Mercy

Starred review from March 14, 2016
Boston doctor Julie Devereux, a divorced mother and the heroine of this outstanding second posthumous collaboration (after 2015’s Trauma) between Daniel Palmer and his father, Michael (1942–2013), is on the verge of marrying the love of her life, Sam Talbot. But everything changes when Sam is left a quadriplegic after a motorcycle accident. Sam’s requests that Julie let him die place her in an especially difficult spot, as she has been a passionate advocate of death with dignity. Tragically, just as Sam begins to be receptive to a support group for the paralyzed, he dies from a heart attack. Baffled by this turn of events, Julie turns sleuth, only to find that something disturbing is going on at her hospital, something the reader has known since the prologue, which depicts an unnamed doctor administering a fatal dose of medication to a patient he considers to have “no business living.” Ample, plausible twists combined with well-developed characters add up to a superior thriller that grapples with the ethics of euthanasia. Agent: Meg Ruley, Jane Rotrosen Agency.

July 25, 2016
This medical thriller by the late Michael Palmer and his son, Daniel, centers around Julie Devereux, a critical care physician at Boston’s White Memorial Hospital, who has always been an advocate of death with dignity. That changes when a brutal motorcycle accident leaves the love of her life, Sam Talbot, a quadriplegic. Instead of acting on his plea for euthanasia, she tries to convince him that, even in his condition, life is worth living. When he dies suddenly from apparent cardiac arrest, a bereft Julie discovers that a suspicious number of other patients have experienced fatal heart attacks. She begins searching the corridors for a “mercy” killer, prompting the killer to threaten her. Narrator Huber’s naturally calm, soft, intelligent voice is a splendid match for the thoughtful, empathetic Julie. It’s also ideal for objectively establishing the Palmers’ smartly conceived premise. As the authors tighten the screws, narrowing the distance between Julie and the murderer, Huber reacts with an appropriate increase of tension and intensity, and as the novel races to a dynamic close, she successfully guides the listener through several shattering surprises without overdoing or undercutting the suspense. A St. Martin’s hardcover.