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Dr. Lou Welcome is a fine Boston emergency room physician who also happens to be a recovering addict. He is asked to cover for his boss at a medical conference in Atlanta, and takes his best friend, Cap, along.

While out trail running, a slippery slope causes Cap to severely injure his leg, and Lou manages to get him to the hospital but that’s just the beginning of Cap’s problems. He picks up a new bug, nicknamed the “Doomsday Germ” by the press, while hospitalized.

Turns out a right wing domestic terrorist group was the creator of the germ, which they planned on using to blackmail the U.S. government into shutting down all entitlement programs. But the flesh eating bacteria just grew out of control and completely resistant to all known treatments, including the cure the terrorists thought they had, and even the Center for Disease Control is stumped. The F.B.I. gets involved, and the race between the government and the terrorists is on to find a cure before thousands die.

Over the years, Palmer has grown an audience for his medical thrillers, and this page turner should keep them happy.

Copyright ©2014 Booklist, a division of the American Library Association.

Michael Palmer, Stacy Alesi (me), Daniel Palmer

On a personal note, I need to add how saddened I was when Michael Palmer passed away in late October, 2013. I had the privilege of meeting him on several occasions, and he was a real mensch – warm, charismatic and just a wonderful human being. He always remembered to ask about my kids and was always available to anyone who needed anything.

I met Michael through the International Thriller Writers organization at ThrillerFest, their annual convention. I was always so happy to see him at conventions because he always seemed so happy to see me; his smile was infectious.

When I was looking for authors willing to visit my library, I only had to ask him once. Not only did he come down, he brought Daniel along, too, and my library patrons got to meet two authors, who not only spoke about their books, but played music and sang. It was such a fun event and a real treat for me & my patrons.

I checked with St. Martin’s Press and they informed me that Michael left one more book behind, which is scheduled for May 2015.

Michael holds a special place in my heart and I will always remember him fondly.

5/14 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

RESISTANT by Michael Palmer. St. Martin’s Press (May 20, 2014). ISBN 978-1250030924. 400p.

Dr. Gerald Umber is a Plastic Surgeon and an honorary police surgeon for many years. This is his first novel.

Not surprisingly, the central character is a doctor working for the New York City Police Department as well as having a second job as a doctor at a regional hospital. On a flight back to New York from a trip to London he is called upon to minister to a woman suffering from cardiac arrest. She does not survive and Dr. Black is drawn in by the death and later exam of the body in the morgue to what may be an international drug smuggling ring using “mules” (people that carry drugs in cavities in their bodies.)

Black’s girlfriend Alice, a Brit, introduces him to a friend of hers who believes that the death is connected to an international ring based in England. When Alice’s friend is killed and she disappears, it leads to the probability that the smuggling is much more than drugs and may be a plot by international terrorists as part of a plan to attack the United States.

Various departments such as the FBI, the DEA and Homeland Security are brought into the action and Dr. Black is kept on as an expert in getting to the bottom of what the plot may entail.

Dr. Umber’s medical expertise and his skill in creating plot and events make this a riveting book as fact after fact is brought out in the action. The ending is a direct result of the facts brought out in the book, but does not, in any way, spoil the pleasure. I would expect that based on the creation of Wendell Black the author plans to use his position and expertise in future novels.

2/14 Paul Lane

WENDELL BLACK, MD by Gerald Imber. Bourbon Street Books (February 11, 2014). ISBN 978-0062246851. 416p