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The Fifth Vial
In Boston, a disgraced medical student is sent to deliver a research paper that could save her career… In a hospital four thousand miles away, a reclusive scientist, dying from an incurable disease that threatens to make each tortured breath his last, is on the verge of perfecting a serum that could save millions of lives—and bring others inestimable wealth… In Chicago, a disillusioned detective is hired to determine the identity of a John Doe, killed on a Florida highway, with mysterious marks on his body.
Three seemingly disconnected lives, surging unrelentingly toward one another—
and linked forever by THE FIFTH VIAL
Three seemingly disconnected lives, surging unrelentingly toward one another—
and linked forever by THE FIFTH VIAL
518 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2000
About the author
Michael Palmer
68 books190 followersMichael Stephen Palmer, M.D., was an American physician and author. His novels are often referred to as medical thrillers. Some of his novels have made The New York Times Best Seller list and have been translated into 35 languages. One, Extreme Measures (1991), was adopted into a 1996 film of the same name starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Gene Hackman.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 435 reviews
January 17, 2024
A thrilling treatment of a very tired medical thriller plot subject!
When I read the dust flap for Michael Palmer's 12th medical suspense novel, THE FIFTH VIAL and realized that it was about the illicit black market for transplant organs, I just about set it aside unread. Surely, Michael Palmer, himself an MD and an imaginative successful author of 11 previous medical thrillers could come up with a better plot idea than the hoary old chestnut of the black market trade in transplant organs! Well, the book was in my hands, my drink was already poured and the fire was lit ... I couldn't be bothered going back to my bookshelf for a second choice! And that, my friends, was a wonderful piece of serendipity!
Natalie Reyes, a medical student in Brazil for a conference, is attacked and hospitalized and loses a lung. Ben Callahan, a down on his luck, hard up private detective in Chicago, has been engaged by Organ Guard, anthropologist Alice Gustafson's watchdog agency, to investigate some apparent human rights violations and abuses in the procurement and transplantation of organs and tissues. Dr Joe Anson, a humanitarian, a doctor and brilliant researcher in Yaoundé, Cameroun, closes in on the completion of his research on Sarah-9, a drug that will save untold numbers of lives when it reaches world markets. But the race to complete that research may be lost to pulmonary fibrosis. Without a new lung, Anson's fate is all but sealed and the benefits of Sarah-9 will be lost to mankind.
OK, OK ... so Palmer's characters are a little bit overdone, a little bit stereotyped and cartoonish and little bit too heroic to be believable! But, the fact is, Palmer has also turned what could have been a potential rehash of old news into an exciting plot that moves at lightning speed with a techno-twist that will really raise your eyebrows. The ending, which ties up all the loose ends, is both brilliant and emotionally moving!
I was especially moved to see Michael Palmer's afterword in which he makes a personal plea to readers to become organ donors. For goodness' sake ... discuss the issue with your families, sign your organ donor cards, signify your intent on your drivers licenses, contact your local donor registries and make your death (which, much as we like to deny, is inevitable) all the more meaningful to the world surviving you. For what it's worth, this is also a personal sermon of sorts. I have asked my family, when I die, to give away every possible organ or piece of my body that will serve to make someone's life better and longer and to donate whatever is left to our local medical school for the purposes of teaching new doctors about anatomy. The best possible result of my death would having absolutely nothing left to bury or cremate!
Before all that has happened, you might take the time to read Michael Palmer's THE FIFTH VIAL. You won't regret it!
Paul Weiss
When I read the dust flap for Michael Palmer's 12th medical suspense novel, THE FIFTH VIAL and realized that it was about the illicit black market for transplant organs, I just about set it aside unread. Surely, Michael Palmer, himself an MD and an imaginative successful author of 11 previous medical thrillers could come up with a better plot idea than the hoary old chestnut of the black market trade in transplant organs! Well, the book was in my hands, my drink was already poured and the fire was lit ... I couldn't be bothered going back to my bookshelf for a second choice! And that, my friends, was a wonderful piece of serendipity!
