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jross97's review against another edition
3.0
This was the first medical thriller I have read. I liked it more than I thought I would but it was not a read that makes me want to seek out more like this. I found the action scenes hard to follow or picture making it difficult to fully grasp what was unfolding. I found the twists exciting however and liked the main characters. Overall, it was better than expected but not great for my personal taste.
fernandame's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
readswithstella's review against another edition
3.0
I found the book to be quite entertaining. It didn't leave enough of an impression on my though. But all in all it was a good read.
bookgirl4ever's review against another edition
3.0
Palmer wrote a good medical thriller that keeps the reader engaged and wanting to get revenge on the villain.
karenreads1000s's review against another edition
3.0
A very abrupt ending. Differences in the pace of this male authored book. More physical and less psychological action.
monicamjw's review against another edition
3.0
Found myself reading faster and faster to keep up with the pace - a good thriller that wasn't always predictable.
claygirley's review against another edition
5.0
Read this in high school--one of my fave medical thrillers.
kiwisando's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
weaselweader's review against another edition
1.0
Perhaps not the worst he's written, but it's certainly the worst I've read!
When you've written as many novels as Michael Palmer has, it's a logical inevitability that something is the best and something else has to qualify as the weakest! It's a sad day to encounter that candidate for a career worst when you've come to believe that an author's quality is almost inevitably top flight!
When Evie Corbett, a young up-and-comer in the community, dies suddenly and unexpectedly on the eve of a surgery, homicide is suspected and the only suspect within view is her husband, Dr Harry Corbett.
At this point, I'm going to digress a little and take the liberty of quoting myself from my recent review of another Michael Palmer novel, Critical Judgment:
"Uh oh ... I rolled my eyes and sighed, thinking I was wading into that aging medical thriller chestnut of the heroic sole practitioner waging battle against some evil megalomaniacal corporate demon. When Robin Cook first wrote Coma in 1977 almost single-handedly creating the medical thriller genre, this might have been new and exciting fare. But, since then, it's been beaten to death and I was convinced that Critical Judgment was bound to be a derivative dud."
Well, I went on to admit that Critical Judgment successfully beat back that initial negative impression and succeeded in spades.
But, Silent Treatment is another story. This time around, my eyes rolled back and just kept right on going. The plot (which IS of the derivative sole practitioner versus corporate megalomaniacal demon variety) and the criminals (a secret cabal of top level insurance executives seeking to eliminate high cost patients sucking profit off their bottom lines) are all fully revealed within the first few chapters by Palmer himself. The characters are wooden and any suspense that the plot may have generated was eliminated by its early revelation and complete lack of credibility. The major villain of the piece is a completely over-the-top, laughable, cartoonish parody ... a caricatured Dr Mengele, most recently an expert in non-invasive medical torture by the Colombian drug cartel. Now the insurance cartel have hired him as a nomadic serial killer, meandering from hospital to hospital, HMO to HMO, killing off expensive patients that the insurance companies have, with most grievous hindsight, realized they should never have given coverage.
And, before any zealous commenters yell at me, this is NOT a spoiler. Palmer managed that all by himself!
Silent Treatment was published in 1995. It was neither Palmer's first effort nor his most recent so I choose to treat it as an aberration as opposed to any indication that he's jumped the shark or lost his edge. I'll continue to read all of Palmer's novels as a solid fan but I can't recommend that any reader, fan or otherwise, bother with this particular novel.
Paul Weiss
When you've written as many novels as Michael Palmer has, it's a logical inevitability that something is the best and something else has to qualify as the weakest! It's a sad day to encounter that candidate for a career worst when you've come to believe that an author's quality is almost inevitably top flight!
When Evie Corbett, a young up-and-comer in the community, dies suddenly and unexpectedly on the eve of a surgery, homicide is suspected and the only suspect within view is her husband, Dr Harry Corbett.
At this point, I'm going to digress a little and take the liberty of quoting myself from my recent review of another Michael Palmer novel, Critical Judgment:
"Uh oh ... I rolled my eyes and sighed, thinking I was wading into that aging medical thriller chestnut of the heroic sole practitioner waging battle against some evil megalomaniacal corporate demon. When Robin Cook first wrote Coma in 1977 almost single-handedly creating the medical thriller genre, this might have been new and exciting fare. But, since then, it's been beaten to death and I was convinced that Critical Judgment was bound to be a derivative dud."
Well, I went on to admit that Critical Judgment successfully beat back that initial negative impression and succeeded in spades.
But, Silent Treatment is another story. This time around, my eyes rolled back and just kept right on going. The plot (which IS of the derivative sole practitioner versus corporate megalomaniacal demon variety) and the criminals (a secret cabal of top level insurance executives seeking to eliminate high cost patients sucking profit off their bottom lines) are all fully revealed within the first few chapters by Palmer himself. The characters are wooden and any suspense that the plot may have generated was eliminated by its early revelation and complete lack of credibility. The major villain of the piece is a completely over-the-top, laughable, cartoonish parody ... a caricatured Dr Mengele, most recently an expert in non-invasive medical torture by the Colombian drug cartel. Now the insurance cartel have hired him as a nomadic serial killer, meandering from hospital to hospital, HMO to HMO, killing off expensive patients that the insurance companies have, with most grievous hindsight, realized they should never have given coverage.
And, before any zealous commenters yell at me, this is NOT a spoiler. Palmer managed that all by himself!
Silent Treatment was published in 1995. It was neither Palmer's first effort nor his most recent so I choose to treat it as an aberration as opposed to any indication that he's jumped the shark or lost his edge. I'll continue to read all of Palmer's novels as a solid fan but I can't recommend that any reader, fan or otherwise, bother with this particular novel.
Paul Weiss
martyfried's review against another edition
4.0
My first book by Michael Palmer, but not the last, I'm sure. A real roller-coaster ride, with lots of suspense all the way. It went fast, mainly because I had trouble putting it down.
If you don't like the state of medical care and medical insurance in the US, this book probably won't change your mind. Although it was a bit over the top, it didn't seem completely unbelievable that the insurance company would try to maximize their profits at the expense of a few patients. Hopefully, they don't go this far, but who knows?
If you don't like the state of medical care and medical insurance in the US, this book probably won't change your mind. Although it was a bit over the top, it didn't seem completely unbelievable that the insurance company would try to maximize their profits at the expense of a few patients. Hopefully, they don't go this far, but who knows?