From the first page this book is an attention grabber. The Second Opinion begins opens with Petros Sperelakis , a famous internist who is noted for his brilliant diagnostic ability. He even has a section of a famous Massachusetts hospital named for him and he has saved many lives, some of which are very rich and influential. Unfortunately, in his life and career he has made some enemies. After he is the victim of a brutal hit and run his youngest daughter Thea returns from her work with Doctors without Borders in the African jungle to help look after him. But her twin siblings, also doctors, would prefer to let the man die, and their oldest brother, Dimitri, has no interest at all in the old man. Thea doesn’t feel it is time to let their father go, just yet. She feels there is some hope for the man who is lying in a coma.
Asperger's Syndrome
Thea suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, which is interesting as she sees things differently than others. She is a fascinating character who often says whatever she is thinking and is learning the subtle art of small talk. Dimitri is also afflicted with a disease and he has closed himself off in the coach house of the family’s estate. Dimitri is brilliant with computers, but to his father’s dismay he wasn’t able to even complete Junior College, even though he is a genius. While his siblings are all well respected doctors, Dimitri feels like the black sheep of the family.
Thea soon discovers her father is not in a coma and has the ability to communicate, but he chooses to do so only with her. He cannot speak or move, but can, at times, move his eye ever so slowly. A victim of “locked in” syndrome, the man is alive inside but his body is not able to do anything.
Through her communications with her father, Thea learns his accident was not an accident. He was deliberately targeted by the driver. But why? It is up to Thea and her new boyfriend, a security guard at the hospital complex and a former police officer, to put the pieces together and uncover the puzzle. Thea turns to her brilliant brother Dimitri for help.
Michael Palmer is the father of a son with Asperger’s Syndrome, and also a physician. Palmer has written thirteen previous medical suspense novels. His training and experience in the medical profession make his stories compelling and his characters interesting. The Second Opinion is definitely a page turner from the very beginning until the final sentence.
- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press (February 17, 2009)
- ISBN-10: 0312343558
