquer the fallout from the suicide bomber who killed everyone in Nick's field hospital in Afghanistan except Nick and his best friend Umberto. When Umberto, whose PTSD is even more virulent than Nick's, disappears, Nick is brought into the crosshairs of brilliant psychopath Franz Koller, the remorseless master of the non-kill-murder that does not look like murder."

As I've said before, mysteries/thrillers are my favorite genre. This novel fits that label perfectly. It has a very interesting story line, likeable good characters and a really evil bad one, tie-ins to the current political scene, loads of drama and suspense with a little romance thrown in, and a tense build-up to a great ending. It was interesting in that you knew who the killer was early in the book, but not the reason for the killings. The book will be released on February 16th but you can pre-order the it now from http://www.michaelpalmerbooks.com/. Michael is also releasing exclusive material to his followers via Facebook and Twitter. You can win exclusive prizes for becoming involved. I'll also be having a contest soon for a personalized copy of The Last Surgeon so be sure and watch for that.

ISBN: 978-0312587499
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date of publish: Feb 16, 2010
Pages: 384
S.R.P.: $26.99

Bostick Communications and Michael Palmer provided an ARC of the book to me for review.