The First Patient cover art

The First Patient

A Novel

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The First Patient

By: Michael Palmer
Narrated by: Phil Gigante
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About this listen

 Gabe Singleton and Andrew Stoddard were roommates at the Naval Academy in Annapolis years ago. Today, Gabe is a country doctor and his friend Andrew has gone from war hero to governor to President of the United States.

One day, while the United States is embroiled in a bitter presidential election campaign, Marine One lands on Gabe's Wyoming ranch, and President Stoddard delivers a disturbing revelation and a startling request. His personal physician has suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, and he desperately needs Gabe to take the man's place. Despite serious misgivings, Gabe agrees to come to Washington.

It is not until he is ensconced in the White House medical office that Gabe realizes there is strong evidence that the President is going insane. Facing a crisis of conscience - as President Stoddard's physician, he has the power to invoke the 25th Amendment to transfer presidential power to the vice president - Gabe uncovers increasing evidence that his friend's condition may not be due to natural causes.

Who? Why? And how? The president's life is at stake. A small-town doctor suddenly finds himself in the most powerful position on earth, and the safety of the world is in jeopardy. Gabe Singleton must find the answers, and the clock is ticking.

©2008 Michael Palmer (P)2007 Brilliance Audio Genre Fiction Medical Suspense Thriller & Suspense

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Critic reviews

"[An] over-the-top yet endlessly entertaining thriller....The roller-coaster ride of a plot builds to an undeniably shocking conclusion." ( Publishers Weekly)
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Stunning book and very well read. One of the best.

Excellent

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I couldn’t write a novel, I definitely couldn’t be a narrator so who do I think I am? But... felt formulaic, poor narration and seriously, worst last line ever.

Oh dear!

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

Perhaps not

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

A little less obvious. There was no doubt as to the "baddie".

Have you listened to any of Phil Gigante’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not sure voice is familiar. Not bad at all as a narrator.Very clear.

Could you see The First Patient being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

Possibly - sort of thng I can see as a film with Martin Sheen as the dad.

Any additional comments?

I will try other books by this author despite finding it very predictable. I read, listen to hundreds of suspense/mystery books and really there are only so many stories to be told. Others might find it less obvious.

predictable but still enjoyed it.

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I struggled with this until almost the end, but eventually abandoned it. The story is OK-ish. Nothing particularly spectacular, but in the hands of a good narrator like Ray Porter or Scott Brick it would be entertaining. This chap, however, is AWFUL. There's no other way to describe his overblown story telling, appalling pseudo-female voice interpretations, and poor understanding of punctuation when reading aloud. Simply AWFUL. Don't waste your time.

Mediocre book, awful narrator

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