The Fifth Vial [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Michael Palmer (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 612 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405617039
• ISBN-13: 978-1405617031
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Michael Palmer, is the author of sixteen novels of medical and political suspense, all international bestsellers. His 17th medical and political thriller, OATH OF OFFICE is now available. In addition to writing, Palmer is an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society Physician Health Services, devoted to helping physicians troubled by mental illness, physical illness, behavioral issues, and chemical dependency. He lives in eastern Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who decides?, April 15, 2007

By 

Gina Holmes "Author of DRY AS RAIN" (VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fifth Vial (Hardcover)

Michael Palmer addresses the bio-ethical issue of organ trafficking in his fast-paced medical thriller, The Fifth Vial.

Around the globe, people are unsuspectingly having their blood tested in a life and death lottery. If their number is picked, (ie. if they are a tissue match), elitists decide who is more worthy to have their beating heart, them, or the wealthy, influential patient who needs the transplant to live.

Three seemingly unrelated lives,(a medical student, a research physician and a private eye), intermingle in unexpected ways. All three are pushed to the limit of human endurance, as each must answer the call of their conscious, putting their lives on the line to stop an evil which leaves orphans and widows in its gluttonous and infinite wake.

This novel was fast-paced, contained fleshed-out characters, and an intriguing plot that had me on the edge of my seat until the exciting conclusion.

Mr. Palmer not only told a great story, but addresses the bio-ethical issue of organ trafficking, asking the hard questions of: Is one person more worthy to live than another? Who decides?

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE VILE TRUTH ABOUT ILLEGAL TRANSPLANT-ORGANS, February 22, 2007

By 

Red Rock Bookworm (St. George Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Fifth Vial (Hardcover)

Okay, so this is the year of novels about organ donation as big business and the horrors involved. Similar in some respects to Michael Crichton's Next, Palmer's latest explores the illegal transplant-organ trade. Three characters ( a brilliant Harvard Medical School student, a Chicago private investigator and a research doctor in Cameroon)each play a role in tracking down a powerful conspiracy network.

This book is better than Crichtons, but they are both exploring the same territory, so if you have to make a choice, this is the book to buy.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps Palmer's best medical thriller, February 27, 2007

By 

Richard Mabry "author, retired physician" (Frisco, TX, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Fifth Vial (Hardcover)

This may be Michael Palmer's best book yet. This master of medical suspense gives us medical details that are accurate and scenes that carry the ring of authenticity. The plot is tightly woven, and I found the characterization to be quite good. He carries the action forward through the eyes of two very different protagonists and brings them together in an ending that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you start this book in the afternoon, you'll want to read all night to finish it.