Mercy

A Novel

By: Michael Palmer, Daniel Palmer

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Dr. Julie Devereux is an outspoken advocate for the right to die - until a motorcycle accident leaves her fiancé, Sam Talbot, a quadriplegic. Sam begs to end his life, but Julie sees hope in a life together. With the help of an organization that opposes physician-assisted suicide, Julie has Sam coming around to her point of view when he suddenly dies from an unexpected heart attack. An autopsy reveals that Sam died of an unusual heart defect, one seen only in those under extreme stress - in fact, it appears that Sam had been literally scared to death.

As Julie investigates similar cases, she finds a frightening pattern...and finds herself the target of disturbing threats. The more cases Julie discovers, the more the threats escalate, until she is accused of a mercy killing of her own. To clear her name and save her career, she must track down whoever is behind these mysterious deaths...but time is running out as someone has decided that killing Julie is the only way to stop her.

A riveting medical thriller, Mercy will leave listeners breathless with twists and turns leading up to its explosive conclusion, from New York Times best-selling author Michael Palmer and his son, acclaimed suspense novelist Daniel Palmer.

©2016 Daniel Palmer (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Ample, plausible twists combined with well-developed characters add up to a superior thriller." ( Publishers Weekly)

Excellent story and narration!

I began the book on a road trip and instead of unpacking when we arrived to our destination we ordered a pizza and listen to the rest of the book! It’s rare to have an excellent story that hold your attention so well. You felt for the characters and were rooting for them. There were definite twists and turns that were unexpected but completely in line with the story. When it was all laid out at the end I literally put my hands on my head, mouth agape! I highly recommend this book, and for a critic like me that’s rare!! I’m off to find another book by the same Author and narrator!

Clever intriguing plot

A super medical thriller with well fleshed our characters, fast moving plot, and tons of scientific details that light up the story!

Airplane book. Lots of filler and phony ending

This book was a waste of money and time. A real " fill-in-the-dots type. The killer twist is absurd, the motives of characters absurd. You can sleep thru lots of chapter and avoid long detailed descriptions of chemical elements comprising poisons and other dangerous substances, and very lengthy , and irrelevant, descriptions of a whole surgical procedure. Neither are related to plot

Saving grace is really good narrator.

Love this as usual

I love Michael Palmers books. The story is excellent as always. I'm a nurse and I'm very picky about medical things. Many of the medical terms were mispronounced and one time the main character was going to intubate a patient who already had a tracheostomy... That's just incorrect medical information.
Otherwise I loved the book!!

Another Great medical Mystery

I have like all of Michael Palmer's books that I have read. I hope David carries on his work. This book is no exception it has surprises at the end what a web he weaved. If you like medical mysteries you will enjoy this one.

I’m a sucker for a book written by both Palmers

I liked the story immensely. It kept me on edge, sent me off thinking that someone else ‘did it’, and just carried me away in the story. It was nice to have a sense of humanity woven into the pages of the book. The narrator was pretty good, although I wished there was more expression at times. As I said in the title, I am a sucker for both Palmers.

Too much medical detail.

The story got bogged down in all the minutiae of medical jargon and descriptions. Made me wish for the old Reader’s Digest Condensed Books edition.

Cobination of James Patterson & Robin Cook

I have always loved Michael Palmer books. I discovered them when new Robin Cook books were not released fast enough. I really cannot tell the difference between Robin Cook and Michael Palmer. Now Daniel Palmer has joined the mix and it was as smooth as any transition to a new author could be. My only complaint (and the reason for a 4 instead of a 5) is that the theme of this book (conspiracy between hospitals/insurance companies to increase profits) is a little overdone. Although I still enjoy them, I would really like to see another twist added. Having said that, the characters were really good, even if (as usual), I wanted to scream at Julie for not recognizing what was happening sooner and doing something about it. In some ways, these books are a little of a stretch in providing that the evil people always know every move, every conversation, and almost every thought of the protaginists. At times, I felt like saying "NOT AGAIN," because so much of the plot is completely predictible. I must say, however, I still enjoy them and will continue to listen to them, even if they are sometimes a little repeititive and predictible. Without spoiling anything, I was pleased to see the author was not afraid to introduce some realism (death) into the mix without becoming maudlin. Highly recommend to anyone who, like me, has become hooked on these medical novels.

Good story, but too much medical jargon

it was a good read, though lengthy medical explanations slow down the paste and are often annoying

story too predictable

You knew almost in the beginning who were the bad guys and what was going to happen, it was so predictable . So I did not like it