- Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Bantam (31 Oct 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553583611
- ISBN-13: 978-0553583618
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 3 x 17.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,013,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"Gripping suspense, likeable heroes and hateful villains keep the pulse pounding" Publishers Weekly
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
From The Sisterhood, Michael Palmer's first New York Times bestseller, to The Patient, his ninth, reviewers have proclaimed him a master of medical suspense. Recognized around the world for original, topical, nail-biting suspense, emergency physician Palmer'swork has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. Now he reaches controversial and startling new heights in a terrifying tale of cutting-edge microbiology, unbridled greed, and murder, where either knowing too little or trusting too much can be FATAL.
In Chicago, a pregnant cafeteria worker suffering nothing more malevolent than flulike symptoms begins hemorrhaging from every part of her body. In Boston, a brilliant musician, her face disfigured by an unknown disease, rapidly descends into a lethal paranoia. In Belinda, West Virginia, a miner suddenly goes berserk, causing a cave-in that kills two of his co-workers. Finding the link between these events could prove FATAL.
Five years ago, internist and emergency specialist Matt Rutledge returned to his West Virginia home to marry his high-school sweetheart and open a practice. He also had a score to settle. His father died while working for the Belinda Coal and Coke Company, and Matt swore to expose the mine’s health and safety violations.
When his beloved Ginny succumbed to an unusual cancer, his campaign became even more bitterly personal. Now Matt has identified two bizarre cases of what he has dubbed the Belinda Syndrome--caused, he is certain, by the mine’s careless disposal of toxic chemicals. All he needs is proof.
Meanwhile, two women, unknown to one another, are drawn inexorably to Belinda, into Matt’s life--and into mortal danger. Massachusetts coroner Nikki Solari comes to attend the funeral of her roommate, killed violently on a Boston street. Ellen Kroft, a retired schoolteacher from Maryland, seeks the remorseless killer who has threatened to destroy her and her family.Three strangers--Rutledge, Solari, and Kroft--each hold one piece of a puzzle they must solve, and solve quickly. If they don’t, it will be far more than just their own lives that are at risk.
Michael Palmer has crafted a novel of breathtaking speed and medical intricacy where nothing is as it seems and one false step could be FATAL.
From the Hardcover edition.
In Chicago, a pregnant cafeteria worker suffering nothing more malevolent than flulike symptoms begins hemorrhaging from every part of her body. In Boston, a brilliant musician, her face disfigured by an unknown disease, rapidly descends into a lethal paranoia. In Belinda, West Virginia, a miner suddenly goes berserk, causing a cave-in that kills two of his co-workers. Finding the link between these events could prove FATAL.
Five years ago, internist and emergency specialist Matt Rutledge returned to his West Virginia home to marry his high-school sweetheart and open a practice. He also had a score to settle. His father died while working for the Belinda Coal and Coke Company, and Matt swore to expose the mine’s health and safety violations.
When his beloved Ginny succumbed to an unusual cancer, his campaign became even more bitterly personal. Now Matt has identified two bizarre cases of what he has dubbed the Belinda Syndrome--caused, he is certain, by the mine’s careless disposal of toxic chemicals. All he needs is proof.
Meanwhile, two women, unknown to one another, are drawn inexorably to Belinda, into Matt’s life--and into mortal danger. Massachusetts coroner Nikki Solari comes to attend the funeral of her roommate, killed violently on a Boston street. Ellen Kroft, a retired schoolteacher from Maryland, seeks the remorseless killer who has threatened to destroy her and her family.Three strangers--Rutledge, Solari, and Kroft--each hold one piece of a puzzle they must solve, and solve quickly. If they don’t, it will be far more than just their own lives that are at risk.
Michael Palmer has crafted a novel of breathtaking speed and medical intricacy where nothing is as it seems and one false step could be FATAL.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fatal was a solid 4 star read. I enjoyed it, it was both gripping and intriguing. It had a strong outlying story - maybe a touch too many medical references (but it is a medical thriller, so what can I expect?!) it had suspense, adventure, a motorbike, a love story, nay 2 love stories (but not in your face / mills & boon style) it had small twists, moved along at a fast pace... so why am I not dead excited about it? good call. I think maybe i did enjoy but then the book i read immediatley after dwarfed it (riptide, if interested)
However whatever the reason, Fatal wasn't a wowza! read. My top 5 reads are River God by Wilbur Smith, The Relic by Lincoln Preston, The Beach by Alex Garland, The Genesis Code by John Case and Jurassic Park by Micheal Crichton. Those are wowza! novels - ones I will read time and time again. I may read fatal again. it certainly won't be relegated to car boot sale status, but despite it's good points - and there were lots, it didn't shout out to me.
The storyline as mentioned in the synopsis follows a doctor, Matt Rutledge, who is caught in an ongoing struggle to prove the local mine's toxic dumps are linked to the death of his father and wife. A spur of recent mystery illnesses, causing violent haemorrhaging and lumps under the skin adds fuel to his investigation as does the girl (Nicki Solari) from out of town who has her own personal reasons for an interest in the disease. A separate storyline follows a retired teacher campaigning against a huge pharmaceutical company over a mass vaccine, one that she suspects could hold disastrous side effects for a percentage of the population. When the novel starts out it is not clear how these 2 threads will combine (although abundantly clear that they will). Reading how the 2 story lines develop and finally interlink was very well done I thought.
Character-wise, there was a good bunch, Matt is your rugged hero, Nicki is your heroine matching the hero pace for pace. I found more interest in the supporting characters though. I especially liked the Slocumb brothers - strange hermit like mountain folk, allies of Matt. I have found in a lot of books, the stereotypical faultless hero and hapless heroine, are more and more making way to unwilling, able bodied hero-heroine duo's. Is this becoming the next cliché/stereotype in storyline main characters? I guess you need a hero/heroine that one can respect but at the same time would like to see main characters quite a way from perfect.
Overall a good read. I'm sure it will rock some people's boat and be a top novel. For others it might not hit the mark. I found it kinda in the high-middle region. Better than a lot I've read - but not quite a 'wowza'. Give it a go though, it is a solid read, has enjoyable characters and makes a gripping story.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A pregnant woman starts to haemorrhage, a violinist awfully disfigured by an unknown disease is drawn into paranoia, a miner goes berserk causing the death of two co-workers. What is it that links these deaths? Could it be the way the Belinda Coal and Coke Company disposes of its waste near the town of Belinda? But Dr Matt Rutledge needs proof and soon his research campaign becomes very bitterly personal. Meanwhile, two women unknown to each other are drawn inexorably to Belinda and into Matt's life - and into deadly danger. Massachusetts coroner Nikki Solari comes to attend the funeral of her roommate, killed violently on a Boston street. Ellen Kroft, a retired schoolteacher from Maryland, seeks the remorseless killer who has threatened to destroy her and her family. Three strangers - Rutledge, Solari and Kroft - each hold one piece of the puzzle they must solve. If they don't do this in due time, their own life may be put at risk.
As usual, Michael Palmer wrote a breathtaking medical thriller and a fully enjoyable page turner.
Philippe Horak / phorak@gibz.ch
As usual, Michael Palmer wrote a breathtaking medical thriller and a fully enjoyable page turner.
Philippe Horak / phorak@gibz.ch
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the firstMichael Palmer book I read.I found it fast moving and thrilling. It kept me awake at night till I finished it - the end of each chapter made me want to keep reading.
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