The Second Opinion [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Michael Palmer (Author), Franette Liebow (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 2009

Dr. Thea Sperelakis has always been an outsider. She has a brilliant medical mind and a remarkable ability to recall details, but her difficulty in dealing with hidden agendas and interpersonal conflicts has led her to leave the complex, money-driven dynamics of a hospital and to embrace working with the poor. Her father, Petros, is one of the most celebrated internal medicine specialists in the world and the founder of the cutting-edge Sperelakis Center for Diagnostic Medicine at Boston’s sprawling, powerful Beaumont Clinic. When Petros is severely injured by a hit-and-run driver, no one thinks he will survive. Two of Petros’s other children, both physicians, battle Thea and their eccentric brother, Dimitri, by demanding that treatment for their father be withheld. Meanwhile, Petros lingers in the Beaumont Clinic’s intensive care unit, where Thea is his only advocate. As Thea uncovers the facts surrounding the disaster, it seems more and more to be no accident. Petros himself is the only witness. Who would want him dead? The answers are trapped in his brain...until he looks at Thea and begins to slowly blink a terrifying message. In The Second Opinion, Michael Palmer has created a cat-and-mouse game where one woman must confront a conspiracy of doctors to uncover an evil practice that touches every single person who ever has a medical test. With unforgettable characters and twists and betrayals that come from the most unlikely places, The Second Opinion will keep you guessing...and looking over your shoulder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this routine medical thriller from bestseller Palmer (The First Patient), Dr. Thea Sperelakis, an idealist who's been working for Doctors Without Borders in the Congo, rushes back to Boston after learning her physician father, Petros, an intimidating figure known as the Lion, is close to death, the victim of a hit-and-run. Thea faces one challenge after another, including having to resuscitate Petros when his heart stops beating. Her brilliant if socially challenged older brother, Dimitri, adds to her anxiety with his computer reconstruction of the accident, which indicates the driver struck Petros deliberately. When Thea manages to communicate haltingly with her father, she suspects he's stumbled on some medical fraud that's made him the target of those behind the fraud. Aided by the requisite hunky ex-cop turned hospital security guard, Thea doggedly seeks out the truth. Robin Cook fans have seen all this before and in more engaging form. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Palmer, a medical-thriller writer who has been producing A-list-quality novels for years, turns in another excellent performance with this story of a physician who uncovers a deadly conspiracy. Dr. Thea Sperelakis’ father is the victim of a hit-and-run; now in a coma, he communicates only with his daughter and only by moving one of his eyes. Slowly, Thea pieces together the truth behind her father’s accident, and behind a series of suspicious deaths, but exposing the villains could mean exposing her to certain death. As usual, the novel is fluidly written—as a stylist, Palmer is head and shoulders above his more famous competitor, Robin Cook—and very suspenseful. Thea, in particular, is a most intriguing character: she suffers from Asperger syndrome, which gives her an obsession with details, a near-encyclopedic memory, and a rather charming awkwardness in social settings. The novel is not merely a thriller but also an exploration of its central character’s unique gifts and her determination to communicate with her comatose father despite overwhelming odds. Another winner from a consistently fine writer. --David Pitt --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio (February 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597370738
• ISBN-13: 978-1597370738
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 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

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compulsive page turner, February 24, 2009

By 

Jeri Nevermind "loves to read" (Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Second Opinion (Hardcover)

Palmer has created some quirky, wonderfully likable characters who are sure you draw you into the story. Most of all, however, this is a mystery on overdrive. Fast, furious, and fun.

Dr Thea leaves the hospital in the Congo where she has been working upon hearing that her famous father has been nearly killed in a hit and run car accident.

Her father lies in a deep coma, seemingly beyond help. Thea's older bother and sister insist he should be allowed to die. The coma appears irreversible.

To complicate matters Thea's brother Dimitri has recreated the accident, by using a computer simulation, that landed her father in a coma. The simulation shows that the car that hit her father aimed at him deliberately. Who wanted to kill him?

Moreover, as she watches her father, Thea thinks she can see him respond to her questions. It's only a faint flutter of his eyelid. But when she calls in a nurse her father shows no movement. Why would he only want to contact her? Or could it be that she only wants him to respond?

Thea has Asperger's syndrome. It has made her a superb doctor, with a near encyclopedic memory of medical papers she has read, but it has left her with a dismaying inability to judge the emotions of other people. Who can she trust as she realizes there has been a deadly conspiracy, one involving many wealthy people?

Palmer does a fantastic job of juggling romance and mystery, and there are some twists and turns--and some thrilling scenes--that are bound to surprise the most experienced thriller reader. This is one you will really enjoy.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous Book, February 27, 2009

By 

Gail Rodgers "moonwishes" (North East, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Second Opinion (Hardcover)

What a powerful book! With some medical mystery/thriller books, it is impossible for the normal person to know if the writer truly knows what they are talking about when it comes to the medical aspects of the book. As a retired RN I can usually judge that at least the basics are true. This book went past it in dealing with a main character that has Aspergers Syndrome, usually thought of as part of the autism spectrum. As a mother of an high functioning autistic son, it was fabulous that not only was this aspect in the book true to life but something I could personally relate to.

In writing this powerful book, Michael Palmer, is helping to bring to life the very details of the day to day life of the people and families that struggle to cope with this problem and the wonderful lives that can result. Many people's only context about autism are movies like Rainman showing low functioning autistic people. Rarely are these people shown as truly functioning adults in society, yet for many it is possible.

This is truly a terrific book that can not only entertain you, but also educate you.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Michael Palmers best effort to this date!!! A real page turner!, March 20, 2009

By 

Carole J. Cox "DrivingMs.Haflinger" (West Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Second Opinion (Hardcover)

Michael Palmer has always been a good writer and I have enjoyed each one of his efforts but in the time since First Patient, he has matured and aged as a fine wine. Perhaps it is his interest in Asbergers Syndrome or another change in his life but I get a feel from his work that I never got before.

The protagonist is a female and I often find that writers have a difficult time creating good opposite sex character development but his Thea is very layered and real. Readers will not only feel the complexity of her disability but know her uncertainties as a woman.

It is often easy to identify the antagonist early in a writing but Second Opinion leaves the reader guessing not only about who that is but who might be the ultimate target. I was disappointed when my eyes cried out for sleep and I still had half the novel to read.

Bringing a syndrome to light like Asbergers is a tremendous service and will offer the readers an opportunity to understand these unique individuals in a compassionate and respective view. The space of medical thrillers, when used for greater public understanding, is a wonderfully responsible action for the writer.

Congratulations on a really superior piece of work!