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Mercy
Dr. Julie Devereux is an outspoken advocate for the right to die –until a motorcycle accident leaves her fiancé, Sam Talbot, a quadriplegic. Sam begs to end his life, but Julie sees hope in a life together. With the help of an organization that opposes physician-assisted suicide, Julie has Sam coming around to her point of view when he suddenly dies from an unexpected heart attack. An autopsy reveals that Sam died of an unusual heart defect, one seen only in those under extreme stress –in fact, it appears that Sam had been literally scared to death.
As Julie investigates similar cases, she finds a frightening pattern…and finds herself the target of disturbing threats. The more cases Julie discovers, the more the threats escalate, until she is accused of a mercy killing of her own. To clear her name and save her career, she must track down whoever is behind these mysterious deaths...but time is running out as someone has decided that killing Julie is the only way to stop her.
A riveting medical thriller, Mercy will leave readers breathless with twists and turns leading up to its explosive conclusion, from New York Times bestselling author Michael Palmer and his son, acclaimed suspense novelist Daniel Palmer.
As Julie investigates similar cases, she finds a frightening pattern…and finds herself the target of disturbing threats. The more cases Julie discovers, the more the threats escalate, until she is accused of a mercy killing of her own. To clear her name and save her career, she must track down whoever is behind these mysterious deaths...but time is running out as someone has decided that killing Julie is the only way to stop her.
A riveting medical thriller, Mercy will leave readers breathless with twists and turns leading up to its explosive conclusion, from New York Times bestselling author Michael Palmer and his son, acclaimed suspense novelist Daniel Palmer.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 17, 2016
318 people are currently reading
1732 people want to read
About the author
Michael Palmer
67 books242 followersMichael Stephen Palmer, M.D., was an American physician and author. His novels are often referred to as medical thrillers. Some of his novels have made The New York Times Best Seller list and have been translated into 35 languages. One, Extreme Measures (1991), was adopted into a 1996 film of the same name starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Gene Hackman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
September 3, 2019
As I take a book off of my pile of “I should have read this by now” shelf....
I chose this one.
I’ve got nothing I planned to do actually done today except cook a family meal.
This kept drawing me in.
It’s packed with so much that you’re head is going to spin. But in a good way.
You would think you’d be safe in hospital right? Not in this story.
And who hasn’t talked about scenarios in life? I have, since I’ve got older.
I’ve said things like, if I get an incurable illness that leaves me as a vegetable, I’d rather not be kept alive.
There’s a case in here that will pull at your heart strings.
The writing is so pure, so raw and emotional.
I loved it!
One regret....
I should have read this earlier.
I chose this one.
I’ve got nothing I planned to do actually done today except cook a family meal.
This kept drawing me in.
It’s packed with so much that you’re head is going to spin. But in a good way.
You would think you’d be safe in hospital right? Not in this story.
And who hasn’t talked about scenarios in life? I have, since I’ve got older.
I’ve said things like, if I get an incurable illness that leaves me as a vegetable, I’d rather not be kept alive.
There’s a case in here that will pull at your heart strings.
The writing is so pure, so raw and emotional.
I loved it!
One regret....
I should have read this earlier.
August 29, 2016
After 700+ pages of tromping through the forest, I decided a light, easy, thrilling read was a much needed relief to that sack of crap. Michael and son, Daniel Palmer's latest novel Mercy fit the bill perfectly. Mercy is a captivating thrill ride full of whodunits and whys.
Dr Julie Devereux's life is perfect until a horrible accident leaves her fiance Sam, paralyzed. Sam wants to exercise his right to die because living as a quadriplegic is not how he hopes to begin his future with the woman he loves. Believing Julie would understand his plea for help because of her stance on dying with dignity, is taken aback when she says that's not an acceptable out in this case.
Julie believes she has convinced her fiance Sam that life is worth living only to find his life is cut short by a heart attack. With no history of heart problems, Julie begins investigating his death. Before long it becomes apparent someone doesn't want her to find out they've been showing patients their own form of mercy.
I enjoyed this read simply because there was always something going on and the Palmers kept me on edge. I became invested in the investigation and all the tragedies it cost along the way. I won't suggest the characters are exactly brilliant or the writing exemplary. This novel rocks because it's plain old good fun. I've read other books by these two (although this is their first joint effort) and I always finish with the feeling I'm a little more medical savvy and that there just might be a murder mystery, or coverup, lurking behind every patient record.
Suffice it to say, Mercy is a fast read that fans of medical thrillers will enjoy. The key players pulling all the (unethical) strings are pure monsters that beg readers to show mercy on who they have in their sites. This certainly won't be the last novel I read by either Daniel or Michael Palmer as they have become staples in my go-to authors for an interesting thriller.
Copy provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley
Dr Julie Devereux's life is perfect until a horrible accident leaves her fiance Sam, paralyzed. Sam wants to exercise his right to die because living as a quadriplegic is not how he hopes to begin his future with the woman he loves. Believing Julie would understand his plea for help because of her stance on dying with dignity, is taken aback when she says that's not an acceptable out in this case.
