The Second Opinion

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…

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.

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.

Publishers Weekly

In this routine medical thriller from bestseller Palmer (The First Patient), Dr. Thea Sperelakis, an idealist who's been working for Doctors Without Borders in the Congo, rushes back to Boston after learning her physician father, Petros, an intimidating figure known as the Lion, is close to death, the victim of a hit-and-run. Thea faces one challenge after another, including having to resuscitate Petros when his heart stops beating. Her brilliant if socially challenged older brother, Dimitri, adds to her anxiety with his computer reconstruction of the accident, which indicates the driver struck Petros deliberately. When Thea manages to communicate haltingly with her father, she suspects he's stumbled on some medical fraud that's made him the target of those behind the fraud. Aided by the requisite hunky ex-cop turned hospital security guard, Thea doggedly seeks out the truth. Robin Cook fans have seen all this before and in more engaging form. (Feb.)

MICHAEL PALMER is the author of fourteen previous novels of medical suspense, all international bestsellers. In addition to his 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.