The Sisterhood: It's the debut medical thriller, from Michael Palmer.  As a first novel, it's actually pretty good.  Palmer's writing style is polished, and his characters well-drawn.  The story is pretty good, but it is similar to several other books I've read.  Still, as this one was first written in 1982, I'm sure it was quite innovative and edgy, in its time.

It's your basic medical thriller premise: patients are mysteriously dying in hospitals across the country.  They die suddenly, and unexpectedly.  We, the readers, know exactly why these patients are dying, but Dr. David Shelton is mystified.  When one of his own patients falls victim to the strange phenomenon, David tries to get to the bottom of it.  Unfortunately, the forces behind the mysterious deaths prefer to remain unknown.  Thus they turn the tables, making it look as though David is guilty.  Now David's on the run, from the police who want to arrest him for murder, and from people willing to do anything - and I do mean anything - to keep their secret safe.

I liked the way Palmer defined his characters.  David is immensely likeable, but not at all perfect.  He has personal demons and flaws, that make him very real.  Same goes for Christine, the nurse who tries to help David.  She, too, is multi-dimensional.  Not a perfect heroine by any means.  I appreciated how Palmer lets us get to "know" these characters, inside and out. 

Frequently in a medical thriller, the "bad guys" are motivated by one thing: greed.  Love of the almighty dollar is nearly always a driving force behind the villains' actions.  In this book, the motivation is quite different, and I found that to be a refreshing change of pace.  Yes, there's a component of greed, later on, in a subplot.  But the main story's focus is unique, which I really appreciated.

My only complaint about this book is that, considering it's a medical thriller, it's really not very "thrilling".  We, the readers, know who's doing the killing, and why.  There's no real mystery for us to figure out.  The twists in this book are extremely minor; there was never a moment of "Ah Ha!!".  I prefer medical thrillers that are downright scary, and suspenseful.  This one provides an interesting story, but is hardly anything to have nightmares about.

Still, it's an interesting read, with well-defined characters, and a decent premise.  Go ahead and read it, if you find it at your library. But don't rush out to buy it.


Also by Michael Palmer:
A Heartbeat Away
Extreme Measures
Miracle Cure
Natural Causes
Silent Treatment
The Society

Recommended: Yes