Julie believes she has convinced her fiance Sam that life is worth living only to find his life is cut short by a heart attack. With no history of heart problems, Julie begins investigating his death. Before long it becomes apparent someone doesn't want her to find out they've been showing patients their own form of mercy.
I enjoyed this read simply because there was always something going on and the Palmers kept me on edge. I became invested in the investigation and all the tragedies it cost along the way. I won't suggest the characters are exactly brilliant or the writing exemplary. This novel rocks because it's plain old good fun. I've read other books by these two (although this is their first joint effort) and I always finish with the feeling I'm a little more medical savvy and that there just might be a murder mystery, or coverup, lurking behind every patient record.
Suffice it to say, Mercy is a fast read that fans of medical thrillers will enjoy. The key players pulling all the (unethical) strings are pure monsters that beg readers to show mercy on who they have in their sites. This certainly won't be the last novel I read by either Daniel or Michael Palmer as they have become staples in my go-to authors for an interesting thriller.
Copy provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley
December 5, 2016
A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 Stars +
Top 50 Books of 2016!
MERCY is an edge-of-your-seat spine-tingling medical suspense thriller, by talented Daniel and Michael Palmer, tackling controversial topics of "end of life" decisions, with moral consequences.
When lines are crossed. Mysterious deaths. Conspiracy. Mystery. An evil killer in the hospital. Who is safe? Danger. What is the motive? Money or Mercy? Good or evil. Someone has access to the patients. A doctor and her future husband are caught in the crossfire.
Palmers' (2015) Constant Fear and Trauma both landing on my Top Books of 2015. Once again . . .
Highly Impressive! The author has produced two more "out of the park" hits, landing again on my Top Books of 2016: Mercy Coming May 17, and Forgive Me, Coming May 31.
Palmer must have superman qualities to crank out two extraordinary bestsellers in the same month, for two consecutive years. Your dad would be proud. Daniel, thank you from all readers for continuing your father’s groundbreaking work of medical thrillers.
There was no normal to Dr. Julie Devereux’s workday. A divorced woman in her forties, life as a critical care doc at White Memorial, a five-hundred bed hospital in the heart of Boston, was suited to people who could roll with it when emergency department interrupted morning rounds for an immediate consultation or when a patient who had been stable only moments earlier, was suddenly teetering on the edge of death.
Trevor, is her twelve-year-old son her only child. Divorced from Paul, Trevor’s dad, she is engaged to be married to Sam Talbot. Six months to their wedding. They were in love.
Julie was an advocate for death with dignity. She wrote papers and frequently spoke at conferences with the goal of bringing about a policy change. Self-determination was a fundamental right, and the courts were beginning to agree. It was coming to health care whether the providers liked it, or not. Death with dignity laws did not, as some critics say, kill people who did not wish to die. Her activism, of course, was controversial among her colleagues.
They thought it violated the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. Demeaning the value of human life, leading to abuse or reduce palliative care options. Good arguments; however, Julie believed that those most vocal in their opposition had at some point wrestled with the doubt. Is sometimes death, better?
Soon, events lead to "testing the limits" of this statement. Julie and Sam are involved in a motorcycle accident. Sam is left a permanent quadriplegic and is so hopeless and distraught, he begs Julie to allow him to die. To help him die. She disagrees. She continues to refuse. This is personal. The man show loves. She cannot help him die.
Julie had made a career out of keeping people alive who were on the edge of death. Should he have this right?
Finally, she brings in someone from an organization, Very Much Alive. To convince him that there is a good quality of life for quadriplegics. To help give him back his desire to live. In the past, Julie was probably on their list of least favorite doctors. In disability rights circles, Very Much Alive was considered one of the most formidable. They oppose physician-assisted suicide. It is viewed as a lethal form of discrimination against disabled people.
Suffering was considered to be part of the human condition, as groups opposed to mercy killing often argued. Was it fair to force people to exist, often in agony, just for the sake of existing? A society that values physical ability.
Sam was being robbed of his mobility and his dignity.
Michelle, the spokesperson for the organization, had an ethereal quality and her own personal experience with a similar situation, with deadly consequences to innocent parties. It wasn’t just about her husband and his freedom of choice, it was about all the lives connected to him. This is when she turned her focus to preserving life at all cost.
She and Julie encourage Sam to become involved in a support group and reintegration into the community. Julie finally persuades him to try. Sam agreed and was open to the work -- taking it all in, with positive signs.
Suddenly, everything changes. Code blue. Sam’s heart and lungs had been functioning fine. What caused him to suffer a sudden cardiac arrest? He was gone. What caused the turnaround?
An autopsy reveals that Sam died of an unusual heart defect, one seen only in those under extreme stress –Sam had been literally scared to death. Severe emotional or physical stress—or intense fear. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. His arteries were not blocked. His heart was healthy.
Did it mean Julie no longer believed in death with dignity laws? Or did it mean she believed in them as long as she was not personally affected? Either way, she could no longer serve on any of the committees and canceled her speaking engagements.
