A Heartbeat Away

This novel manages to cover my four favourite topics - medical, viral/disease, terrorism and mystery. It's all about a terrorist group that attempts to subvert American democracy by releasing a bioterror agent during the president's state of the union address. Naturally there's also a subplot involving a power hungry political animal who is willing to put there own desires above everyone else's whilst trying to dress it up under the guise of them doing 'the right thing' to 'save' people. There's a discredited scientist who has spent months in solitary confinement after being accused of stealing said biological weapon, who now of course is the last hope they have.

Whilst the above may seem a bit cliched and absurd, I can assure you it show more does actually come together nicely in the book, I particularly liked how everything was not as straight forward as one would often expect with such books, but also that there wasn't an absurdist twist at the end, but rather a slow unraveling of circumstances where prior circumstances became clearer in their meaning.

I last read a Michael Palmer book ten years ago, and I'm now thinking I should find another before yet another ten years passes as this was very good, and quite the pleasurable read. show less

Always exhilarating, Palmer ratchets the tension to a breathtaking level with the release of “A Heartbeat Away”. Stunning in its realism and truly terrifying, Palmer keeps a frantic, anxiety-driven pace, giving his fans a ringside seat as the nightmare unfolds.

As President James Allaire begins his second State of the Union address, he’s prepared to captivate the public with his charm, but doesn’t get the opportunity. Within moments of launching his message, puffs of vapor begin pouring out of strategically placed locations on the floor of the House Chamber. As the haze subsides, he receives a horrifying message. Genesis—a domestic terrorist group—has released a deadly, contagious and incredibly aggressive virus into the show more Capitol building and all hell is about to break loose.

Allaire is all too familiar with WRX3883 and the lethal consequences of its release. He is, in part, responsible for its origination and is very aware that the outcome has become dire for the hundreds of beautifully coifed attendees of this evening. Trapped with all but one successor for the office of the presidency, Allaire must reach out to the one man who has absolutely no reason to help him.

One time virologist, Griffin Rhodes is now a permanent resident in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison in Colorado. Being held for alleged terrorist acts and unaware of his crimes, Rhodes faces a personal challenge when granted freedom in exchange for his assistance. With a grim outlook, amplified as he walks into the nightmarish scene of the crime, Rhodes understands that the hope of the nation lies heavily on his shoulders.

Palmer’s genius lies in his ability to never underestimate the intelligence of his readers as he takes us into thought-provoking territories meant to keep us up at night.

Reviewed by Shannon Raab for Suspense Magazine show less

Michael Palmer's latest medical thriller should come with warning labels:

Warning: reading A Heartbeat Away can be hazardous to your health, producing heart palpitations, nightmares, shortness of breath, and extreme sleeplessness--at least until you finish the last heart-pounding page of this expertly crafted look at bio-terrorism.

Warning: Do Not Begin reading this book unless you can finish it in one sitting. Sleep will not be possible until you get to page 416.

With a plot that resonates with timeliness, a list of characters that seem right out of the pages of today's newspapers, and the all too familiar setting of the US Capital, this suspense thriller grabs the reader after only 2 or 3 paragraphs. In a nutshell, as the President of show more the United States begins his annual State of the Union address, with the entire Congress, Supreme Court Justices, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a myriad of distinguished guests and news media personnel in the chamber (including his own wife and daughter), vials of a lethal virus are released into the air.

And, who'da thunk it, but the President himself, as an MD had been involved in the creation of this monstrous virus which has obviously now been stolen by terrorists. In order to avoid panic, and the ensuring pandemic that would occur if the germs were allowed to get out of the building, he orders the Capital sealed, all communications cut, and everyone present quarantined, while he works feverishly with outside personnel to find a cure before they all die.

The story is far too riveting for me to write anything else because that would spoil the experience of watching all the plot twists that unfold. Written in short bursts of chapters, it is easy to read, but hard to put down. show less

The first book of Palmer's I read was "The First Patient" - a thriller about being the doctor to the President of the United States who comes down with a bizarre affliction, was a book I enjoyed cover to cover.

This story centers on the President delivering his annual State of the Union message to Congress, when a terrorist group releases an airborne virus in the House Chamber. Since ALL the political leaders are in that room (except one member of the Cabinet), their potential deaths would lead to a different type of coup.

The scariness of the story was exciting, but for a non-medical / unscientific person, it got bogged down in the medical research for a cure aspect. I skimmed countless pages that were just too detailed for me.

It is the night of the State of the Union address, and President Jim Allaire is exuberant after having defeated his opponent Ursula Ellis, a hard-edged and worthy opponent. But as the President begins his address, a popping noise is heard, and suddenly the unthinkable unfolds: a deadly virus has been released by a terrorist group called Genesis and will threaten the lives of all 700 people in attendance. As the Secret Service and security rush to seal the exits, President Allaire meets with the people he trusts the most to devise a plan to save them. It involves releasing a man from prison who is thought to be a traitor and terrorist, but who may hold the key to finding a cure. Griffin “Griff” Rhodes has spent the last nine months show more in isolation at a maximum security prison after being accused of stealing the very virus which now threatens those inside the House chambers, but now he must either unlock the clues to the shadowy Genesis and find a vaccination to save the President, or risk losing it all.

