Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Palmer soft-pedals his usual medical agenda in his disappointing second Dr. Lou Welcome thriller (after 2011’s Oath of Office). Lou, who was once in treatment for amphetamine and alcohol dependence, receives a distress call from a close doctor friend, Gary McHugh, whose struggles with alcohol Lou has been overseeing at the Washington, D.C., Physician Wellness Office. The police are about to arrest Gary for the shooting murder of Congressman Elias Colston, the chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services, with whose wife, Jeannine, Gary had been having an affair. Gary, drunk, had gone to Colston’s Maryland home to see Jeannine, but found Colston’s body instead. Lou, who sets out to exonerate his friend, even though Gary’s lawyer warns him off the case, stumbles into trouble and lucks his way out in an investigation that points to a supersecret mission known as Operation Talon. The unoriginal military action scenes will leave fans of that subgenre rolling their eyes. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Dec.)
From the Publisher
When you open the pages of a Michael Palmer novel, you know you are in the hands of a pro. This author knows how to weave a plot and keep the action coming, and the readers know it won't all fall apart at the end. Such is definitely the case with Political Suicide. Each page adds a new dimension to the characters and a new revelation to the plot. It is action/mystery reading at its best. Palmer just keeps delivering good stories, one right after the other.” —Huffington Post
“This book goes from great to outstanding…a definite keeper!” —Suspense Magazine
“Plenty of chills and spills.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Palmer writes terrific medical suspense, and he has thrown political intrigue into the mix…fans won't be disappointed.” —Associated Press
“Michael Palmer once again delivers an adrenaline-pumped political and medical action thriller... Palmer fans will not be disappointed in this suspenseful and realistic, fast-paced whodunit.” —Jewish Journal
“A must-read for fans of political intrigue.” —Fort-Worth Star Telegram
“The military conspiracy is frightening, while Lou's interactions with his daughter and his blossoming romantic interest in a tough attorney provide some breaks from the merciless pace of the investigation. Suspend disbelief that an ER doctor can, or should, attempt some of these actions and enjoy the ride.” —RT Book Reviews
“Michael Palmer mixes politics, medical science, and the military to create another suspenseful medical thriller.” —Examiner.com
Kirkus Reviews
Political, legal, military and medical mayhem all rolled up into a bite-size package--well, for those who take big bites, anyway. The too-perfectly named Louis Francis Welcome, M.D., who figured in the prolific Palmer's last novel, Oath of Office (2012), has his work cut out for him. Formerly an emergency room doctor, his practice now involves leading addicted docs through the cure. "What I have is a handful of doctors who are in terrific, solid recovery," he proudly notes. But he hadn't reckoned with Gary McHugh, an M.D. determined to drink the Potomac dry and seemingly unconcerned with the whole business of healing himself before setting to work on the society dames of Washington. Alas, there's the rub: A congressman turns up dead, and McHugh has, well, been treating said congressman's wife with a little too much bedside manner. But there's more to it than that: There are Black Ops dudes crawling around everywhere, their tans freshly sprayed on to blend into the wilds of Afghanistan but not be out of place inside the well-groomed confines of the Beltway, either. Why would they want anyone but the Taliban dead? Well, that's just one question that resonates through this book, which is surely less formulaic than it could be while still honoring all the hard-boiled conventions of the political-thriller genre. Palmer is no Trevanian, but he handles his story with confidence, and he can write a sentence. Best of all, he has the good grace to let Welcome bow out here and there to let other players on the good-guy team shine, chief among them a legal beagle who won't take no for an answer, not even when Navy SEALs are on the issuing end. A competent entertainment; nothing to think about overmuch, but with plenty of chills and spills.