There are more mysterious deaths and Julie is determined to keep digging to find a pattern, putting herself in danger. Now she is accused of mercy killing. In order to clear her own name and save her career, she has to find the real killer. She has to do some major investigating to find the doctor or person responsible for administering the fatal dosages. Is someone controlling hospital costs and trying to get rid of expensive patients for the bottom line, or is it something even more evil and sinister?
Compelling, and terrifying at the same time. From well-developed characters to complex multi-layered edge-of-your-seat thrilling suspense, with twists, and turns you do not see coming. Loved Julie, a strong heroine--nothing will stand in her way. Palmer always features strong and tenacious female leads.
—MERCY will have fans page-turning into the night, for a mix of a crime thriller, science, psychological suspense, and a true medical top-notch mystery thriller, keeping Michael Palmer’s legacy alive at the top of the genre.
JDCMustReadBooks
Top 50 Books of 2016!
MERCY is an edge-of-your-seat spine-tingling medical suspense thriller, by talented Daniel and Michael Palmer, tackling controversial topics of "end of life" decisions, with moral consequences.
When lines are crossed. Mysterious deaths. Conspiracy. Mystery. An evil killer in the hospital. Who is safe? Danger. What is the motive? Money or Mercy? Good or evil. Someone has access to the patients. A doctor and her future husband are caught in the crossfire.
Palmers' (2015) Constant Fear and Trauma both landing on my Top Books of 2015. Once again . . .
Highly Impressive! The author has produced two more "out of the park" hits, landing again on my Top Books of 2016: Mercy Coming May 17, and Forgive Me, Coming May 31.
Palmer must have superman qualities to crank out two extraordinary bestsellers in the same month, for two consecutive years. Your dad would be proud. Daniel, thank you from all readers for continuing your father’s groundbreaking work of medical thrillers.
There was no normal to Dr. Julie Devereux’s workday. A divorced woman in her forties, life as a critical care doc at White Memorial, a five-hundred bed hospital in the heart of Boston, was suited to people who could roll with it when emergency department interrupted morning rounds for an immediate consultation or when a patient who had been stable only moments earlier, was suddenly teetering on the edge of death.
Trevor, is her twelve-year-old son her only child. Divorced from Paul, Trevor’s dad, she is engaged to be married to Sam Talbot. Six months to their wedding. They were in love.
Julie was an advocate for death with dignity. She wrote papers and frequently spoke at conferences with the goal of bringing about a policy change. Self-determination was a fundamental right, and the courts were beginning to agree. It was coming to health care whether the providers liked it, or not. Death with dignity laws did not, as some critics say, kill people who did not wish to die. Her activism, of course, was controversial among her colleagues.
They thought it violated the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. Demeaning the value of human life, leading to abuse or reduce palliative care options. Good arguments; however, Julie believed that those most vocal in their opposition had at some point wrestled with the doubt. Is sometimes death, better?
Soon, events lead to "testing the limits" of this statement. Julie and Sam are involved in a motorcycle accident. Sam is left a permanent quadriplegic and is so hopeless and distraught, he begs Julie to allow him to die. To help him die. She disagrees. She continues to refuse. This is personal. The man show loves. She cannot help him die.
Julie had made a career out of keeping people alive who were on the edge of death. Should he have this right?
Finally, she brings in someone from an organization, Very Much Alive. To convince him that there is a good quality of life for quadriplegics. To help give him back his desire to live. In the past, Julie was probably on their list of least favorite doctors. In disability rights circles, Very Much Alive was considered one of the most formidable. They oppose physician-assisted suicide. It is viewed as a lethal form of discrimination against disabled people.
Suffering was considered to be part of the human condition, as groups opposed to mercy killing often argued. Was it fair to force people to exist, often in agony, just for the sake of existing? A society that values physical ability.
Sam was being robbed of his mobility and his dignity.
Michelle, the spokesperson for the organization, had an ethereal quality and her own personal experience with a similar situation, with deadly consequences to innocent parties. It wasn’t just about her husband and his freedom of choice, it was about all the lives connected to him. This is when she turned her focus to preserving life at all cost.
She and Julie encourage Sam to become involved in a support group and reintegration into the community. Julie finally persuades him to try. Sam agreed and was open to the work -- taking it all in, with positive signs.
Suddenly, everything changes. Code blue. Sam’s heart and lungs had been functioning fine. What caused him to suffer a sudden cardiac arrest? He was gone. What caused the turnaround?
An autopsy reveals that Sam died of an unusual heart defect, one seen only in those under extreme stress –Sam had been literally scared to death. Severe emotional or physical stress—or intense fear. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. His arteries were not blocked. His heart was healthy.
Did it mean Julie no longer believed in death with dignity laws? Or did it mean she believed in them as long as she was not personally affected? Either way, she could no longer serve on any of the committees and canceled her speaking engagements.
There are more mysterious deaths and Julie is determined to keep digging to find a pattern, putting herself in danger. Now she is accused of mercy killing. In order to clear her own name and save her career, she has to find the real killer. She has to do some major investigating to find the doctor or person responsible for administering the fatal dosages. Is someone controlling hospital costs and trying to get rid of expensive patients for the bottom line, or is it something even more evil and sinister?
