coni_booklover's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
First rate medical suspense!
In one sense, a jaded reader might accuse Michael Palmer of repeating the oft-used medical thriller plot framework of the single heroic physician standing up against some sort of nefarious conspiracy based on power, money, greed and self-interest. And, while that's true, Michael Palmer has done a bang up job of twisting the details around such that EXTREME MEASURES is turned into a bona fide nail-biting cliff-hanging thriller of the first order.
Eric Najarian, an ambitious young doctor at a Boston hospital, got lucky. In the frantic hustle and bustle of the emergency room, he stepped well over the line and reached the decision to use a bold but entirely unproven, experimental technique on a man dying the emergency room. After the treatment proves successful, he is contacted by a shady group who press him to continue to administer unorthodox treatments to certain specified patients and promise the reward of promotion to a prestigious post in the hospital. If he refuses, he is assured that his career as a physician in Boston is finished.
EXTREME MEASURES has got much more than the proverbial "everything but the kitchen sink". In fact, it's got the counter top and several kitchen sinks - voodoo, corrupt funeral parlours, unorthodox drug testing, secret clinics and much, much more.
It's way, way over the top but it sure is fun. This is medical suspense at its finest and it's delivered with a slam-bang authenticity that will have Michael Palmer's fans begging for more. I can tell you this for sure. The next time you buy a new drug, you'll look at it and wonder with considerable fear and trepidation about the protocols that were followed to put it onto the shelf! Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
In one sense, a jaded reader might accuse Michael Palmer of repeating the oft-used medical thriller plot framework of the single heroic physician standing up against some sort of nefarious conspiracy based on power, money, greed and self-interest. And, while that's true, Michael Palmer has done a bang up job of twisting the details around such that EXTREME MEASURES is turned into a bona fide nail-biting cliff-hanging thriller of the first order.
Eric Najarian, an ambitious young doctor at a Boston hospital, got lucky. In the frantic hustle and bustle of the emergency room, he stepped well over the line and reached the decision to use a bold but entirely unproven, experimental technique on a man dying the emergency room. After the treatment proves successful, he is contacted by a shady group who press him to continue to administer unorthodox treatments to certain specified patients and promise the reward of promotion to a prestigious post in the hospital. If he refuses, he is assured that his career as a physician in Boston is finished.
EXTREME MEASURES has got much more than the proverbial "everything but the kitchen sink". In fact, it's got the counter top and several kitchen sinks - voodoo, corrupt funeral parlours, unorthodox drug testing, secret clinics and much, much more.
It's way, way over the top but it sure is fun. This is medical suspense at its finest and it's delivered with a slam-bang authenticity that will have Michael Palmer's fans begging for more. I can tell you this for sure. The next time you buy a new drug, you'll look at it and wonder with considerable fear and trepidation about the protocols that were followed to put it onto the shelf! Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
mag_da's review against another edition
4.0
I watched the movie and I really liked it so I decided to read the book. The book was great. The movie is different but still has the same concept. In the book there is suspense from the beginning. Once I began to read it it was difficult to stop. Even though I knew how it was going to end it was interesting.
em_beddedinbooks's review against another edition
3.0
another medical thriller by Michael Palmer. The book began with great hopes, was interesting in the first three quarters, towards the end I lost interest - dont know why. Still I would recommend it to all medical thriller buffs.
mag_da's review against another edition
4.0
I watched the movie and I really liked it so I decided to read the book. The book was great. The movie is different but still has the same concept. In the book there is suspense from the beginning. Once I began to read it it was difficult to stop. Even though I knew how it was going to end it was interesting.
xcsbooknook's review against another edition
4.0
(4.0) Slightly predictable, yet still very good.
I have an old box full of books that I intend to read sometime, so I just pick one each month and this was Mays pick.
Let's dive into the things I did not enjoy first, because there were some.
Now the main this is Caduceus. Please authors, do your research. Caduceus is the staff of Hermes and not the symbol for healing as it was described as multiple times throughout this novel. The staff with a singular snake, called the rod of Asclepius, the god of medicine, is the symbol for healing.
This is a very common mistake but just one quick google search will tell you that you need the rod of Asclepius. If the author didn't do his research on this, what else did he not do his research on. It made me start to doubt some of the medical procedures within the book. We're they medically accurate or not?
The other thing was the unnecessary remarks about Erics ethnicity. It was brought up multiple times when it absolutely had no reason to be brought up. It gave me some slight racist vibes.
There were a lot of good things though. The plot had me hooked and while some of the twists were slightly predictable, it did make me doubt my guesses a few times.
I absolutely love the idea behind the story. The main 'bad guy' wasn't really evil and you could really understand his motives. I just wish he had a bit more page time to explain it more indepth and give more of an insight into his mind.
I definitely recommend this if you like medical thrillers. It was a good fun read.
I have an old box full of books that I intend to read sometime, so I just pick one each month and this was Mays pick.
Let's dive into the things I did not enjoy first, because there were some.
Now the main this is Caduceus. Please authors, do your research. Caduceus is the staff of Hermes and not the symbol for healing as it was described as multiple times throughout this novel. The staff with a singular snake, called the rod of Asclepius, the god of medicine, is the symbol for healing.
This is a very common mistake but just one quick google search will tell you that you need the rod of Asclepius. If the author didn't do his research on this, what else did he not do his research on. It made me start to doubt some of the medical procedures within the book. We're they medically accurate or not?
The other thing was the unnecessary remarks about Erics ethnicity. It was brought up multiple times when it absolutely had no reason to be brought up. It gave me some slight racist vibes.
There were a lot of good things though. The plot had me hooked and while some of the twists were slightly predictable, it did make me doubt my guesses a few times.
I absolutely love the idea behind the story. The main 'bad guy' wasn't really evil and you could really understand his motives. I just wish he had a bit more page time to explain it more indepth and give more of an insight into his mind.
I definitely recommend this if you like medical thrillers. It was a good fun read.
dozylocal's review
2.0
Bit of a disjointed start. Your typical investigative/medical/action thriller. Good for long plane trips and lazy days on the beach. Not really much to write home about. Easy read. Bit of 'action fluff'.
ruenicorn's review
4.0
a reread, but as the first read wasn't dated, I'll count it as a 2016 book. I DID read it this year! I actually enjoyed it a lot more the second time around.
apostrophen's review
3.0
I like Michael Palmer, I do, but I can cruise through one of his books in no time. They're easy, and the medical thriller is almost always thus: Doctor (or medial expert or somesuch) who has a semi-wobbly reputation sees too much and must risk their life to expose the medical mystery (which always involves murder to confuse medical research or some sort involving lots of money) - and, of course, success tends to come with a bit of a romance, too.
This one? The doctor is called Eric.
This one? The doctor is called Eric.
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