The Second Opinion

by Michael Palmer

Dr. Thea Sperelakis, diagnosed as a teen with Asperger’s syndrome, has always been an outsider. She has a brilliant medical mind, and a remarkable recall of details, but her difficulty in dealing with hidden agendas and interpersonal conflicts have led her to leave the complex, money-driven dynamics of the hospital, and to embrace working with the poor, embattled patients of Doctors Without Borders. Her father, Petros, is one of the most celebrated internal medicine specialists in the world, and the founder of the cutting-edge Sperelakis Center for Diagnostic Medicine at Boston’s sprawling, powerful Beaumont Clinic. Thea’s rewarding life in Africa is turned upside-down when Petros is severely injured by a hit-and-run driver. He is in the Beaumont ICU, in a deep coma. No one thinks he will survive. Thea must return home. Two of Petros’ other children, both physicians, battle Thea and her eccentric brother, Dimitri, by demanding that treatment for their father be withheld. As Thea uncovers the facts surrounding the disaster, it seems more and more to be no accident. Petros, himself, is the only witness. Who would want him dead? The answers are trapped in his brain . . . until he looks at Thea and begins slowly to blink a terrifying message. In The Second Opinion , Michael Palmer has created a cat-and-mouse game where one woman must confront a conspiracy of doctors to uncover an evil practice that touches every single person who ever has a medical test. With sympathetic characters and twists and betrayals that come from the most unlikely places, The Second Opinion will make you question…everything.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Medical Thriller, Medical, Suspense, Romance

376 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 2009

About the author

Michael 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.

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in audio book form and enjoyed it very much. It was a very good medical thriller that had some nice twists and turns that I found interesting. I liked Palmer's heroine, Thea Sperelakis, a medical Dr who has Asperger Syndrome. When Thea's father is severely injured in an accident, she comes to his aid, only to discover that what landed him in the hospital and in a comatose state may not have been an accident after all. Relying on her smarts and attention to details, Thea is resolved to discover who done it and why. Because of her Aspergers, Thea finds she is at a disadvantage in some aspects of her investigation such as being able to tell little lies in order to get to the truth, blurting out exactly what her thoughts are, or being able to read other people's emotions.... who can or should she trust? I thought it was an excellent ear-listening experience.

Note: This was a book that I received as a bookring from a member at
Bookcrossing.com

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting! I enjoyed the medical aspect of the book. I especially found the subject and information about Asperger's and how it effects different people in a variety of different ways. The book is a mystery about a very intelligent but flawed family. The father a renowned doctor, Petros, the oldest son Dimitri, twins - one a girl one a boy and his youngest daughter Thea. Petro's has a horrible car accident and although most think it is just an accident, Dimitri and Thea have their suspicions that if wasn't an accident at all. But why would someone want to kill Petro? There is also a significant information about drug trials, and liver cancer, and how hospitals might benefit from finding the cure of a disease. It was a bit slow in places but still good.

[ѕєяєηιтι · Rating 4 out of 5]

Türkçe çıkmış bütün kitapları kitaplığımda olmasına rağmen bir türlü okuyamadığım bir yazardı En son çıkmış kitabından başladım ve de sevdim kitabı

Aspergers Sendromu olan Doktor kızımız Thea'nın bakış açısıyla ilerleyen bu kitapta bu hastalık çok iyi açıklanmıştı kızımız kendini çok iyi geliştirmiş okurken zevk aldım kesinlikle Theanın babasına ki o da çok ünlü bir doktor- araba çarpıyor ve komaya giriyor bunun üzerine Thea bu olayın kazadan mı ibaret yoksa başka şeylermi var olduğunu bulmaya çalışıyor Tabii işler kazdıkça pisleşmeye başlıyor En iyi ve ünlü hastane olarak görülen hastanenin aslında o kadarda iyi olmadığını görüyoruz.

