A Heartbeat Away

By: Michael Palmer

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2011 Michael Palmer (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Actor Robert Petkoff delivers a tense, exciting performance. He's especially proficient as the crafty female speaker of the House. Petkoff's virtuosity makes this thriller intense and as close to reality as one dares to think about.” —AudioFile Magazine

“Robert Petkoff is excellent as narrator not only at maintaining the pace but also at providing the voices of the varied accents of men and women. Transitions are seamless and unobtrusive. Palmer's fans will be enthralled.” —Sound Commentary

“Robert Petkoff proves to be the perfect choice to narrate Palmer's latest medical thriller…Petkoff never misses a beat in his reading of this high-octane medical thriller, fully realizing each scene and character with ease. His energetic and skillful performance will keep listeners on the edge of their seats.” —Publishers Weekly

Loved this book

I really enjoyed this story from Michael Palmer especially the twists in the story. Narrator Robert Petkoff was great except when he tried the different languages. Please don’t even try to take off the South African accent if you can’t . I was cringing when He was supposed to be Frink!!!! Otherwise a great read (Audio)

Who is the Bad Guy? Hard to tell.

Many books have a very obvious bad guy - not so with this one. The deadly virus is rampant and it is hard to tell who can be trusted. Even the President's actions are suspect. More than one time, I guessed wrong on who the culprit was. I also was not really sure there could ever be a satisfactory resolution, but I was wrong. The story flows beautifully with just enough suspense to keep you intrigued and a great resolution in the end. I highly recommend.

Well worth the cost and time. Great Story.

If you could sum up A Heartbeat Away in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, interesting, and exciting.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Heartbeat Away?

When they discovered the living person from the research trials. It gave hope and continued excitement to the story.

What about Robert Petkoff’s performance did you like?

He was clear, consistent, and showed emotion / excitement without over doing it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Scientific thriller that could actually happen anytime and anywhere in our present world.

Any additional comments?

Great story line and plenty of excitement.

Riveting.

I found this book to be completely engrossing. It was realistic and believable. Great listen. I love Michael Palmer and he did not disappoint with this one.

Exciting, never a lull in the story.

Loved it! Exciting, never a lull in the story, very appropriate for present time in 2022.

What's happened to Michael Palmer?

I could always count on Palmer to write a decent medical thriller. Granted, some of his previous story lines were a stretch, but they were good for a fast paced, decent listen. This book, however, borders on the ridiculous. It's as if he watched one too many episodes of "24", and decided to one up that idea with bad dialog and uninteresting characters. Really, I would skip this one.

Medical Mysteries, my new obsession: a light read

Too much macho violence for me, but enough thoughtful medical education and some politics, along with a strong female character, makes it fairly balanced.

I enjoyed it, right up to the somewhat predictable trick at the end. Ending is a Silly trick, would have made it unsafe. Never would have been allowed.

Boring and belaboured.

Dragged unnecessarily. Disappointed after some of his other stories. Almost didn’t bother to finish. Waste of subscription.

Disappointing!

As usual Palmer has a quick start, but storyline bogged down several times along the way. Characters weak in development.

Far too many holes and a bad love story

Robert Petkoff reads the book quite well, which I enjoyed. He was able to provide some very distinct voices for each character that did not feel forced or too heavy-handed. The book itself is a fantastic idea that I loved at first but the more this book goes on the more giant - gaping - holes in the overall story. I do not want to spoil anything but will say there are times when I just shook my head and thought "Really? Did he really just write that?". The two main characters in the book are great separately but there is a very obvious love story that just was just plain silly and thinking back on it just makes me whince. I am giving this book two stars because I liked the narrotor, pacing and some of the characters but really cannot recommend it.