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Claude Malloche is a very dangerous man. He is credited with hundreds of assassinations throughout the United States and Europe that make him appear like he is some sort of a mythic figure. Many government and law enforcement officials doubt the existence of this notorious hitman known as The Ghost but CIA agent Alex Bishop knows different. For a long time, he has been tracking down the criminal that killed his brother and will do anything he can to get revenge and put a stop to this monster. In The Patient, Bishop will get one last opportunity to snare Malloche. If he fails, he will have no more reason to continue living. For the last several years, the assassin has been living with a secret. He has an inoperable brain tumor that could kill him at any time. Malloche has met with top neurosurgeons around the world trying to find an answer to his problem and search for a miracle. If any doctor tells him that they cannot guarantee a full recovery, Malloche kills them without a second thought. This sociopath expects perfection from anyone who works for him and second best will not do. His last chance for a cure will be in Boston at the Eastern Massachusetts Medical Center. The hospital has recently made a major breakthrough in mechanical engineering and neurosurgery with the creation of a miniature robot implanted on the patientís brain to assist doctors in getting to tumors in those hard to reach places. They already have a success story and Malloche intends to be next. He will undergo through an elaborate ruse to try to get an operation. If he cannot get one, he will make sure no one will. Unbeknownst to the Ghost, Alex Bishop is already at the hospital working undercover. The agentís disadvantage is that he has no idea what Malloche looks like. Those who have seen his face are one of three things: loyal soldiers working for him, in hiding, or dead by Mallocheís hands. Bishop will have to rely on his wits in order to stop this madman and that may prove to be the most dangerous move. The Patient is a white-knuckle, suspense-filled thrill ride guaranteed to leave finger creases in the bookís covers. Malloche will play a perilous game with peopleís lives when he holds an entire hospital wing and the entire city of Boston hostage. He has set several canisters of toxic chemicals at strategic points in the city. The only person who can put a stop to that is Dr. Jessie Copeland, a neurosurgeon with an MIT degree in mechanical engineering, who is adept with A.R.T.I.E, the technologic tumor remover. If she does not give Malloche a full and complete recovery, thousands upon thousands of people are going to die. Palmer glides through this medical thriller like a true master who knows the ins and out of a hospital and write a tight-knit plot. He makes us care for the characters by spending the time to develop Dr. Copeland, a caring doctor who enjoys playing all kinds of games and who actually cares for her patients. Everyone knows that she does her best and is always straight with her patients. Those traits attracted Malloche to her and he knows that she would not do anything to put the people in her care in jeopardy. The bookís plot is certainly over the top but it is entertaining. Sure, there are some stereotypes in the book like patients who think doctors are gods and those doctors who believe they are. Malloche is as evil as most James Bond villains as well as his cronies. The Patient is the definition of high-octane entertainment and it is highly recommended. That is, of course, if the suspense does not kill you first.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, January 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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