The Second Opinion - Hardcover

Palmer, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312343558 ISBN 13: 9780312343552

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2009

Synopsis

Dr. Thea Sperelakis, diagnosed as a teen with Asperger’s syndrome, has always been an outsider. She has a brilliant medical mind, and a remarkable recall of details, but her difficulty in dealing with hidden agendas and interpersonal conflicts have led her to leave the complex, money-driven dynamics of the hospital, and to embrace working with the poor, embattled  patients of Doctors Without Borders. 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.

Thea’s rewarding life in Africa is turned upside-down when Petros is severely injured by a hit-and-run driver. He is in the Beaumont ICU, in a deep coma. No one thinks he will survive. Thea must return home. Two of Petros’ other children, both physicians, battle Thea and her eccentric brother, Dimitri, by demanding that treatment for their father be withheld.

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 slowly to 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 sympathetic characters and twists and betrayals that come from the most unlikely places, The Second Opinion will make you question...everything.

About this title

From the Back Cover

From the New York Times bestselling author Michael Palmer comes a high-powered thriller that changes the rules of life and death, money and murder―all in the blink of an eye...

Struck down by a hit-and-run driver, one of the world's most respected doctors lies comatose in the ICU unit of Boston's Beaumont Clinic. No one thinks he will survive. Two of his children believe treatment should be stopped. But his daughter Thea refuses to give up hope―and begins to suspect a cover-up. As a brilliant physician who left the hospital to work with the poor, Thea knows all too well the hidden agendas and personal conflicts that lurk beneath the surface of an elite medical center. When a late-night hospital intruder is identified as a professional killer, Thea is convinced her father's accident was no accident―and someone plans to finish the job...

"Suspenseful...intriguing...The Second Opinion is another winner from a consistently fine writer."―Booklist

Who would want to kill a man who saves lives―and why? The answers, Thea fears, are locked deep inside the mind of the only living witness―her father―a man who cannot move or speak. Until the flutter of a single eyelid provides him the means to communicate...and offers Thea a terrifying glimpse into an unfathomable conspiracy.

About the Author

Michael Palmer is the author of twelve novels of medical suspense, all international bestsellers.  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. 

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0312343558
• ISBN 13: 9780312343552
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384