Natalie Reyes, a medical student in Brazil for a conference, is attacked and hospitalized and loses a lung. Ben Callahan, a down on his luck, hard up private detective in Chicago, has been engaged by Organ Guard, anthropologist Alice Gustafson's watchdog agency, to investigate some apparent human rights violations and abuses in the procurement and transplantation of organs and tissues. Dr Joe Anson, a humanitarian, a doctor and brilliant researcher in Yaoundé, Cameroun, closes in on the completion of his research on Sarah-9, a drug that will save untold numbers of lives when it reaches world markets. But the race to complete that research may be lost to pulmonary fibrosis. Without a new lung, Anson's fate is all but sealed and the benefits of Sarah-9 will be lost to mankind.
OK, OK ... so Palmer's characters are a little bit overdone, a little bit stereotyped and cartoonish and little bit too heroic to be believable! But, the fact is, Palmer has also turned what could have been a potential rehash of old news into an exciting plot that moves at lightning speed with a techno-twist that will really raise your eyebrows. The ending, which ties up all the loose ends, is both brilliant and emotionally moving!
I was especially moved to see Michael Palmer's afterword in which he makes a personal plea to readers to become organ donors. For goodness' sake ... discuss the issue with your families, sign your organ donor cards, signify your intent on your drivers licenses, contact your local donor registries and make your death (which, much as we like to deny, is inevitable) all the more meaningful to the world surviving you. For what it's worth, this is also a personal sermon of sorts. I have asked my family, when I die, to give away every possible organ or piece of my body that will serve to make someone's life better and longer and to donate whatever is left to our local medical school for the purposes of teaching new doctors about anatomy. The best possible result of my death would having absolutely nothing left to bury or cremate!
Before all that has happened, you might take the time to read Michael Palmer's THE FIFTH VIAL. You won't regret it!
Paul Weiss
June 16, 2023
Vaaai, n-am mai citit un roman atît de prost scris din copilărie, cînd mă preocupa mult mai puțin forma narativă dacă cartea avea suspans. Desigur, nu citesc thrillere pentru stil, ci pentru amuzament (sau, cum ar zice unii, din lene intelectuală, care la mine se manifestă timp de 15-20 de minute în fiecare dimineață 😊), dar există un minimum de criterii care trebuie îndeplinite chiar și de autorii de cărți mai ușurele, ca să zic așa:
- în primul rînd, un oareșce talent narativ. La început mi-am spus că poate-i traducerea proastă, dar scuza asta n-a ținut decît vreo 50 de pagini. Romanul pare scris de un puștan de vreo 15 ani cu multă imaginație, dar fără prea multă aplecare stilistică;
- apoi, o oarecare credibilitate a caracterelor și a acțiunii, dar personajele sînt fie orbitor de pozitive, fie beznos de negative, iar anihilarea rețelei criminale trece pe lîngă verosimil ca acceleratul prin halte, semănînd izbitor cu fantasmagoriile conspiraționiștilor;
- în fine, o cît de cît rezonabilă coerență a firului epic, care aici se rupe și se înnoadă fără vreo logică aparentă.
Culmea e că, deși obiecțiile de mai sus m-au exasperat pe tot parcursul lecturii, nu m-am putut abține să n-o termin, așa că-i dau numai o stea de ciudă pe mine, nu pe ea :D :D :D
- în primul rînd, un oareșce talent narativ. La început mi-am spus că poate-i traducerea proastă, dar scuza asta n-a ținut decît vreo 50 de pagini. Romanul pare scris de un puștan de vreo 15 ani cu multă imaginație, dar fără prea multă aplecare stilistică;
- apoi, o oarecare credibilitate a caracterelor și a acțiunii, dar personajele sînt fie orbitor de pozitive, fie beznos de negative, iar anihilarea rețelei criminale trece pe lîngă verosimil ca acceleratul prin halte, semănînd izbitor cu fantasmagoriile conspiraționiștilor;
- în fine, o cît de cît rezonabilă coerență a firului epic, care aici se rupe și se înnoadă fără vreo logică aparentă.
