First Patient » (Bargain)

MICHAEL PALMER is the author of fourteen previous novels of medical suspense, all international bestsellers. In addition to his writing, Palmer is an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society Physician Health Services, devoted to helping physicians troubled by mental illness, physical illness, behavioral issues, and chemical dependency. He lives in eastern Massachusetts.

From the blockbuster New York Times bestselling author comes a high-concept, high-octane thriller at the crossroads of presidential politics and cutting-edge medicine.

Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were once Naval Academy roommates. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of the United States. One day, while the United States is embroiled in a bitter presidential election campaign, Marine One lands on Gabe’s Wyoming ranch, and President Stoddard announces that his personal physician has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared—and he desperately needs Gabe to take the man’s place.

“Endlessly entertaining…the roller-coaster ride of a plot builds to an undeniably shocking conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly

Now ensconced in the White House medical office, Gabe comes to a disturbing realization: The President is not fit to run the country. Worse, Gabe uncovers evidence that his friend’s illness may not be due to natural causes. Who could have administered such a blow? And why? The President’s life is at stake, the safety of the world is in jeopardy, and it’s up to Gabe to find the answers while time is running out…

Publishers Weekly

This over-the-top yet endlessly entertaining thriller from bestseller Palmer (The Fifth Vial) pits a country doctor against a conspiracy to kill the president. Dr. Gabe Singleton, an old friend of President Andrew Stoddard, is brought to Washington, D.C., from Wyoming when Jim Ferendelli, Stoddard's former doctor, goes missing. Almost immediately, things fall apart as Stoddard suffers from a random episode of incoherence, and Singleton is shot at while driving in early morning D.C. traffic. Complicating matters is Alison Cromartie, a sexy nurse who captures Singleton's heart. Singleton must figure out who's behind the president's mysterious illness, investigating everyone from the Secret Service agents to the vice president. Citing specific medical and technological processes, Palmer convinces readers that his novel is logical and reasonable, even as he mixes the unlikely with the insanely hyperbolic. The roller-coaster ride of a plot builds to an undeniably shocking conclusion. Author tour. (Feb.)