Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Extreme Measures by Michael Palmer
| Monday, June 18, 2007 2nd Medical Mystery Challenge and SMRC I had a hard time getting into this book as the first couple of chapters skip around setting up a storyline around people mysteriously disappearing. But they are derelicts, so who cares? Then we are introduced to Dr. Eric Najarian, an ER doctor who is in line for a big promotion. The night before the decision is announced, Eric receives a mysterious phone call inviting him to join a group called Caduceus that will ask him to perform certain procedures at the hospital in return for hi receiving the promotion. As a dedicated doctor who has worked his entire career for this big chance, Eric is torn. Then he meets Laura Ender who is searching for her brother, Scott. Eric soon realizes that Scott may be the indigent person he pronounced dead a few months earlier; and, because he feels guilty over his care of that patient, he helps Laura with her search. These two soon develop romantic feelings amid all the chaos and sinister experiences created by their search. I found that romance to be forced a little too quickly considering all that happens but they are very sympathetic strong characters so I got over that. The suspense is very real, although there seemed to be a bit too much going on. The novel plays up to a very real fear of trusting doctors too much. Some of the caregivers in this novel develop a type of God complex by playing with the lives of their patients to conduct experiments in order to develop a new drug that will make them richer than Croesus. Most of the action takes place in Boston, which I have visited and enjoyed reading about, but also it involves a ghost town in the deserts of Utah, near Moab. I have visited that area as well and it is pretty desolate. I understand the book has been made into a movie starring Hugh Grant whom I adore. I can't picture him as Dr. Narjarian so I'll just have to watch it and see how he does. All in all, this was a good choice for a medical mystery, involving doctors, hospitals, and medicine. Palmer uses his own medical training and experience to create a very chilling scenario. Rating: 4 Posted by Framed at 6:48 AM 4 comments: Joy said... I read this when it first came out or close to anyway. I don't know what I would think of it now, but at the time I thought it was fantastic. :) Now, I have read almost all of his books. Some are better than others, but I enjoy them. I see it like this: John Grisham is to law like Michael Palmer is to medicine. You gave it a 4, so that's very good! :) 6/18/2007 8:19 AM SuziQoregon said... I've never read any of Michael Palmer's books. If you liked it, I need to put it on my TBR list :-) 6/19/2007 8:24 PM Booklogged said... Boston and Moab? And interesting combination. Sounds like a good mystery. I've read a few by Palmer and I think I enjoyed them. Darn this memory. It's been awhile since I read them. 6/21/2007 2:27 PM twiga92 said... It's been a long time since I read this, but when you mentioned Utah I remembered that part. Kind of desolate area? I love Palmer's books. They're usually quick reads too. |
# posted by Framed @ 3:03 PM 