[Carl Alves · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Second Opinion, Dr. Thea Sperelakis, a brilliant doctor with Asperger’s Syndrome returns from the Congo to find her equally brilliant father in the hospital in critical condition. The more time Thea spends at the hospital, the more she realizes that “accident” that injured her father was no accident, and that some nefarious things are going on at her father’s institute. With the help of her security guard boyfriend, and even more brilliant yet over the top eccentric brother, she tries to uncover what is going on at the hospital.

There was a lot that I liked about this novel. Thea was a fascinating character, with her blunt talk, her lack of understanding of social cues, yet she was incredibly smart and intuitive. The dialogue was also a strength, especially when it came to Thea and her brother, Dimitri. Thea acts as a sleuth, trying to put together the mystery of what is going on at the Beaumont Clinic, an institution clearly not on the up and up. What I didn’t like was the ending and the big reveal of who the ultimate bad guy was. It was inconsistent with what led up to it and was not remotely believable. The ending was a let down, but overall I did enjoy the novel. There was more to like about it than dislike.

Carl Alves – author of The Invocation

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flat characters, stilted dialogue, and a weak story.
Spoiler Alert:

Brilliant doctor with Asperger's (main character, Thea) gets called home from her gig with Doctors Without Borders when her brilliant doctor father is involved in a near-fatal hit-and-run. Her twin brother and sister (also doctors, but not as brilliant) want to let dad go. Eldest brother Dmitri(brilliant, non-doctor, and more severe Asperger's than lil sis) lives at home playing video games and hacking into his siblings' e-mails and brokerage accounts, creating fake IDs, and accessing verious other "secure" servers. Thea suspects there's more to the situation, especially when Dmitri shares his recreation of the crash showing it must have been intentional.

Why can Dmitri only manage a stick-figure animation of the crash? And during her investigation at the hospital Thea never thinks of asking her brother to hack into the system (that he helped create) so she can find the evidence she seeks, instead opting to participate in a lame break-in. Why not have Thea ask Dmitri for help unless doing so would mess up the story line in which Dmitri is the culprit?

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book had an awesome start out of the gate. there was lots of medical jargon and occurrences, it was almost like ER or Chicago Hope (tv medical dramas). then it happened, the main character met a man and started to fall in love, which turned her into a ball of marshmallow fluff (i am using that bc i don't really like it and it's a fake substance). he was constantly wondering about having sex with the dude and what he would think about her. it really detracted from the main storyline which was she was trying to find out who had put her father in a coma and wanted him dead. as the story plays out there's many twists and turns but the thing i noticed was that the writing started to get very lax as it went on. although i didn't see it coming from the beginning the ending was very predictable after reading it, and had me thinking "why didn't you see that coming". once i read who the bad guy was it was very hard for me to keep reading the book bc i just didn't care what happened any more. this book gets only 2 stars, would have given it 2.5 but that's it.

[David Kinzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am becoming a Michael Palmer fan. His books have fleshed-out characters with whom you can empathize, interesting premises, and (almost) believable plot lines. However in this book, like in Natural Causes, he puts in one plot twist too many at the end, taking the story from engrossing to preposterous. Nevertheless, I plan to read more of his books.

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good but not one of his best

[Keri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. Two of the main siblings of the story had Asperger's, but MP did a good job of describing the differences between the two. Love Thea and Dan as a couple.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Petro perelalis is severely injured and goes into a coma following a hit and run. His daughter Thea becomes suspicious. Was it really an accident or was he a target? Thea starts her own investigation.

[Gilbert G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that I could figure out who was the bad guy in most of the mysteries I have read, BUT, this one blew my mind.
I had no idea until the end of this very good novel who the culprit was.
I highly recommend this mystery and unless you can read between the lines I think who was the guilty person your jaw will drop down to your desk😲🤣

[Jacob Peled · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading 10% of it was enough to see that unlike all Plmers books, this one was too slow and heavy. Next....

[Cheryl Gatling]

The Beaumont Clinic in Boston is one of the best hospitals in the world: best doctors, best nurses, state of the art equipment. It takes big money to run such a place. And where there's big money, there's often corruption.