Compelling, and terrifying at the same time. From well-developed characters to complex multi-layered edge-of-your-seat thrilling suspense, with twists, and turns you do not see coming. Loved Julie, a strong heroine--nothing will stand in her way. Palmer always features strong and tenacious female leads.
—MERCY will have fans page-turning into the night, for a mix of a crime thriller, science, psychological suspense, and a true medical top-notch mystery thriller, keeping Michael Palmer’s legacy alive at the top of the genre.
JDCMustReadBooks
August 6, 2016
Well, this is a real departure for me. Usually I can guess within the first 80 or 90 pages; which genre, and in particular, which action category or level of interest and depth of characters a book will take.
Not this time.
Because it started out like your "normal" medical who-dun-it and particularly of the serial killer sub-category. In fact, it was so "best seller" depth and quickness to action of dysfunction that I almost ditched the book at about 110. But then I didn't. And I was sure glad I stuck with it.
Because it becomes much more.
It leaves me guessing, and googling info, actually. Who wrote this? Michael Palmer, who has passed- or his son? Daniel Palmer is BETTER. That's just my opinion.
This one became a 4.5 star. Just clipped a five. Miss for me, primarily because of the melodramatic death scenes.
But I LOVED the honesty of hospitalization as it is run presently. Not just USA, either. And the admins of other large, large facility organizations of profit and non-profit, not far behind. Cut the overruns by eliminating the longest and most impossible. So that the probable serendipity outcome becomes acceptable, regardless if it is difficult to view. Or experience.
The scientific and drug related material! OUTSTANDING! And our lady doctor became a woman of true depth. Paul, Trevor, Jordan and some of the others crack open in full core, as well. Not just doers, but what they are and how they think.
And I guessed the right gender but the wrong person as the core perp. Good medical mystery! Long read, but worth the fall-outs for tech and chemical nomenclature difficulties. Absolutely!
Did he write this from a draft or outline of his father's? Group effort? It's the second published posthumously. This one seems Daniel Palmer to me.
Mercy Michael Palmer by Daniel Palmer Hmmm?
Not recommended to read this one with any breathing difficulties, or just before a surgery. Or to anyone that doesn't appreciate clear and exact medical and chemical exactness of description and jargon in practice of procedure.
Do you believe in making the end easier, quick as now, or chosen? Which, if any, is mercy? Or is it murder. It dissects that too.
Not this time.
Because it started out like your "normal" medical who-dun-it and particularly of the serial killer sub-category. In fact, it was so "best seller" depth and quickness to action of dysfunction that I almost ditched the book at about 110. But then I didn't. And I was sure glad I stuck with it.
Because it becomes much more.
It leaves me guessing, and googling info, actually. Who wrote this? Michael Palmer, who has passed- or his son? Daniel Palmer is BETTER. That's just my opinion.
This one became a 4.5 star. Just clipped a five. Miss for me, primarily because of the melodramatic death scenes.
But I LOVED the honesty of hospitalization as it is run presently. Not just USA, either. And the admins of other large, large facility organizations of profit and non-profit, not far behind. Cut the overruns by eliminating the longest and most impossible. So that the probable serendipity outcome becomes acceptable, regardless if it is difficult to view. Or experience.
The scientific and drug related material! OUTSTANDING! And our lady doctor became a woman of true depth. Paul, Trevor, Jordan and some of the others crack open in full core, as well. Not just doers, but what they are and how they think.
And I guessed the right gender but the wrong person as the core perp. Good medical mystery! Long read, but worth the fall-outs for tech and chemical nomenclature difficulties. Absolutely!
Did he write this from a draft or outline of his father's? Group effort? It's the second published posthumously. This one seems Daniel Palmer to me.
Mercy Michael Palmer by Daniel Palmer Hmmm?
Not recommended to read this one with any breathing difficulties, or just before a surgery. Or to anyone that doesn't appreciate clear and exact medical and chemical exactness of description and jargon in practice of procedure.
Do you believe in making the end easier, quick as now, or chosen? Which, if any, is mercy? Or is it murder. It dissects that too.
September 10, 2016
Excellent writing. This was a very suspenseful book which at times had me glued to the pages, especially the last third of the story. "Mercy killing" of patients at a big hospital in Boston. I guessed who the culprit was about halfway through the book but still enjoyed the fast pace and plot. I will be looking for more book by Daniel Palmer.
September 2, 2018
The book opens with someone killing a terminally ill patient, a mercy killing, except the patient did not ask for it. Dr. Julie Devereux is a critical care physician working in Boston. She's also an advocate for death with dignity. She believes that patients should be able to end their suffering on their own terms, that is until her fiancee suffers serious injuries and paralysis in a motorcycle accident. When he begs Julie to help him die, she enlists the help of a volunteer with the organization Very Much Alive to help Sam recover his desire to live. Sam starts to get better, when he suddenly dies. Julie orders an autopsy and what she finds leads her in a search for the reason for several unusual deaths. With the help of others in the hospital, she puts together the pieces at risk to her own job.
