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There are approximately 21 million children missing in the United States, according to Daniel Palmer. In a heartrending novel, he brings together two scenarios involving children separated from their parents by either family members or strangers.

Angie DeRose has an investigative practice involved with attempting to find lost children and uniting them with their families. She has developed a reputation for expending the energy and time in logical hunts for the missing.

The first scenario Palmer introduces is Carolyn Jessup, a distraught mother coming to Angie’s office in order for her to find her missing daughter, Nadine. Nadine, in the process of running away from home, has been caught up by a group that uses her as a sex slave. Her degradation and the horror of living this life are brought out via the use of a secret diary kept by her and hidden from those that are holding her.

At the same time, Angie’s search for the girl is outlined, showing the slow, torturous path towards a solution and not the fictional treatment of the quick and superhuman actions of a private detective in a novel.  Along the way, Bryce Taggert, a U.S. Marshal helping out with the search for Nadine, is introduced and becomes a love interest for Angie.

The second scenario is Angie’s discovery that all is not as it seems to be with her parents and herself.  The question of whether or not they were involved in a witness protection program begins with the discovery of a photo of a young girl found among her mother’s possessions. On the back of the photo her mother had written the words, “may God forgive me”.

Daniel Palmer has obviously been very affected by the plight of children separated from their families and the fact that the sheer numbers have not elicited national campaigns to find them. The children, even when found, will surely suffer lifelong trauma. If not found, and their unknown fate does leave their family completely devastated. Closure is just a word used by professionals dealing with these cases to try and cause people to get beyond the incident. Palmer does not embellish their feelings, but does describe situations beyond most people’s experience and expectations.

A disturbing novel, but one that is necessary. Very well done.

6/16 Paul Lane

FORGIVE ME by Daniel Palmer. Kensington (May 31, 2016).  ISBN 978-0758293473.  416p.

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Michael Palmer, sadly deceased, is credited as the co-author of this novel. The reason is quite clear; Michael, a medical doctor, utilized the format of medical thrillers in his own novels. Whether the idea is from his father, or based on Daniel’s own extensive research, the novel is definitely an all-nighter for any reader. The plot features a little known medical condition in which a patient with that condition can have a fatal heart attack when frightened.

Dr. Julie Devereux is an outspoken advocate of a patient’s right to die until her fiancé, Sam Talbot, becomes a quadriplegic after a motorcycle accident. Faced with many years of lying helpless Sam begs  Julie to help him end his life.

With the help of an organization that has the aim of convincing patients to hang on, with the hope that technology will someday be able to cure whatever the ailment, Julie is able to persuade him to change his mind.  But then Sam suffers a fatal heart attack.  Examination finds that Sam’s heart had the unusual defect that caused him to succumb to a fright.

When Julie begins to investigate other cases involving this little known defect, she finds that against long odds, there have been other cases at the hospital where she works. She also finds herself subject to threats telling her to forego her investigation. When she does not stop, she is accused of a mercy killing of her own. When even this does not get her to forget her investigation, an attempt on her own life ensues.

Events depicted in the book are rapid fire. Medical conditions are explained for the reader, enabling him or her to understand the consequences of each event. Characters are sufficiently developed for an understanding of their motivations. No problem for Daniel Palmer’s place as a major author to continue with constant demand for his books.

5/16 Paul Lane

MERCY by Daniel Palmer & Michael Palmer. St. Martin’s Press (May 17, 2016).  ISBN 978-1250030849.  384p.