Thea returns from working in Africa with Doctors Without Borders, because her father, Petros Speralakis, himself a celebrated doctor, is in a coma following a hit-and-run car accident. Thea quickly suspects that some funny things are going on at the Beaumont, and begins to investigate.

Believability has always been an issue for me with thrillers. I have no trouble believing that the hearts of men (and women) are dark and deceitful enough that they will kill to protect their interests. They do it every day. But I couldn't believe that the Beaumont's elaborate money-raising scheme would work. I couldn't believe that our heroine would continue to walk into so many dangerous situations, even if she was special.

But there we come to the book's great strength. Thea has Asperger's. She has had therapy and coaching, and so is high functioning, but we get to witness her thought processes as she is baffled by social interactions, and struggles to not offend. Her Aspergers is presented as something of a hindrance to her, but also a gift. It is her attention to detail, her dogged persistence, and her unconventional thinking that allow her to spot the things that don't add up, and to eventually crack the case.

Thea's brother Dimitri also has Asperger's, but he has not had the benefit of therapy, and spends his days alone in the carriage house, playing video games, and talking goofy. Michael Palmer writes with knowledge about Asperger's because his son has it, and I found that the most interesting aspect of the book.

[Paul Pessolano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Petros Sperelakis is a brillant doctor and has built the Beaumont Clinic, which may be the premier medical facility in the world. It not only boasts of the best doctors, but its nursing care is second to none.

Dr. Sperelakis is severely injured in an automobile accident and is in a comatose state. His twin children, both doctors, have opted to take him off life support. However, his other son and daughter, want a second opinion. Dimiti is eccentric and does a model mock up of the accident and contends that the accident was an attempt on his father's life. His other daughter, Thea, is also a doctor but has opted to work in Africa for Doctors without Borders. She returns to his bedside and feels that he is communicating to her by moving his eyes. When she tries to show the other medical personnel, her father will not move his eyes. She finds that he will only communicate with her.

Working with her father, Thea discovers that there may be come fraudulent diagnosis being made at the hospital. There have been several well to do people that were diagnosed with cancer and after treatment were totally cured. There is some question as to whether they had cancer in the first place. The "cures" saw millions of dollars being donated to the hospital.

Thea befriends a wealthy woman at the hospital who has been diagnosed with cancer, it is with her help that she is able to get into secured files that may give her the answer she is seeking.

This mystery does not give up its secret unti the final chapter and will come as a surprise to the reader.

Michael Palmer's books will not only appeal to the mystery fan, but those who enjoy Robin Cook as well.

[Lorri Sizler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty tame medical mystery and there were moments when I'd think, "Really? She KNOWS someone is trying to kill her and she's still blowing off her mouth to the folks who are, probably, trying?" That aside, there were characters with medical conditions integral to the storyline that were interesting to learn about, to me, e.g. Asperger's Syndrome and Locked-In Syndrome. In an afterward, the author explained his family had personal experiences with Asperger's and other related pervasive developmental disorders and the behaviors of the affected characters were authentic. Locked-in Syndrome is a "keep you awake at night, please don't ever let it happen to me" condition. I think I liked it better before I knew it existed.

There are a couple of detailed love scenes but they are easy to jump over - why there always has to be a graphic love scene, I don't know but it seems mandatory, for this author - in the two books I've read, at any rate.

This will, probably, be my last book by this author. I think he has great plots and his books read well but in both books I've read, he hasn't seemed to have a good closing - more "yep, that's what I thought he'd do" - and the ends of his books aren't satisfying, to me. For me, it would be better if he finished up and just said, "The End," and not try to tie it all up.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fast paced medical thriller Michael Palmer creates a medical world where everything and everyone is subject to question. Dr. Thea Sperelakis rushes back home when her father, the famous, wealthy head of a medical complex, is injured in a car accident and near death. Her physician siblings are divided as to whether or not to pull the plug on their father but are their opinions medically or financially motivated? And is her father in a coma or paralized and awake? And then there are some mysterious cures and deaths amoung major donors to the4 hospital complex.

As Thea pulls at every loose thread following it wherever it leads, she is faced with both moral, personal and family dilemmas. (Not to mention personal danger!)