Culmea e că, deși obiecțiile de mai sus m-au exasperat pe tot parcursul lecturii, nu m-am putut abține să n-o termin, așa că-i dau numai o stea de ciudă pe mine, nu pe ea :D :D :D
July 21, 2019
This book always had me thinking. Lots of twists and turns.
July 28, 2022
This was an audiobook I listened to. The narration was excellent.
An interesting tale with lots... and I mean lots... of plot twists and turns. The author wove a plethora of plot points together for a really spellbinding story. I really didn't know what was coming next!
What does an athlete/medical student, a renowned research physician with incurable lung disease, a secret group of "Guardians of the Republic" (known only by their Greek philosopher pseudonyms) the city of Rio de Janiero, the rain forest, and a clandestine transplant team protected by Brazilian military police have to do with illegal organ harvesting and murder?
Read the book and find out.
An interesting tale with lots... and I mean lots... of plot twists and turns. The author wove a plethora of plot points together for a really spellbinding story. I really didn't know what was coming next!
What does an athlete/medical student, a renowned research physician with incurable lung disease, a secret group of "Guardians of the Republic" (known only by their Greek philosopher pseudonyms) the city of Rio de Janiero, the rain forest, and a clandestine transplant team protected by Brazilian military police have to do with illegal organ harvesting and murder?
Read the book and find out.
February 23, 2010
I am new to 'goodreads' but thought that I would contribute by adding the books that I have read over the past year. It's a bit difficult to write a review months later. I remember enough about all of these books. They were 'good reads' or 'worthwhile reads' in my humble opinion. I am attempting to discuss what stood out for me.
I really like stories like this. Fiction but believable ? I say "yes" - being a scientist and of course my spouse responds "It is fiction !" It has been a while since I have read this book but this is what I remember. The author explains some science in the midst of their tale: tissue typing, HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigens), data-mining and why these factors are important for organ transplant. The 'suspense' theme runs like any. I've recommended this book to many people.... Good - read !!
I really like stories like this. Fiction but believable ? I say "yes" - being a scientist and of course my spouse responds "It is fiction !" It has been a while since I have read this book but this is what I remember. The author explains some science in the midst of their tale: tissue typing, HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigens), data-mining and why these factors are important for organ transplant. The 'suspense' theme runs like any. I've recommended this book to many people.... Good - read !!
November 12, 2009
Books that increase your paranoia are always fun to read, and this book did exactly that. Trust me when I say that I will ALWAYS pay attention to the color on the top of the vials they use to take blood from now on, and if a green one is in the mix, I'm running away... Fast. This book was very much written like Crichton's Next. Separate stories, told from separate points of view, seemingly unrelated that come together in the end. Although Palmer's writing was not nearly as advanced as Crichton's (who, let's face it, is an AMAZING writer), I greatly enjoyed this book. It was an excellent mix of adventure, puzzle-solving, romance (there is a little) and, of course, paranoia. I would recommend this to anyone who likes to solve mysteries and is interested in medical thrillers.
January 1, 2012
This is a medical thriller. It describes the illegal organ transplant trade through a vast global conspiracy. A company called Whitestone sets up a huge network of private labs to do routine testing for medical purposes. An extra vial of blood is taken and sent to a central processing facility supposedly for QC purposes. Instead the blood is analyzed for suitability for organ donation. When a wealthy person needs an organ, a donor is matched through Whitestone's database. Most often the donor is not willing, but is captured or taken hostage. The book follows three main characters. Natalie Reyes is a medical student from Boston. She is sent to Brazil to give a paper at a meeting for her adviser. When she guest there she is taken prisoner and her lung is removed. Joseph Alston (?) is a doctor who practices in the jungles of Cameroon. He comes to need a new lung, and ends up being a perfect match for Natalie. He is not in on the scheme and demands to know who gave him the lung and what happened to him. Ben Callahan is a PI from Chicago, hired by a professor there who wants to investigate the illegal organ trade. Callahan and Reyes eventually meet in a remote Brazilian village Where Whitestone's transplants are done, far from the eyes of the law. The narrator is a bit corny, but not too bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2008
Too bad the whole book wasn't like th end, loved the end few chapters of the book. The first part of the book was a struggle to read though, it never fully pulled me in.
