We have a winner!

Wow! There were 33 qualifying entries for the Michael Palmer contest!  Thank you to everyone who entered.

I assigned each entry a number (including 3 extra for Mindy by referral) in order of the posts and then had Jim choose a number. He chose #2 so the winner is Karen K….congratulations! I’ve emailed Karen and she has 48 hours to respond. If I don’t hear from her within that time, I’ll select an alternate winner.

Book Giveaway! Michael Palmer's The Last Surgeon

As promised, I have another book giveaway. Michael Palmer has generously offered an autographed copy of his new book, The Last Surgeon that will be available on February 16. You can read my review here. The book will be sent by Mr. Palmer so be sure to include your email address in your post so I can contact you. The contest will run until February 1 so you have 2 weeks to get your entries in.

Contest rules: I’m keeping this very simple. Post a comment for one  entry. You MUST include your email address in your post…if not, your entry will not count. If someone enters  and clearly says who sent them, (and their entry is valid),  the referrer will get another entry, so spread the word. Contest ends February 1, 2010 at midnight central time. Entries will be numbered and winner will be selected randomly, notified by email, and asked for their mailing info. They’ll have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. I’ll forward the mailing info to Mr. Palmer and he will send the book after publication. Good luck

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.

Goodbye 2009 - Hello 2010

I never thought when I started my blog on Valentine’s Day 2009 that it would develop into mainly a book review site. I just wanted to have a place to vent occasionally, write a few simple poems, and share my passions of reading, family, hobbies, and cats. Somewhere along the way, the reading has definitely taken over, due in large part to J. Kaye of J. Kaye’s Book Blog. Thanks to her generous recommendation of me (and many others ) to book publishers, I’ve been the recipient of many free books in return for my review of their offerings. That’s also why I have a box of un-read, used books that I never seem to get to. :-)

With the start of a new year, I’m looking forward to reading many more books and sharing my reviews with my readers. There will be another book contest soon for a new autographed copy of New York Times best-selling author Michael Palmer’s latest medical thriller, The Last Surgeon. I’m reading it now and I think you’ll enjoy it very much. If you want a sneak peak, you can get one here. Mr. Palmer has lots of great interactive content on both his Facebook fan page  and Twitter account. He’s hosting weekly Q&A's, book giveaways and other exclusive contests so make sure you check it out.

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Congratulations to the Iowa State Cyclones

for winning the Insight Bowl!