Michael Palmer has penned a fast-paced, political and medical thriller that includes power-hungry politicians, a terrorist group who seems unstoppable, and a deadly virus that is truly terrifying. As with all Palmer novels, this one includes a varied cast of characters and lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Although the plot sometimes stretches reality, I do think that part of what makes this novel especially mesmerizing is the very real possibility that terrorists could use a biological weapon (like a fast mutating virus) to attack the United States. There were moments when I was reading that I thought, “Yes, this could actually happen!”

A Heartbeat Away is a quick read despite its nearly 400 page length. I got caught up in the action (it was a bit like watching a marathon of “24″) and found myself reading well past my bedtime – just one more chapter, and then another – just because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Anytime a book can reel me in like that, it is a book worth reading.

Palmer’s latest thriller is not without its faults (some of the characters are a little too predictable and the bit of romance that comes into play was not all that believable to me), but I was willing to ignore them because the strengths of the book kept me riveted to the story. Readers who are looking for a thriller with lots of action, plot twists and a glimpse into the black hearts of biological terrorists, need look no further. show less

This suspense novel posits a domestic terror group calling itself Genesis that has been wreaking havoc on the country in small increments. Now it ups the ante by an attack in the U.S. Capitol building during President Jim Allaire’s second State of the Union Address. A lethal virus spray is released in The Chamber of the House of Representatives which, for this event, is host to 700 of most of the power brokers in the country. All of the normal line of successors to the president are there except the Designated Survivor (“the DS” - someone chosen on each state occasion to be in a different location than all the rest of the successors in the event of disaster).

The virus, WRX3883, viciously contagious and lethal within 2 weeks of show more exposure, was developed in secret by the U.S. after 9/11 to help combat terrorism. It proved to be too unstable, but even so, the project was kept alive until the theft of five canisters of the virus nine months previously by a presumed terrorist working in the lab. That presumed terrorist, Dr. Griffin Rhodes, was placed in a supermax federal penitentiary in Colorado without a trial.

Only President Allaire and a few others know the true danger of the aerosol, and he has everyone locked inside the Capitol so the contagion can’t be spread. He also arranges to have Dr. Rhodes brought from the prison to try to find a cure for the virus. Dr. Rhodes, who claims he was innocent of the theft, insists that Angie Fletcher, respected science reporter for The Washington Post, be with him as protection to document his work and behavior. Allaire agrees, and the story turns into a race between Rhodes for a cure, and all the forces aligned against him, including members of Genesis, who want their demands met; Ursula Ellis, the Evil Speaker of the House, who hates Allaire and doesn’t want him to succeed; the dying people inside the Capitol building; and time itself.

Discussion:

The Good:

This book definitely keeps you turning the pages.

No one is saved from death by dei ex machina.

The Bad:

Towards the end, the author tries to fill up the plot with twists – many twists, all at once, reminding this reader of the puzzle: I knew that she knew that you knew that they knew that you knew that I knew that we knew that I knew that. Did she know that you knew that I knew that you knew that I knew that you knew that? All the twisting seemed a little overboard to me: the level of pre-planning, coordination, and time to set it all up by a bunch of physically ill people seemed unrealistic.

I also found it a bit bizarre that President Allaire, who according to the story used to be an internist at the Cleveland Clinic, at one point asks Dr. Rhodes what an adjuvant is. I believe the author was trying to define it for the reader, but it didn’t make sense to me to have it be a question posed by a doctor. [Science Fiction writers are often ridiculed for inserting the so-called "As you know, Bob" conversation into dialogue, but such a narrative device would have been appropriate in this case.]

The Worse:

President Allaire took not only the Presidential Oath of Office, in which he swore to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, but he had also, in the past, taken the Hippocratic Oath, in which he would have sworn to do no harm, and not give lethal drugs to anyone. He didn’t seem too affected by either of those oaths. Nor does he seem familiar with Sun-tzu’s famous advice in The Art of War of “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” Allaire acts as if he has not much political savvy, nor much interest in upholding the Constitution. His method of eliminating political enemies is, well, at the very least not politically correct, shall we say.

The Ugly:

The bad characters aren’t just bad: they’re Evil Incarnate. And one of them is even The Speaker of the House, Ursula Ellis. Another is her aide. Realistic? I don’t think so. There is no nuance whatsoever in them. I could see the Genesis hired guns being uniformly bad. I can see somewhat that the Genesis masterminds would also be horrific (but given who they turned out to be, I also don’t buy it). But a Speaker of the House, who furthermore came in second in the previous presidential run, as a total psychopath? A person who would have been vetted relentlessly by countless reporters? In the author’s only concession to realism, Ursula doesn’t once say “Bwa-ha-ha,” but it was certainly implied!

Evaluation: This book is definitely a “thriller” and I enjoyed the author’s writing when he wasn’t jumping the shark. Based on the “good” aspects of this book, I would definitely try another when in the mood for this genre. show less

During the State of the Union address a terrorist group known as Genesis remotely detonates several vials of a deadly and very contagious virus hidden in the bags of various members of congress. The president orders the building put on lockdown, and so the countdown for an antidote begins. And the only person knowledgeable enough to create such a thing has been in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison for the last 8 months.

Does what it says on the tin. For the most part. The plot is interesting and has some nice twists, but I could have used a bit more seat-edginess. As far as thrillers go, it needs more thrills. Still, not a bad read.