SILENT TREATMENT by Michael Palmer - SIGNED FIRST EDITION BOOK

Palmer has written another winner in his usual gripping, surprise-filled manner. The story starts with the trite phrase, "The Doctor will see you now," although readers will soon comprehend the blood-curdling subtext. Next, four diners at the Jade Restaurant succumb to food poisoning and are hospitalized. One of them turns out to be Ron Farrell, an insurance company executive; a mysterious figure visits him, and he soon dies. Then Harry Corbett, severely wounded in Vietnam and now a doctor at Manhattan Medical Center, visits his wife, Evie, just before an operation on her brain aneurysm. He goes to get her a milkshake and returns just after she inexplicably expires. Although Harry does not know it, Evie had a second life as Desiree, a high-priced call girl who was also a reporter on the verge of publishing a shocking expose. It seems that the Roundtable, a small group of insurance executives, is masterminding a program to improve their profits at the expense of patients, who will lose either their coverage or their lives. Silent Treatment will make many readers think, definitely keep them interested, and maybe even make them cheer when Palmer's next thriller appears.