January 20, 2023
Wow! I am super impressed about this book. I found it accidentally in my local library and I just adored it! I readed it so fast, because it keeped me so engaged in the story. It's my first book about this subject and I frecking loved it! I highly reccomend this one!
Michael Palmer it's a very good writer that reminded me of Guillaume Musso as writing style but on a different subject - medical thriller.
Michael Palmer it's a very good writer that reminded me of Guillaume Musso as writing style but on a different subject - medical thriller.
February 7, 2013
It's too bad this excellent story had a somewhat disappointing ending, as if unfinished. Nonetheless, I give it an 8 of 10 stars for creativity, suspense and a couple of interesting lead characters who could still be flushed out.
September 30, 2023
I really hope that the theme of this book is purely hypothetical... I've read a Romanian translation - which I am 100% sure diminished the "sound" of the writing - but the subject totally took over me.
Imagine that you have done your blood tests, and this is the event that changes your life forever. You become a victim because you are the (almost) perfect match for a powerful organ receiver. And just like that, your life is over. You are kidnapped. And forced to be an organ donner. If you'll be alive, well, that's just your luck.
I totally recommend the book and if possible, in English.
Imagine that you have done your blood tests, and this is the event that changes your life forever. You become a victim because you are the (almost) perfect match for a powerful organ receiver. And just like that, your life is over. You are kidnapped. And forced to be an organ donner. If you'll be alive, well, that's just your luck.
I totally recommend the book and if possible, in English.
February 7, 2021
"Tough is swimming against the stream and having the courage to be different."
The true physician is also a ruler having the human body as a subject, and is not a mere money maker.
--Plato, "The Republic," Book I
In respect of temperance, courage, magnificence, and every other virtue, should we not carefully distinguish between the true son and the bastard?
--Plato, "The Republic," Book VII
In what manner does tyranny rise?--That it has a democratic origin is evident.
--Plato, "The Republic," Book VIII
When he obtains the power, he immediately becomes unjust as he can be.
--Plato, "The Republic," Book II
Want more!!
The true physician is also a ruler having the human body as a subject, and is not a mere money maker.
--Plato, "The Republic," Book I
In respect of temperance, courage, magnificence, and every other virtue, should we not carefully distinguish between the true son and the bastard?
--Plato, "The Republic," Book VII
In what manner does tyranny rise?--That it has a democratic origin is evident.
--Plato, "The Republic," Book VIII
When he obtains the power, he immediately becomes unjust as he can be.
--Plato, "The Republic," Book II
Want more!!
January 3, 2015
In Michael Palmer's the Fifth Vial, he once again wrote us a fantastic medical thriller. In Boston, a disgraced medical student was sent to deliver a research paper to save her career. In the jungles of the Cameroon, a brilliant, reclusive scientist is dying from an incurable disease and is on the verge of perfecting a serum to save lives and bring others tons of wealth. And in Chicago, a disillusioned private detective was hired to determine the identity of a John Doe that was killed on a Florida highway. What bridged those three lives together was a single vial of blood, while they were in peril, they moved closer on unraveling the god-like secret society with antiquity roots. They dealt with deception and betrayal all the way.