If you are a fan of medical thrillers do not miss this one.

[Todd Noorman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the second Michael Palmer novel I've read, and it was just so-so. The storyline was fairly interesting, but the characters were not developed well at all, and the dialogue Palmer writes just doesn't sound at all like anyone I know would speak. I found myself annoyed with the main character, not because of her quirks from her Asperger syndrome, but because of the way Palmer wrote about her. It felt like he was forcing something he knows little about and did some shoddy research on onto his character because it was the "flavor of the month" diagnosis. (I wonder if his characters had ADHD when it was at its heights of diagnosis.) After reading "The First Patient," which I thought had some promise, I decided to give Palmer another shot with this one. It'll be my last Michael Palmer book.

[Priyanka Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of the book "The Second Opinion" is totally justified. The story is about a doctor who herself is suffering from Asperger Syndrome finds out that her coma ridden father had a murder attempt. When she tries to find the person behind this she gets to know about a big scam going on. With such unique and strong characters and an unpredictable climax the book will get you fixed. Very well written.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a superb author. Thea was called home because her father had been severely injured in a hit and run. He was in a coma. Her brother and sister wanted her to sign a do not revive order but she wasn't ready to let him go. When she was alone with him, she saw a twinge in his eye and realized he was aware, but couldn't move. When she told his doctor he couldn't get any response and figured she was just hopeful and imagined it.

[Karen & Gerard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite the mystery that also includes a bit of romance, suspense and insights into adult Asperger's. I liked it once I finally started it and looked forward to getting back to it. I liked Thea and her devotion to her dad. The ending was a shock to me that I did not see coming. (Karen's review)

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the story line and, in particular, the way Asperger's syndrome traits were shown in two of the characters. However, some of the writing was "clunky" in that it set up the next scene in a way that you knew what was going to happen.

[Corky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Medical thriller with Asperger's syndrome as its sub plot. Good story, fast paced until about 2/3rd's through. Then it gets a bit bogged down by perhaps too much medical information.

[Marialyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy reading this book. It had an interesting premise and certainly the Asberger's element made it interesting. It was predictable but an easy read.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

First opinion, skip. No need for a Second.

[Patsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Thea Sperelakis, diagnosed as a teen with Asperger’s syndrome, has always been an outsider. She has a brilliant medical mind, and a remarkable recall of details, but her difficulty in dealing with hidden agendas and interpersonal conflicts have led her to leave the complex, money-driven dynamics of the hospital, and to embrace working with the poor, embattled patients of Doctors Without Borders. Her father, Petros, is one of the most celebrated internal medicine specialists in the world, and the founder of the cutting-edge Sperelakis Center for Diagnostic Medicine at Boston’s sprawling, powerful Beaumont Clinic. Thea’s rewarding life in Africa is turned upside-down when Petros is severely injured by a hit-and-run driver. He is in the Beaumont ICU, in a deep coma. No one thinks he will survive. Thea must return home. Two of Petros’ other children, both physicians, battle Thea and her eccentric brother, Dimitri, by demanding that treatment for their father be withheld. As Thea uncovers the facts surrounding the disaster, it seems more and more to be no accident. Petros, himself, is the only witness. Who would want him dead? The answers are trapped in his brain . . . until he looks at Thea and begins slowly to blink a terrifying message. In The Second Opinion , Michael Palmer has created a cat-and-mouse game where one woman must confront a conspiracy of doctors to uncover an evil practice that touches every single person who ever has a medical test. With sympathetic characters and twists and betrayals that come from the most unlikely places, The Second Opinion will make you question…everything.

[Tamara Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

In “the second opinion,” Dr. Thea Sperelakis is a brilliant doctor currently working with Doctors Without Borders in Africa when she gets news that her father has been seriously injured in a car accident. Her father, Petros, is one of the most celebrated internal medicine specialists in the world and the founder of the cutting-edge Sperelakis Center for Diagnostic Medicine at Boston’s Beaumont Clinic. Thea has been estranged from Petros for some time.

