A review by emslovestoread
Oath of Office, by Michael Palmer
5.0
*I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. Book will be published February 14, 2012.*
From Goodreads: From the New York Times bestselling author of A Heartbeat Away and The Last Surgeon comes a shocking new novel at the crossroads of politics and medicine.
What if a well respected doctor inexplicably goes on a murderous rampage?
When Dr. John Meacham goes on a shooting spree the office, his business partner, staff, and two patients are killed in the bloodbath. Then Meacham turns the gun on himself.
The blame falls on Dr. Lou Welcome. Welcome worked with Meacham years before as a counselor after John's medical license had been revoked for drug addiction. Lou knew that John was an excellent doctor and deserved to be practicing medicine and fought hard for his license to be restored. After hearing the news of the violent outburst, Lou is in shock like everyone else, but mostly he's incredulous. And when he begins to look into it further, the terrifying evidence he finds takes him down a path to an unspeakable conspiracy that seems to lead directly to the White House and those in the highest positions of power.
At first glance, it's easy to think that maybe this is just another conspiracy book and *yawn* on that.
But NOPE. If you dismiss this because of that, you're in for a grave disappointment. Trust me.
Remember how I used to be a huge Robin Cook fan? Well, Oath of Office reminds me of the days when I loved Robin Cook, but without all the medical jargon to confuse me. It was AWESOME.
The action starts right off the bat with the prologue. I really liked getting the situation from Dr. Meacham's POV to start with. It made him a very sympathetic character for me and made me wonder immediately if there wasn't something rotten going on. He didn't act like I'd expect someone deranged and about to go on a killing spree to act. There was definitely something going on.
Enter Dr. Lou Welcome, an emergency physician and assistant director of the Physician's Wellness Organization. He's been overseeing Dr. Meacham's case, so naturally, the blame for the killings falls on Dr. Welcome. He's seeing some patterns around the area, so he's got to get out and investigate.
I was stunned at the outcome. Seriously stunned. When things started to come together, I'll admit that I expected some plot holes. SURELY, with a conspiracy of this magnitude, there would be some holes. There would be SOMETHING that just didn't fit. I didn't expect things to mesh together so well.
Readers, I WAS SO WRONG!! There wasn't a hole to be found, not anywhere. It was woven seamlessly. It fit together like a good puzzle should. It riveted me. I had to force myself to read something else, because I was determined to give all my currently reading books some page time, but I shouldn't have bothered. I couldn't concentrate on any of them until I'd finished this one!
One thing I really appreciated was that the science and medicine were explained in terms that a layperson would easily understand, without putting on airs that it was 'dumbed down'. Dr. Palmer (yes, he's a doctor!) never once stooped to condescending to the reader. He never once made me feel like I was too stupid to be reading his book.
This is one of those books that will suck you in from the beginning and never let you go. It'll keep you on the edge of your seat and it'll keep your heartrate WAY up. You'll think you have things figured out and then BAM. You'll be off in a different direction. I promise you, you're in for a serious treat when you pick it up. I'm giving Oath of Office a 'Pick Me' rating because I think you should all take my advice and pick it up!
From Goodreads: From the New York Times bestselling author of A Heartbeat Away and The Last Surgeon comes a shocking new novel at the crossroads of politics and medicine.
What if a well respected doctor inexplicably goes on a murderous rampage?
When Dr. John Meacham goes on a shooting spree the office, his business partner, staff, and two patients are killed in the bloodbath. Then Meacham turns the gun on himself.
The blame falls on Dr. Lou Welcome. Welcome worked with Meacham years before as a counselor after John's medical license had been revoked for drug addiction. Lou knew that John was an excellent doctor and deserved to be practicing medicine and fought hard for his license to be restored. After hearing the news of the violent outburst, Lou is in shock like everyone else, but mostly he's incredulous. And when he begins to look into it further, the terrifying evidence he finds takes him down a path to an unspeakable conspiracy that seems to lead directly to the White House and those in the highest positions of power.
At first glance, it's easy to think that maybe this is just another conspiracy book and *yawn* on that.
But NOPE. If you dismiss this because of that, you're in for a grave disappointment. Trust me.
Remember how I used to be a huge Robin Cook fan? Well, Oath of Office reminds me of the days when I loved Robin Cook, but without all the medical jargon to confuse me. It was AWESOME.
The action starts right off the bat with the prologue. I really liked getting the situation from Dr. Meacham's POV to start with. It made him a very sympathetic character for me and made me wonder immediately if there wasn't something rotten going on. He didn't act like I'd expect someone deranged and about to go on a killing spree to act. There was definitely something going on.
Enter Dr. Lou Welcome, an emergency physician and assistant director of the Physician's Wellness Organization. He's been overseeing Dr. Meacham's case, so naturally, the blame for the killings falls on Dr. Welcome. He's seeing some patterns around the area, so he's got to get out and investigate.
I was stunned at the outcome. Seriously stunned. When things started to come together, I'll admit that I expected some plot holes. SURELY, with a conspiracy of this magnitude, there would be some holes. There would be SOMETHING that just didn't fit. I didn't expect things to mesh together so well.
Readers, I WAS SO WRONG!! There wasn't a hole to be found, not anywhere. It was woven seamlessly. It fit together like a good puzzle should. It riveted me. I had to force myself to read something else, because I was determined to give all my currently reading books some page time, but I shouldn't have bothered. I couldn't concentrate on any of them until I'd finished this one!
One thing I really appreciated was that the science and medicine were explained in terms that a layperson would easily understand, without putting on airs that it was 'dumbed down'. Dr. Palmer (yes, he's a doctor!) never once stooped to condescending to the reader. He never once made me feel like I was too stupid to be reading his book.
This is one of those books that will suck you in from the beginning and never let you go. It'll keep you on the edge of your seat and it'll keep your heartrate WAY up. You'll think you have things figured out and then BAM. You'll be off in a different direction. I promise you, you're in for a serious treat when you pick it up. I'm giving Oath of Office a 'Pick Me' rating because I think you should all take my advice and pick it up!