June 25, 2012
Oh my gosh, what a treat to have discovered Michael Palmer. Well, actually, a friend turned me on to him. I was a Robin Cook fan and hadn't found much in the way of medical thrillers until I started reading Tess Gerritsen and now have found Palmer. Fifth Vial is another treatise of the somewhat used plot of illegal organ theft and transplants. Palmer has a little different take on it, and while there are a few places that require real suspension of disbelief in the main it is interesting, exciting and tense. Can't wait to read the next one, though not sure I'm reading them in order.
October 15, 2012
How about this--back to back Michael Palmers? The first one was from the bookmobile, the second from a book sale. It is amazing when you think that you have read all of an author's books, and then find two more. The heroine of this story, Natalie Reyes, is persistent and annoying at the same time. Once a world class athlete, she is now at 35, trying to complete medical school. She ends up being attacked in a foreign country, and losing a lung. This book is about organ transplants, and the illegal trade in organs. The whole plot is rather far fetched, but it is exciting.
May 25, 2007
My mom reads books like this in 5 minutes, i think it is just to pass the time. She thought she might pass this one along since there is some hint of "science" in it. I started reading it and the first thing i thought of was that the author must not know anything about medicine. I looked at the back cover and to my surprise, it is a doctor. What a joke. It is medical drama sensationalized to the point of being ridiculous. Way to scare the populace.
September 3, 2012
The premise of this book interested me because I work in clinical lab medicine, but the plot progression was just too over the top for me. Luis just happened to have a cave filled with weapons in case of a revolt at the hospital in Brazil? Yeah right. I also didn't really like the characters I think I was suppose to like. The whole thing felt like it was written to be a movie... and if it's made into one, I think I'd like it better.
September 2, 2013
I had trouble getting into this because of the subject matter it was depressing, and yet there was no one to "care" about that was still alive, except the private eye. But he would be in the background a lot, and the other characters did not make an impression. I struggled through the book, thinking it might get better, but it only got worse. I won't be reading anymore Michael Palmer, not my cup of tea. I can see why Carol does not read his books.
July 10, 2008
Simple, unsophisticated read, of the kind that tells you what will happen, then walks you through the happening, followed by an explanation of what had occurred. The story is unimaginative (human organ harvesting administered by an evil council of scientists). If you are interested in medical thrillers, try Daniel Kalla and his 'Blood Lies'.
November 9, 2008
The description of this book got me really excited, but the book itself was a big diappointment. The writing is horrible and predictable. It's like the author is a smat person but can't write.
Okay, so I just looked at the author's background and it said he is supposed to be reallly good. Talk about disappointment! Now I trust critics even less.
Okay, so I just looked at the author's background and it said he is supposed to be reallly good. Talk about disappointment! Now I trust critics even less.
March 17, 2008
Don't waste your time.
January 20, 2018
I really enjoyed this book! Definitely it's own kind of niche as it lands in a medical thriller category? 3 characters seemingly unconnected each begin their stories with tragic/exciting starts. A medical student, a world renown Doctor/scientist, and a private investigator each are introduced to the black market of human organ trafficking. As the story unfolds I am wondering how in the heck are these connected. Palmer does an incredible job bouncing back and forth between characters without leaving huge moments of disconnect. Only during the final chapters are these characters aligned for a fantastic standoff. Moral code is questioned, huge decisions are made which leads to even bigger ethical issues, and although the ending wasn't entirely mind blowing (kinda saw it coming) still left me impressed with this novel.
August 21, 2021
A cincea fiolă, de Michael Palmer, este un thriller alert, cu un subiect pe care nu l-am mai întâlnit până acum în cărțile de beletristică.
Cu un început oarecum alambicat, acțiunea se clarifică pe măsură ce dai pagina. Și autorul te face să o dai repede! Câțiva termeni medicali mai dificili, în rest, limbajul este accesibil.
E genul de care care te face să îți pui întrebări, cum ar fi: când am fost ultima dată să-mi fac analizele de sânge? Oare mi s-a recoltat mai mult sânge decât trebuia? Oare dacă, în urma analizei sângelui, compatibilitatea mea cu altă persoană este de 12 la 12, viața mea ar putea fi în pericol? Bine, ultima întrebare mi se pare ușor absurdă. Asta nu înseamnă că nu ar putea fi așa.
