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A Heartbeat Away

Michael Palmer

St. Martin's Paperbacks

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On the night of the State of the Union address, President James Allaire expects to give the speech of his career. But no one foresees the horrific turn of events that leads him to quarantine everyone in the Capitol building.

A terrorist group calling itself “Genesis” has unleashed a highly contagious virus into the building, and the only one who fully knows its deadly consequences is the president himself. Desperate, he turns to virologist Griffin Rhodes, whose alleged theft of the microbe landed him in a maximum-security federal prison. Griff knows he’s innocent but is forced to barter with the government: his attempt at a cure in exchange for his release.

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A Heartbeat Away by Michael Palmer--Audiobook Excerpt

Listen to this audiobook excerpt from Michael Palmer's medical thriller novel A Heartbeat Away, narrated by Robert Petkoff. The New York Times bestselling author and master of suspense delivers another novel at the crossroads of politics and medicine in this shocker of a thriller.

Reviews

Praise for A Heartbeat Away

Praise for Michael Palmer’s

A HEARTBEAT AWAY

“When it comes to inventive plots for medical thrillers nobody does it better than Michael Palmer… This premise is explosive and compelling and grabs the readers from the very first page.”—Huffington Post

“Palmer never fails to thrill when he presents a tautly constructed puzzle, with characters that make readers whiz through pages late at night.”—RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars)

“A non stop action ride…Having made a career with medial thrillers, this latest adds political intrigue and terrorism into the mix. …Palmer makes what Clancy writes look like the Boxcar Kids.”—Crimespree magazine

“Perfect.”—Marblehead Reporter

“Michael Palmer anchors his thrillers in high concept and steeps them in medicine. A Heartbeat Away opens with a prologue, and from the opening line, the reader knows things are not going to go well…This is the book for readers who wholeheartedly believe politicians are capable of anything.”—Boston Globe

Reviews from Goodreads

James rated it

Apr 28, 2012

The second of Michael Palmer's novels I've read, I found the story/plot entertaining. At times it was bit unbelievable, but then so is every single vampire and undead novel that seems to be overrunning the country. Anyone hear of Star Wars? Is it possible that a biological agent could be released... ...more

Julie rated it

Mar 12, 2012

Well developed, fast paced, enough turns to get you dizzy, and thought provoking enough to have you Google the Line of Succession to the Presidency. If you send the Director of Agriculture off to be safe that night (night of Inauguration or State of the Union) then you will end up with a leader w... ...more

Valerie rated it

Feb 17, 2012

Michael Palmer, one of the masters of the medical thriller genre, has written another nail-biting saga.

The plot begins with a deadly virus being released during the President's State of the Union address, infecting all who were present. A terrorist group that calls themselves "Genesis" takes resp... ...more

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About the Author

Michael Palmer

Michael Palmer writes internationally bestselling novels of medical suspense, including The Last Surgeon, The First Patient, The Second Opinion, The Sisterhood and Critical Judgment. His books have been translated into thirty-five languages. Palmer earned his bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University, and he attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University. He trained in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals. He spent twenty years as a full-time practitioner of internal and emergency medicine. 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.

Michael Palmer