The philosophical debate that is the heart of this novel is very timely. Mercy or murder? Do the terminally ill or the severely disabled deserve the right to die at their own request and in their own time to avoid inhumane suffering? Or should suicide or assisted suicide in those cases remain illegal and generally thought immoral? Would allowing it lead to abuse or reduced care? Beyond this question, this is a Medical thriller that had me reading fast and furious. This was a realistic story (as far as the ill patients, discussion of right to die) with lots of medical action and terminology, intensive care, pathology, laboratory analysis and more. Of course there are also plotlines that are a bit far-fetched, but there is always license with fiction to fictionalize. I liked the character of Julie. She was a hard worker, very smart and intuitive, friendly to her co-workers and willing to put herself out there to find out what was going on. The only think I was unsure of was the fact that she is able to disconnect from work completely when she goes home. I wish I could have done that and I was in education, not as stressful or life altering as a medical career. This was a fast-paced story that I really enjoyed! I was unable to solve the full mystery of who was involved in these killings until the very end when it was all put together and revealed to the reader, yet it all made sense. I have read one other book by Michael Palmer, but will definitely be looking for others.
The philosophical debate that is the heart of this novel is very timely. Mercy or murder? Do the terminally ill or the severely disabled deserve the right to die at their own request and in their own time to avoid inhumane suffering? Or should suicide or assisted suicide in those cases remain illegal and generally thought immoral? Would allowing it lead to abuse or reduced care? Beyond this question, this is a Medical thriller that had me reading fast and furious. This was a realistic story (as far as the ill patients, discussion of right to die) with lots of medical action and terminology, intensive care, pathology, laboratory analysis and more. Of course there are also plotlines that are a bit far-fetched, but there is always license with fiction to fictionalize. I liked the character of Julie. She was a hard worker, very smart and intuitive, friendly to her co-workers and willing to put herself out there to find out what was going on. The only think I was unsure of was the fact that she is able to disconnect from work completely when she goes home. I wish I could have done that and I was in education, not as stressful or life altering as a medical career. This was a fast-paced story that I really enjoyed! I was unable to solve the full mystery of who was involved in these killings until the very end when it was all put together and revealed to the reader, yet it all made sense. I have read one other book by Michael Palmer, but will definitely be looking for others.
May 25, 2016
Way too much medical jargon -- I understood at least most of it because I used to be a nurse, but some of it was just too far out. Good description of how someone got to be a quadriplegic, but the main character could not decide if she believed in euthanasia or right-to-life. ?There were a lot of other improbable situations, and if anyone had acted the way she did at times, they would not have had the chances she did to snoop around. It was OK, but most of it was highly unlikely to ever happen in real life. BUT -- it wasn't real life, it was a novel. I need to get over myself.
May 30, 2016
4.0 out of 5 stars -- Mercy or murder? That's the moral debate at the heart of this novel. Is self-determination a fundamental right? Do the terminally ill or the severely disabled "deserve the right to hasten death to avoid inhumane suffering or escape from a life turned unbearable?" To die with dignity. Or should suicide or assisted suicide in those cases remain illegal and generally thought immoral? Would allowing it lead to abuse or reduce care?
Dr. Julie Devereux is a critical care physician working in Boston. She's also an advocate for death with dignity. She believes that patients should be able to end their suffering on their own terms. Her certainty ends, however, when her fiance Sam is severely injured in a motorcycle crash. When he begs Julie to help him die, she enlists the help of a volunteer with the organization Very Much Alive to help Sam recover his desire to live. Sam is getting better when he suddenly dies. His death is so surprising that Julie requests an autopsy. Then she notices that other severely ill patients are also dying at an unusual rate. And from a very odd cardiac event. Julie is determined to find out what, and who, is killing certain sick patients at the hospital. And why.
Medical thriller! Oh how I've missed this genre with too few new authors writing realistic and suspenseful books with lots of medicine and science. Intensive care, pathology, laboratory analysis -- it's all just how I like it -- DETAILED. As a nurse, I love the jargon and the information. Of course this is a bit far-fetched as far as the condition and Julie's investigation but there is always license with fiction to go a bit "out there" in a story.
This is not the first book by Daniel Palmer that I have read, and he has moved up on my wish list as I await his next endeavor. It's not easy to assume the mantle of a popular author, but Michael Palmer's son has done it -- in fact, he's done it even better! And he's not even a doctor! Talk about meticulous research putting this complex story together so that even something so obscure becomes believable. It was a very fast-paced fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Provides for a great philosophical debate as well.
Dr. Julie Devereux is a critical care physician working in Boston. She's also an advocate for death with dignity. She believes that patients should be able to end their suffering on their own terms. Her certainty ends, however, when her fiance Sam is severely injured in a motorcycle crash. When he begs Julie to help him die, she enlists the help of a volunteer with the organization Very Much Alive to help Sam recover his desire to live. Sam is getting better when he suddenly dies. His death is so surprising that Julie requests an autopsy. Then she notices that other severely ill patients are also dying at an unusual rate. And from a very odd cardiac event. Julie is determined to find out what, and who, is killing certain sick patients at the hospital. And why.
