The New York Times bestselling author and master of medical suspense delivers another shocker of a thriller filled with insider details and a terrifying psychopath Four murders. Three accidents. Two suicides. One left¦ THE LAST SURGEON Michael Palmers latest novel pits a flawed doctor against a ruthless psychopath, who has made murder his art form. Dr. Nick Garrity, a vet suffering from PTSDpost traumatic stress disorderspends his days and nights dispensing medical treatment from a mobile clinic to the homeless and disenfranchised in D.C. and Baltimore. In addition, he is constantly on the lookout for his war buddy Umberto Vasquez, who was plucked from the streets by the military four years ago for a secret mission and has not been seen since. Psych nurse Gillian Coates wants to find her sisters killer. She does not believe that Belle Coates, an ICU nurse, took her own life, eve Palmer’s best novel in years is a highly suspenseful story that begins with a murder staged to look like a suicide and ends with the exposure of a far-reaching conspiracy. The three central players are Jillian Coates, a nurse who refuses to believe her sister would kill herself; Nick Garrity, a physician still haunted by the disappearance of his best friend three years ago; and Franz Koller, a ruthless hired killer who has several victims to dispatch, only none of them can look like murder. Palmer cleverly teams up Nick and Jillian, uniting them in a common purpose: to find out how Jillian’s dead sister and Nick’s missing friend seem to have come in contact with one another. Palmer keeps his two leads—and us, too—in the dark for a good portion of the book, dispensing the occasional tantalizing hint of some horrible secret lying just below the surface. When we discover the truth behind the mystery, we’re shocked and exhilarated and bewildered, all at the same time. Palmer has always spun a good yarn, but this one is more compelling and features more engaging characters than some of his recent efforts. --David Pitt Michael Palmer writes internationally bestselling novels of medical suspense, including A Heartbeat Away, The First Patient, The Second Opinion, The Sisterhood and Critical Judgment . His books have been translated into thirty-five languages. Palmer earned his bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University, and he attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University. He trained in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals. He spent twenty years as a full-time practitioner of internal and emergency medicine. In addition to his writing, Palmer is an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society Physician Health Services, devoted to helping physicians troubled by mental illness, physical illness, behavioral issues, and chemical dependency. He lives in eastern Massachusetts. THE LAST SURGEON (Chapter One) "Nick, Nick, throw it here! Come on, let it go!" Nick Garrity cocked his right arm and lofted a perfect spiral to the gangly youth waiting across the yard. The boy, who would have been happy to keep playing until midnight, gathered in the pass effortlessly and immediately threw it back. "Okay, that's it, Reggie. I gotta take Chance for a run and then get ready for work." "One more pass. Just one more. After dinner I'll go over to your place and take Chance out. Promise." Through the gloom of what was going to be a stormy evening, Nick could feel the boy's energy and see his enthusiasm. A drug-addicted mother, a long-gone father, time in juvenile detention for a crime no one seemed willing to talk about, seven years in a sequence of foster homes, and the kid was still upbeat and great to be around. How in the hell do you do it? Nick wondered. For most of the week, Nick's mood had been as somber as the prestorm sky. And as usual, there was no reason--at least not on the surface--to explain it. A night in the Helping Hands RV would improve his flagging morale. It usually did. He made a final throw, handled as easily as most of the others, and then motioned for Reggie to come in. "Come on, big guy. I've got to leave soon." "So, where're you goin' tonight, Nick? D.C.?" "I think so. Junie keeps track of that." "Can I come?" "It's a school night, and you promised to deal with Second Chance. Remember, don't let him off the leash or he'll see a squirrel and chase it to the moon. Greyhounds are bred to chase little furry animals. Use the long leash if you're going to throw him his Frisbee." "How about I go with you tomorrow?" "We'll see." "I never get to do anything exciting." "Yes, you do. Staying out of trouble is exciting." Reggie punched Nick playfully in the side. Nick put his arm around the youth's shoulders and walked with him to the back door. The modest one-family, with three bedrooms and a finished basement, was located in the Carroll Park section of Baltimore. Nick had lived there with June Wright and her husband, Sam, for a few months before renting the first floor of a r
