Trauma

March 16, 2015
In the less than successful final medical thriller from Michael Palmer (1942–2013), completed by his son Daniel Palmer (Desperate), an error by neurosurgeon Carrie Bryant harms a patient and leads to her resignation from Boston Community Hospital and her return to her parents’ home in Hopkinton, Mass. Bryant gets an unusual second chance when Dr. Alistair Finley hires her with DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) funds for an experimental program using DBS (deep brain stimulation) to treat vets with PTSD. Bryant performs two successful operations, but both patients develop serious and unusual complications. When Bryant discovers that the two have been discharged from the hospital against medical advice, she and investigative reporter David Hoffman begin a search for them. Bryant’s conviction that something is wrong is strengthened when attempts are made on her life, and she and Hoffman take a desperate chance to gain evidence. Fairly wooden characters and a plot that never develops much steam may disappoint fans of both authors. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

April 15, 2015
Dr. Carrie Bryant makes a mistake during a long brain operation that jeopardizes the life of her patient. She ends up resigning in disgrace and moves back home with her family, where she plans to assist in the care of her brother, a PTSD sufferer. When she learns of an experimental program that is trying to cure the symptoms of PTSD, she jumps in to assist with the study. At first, everything seems straightforward until her patients begin to disappear. Michael Palmer, a master of the medical thriller, developed the premise of this novel in the fall of 2013, right before he died suddenly. The novel has been capably completed by Michael's son, Daniel, also a thriller writer (Desperate, 2014). Although Daniel's own novels have focused on suburban intrigue, it appears from this fast-moving, nicely detailed story that he could easily carry on the family tradition of mainstream medical thrillers in the Robin Cook tradition.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)