Oath of Office [Hardcover]

Monday, March 19, 2012

Oath of Office [Hardcover]

Product Details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (February 14, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312587538
ISBN-13: 978-0312587536
Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Michael Palmer
Price : $18.28
You Save : $9.71 (35%)

Customer Reviews

When stressed out Dr. John Meacham goes on a shooting spree, killing a number of his patients and fellow employees, Dr. Lou Welcome is blamed.
Lou had been overseeing his friend, Dr. Meacham's progress at Physicians Wellness. This organization counsels and attempts to help doctors with psychological problems, resulting in their loss of anger. They also counsel doctors who over medicate themselves with drugs and alcohol.
As the story progresses, we observe Lou's compassionate nature while a number of other characters exhibit unexplained anger that seems to take control of their body for a time, and then, if they survive their aggression, the anger seems to go away. Afterward the person seems almost unaware of what happened. We witness a number of tragic events due to this anger. Lou tries to find the cause. He goes to the Chief of Police in King's Ridge but the chief tells Lou that he doesn't have any real evidence to back his claims.
He meets Dr. Darlene Mallory, the First Lady of the United States. They form a bond together, attempting to find answers to this mystery.
The characters are realistically portrayed. Lou's thirteen-year-old daughter, Emily, is a charmer. The author brings Lou and Emily to life at moments such as when they are playing monopoly. In reality, Lou is using the game to keep Emily occupied while he questions her about herself and her life with her mother and step-father.
How many parents don't know how to communicate with teenagers and this method of keeping a teenager active with something while asking questions is a very good lesson.
The plot is laid out nicely with some interesting surprises. I found the book entertaining and recommend it to readers who enjoy medical thrillers and good suspense.
Note: I received a copy of this novel for an honest review.

Whoooa! Palmer's latest has a feel of horror...and you'd never guess why!
Dr. Lou Welcome has great empathy for medical personnel who, for whatever reason, gets hooked on alcohol or other type of substance, including drugs.
Mainly because he's been there...
In fact, part of his own rehabilitation has been to work with others who have the same type of problems. One of those men was John Meacham--and he has just gone on a rampage, killing everybody in his office, including two patients! Lou's boss wants to know what happened, but Lou wanted to know what had happened for his own reasons--he knew Meacham had been clean! So what could have set him off?
You would think that now we are going to investigate how he might have obtained some illegal substance, taking it without even realizing it perhaps. But what that substance is and where his investigation leads is much more scary than some type of new drug... Especially as other people also begin doing illogical activities..
Welcome begins his investigation by learning that Meacham had said only one thing, "No Witnesses!" As he pieced things together, he learned that he had become angry with a dangerously obese patient and got her so upset that she had ran out of the office. With Meacham's last words being "No witnesses" Welcome had to assume that Meacham feared that a complaint would be made against him and he would lose his license permanently. That seemed to make a little sense, except that, Roberta Jennings, the woman he had verbally attacked, was still alive...Meacham was not acting rationally in killing everybody else except her.
In the meantime, in Washington D.C. the President of the United States once again had not shown up for an event that was sponsored by the First Lady. She was very interested in a food program for children. Obviously disturbed, she nevertheless went on with the program, but received a message about an old friend, the former Secretary of Agriculture, who had been fired. She had always felt he had been framed and so went to a secret meeting to learn more... And, she learned more than she had ever expected!
Welcome's investigation took him to Meacham's home town next to talk to his wife Carolyn. Meacham had died and now he was riding with Carolyn, only to have her begin to act strangely. She became fixated on a car ahead of them with a back light missing...chasing after it to prevent an accident, only to cause them to have one themselves!
More and more strange behavior was identified and it seemed to be most happening there in the town where the Meacham's had lived.
When they began to think it may be something around that town, it all began to come together, but what was it and how were they going to identify what it was and who was involved?
Reading about what people were doing in that town adds the feelings of horror...doing the exact opposite of what would really be the most logical thing to do... Michael Palmer has topped his other books in this one! The realism of the plot is so potentially possible and probable that you can't help but be hooked, turning the pages, wanting to know more, but becoming even more horrified as more is discovered! Could it really happen? Not the exact activities within this novel, but something else? This one will leave you afraid...and will not be easily dismissed or forgotten. And how is the President and his family involved?!
Forewarned is forearmed? Palmer is sharing a potential reality for all of us. Even if it's fiction, you need to read this one, in my opinion... A thriller like no other!
GABixlerReviews