Medical thriller! Oh how I've missed this genre with too few new authors writing realistic and suspenseful books with lots of medicine and science. Intensive care, pathology, laboratory analysis -- it's all just how I like it -- DETAILED. As a nurse, I love the jargon and the information. Of course this is a bit far-fetched as far as the condition and Julie's investigation but there is always license with fiction to go a bit "out there" in a story.
This is not the first book by Daniel Palmer that I have read, and he has moved up on my wish list as I await his next endeavor. It's not easy to assume the mantle of a popular author, but Michael Palmer's son has done it -- in fact, he's done it even better! And he's not even a doctor! Talk about meticulous research putting this complex story together so that even something so obscure becomes believable. It was a very fast-paced fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Provides for a great philosophical debate as well.
July 30, 2016
This is a fantastic medical thriller with many twits and turns that will keep
The reader turning pages to find what happens next. Julie Devereux is an
outspoken Doctor for the right to die until her fiancé Sam Talbot becomes
A quadriplegic from a motorcycle accident and dies unexpectedly from a
heart attack. Julie must find the reason people are dying and why they
Want to silence her. A fast and enjoyable read about mercy killing and it's
Concequences- good or evil,- right or wrong.
The reader turning pages to find what happens next. Julie Devereux is an
outspoken Doctor for the right to die until her fiancé Sam Talbot becomes
A quadriplegic from a motorcycle accident and dies unexpectedly from a
heart attack. Julie must find the reason people are dying and why they
Want to silence her. A fast and enjoyable read about mercy killing and it's
Concequences- good or evil,- right or wrong.
July 14, 2016
Being in the medical field tainted my perception of this novel. I could understand and follow all the medical jargon and question if it was being presented accurately. For those who like being immersed in the nitty gritty of medical suspense this is the novel for you. However, the whole flow had me on the edge of my seat. Dr. Julia Devereux believes in death with dignity, the right to die being a choice one should make when pain and suffering become unbearable. However when her fiancee is involved in a motorcycle accident she begins to question the wisdom of her thoughts. Strange things are happening at the hospital, with puzzling deaths of very sick patients leading to a cat and mouse chase that ramped up the tension.Mercy killings or financial greed? That is the question..
June 1, 2016
When Julie Devereux’s fiancé, Sam, is left a quadriplegic following a horrific motorcycle accident, she finds it difficult to hold onto her belief in a patient’s right to die, especially when he begs her to end his life. But before the doctor can convince Sam that there are still good things ahead for him, he suffers a massive heart attack and dies.
Stunned, Julie looks for answers and discovers a disturbing pattern suggesting other patients have died in a similar manner. She becomes the target of threats and stubbornly digs in her heels, determined to uncover the killer. And when she gets too close, the killer decides she must become the next to die . . . .
Politics, power, and control each play a part in this mystery. With a question of medical ethics, this realistic plot is supported by in-depth medical exposition, vivid hospital scenes, and building tension. Believable characters and situations keep the story grounded; a mysterious culprit will keep readers guessing.
Recommended.
Stunned, Julie looks for answers and discovers a disturbing pattern suggesting other patients have died in a similar manner. She becomes the target of threats and stubbornly digs in her heels, determined to uncover the killer. And when she gets too close, the killer decides she must become the next to die . . . .
Politics, power, and control each play a part in this mystery. With a question of medical ethics, this realistic plot is supported by in-depth medical exposition, vivid hospital scenes, and building tension. Believable characters and situations keep the story grounded; a mysterious culprit will keep readers guessing.
Recommended.
May 17, 2016
Julie Devereaux is a physician who believes a patient who is terminally ill should have the right to choose whether to live or die. She is conflicted about her belief when her fiancé Sam becomes a quadriplegic from a motorcycle accident. When Sam suddenly dies she wants to know why. His autopsy shows he died from a very rare condition. Dr Devereaux finds a pattern of similar deaths by the same very rare condition in the hospital. When she starts investigating it becomes apparent someone wants her to stop and will resort to any means. The closer she gets to the truth the more dangerous it becomes for her and those helping her. This was a great medical suspense book that kept me riveted from beginning to end. I really didn't see the ending coming. Thanks to net galley for an advanced copy for an honest review.
Sent from my iPad
August 11, 2016
Began with promise but the medical side too often felt like infodumps, breaking the flow, and the end felt somewhat contrived rather than a natural, obvious (or not) conclusion.
October 28, 2019
Not bad, fast at the beginning, then slowed down to a crawl, very boring at times
January 23, 2018
Henny Bogan Does “Mercy”
Michael Palmer’s Mercy is a medical roller-coaster thriller with one crisis after another, but laced with enormous plot inconsistencies. Dr. Julie Devereux is on the staff of White Memorial in Boston where strange events are beginning to happen. She is an advocate of the right to die and her fiancé has become a quadriplegic in her hospital where other quadriplegics are mysteriously dying. She makes it her mission to find out the cause of these deaths.
