Fatal

Two stars means that I found this book to be okay. It wasn't great and I am in no great hurry to read another book by <a href="https://goodreads.com/author/show/110485.Michael_Palmer" title="Michael Palmer" rel="noopener">Michael Palmer</a>. I was looking for my next book to read and this had been on my TBR shelf for a while so I decided to go with it. It fit that need adequately. A book to read when you are looking for something. Definitely not a book that once I finished I would tell others "you have to read this book".<br /><br />The protagonist is Matt Rutledge, an internist and emergency specialist who returned to his hometown of Belinda, West Virginia to marry his high-school sweetheart, Ginny, and open a practice. Then Ginny succumbed to an unusual cancer. Matt blamed Belinda Coal and Coke Company, the town's largest employer. He believes their safety violations with regards to the careless disposal of toxic chemicals are at fault. Matt's father had also died in the mine when he was a boy. Now he has identified two bizarre cases of what he has dubbed the Belinda Syndrome. Matt is on a mission to expose Belinda Coal and Coke Company.<br /><br />Dr. Nikki Solari, a Boston pathologist, watched as her musically gifted roommate deteriorated mentally and strange growths appeared on her face. When her roommate dies Nikki travels to the roommates hometown for the funeral. Belinda, West Virginia. After the funeral Nikki is assaulted and almost killed. She meets Matt and of course they fall in love and team up to find out the truth.<br /><br />Ellen Kroft, a retired schoolteacher, sits on a board that will be voting on the release of a super vaccine. She is the lone holdout and finds both herself and her family threatened. Her response? She tracks down the man that threatened her. To where? Belinda, West Virginia!<br /><br />There is a lot of typecasting in my opinion. The residents of Belinda are toothless, uneducated, and their manner of speaking? Well like I said ... typecasting. This is not to say the people of Belinda are not smart. There are four brothers who Matt relies on for help who are very smart and very colorful. They added a touch of humor to this story. <br /><br />Together Matt, Nikki, and Ellen will take on the mine company and the pharmaceutical company that is developing the super vaccine. It is a story about money and ethics. Good and evil. The little guy standing up to the big guys. The bullies. Those who put money and profit over safety. It was interesting reading at this time due to the measles outbreaks happening, supposedly due to parents who did not get their child vaccinated. The premise of the story was interesting but there were too many different stories all converging in one place to make this believable. Entertaining? So so.

This is a medical thriller genre novel. In this one, Matt is a doctor who lives in a town where a coal mining company exists. He believes they are poisoning the area and infecting the town's residents. He is the only one who believes this and he has no evidence of the company doing this.<br /><br />When I read a medical thriller I want it to be believable that it could happen but hopefully it doesn't. This one achieved that aspect for me. The idea of huge companies dumping toxic waste wherever and not caring about the effects on the surrounding environment is not new. I had no problem with how the author handled this conspiracy. There is also a sub plot about vaccinations that all ties in at the end. I was more engaged with this sub plot and I believe the reason is the state of the world at the moment. Even though this was written years ago the vaccination plot is easily identifiable with the Covid vaccine. I love when books that were written in the past remain topical with the world of today. As for the characters there is nothing special here besides a rural family of brothers. They stole every scene they were in and I would not have minded if we see more of them.<br /><br />This book kept my interest throughout. There were times when the actions or story took a leap of faith but nothing to deter my enjoyment of the novel. This was one of the times when the sub plot was more enjoyable that the main plot. Michael Palmer usually delivers a taut medical thriller that makes you wonder and he has done so again with this book.

TLDR: While slow to start, this book is fast-paced and full of action, conspiracies, and just a hint of romance.<br /><br />I read this book for the category of “Medical Thriller” for the PopSugar reading challenge. I’ve read a handful of medical thrillers in the past (many more than a handful if you can count books where the protagonist is a medical examiner), but this was my first by Michael Palmer. I’m so glad I decided to read this. <br />The book starts off somewhat slow paced, and Palmer spends many pages letting us get to know the characters. That said, the characters are well-rounded and have backstories that fuel who they are today. I loved the characters and the little snippets of romance in two of the storylines. <br />There’s a lot of action and intrigue in this book! There’s also a little bit of science, but not so much that it might be confusing or overwhelming to non-sciencey people. (I have a science background, so it can be hard for me to judge this sometimes, but it seemed well-explained). <br /><br />

4.5/5 stars.<br /><br />I truly adored this book overall! <br /><br />As a very seasoned &amp; experienced RN (20+ yrs already!), I tend to really pick apart any story written in or about any type of healthcare situation. Obviously, the fact that Michael Palmer is a physician himself lends a whole entire level of credibility and "realness" to his writings; there isn't a bunch of silly or exaggerated medical situations that are glaringly unbelievable or just not accurate (which makes me CRAZY! Lol). Instead, the things he writes about are generally based in truth (for example: performing the emergency tracheotomy with a 2 or 3 ml plastic syringe after thinking "an ink pen cap would be perfect". This is indeed a correct procedure performed thousands of times across the world &amp; often a plain 'ole Bic ink pen does the job! See? I eat these details up &amp; they increase my enjoyment of the novel overall. <br /><br />I did not just appreciate the accuracy of the medical details though; I found the entire story RIVETING. Both of them. Controversy about vaccinating our babies &amp; children as a requirement is a hot button issue for many, many people-medical &amp; non-medical, still today. Also, I grew up in a town where coal mining was THE profession for the folks if my grandparents generation (before the local mine finally closed) &amp; also lost my beloved grandpa to a BRUTAL case of environmentally based lung cancer. I wonder CONSTANTLY about "what's in the water &amp; soil" in my hometown dude to the old mine.<br /><br />Alright, I've rambled more than enough! If you're still reading this, I'm impressed by your patience! Lol.<br /><br />Michael Palmer writes a good book again. If you're an experienced reader if his, you'll likely enjoy this as much as any other of his writings. First time reader? My advice: Keep an open mind &amp; remember, while much if the storyline is very accurate, it is still a FICTIONAL novel so read it in that spirit! ^_^<br /><br />More than enough said! Thanks again for stopping by for my pontificating! :D<br /><br />ENJOY! Cheers, NurseLisainOhio