When Thea arrives, she is told that Petros was injured by a hit and run driver and is not expected to survive. Petros’ prognosis leads to a battle between Thea and her eccentric brother Dimitri versus her twin siblings who are physicians Niko and Selene. Eventually Thea becomes the only advocate for Petros during his recovery.

As Thea discovers more facts surrounding Petros’ accident, she realizes the it wasn’t an accident at all. As Thea searches for ways to find out the truth of what happened, she eventually finds a way to communicate with Petros since he’s the only witness to the accident.

I like the brief vignettes providing insight into Petros’ mind and upbringing. In addition, I really enjoyed that the author created a main character with Asperger’s who is self aware of her medical disorder yet through working with a therapist, she is able to be interact with others and eventually even have a romantic relationship.By the end of the book, Thea gains an deeper understanding of her family dynamic as well as discovers that she is powerful.

[Coleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Thea Sperelakis, who has been working outside the country after seeking a change, returns to the Boston area when her father (also a physician) is involved in a hit-and-run and is hospitalized and in a coma. Though the rest of her siblings (a twin brother and sister, also doctors, and another brother who mostly stays at home as a genius recluse) feel there is not much hope, Thea is not quite ready to give up hope, especially when she believes her father is communicating with her from his hospital bed via eye blinks. Soon Thea is convinced that something evil underlies his accident, that it was indeed no accident, and she seeks to discover who and why someone would want to see her father dead.

It has been a while since I've read a medical thriller. This was an abridged audio and as abridgments go, it was fair, though somewhat choppy at times with abrupt transitions, etc. But the meat of the story was there. I enjoyed it well enough, though found that it stretched the edges of realism a few times, which thrillers tend to do. Thea was characterized as having Asperger Syndrome, which seemed mostly realistic, although I felt that the audiobook reader roboticized the voicing of her character a bit too much. Overall, a decent read, though not one that's particularly likely to stick with me for very long.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Thea Sperelakis is summoned home from her position with Doctor's Without Borders when her father, Dr. Petros Sperelakis, a respected internal medicine specialist with high profile Beaumont Clinic is run over by a hit-and -run driver. His injuries are life threatening and he is in a coma. Although Thea's twin siblings want to withhold further treatment from their father and let him go, Thea isn't ready to make that decision. As Thea spends time with her father she begins to feel that there are questions she wants answered. Thea discovers her father is suffering from "locked in syndrome"and finds a means for her father to communicate on a limited basis and the rest is up to Thea to find the answers. Thea is on the autism spectrum and has struggled her entire life to fit in and particularly with the social aspect of relationships. As she attempts to unravel the facts behind her father's accident she must deal with the many personalities in the family as well as the staff of the Beaumont Clinic. Along the way, Thea unexpectedly forms a couple of relationships that help her find the answers she is looking for.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but not fantastic medical thriller revolving around a brilliant but dysfunctional family, Aspergers, drug trials, managed health care, HIPAA, fundraising, locked in syndrome (shudder) and more. A few good red herrings and a surprising twist or two. I liked it well enough but I have to admit I started it a few weeks ago and put it down because it just wasn't grabbing me in the expected Michael Palmer manner. In the midst of all things moving I'm mostly reading from my emergency pile for the purpose of distracting my brain from the whirlwind of lists and Things That Need Doing so I can at least theoretically disconnect and get to sleep. I think I'm reading distracted and like driving distracted I'm just not fully focused on what's happening and find myself arriving at destinations wondering how I got there.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish that there was more room for guesswork in this thriller. The 'whodunit' was basically laid out for the reader so I felt as though I were simply going through the motions while reading this.

I can tell you, however, that I thoroughly appreciated the fact that the main character has Asperger's. There is a giant under-representation of neuro-atypical characters in the literary world so this was a nice change of pace. I understand from the author's note that Palmer has a child with Asperger's as well so this was a sweet homage.

But final thought: This was written in 2009. I'm pretty sure security cameras were a thing back then...that wasn't so long ago. So then...??????

CW: murder, loss of a family member, school shooting