Author Palmer tells an absorbing tale couched in too much medical jargon which comes at you too fast and furiously. The reader has many questions to answer in Dr. Julie’s search for the possible killer, namely: why do two hospital CEO’s appear to be crooks? how bosomy are her two bosom buddies? why are her efforts at finding the truth being constantly blocked? how can she be perceived in the media as a hero one day and a villain the next? why must she perform a strip-tease in front of the hospital CEO? how does she manage to survive after being threatened, betrayed, conspired against, charged with various crimes, beat-up, choked into unconsciousness and still not miss her shift the next morning?
Apart from Julie’s predicaments, there are glaring moral issues being debated throughout, such as earning the right to die, hospital insurance coverage, the introduction of new drugs and access to medical records. But there are too many loose ends not tied up – crooks just seem to drop off the radar after being discovered as crooked – and the surprises are too mind-boggling to take in all at once and I’m not even talking the biggest surprise of them all. Mercy makes for fascinating reading to be sure, but at the end I’m not calling for mercy, but rather uncle.
Michael Palmer’s Mercy is a medical roller-coaster thriller with one crisis after another, but laced with enormous plot inconsistencies. Dr. Julie Devereux is on the staff of White Memorial in Boston where strange events are beginning to happen. She is an advocate of the right to die and her fiancé has become a quadriplegic in her hospital where other quadriplegics are mysteriously dying. She makes it her mission to find out the cause of these deaths.
Author Palmer tells an absorbing tale couched in too much medical jargon which comes at you too fast and furiously. The reader has many questions to answer in Dr. Julie’s search for the possible killer, namely: why do two hospital CEO’s appear to be crooks? how bosomy are her two bosom buddies? why are her efforts at finding the truth being constantly blocked? how can she be perceived in the media as a hero one day and a villain the next? why must she perform a strip-tease in front of the hospital CEO? how does she manage to survive after being threatened, betrayed, conspired against, charged with various crimes, beat-up, choked into unconsciousness and still not miss her shift the next morning?
Apart from Julie’s predicaments, there are glaring moral issues being debated throughout, such as earning the right to die, hospital insurance coverage, the introduction of new drugs and access to medical records. But there are too many loose ends not tied up – crooks just seem to drop off the radar after being discovered as crooked – and the surprises are too mind-boggling to take in all at once and I’m not even talking the biggest surprise of them all. Mercy makes for fascinating reading to be sure, but at the end I’m not calling for mercy, but rather uncle.
November 25, 2016
I almost never put a book away unfinished, but this one was just too bad to read till the end, so I discarded it when I was about 2/3 through. Every eleven year old could create more realisticly acting characters. Such a waste of time (and nerves)
June 8, 2016
Great mystery and a page turner. Definitely too technical for me to fully understand but enjoyed it regardless.
January 24, 2019
OK, maybe this was a 3.25.
Maybe if I hadn't read Daniel Palmer's "First Family" prior to reading "Mercy", I might have enjoyed it more. After all, I am a serious fan of medical mysteries/thrillers. But for some reason, some of the medical jargon in this book annoyed me.
The characters were for the most part well-developed. The plot was interesting if not unrealistic in some aspects. I was guessing about the villain until pretty close to the end of the book. What's not to like?
The fact that I'd already read First Family so I felt Daniel Palmer could do better.
Maybe if I hadn't read Daniel Palmer's "First Family" prior to reading "Mercy", I might have enjoyed it more. After all, I am a serious fan of medical mysteries/thrillers. But for some reason, some of the medical jargon in this book annoyed me.
The characters were for the most part well-developed. The plot was interesting if not unrealistic in some aspects. I was guessing about the villain until pretty close to the end of the book. What's not to like?
The fact that I'd already read First Family so I felt Daniel Palmer could do better.
March 28, 2017
Pick up a medical mystery by Michael or Daniel Palmer and you will have a good read. Mercy seemed to go into a bit much of describing medical details but it certainly didn't hurt the story .
January 20, 2019
This was an easy read— despite the medical terms — and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it
September 19, 2022
I gather this book was perhaps finished by Danial after Michael Palmer's death. I found it to be a reasonably good mystery story with an ending that totally surprised me. I had guessed at "whodunnit' and I was partially correct but the big reveal was a complete surprise. I also rather liked that the book contains a fair amount of complex medical information that could only be written by a medical professional. It was not the most enjoyable book of its genre that I have ever read, but it was good.
May 8, 2021
Another exciting medical thriller by father and son, Michael and Daniel Palmer. The medical jargon is beyond me, but the mystery and sleuthing holds me. I’m not sure I can stretch to how it ends, but the ride was worth the time.
June 26, 2021
Well done. Only 1 medical error found by someone in the field. Again, well done.
April 21, 2020
I’m a big fan of Michael Palmer. This is a pretty good read and there are def some surprises. He has however better books out there. If you like medical mystery/drama I think you’ll like this one. Maybe 3.5 stars.