Well what can I say? I had heard a lot about Michael Palmer’s books over the years, so when I found this one in my stacks I picked it up. I was extremely disappointed in this book.<br /><br />The story starts out with a good premise, the possibility that toxic waste in a mine is causing serious illness in a number of people. Dr. Matt Ruttledge has an axe to grind with the mine owner’s and is bound and determined to prove his theory. When a doctor from Boston comes to town for a friend’s funeral an attempt is made on her life. At this point Dr. Rutledge and the beautiful Dr. Nikki Solari team up against the mining company. At the same time Ellen Kroft is getting ready to vote on the release of a new vaccine that may or may not be dangerous. When someone threatens the life of Ms. Kroft she decides to find out if her suspicions are correct. Somehow all three of these people end up together to fight really, really bad guys.<br /><br />The problem with this book is that there were too many threads that had to come together in a believable fashion. The good people were all candidates for sainthood, and the bad guys were all so cartoonishly bad that I found myself laughing out loud. The love scenes were clunky at best with eye rolling dialogue and just when everything would seem to be coming to a head Mr. Palmer jerks the rug out from under us. Not once or twice but what feels like an endless string of really bad luck and timing. I was groaning out loud at the preposterous twists and turns. A few surprises are expected but I was getting whiplash for it all, and I am sure my insurance company wasn’t going to pay damages.<br /><br />Obviously I don’t recommend the book, unless you are a masochist and enjoy inflicting the pain of cliché after cliché; the bad news for you is that there is a happy ending after all.

Michael take on two hot topics - toxic waste by big mining and the efficacy and safety of vaccinations. He manages to link them together into a great story. The characters are well drawn out and memorable, especially the Slocumb brothers. One of the protagonists, Matt Ruttledge, is in for a big surprise at the end. Ruttledge is an internist who returned to rural WV to practice medicine. His dad died in a mine accident there and his wife, Ginny, died from an unusual cancer. Matt blames the mine for the deaths. With help from the Slocumbs, self-sufficient, leave-us-alone mountain boys, Matt finds a toxin laden cave from the mine. He continues on his quest to get the mine investigated but is thwarted at every turn by the local sheriff, Grimes and a powerful state senator. He enlists the aid of his uncle, Hal, whom he respects. Dr. Nikki Solari comes to Belinda, WV to attend the funeral of her best friend, Kathy. Kathy was hit by a vehicle when she ran out in front of it. According to Nikki, Kathy had been acting strangely and had also developed neurofibromas on her face and head. Matt recognized these symptoms, he had already seen two cases locally. Ellen Kroft, a member of a high-level commission set to vote on a super vaccine, Omnivax, also ends up in Belinda. A man threatened her in her living room - vote for the vaccine - or else. she tracked him back to a small town next to Belinda. All this comes together with shooting, some deaths and a mine explosion. All ends well - the public remains safe, those responsible are arrested, jailed and fined and Matt and Nikki go off to the sunset.

DNF at 75%! Book is just dragging...

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate - that is the question. This book was written 20 years ago, but that was the dilemma it exposed. It asked the same questions I wondered about with the Covid-19 shots. How safe? It was available very quickly, minimal testing, how many long term effects may result? I got all three shots and just hope they prevent me from contracting the virus. Big Pharma is not to be trusted nor the government, as was shown in this novel. Money and greed run both. I have a son with asthma and a grandson with ADHD - could a vaccine be the cause? We’ll never know.<br /><br />Micheal Palmer was a doctor and he included way too much medical information that detracted from the story, so I knocked off a star. But He exposed the environmental problems with big busines and their lack of concern. He had very valid points in all he was trying to get across. It’s too bad he didn’t live to see the vaccination prophecy he wrote about come to fruition - or maybe not.

In this medical thriller, people are dying horrible deaths. Dr. Matt Rutledge belieces thet are linked to the toxic dump of a coal mine. Then Dr, Nikki Solari arrives in Belenda, W.V. to inform her roommates parents of her death. Soon someone id trying to kill Solari and Rutledge. Is it due to the toxic chemicals or is there another reason? A read that keeps you guessing.<br /><br /><br />

Set aside some time when you begin this book. If you are like me, you won’t be able to stop reading. It starts off with three different storylines that come together with an exciting climax. Michael Palmer is a new author to me. Here he creates believable characters that I came to care about. I love Dr. Matt Rutledge and how he cares for the patients. Though I don’t understand the medical problems, I can appreciate the serious aspects. I am looking forward to another thriller from Palmer.