Book details
A Heartbeat Away
A Thriller
Author: Michael Palmer
About This Book
Book Details
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
On the night of the State of the Union address, President James Allaire expects to give the speech of his career. But no one anticipates the terrifying turn of events that forces him to quarantine everyone in the Capitol building. A terrorist group calling itself "Genesis" has unleashed WRX3883, a deadly, highly contagious virus, into the building. No one fully knows the deadly effect of the germ except for the team responsible for its development—a team headed by Allaire, himself. The only one who might be able to help is virologist Griffin Rhodes, currently in solitary confinement in a maximum security federal prison for alleged terrorist acts, including the attempted theft of WRX3883 from the lab where he worked. Rhodes has no idea why he has been arrested, but when Allaire offers to free him in exchange for his help combating the virus, he reluctantly agrees to do what he can to support the government that has imprisoned him without apparent cause.
Meanwhile, every single person in line for presidential succession is trapped inside the Capitol—every person except one: the Director of Homeland Security, who is safely at home in Minnesota, having been selected as the "Designated Survivor" for this event. With enemies both named and unnamed closing in, and the security of the nation at stake, Griff must unravel the mysteries of WRX3883 without violating his pledge as a scientist to use no animal testing in his experiments…and time is running out.
Tense, thrilling, and entirely plausible, A Heartbeat Away will make you reflect, wonder, and be truly afraid.
Imprint Publisher
St. Martin's Press
ISBN
9781429994262
In The News
“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