Deși pe alocuri acțiunea este ușor trasă de păr, iar finalul: happyend-ul cărților romance, mi-a plăcut mult cartea.
O carte despre fenotipare, fiole cu dop verde, histocompatibilitate, punctaj de alocare pulmonară și etică medicală.
Cu un început oarecum alambicat, acțiunea se clarifică pe măsură ce dai pagina. Și autorul te face să o dai repede! Câțiva termeni medicali mai dificili, în rest, limbajul este accesibil.
E genul de care care te face să îți pui întrebări, cum ar fi: când am fost ultima dată să-mi fac analizele de sânge? Oare mi s-a recoltat mai mult sânge decât trebuia? Oare dacă, în urma analizei sângelui, compatibilitatea mea cu altă persoană este de 12 la 12, viața mea ar putea fi în pericol? Bine, ultima întrebare mi se pare ușor absurdă. Asta nu înseamnă că nu ar putea fi așa.
Deși pe alocuri acțiunea este ușor trasă de păr, iar finalul: happyend-ul cărților romance, mi-a plăcut mult cartea.
O carte despre fenotipare, fiole cu dop verde, histocompatibilitate, punctaj de alocare pulmonară și etică medicală.
February 2, 2023
my official score was 8.5/10, maybe 9, but goodreads doesn’t let me do that
- what a whirlwind of a book. release any idea of this being close to reality & just have fun with it. this is an epic novel of adventure & action & suspense & intrigue. I didn’t think I would have this much fun reading this book.
- the point of this book is to raise awareness & have a spectacular time doing it. it was a little confusing to get into the book, but once you’re in it, you’re in it.
- Michael Palmer does a good job of keeping the story going & keeping things interesting. I may read another one of his books, but not for a while. I can imagine this type of writing can get to be too much after a while.
- what a whirlwind of a book. release any idea of this being close to reality & just have fun with it. this is an epic novel of adventure & action & suspense & intrigue. I didn’t think I would have this much fun reading this book.
- the point of this book is to raise awareness & have a spectacular time doing it. it was a little confusing to get into the book, but once you’re in it, you’re in it.
- Michael Palmer does a good job of keeping the story going & keeping things interesting. I may read another one of his books, but not for a while. I can imagine this type of writing can get to be too much after a while.
July 12, 2017
The Fifth Vial came together in the way I expected it would, but a bit too much so. I found it cliche and predictable. However, the story line was unique and I enjoyed reading a mystery that wasn't just about trying to catch a dangerous murderer (although in a way this was, it just had a bigger backstory). Overall it was a good read, just a bit far-fetched and cliche.
August 29, 2017
Love a Good Medical Mystery!!!
Palmer wins again with a medical mystery that you absolutely cannot put down. Espionage, private detectives, & stolen organs all leading to a surprise ending that you could not foresee. Amazing book!!!
Palmer wins again with a medical mystery that you absolutely cannot put down. Espionage, private detectives, & stolen organs all leading to a surprise ending that you could not foresee. Amazing book!!!
February 27, 2023
From the few Michael Palmer books I’ve read, I’ve picked up that it takes about half of the book to build up to the actual story line. This part I dislike. But once you cross that line, the story is always so good! This book had a casual twist that could never have been predicted!
January 11, 2019
My 2nd book by Michael Palmer ! Loved it ! 5 Stars ! Please register as a LEGAL Organ Donor . I am registered . You can give LIFE after God takes you Home . It costs nothing and means so much to others. ❤️❤️🙏🙏
January 22, 2020
Para los amantes del thriller, este es un libro que engancha desde la primera página. Ya no pensarás igual de tus analíticas de sangre.
May 1, 2021
Ighhh, kinda ishhh...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 435 reviews