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Summary
Summary
The New York Times bestselling author and master of medical suspense delivers another shocker of a thriller filled with insider details and a terrifying psychopath Four murders.Three accidents.Two suicides.One left... THE LAST SURGEON Michael Palmer's latest novel pits a flawed doctor against a ruthless psychopath, who has made murder his art form. Dr. Nick Garrity, a vet suffering from PTSD-post traumatic stress disorder-spends his days and nights dispensing medical treatment from a mobile clinic to the homeless and disenfranchised in D.C. and Baltimore. In addition, he is constantly on the lookout for his war buddy Umberto Vasquez, who was plucked from the streets by the military four years ago for a secret mission and has not been seen since.Psych nurse Gillian Coates wants to find her sister's killer. She does not believe that Belle Coates, an ICU nurse, took her own life, even though every bit of evidence indicates that she did-every bit save one. Belle has left Gillian a subtle clue that connects her with Nick Garrity.Together, Nick and Gillian determine that one-by-one, each of those in the operating room for a fatally botched case is dying. Their discoveries pit them against genius Franz Koller - the highly-paid master of the "non-kill"-the art of murder that does not look like murder. As Doctor and nurse move closer to finding the terrifying secret behind these killings, Koller has been given a new directive: his mission will not be complete until Gillian Coates and Garrity, the last surgeon, are dead.
Author Notes
Michael Palmer was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on October 9, 1942. He graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He trained in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals. Afterwards, he conducted research for the National Air Pollution Control Administration in Cincinnati in order to fulfill his two-year military obligation. He spent 20 years as a full-time practitioner of internal and emergency medicine and is currently an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society's physician health program.
His has written numerous books including The Last Surgeon, The Second Opinion, The First Patient, The Fifth Vial, The Society, Fatal, The Patient, Miracle Cure, Critical Judgment, Silent Treatment, Natural Causes, Extreme Measures, Flashback, Side Effects, and The Sisterhood.
Palmer died at the age of 71 on October 30, 2013 after suffering a heart attack and stroke. His novels Resistant (released May 20, 2014) and Trauma (released May 12, 2015) were released after his death.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this anemic medical thriller from bestseller Palmer (The Second Opinion), former trauma surgeon Dr. Nick Garrity, who suffers from PTSD as the result of a suicide attack on his field hospital in Afghanistan, is now in charge of the Helping Hands RV, a mobile clinic that plies the streets of Baltimore offering medical aid to the homeless. Meanwhile, a high-priced hit man starts to commit a series of murders, his first victim being Belle Coates, a nurse in Charlotte, N.C. When Belle's sister, Jillian, who lives in Virginia, searches for her sister's killer, she finds a connection to Nick. Several missing homeless men lead everyone to a massive plot involving high-level politicians and a secret CIA program. The action is all fairly predictable, the characters off-the-shelf, and the writing, if not exactly purple, at least mauve: "A guttural, primal scream exploded from Nick's throat as he crouched by the body." 250,000 first printing. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Another medical thriller from prolific Palmer (The First Patient, 2008, etc.). In this author's world, heroes and villains are easy to tell apart. Dr. Nick Garrity, whom his many admirers call "Dr. Nick Fury" after a dauntless cartoon character, is our good guy. He suffers from PTSD as a result of injuries sustained in Afghanistan during a suicide bombing that killed his fiance. Along with wisecracking nurse Junie, Nick now dishes out care on the streets of Baltimore and D.C., making rounds in a medically renovated RV. His nemesis, though he doesn't know it yet, is psychopath Franz Koller, who murders for both money and pleasure, disguising the seemingly unrelated deaths paid for by a mysterious organization called Jericho as "non-kills" (i.e., suicides or accidents). Creepily, Koller is quite popular with students at the local high school where he substitute-teaches as a cover. He makes winsome Belle Coates' death look like a suicide, but her sister Jillian, a psychiatric nurse, suspects murder. Looking through Belle's condo, Jillian finds a collection of Nick Fury comics with "Dr." written into the title; they put her on the trail of Dr. Nick Garrity. He's been trying to track down a couple of war buddies who mysteriously disappeared four years before, but he finds only one, hideously disfigured and working in the washroom of a "gentleman's club" in D.C.'s Chinatown. Nick and Jillian join forces to uncover the nefarious secrets of a snazzy plastic-surgery clinic in suburban Virginia. Four years earlier, a terrorist supposedly died before he could be operated on for a heart condition, but the plastic surgeon colluded with the CIA to pull a bait-and-switch. Will ultra-professional assassin Koller survive? Will Nick and Jillian get together? Let's just say that Palmer knows which side his bread is buttered on. As predictable as an IV drip. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Palmer's best novel in years is a highly suspenseful story that begins with a murder staged to look like a suicide and ends with the exposure of a far-reaching conspiracy. The three central players are Jillian Coates, a nurse who refuses to believe her sister would kill herself; Nick Garrity, a physician still haunted by the disappearance of his best friend three years ago; and Franz Koller, a ruthless hired killer who has several victims to dispatch, only none of them can look like murder. Palmer cleverly teams up Nick and Jillian, uniting them in a common purpose: to find out how Jillian's dead sister and Nick's missing friend seem to have come in contact with one another. Palmer keeps his two leads and us, too in the dark for a good portion of the book, dispensing the occasional tantalizing hint of some horrible secret lying just below the surface. When we discover the truth behind the mystery, we're shocked and exhilarated and bewildered, all at the same time. Palmer has always spun a good yarn, but this one is more compelling and features more engaging characters than some of his recent efforts.--Pitt, David Copyright 2009 Booklist
Library Journal Review
The death of nurse Jillian Coates's sister and the disappearance of a fellow soldier from the Gulf War front drive Palmer's latest medical-themed novel. Jillian doesn't accept the police's conclusion that her sister was a suicide and quickly becomes obsessed with proving otherwise. Her efforts bring her in contact with Dr. Nick Garrity, a veteran and former surgeon now helping the homeless from a mobile health van. Nick is dealing with posttraumatic stress disorder and his guilt over Umberto Vasquez, who saved his life in Iraq and then disappeared into a civilian life of alcoholism and homelessness. As their investigations converge, Jillian and Nick are led to the Singh Center, a mysterious and very profitable plastic surgery facility. To solve what becomes a series of murders, Nick and Jillian must deal with ruthless government officials and a very talented paid assassin. Verdict Palmer's latest has an appealing couple at its center, plus good pacing and gritty action to keep the pages turning. Some scenes include descriptions of graphic violence but are appropriate for the story. This latest should please Palmer's fans and all those who enjoy their suspense mixed with medical characters and settings. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/09.]-A.J. Wright, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.