Read
November 11, 2016This was a good read, as always when it comes to Michael Palmer. It dealt with some very prevalent issues. it raises the question: Is it our right to decide whether someone's life is worth living? Also, can a person suffering from a debilitating illness really make a clear and concise decision about their quality of life when they first are diagnosed with said illness? In this book, some people think they can, in a sense, play God and decide whether another's life is worth living. the main character, Julie, has a fiancé who becomes a quadriplegic due to a motorcycle accident. he wants to die, and very soon, even though Julie won't help him, someone else decides that his life isn't worth living. In the process of discovering what killed him, she uncovers a plot that takes the rest of the book to uncover. I never guessed who was at the heart of the whole scheme. Although in the beginning, Julie is involved with an organization who fights for the rights of patients to decide to end their lives if they won't have a good quality of life, she finds, by the end of the book, that the waters here are much murkier than they seemed, and the answers aren't as clear as she at first thought. Again, this really was a great book. I was sad to see it end.
July 17, 2016
Mercy by Daniel Palmer takes on two current health related issues in a medical suspense novel that is informative and entertaining. The major plot revolves around physician assisted suicide in a hospital where too many severely ill patients have been dying of sudden unexplained heart attacks. Julie Deveraux, the ICU doctor who deals with the most ill patients, searches for an explanation. Meanwhile a driven hospital CEO has been successful in improving the hospital's profitability with an accountable care organization model that doesn't always benefit the patient.
Be prepared for a lot of medical jargon. Even though I've worked in a hospital PR and communications setting, I found the complex procedures, diagnoses, pathology, doctor-speak language, etc sometimes hard to follow. That said, I have to believe the author is accurate, using many medical experts to accurately portray the intricate mysteries that need to be unraveled. Palmer presents a good balance of the doctor and patient viewpoints, but his strongest writing is in portraying the feelings of helpless, desperate patients in pain-- with no expectation of improving their quality of life.
Be prepared for a lot of medical jargon. Even though I've worked in a hospital PR and communications setting, I found the complex procedures, diagnoses, pathology, doctor-speak language, etc sometimes hard to follow. That said, I have to believe the author is accurate, using many medical experts to accurately portray the intricate mysteries that need to be unraveled. Palmer presents a good balance of the doctor and patient viewpoints, but his strongest writing is in portraying the feelings of helpless, desperate patients in pain-- with no expectation of improving their quality of life.
July 18, 2016
Mystery Writer Daniel Palmer took over his late father Michael's notes to finish this medical thriller. Julie Deveraux is a physician at White Memorial Hospital. After her fiancee is injured in a motorcycle accident and dies under mysterious circumstances, she begins to think his death is associated with a number of other patients who die from stress related heart attacks while hospitalized.
The usual suspects include a greedy hospital CEO, a hard nosed cardiac doctor, a morgue diener who aspires to be a doctor and others. Palmer does a good job of fleshing out the characters and the mystery of who killed the patients.
My only quibble would be with the method of killing which seemed very far-fetched and the actual killer seemed pretty obvious to me because they didn't quite fit in with the rest of the story. Fast paced and a credit to the Michael Palmer mysteries.
The usual suspects include a greedy hospital CEO, a hard nosed cardiac doctor, a morgue diener who aspires to be a doctor and others. Palmer does a good job of fleshing out the characters and the mystery of who killed the patients.
My only quibble would be with the method of killing which seemed very far-fetched and the actual killer seemed pretty obvious to me because they didn't quite fit in with the rest of the story. Fast paced and a credit to the Michael Palmer mysteries.
January 7, 2019
2.5 stars primarily due to slow pace. It’s fairly easy to guess early on who the true villain is, despite a meandering beginning and lots of filler to get us to the big reveal. There are some interesting relationships developed though others are less well developed than they could be for the story’s benefit. There are times when it seems like Palmer has dumbed down the writing, not in terms of the medical lingo—although there are times where things are repeated too much. Sometimes things get repeated just from chapter to chapter as if we won’t remember what we read five minutes ago about spy software or a phone call. It just drags the story out and lowers the tension level. No good in a thriller. I much preferred the novel The First Family to this one.
January 15, 2017
I did finish the book and that says something I guess. It had its moments.
But Michael Palmer (physician/author) died in 2013 and this book was written by his son, Daniel who may or may not have a talent that will grow. A lot of the science was somewhat credible, but any subtleties in the first half were lost in the increasingly improbable scenes in the second half.
The issues in our nation's evolving healthcare climate in this "medical thriller" are pertinent, however.
OK...2.5 stars...
But Michael Palmer (physician/author) died in 2013 and this book was written by his son, Daniel who may or may not have a talent that will grow. A lot of the science was somewhat credible, but any subtleties in the first half were lost in the increasingly improbable scenes in the second half.
The issues in our nation's evolving healthcare climate in this "medical thriller" are pertinent, however.
OK...2.5 stars...
August 3, 2016
An ok medical thriller dealing with the issue of "death with dignity". A few engaging characters and some interesting insight into the workings of modern hospitals (and morgues) but tried too hard to grapple with too many different issues and most characters were shallow.
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