Thriller

I will admit that I did not finish this book. I got to about 90% and just gave up. I have enjoyed Palmer's books in the past but this was melodrama strung together with not even very creative cliches and very little credibility but a whole lot of obvious. I'm not sure why I did not give up on it earlier. Hope springs eternal, I guess. ( )

Very good book. ( )

Oath of Office by Michael Palmer has been sitting on my shelf for a while so I decided to give it a try. The story was off to an exciting and dramatic start with Dr. John Meacham, letting his anger go to the extreme. He had been punished previously for yelling at a patient by having his medical license suspended for six months. And now another patient, Roberta Jennings was running out of his office after he screamed at her to lose weight. She said that she was going to report him to the board. He knew that she was eating herself to death but he could not contain his anger. He pulls out his pistol of a locked drawer. He thinks that he has to save his career. She can’t go back to the board but there were no eye witnesses only people who heard the screaming. He shoots the nurse, his partner in the practice and the people in the waiting room and lastly himself.

Dr. Lou Welcome was Dr. John Meacham’s friend. Nine years prior he had his own license suspended for self-prescribing amphetamines. He went into Rehab at the Physician’s Wellness Center and did so well that he was later hired as a monitor by the group. That is how he had met Dr. Meacham. He had thought that Dr. Meacham was doing exceptionally well with his anger management. Dr. Filstrip, his boss at the rehab center for physicians contacted him with the news about the mass shooting. Not only had he lost a good friend, his good friend has shot seven people but now his job is also in jeopardy.

The beginning of this book was very strong, I loved learning about Dr. Welcome’s relationship with his daughter and his ex-wife. Dr. Lou Welcome’s goal is to find out why his friend did this and to save his job. So a great mystery was started. There was also a side story about the president’s wife and her friend from childhood. The story was riveting and then I felt like I was thrown out of the story and into a Jurassic Park. I don’t want to spoil the story for you so I will not relate the details to you. I felt that he had switched genres. From then one, I kept reading the story but was too incredible to believe.

This starts out as a medical thriller but turns into science fiction so if that is not a problem for you, then you will enjoy this book. I just had too much to swallow at the end for myself. ( )

"Oath of Offce" is an interesting read with many twists and turns, creating a mild amount of suspense. The connections among the characters are sometimes vague, with the plot muddied somewhat by that.

Despite those few quirks, I enjoyed Lou's efforts to be the good, honest guy trying to do his best to better his world. His relationship with his mentor and sponsor is intimate and tender, and Lou has a program that works because he works hard at it.

Keep writing please, Dr. Palmer, I love having a meeting in print while I relax with your books. ( )