FATAL

Palmer's 10th medical thriller rides on his usual wave of unrelenting adrenaline, and will make readers think twice the next time they're due for a routine vaccination. The physician-hero this time is Matt Ruttledge, a doctor in bucolic Belinda, W.Va. When several of his patients turn up in the emergency room, babbling incoherently and sporting unsightly lumps on their faces, Ruttledge blames the town's main employer, a large mining operation with a history of safety abuses and environmental neglect. As more patients turn up with the same fatal symptoms, Ruttledge discovers that a larger culprit may be responsible: a new supervaccine that's about to hit the market. Backed by powerful political interests and drug companies, the vaccine, called Omnivax, had been tested in Belinda a decade earlier, and its deadly side effects are now finally surfacing. Joined by a group of like-minded medical professionals and a colorful cast of civilians, Ruttledge sets out to stymie the makers of the vaccine. Omnivax's backers, however, have no intention of letting a lone doctor and a gaggle of bumpkins kill their cash cow. As with Palmer's other popular thrillers (The Patient, etc.), the plot at times turns wild to the point of disbelief, and the occasional red herring practically screams its presence the moment it swims into view. But the former ER physician's ability to craft gripping suspense, likable heroes and hateful villains—as well as a thought-provoking dialogue about the risks of the nation's vaccination program—keep the pulse pounding. Major print and radio ad/promo; author tour. (May 7)