A Heartbeat Away is another addition to Michael Palmer’s long list of popular medical-themed thrillers. This book’s greatest strength is its premise. In the morass of killer virus stories in the market, this one stands out with a great setup - a biological warfare agent infects virtually every person of importance in the United States government during the State of the Union speech as nearly all of the president's cabinet members are infected.
Allarire orders a lock down of the Capitol building. Hence, everyone on the list of presidential succession is now trapped in the Capitol, except the Director of Homeland Security. Tucked safely away in his Minnesota home, he is now next in line for the Presidency should all the others on the succession list die.
A group of domestic terrorists called Genesis, claims responsibility for releasing the virus. They demand that the government abolish the Patriot Act and also cease all electronic monitoring of all US citizens.
The opening chapters fly by as this nightmare unfolds in the Capitol, and the reader gets acquainted with the President, who happens to be a physician.
Unlike most medical thrillers, not a single scene is set in a hospital. And it isn’t simply a killer virus story. Political intrigue plays a major role in the plot, with rivals trying to exploit the leadership crisis. In particular, the Speaker of the House, Ursula Ellis, who ran against, and lost to, President Allaire, and ruthlessly tries to undermine the president to advance her own political interests.
The only person who can help contain the virus is Griffin Rhodes, a virologist who has been in prison for nine months for allegedly stealing this same virus from a research lab.
Allaire orders Rhodes’ release in return for his help. Rhodes reluctantly agrees on one condition - that a reporter is given full access to the mission.
Angela Fletcher, Rhodes’ former lover from the Washington Post is then given full access to the macabre scene inside the White House.
This is an engaging thriller that offers enjoyable reading. The characters are basically rather flat, but the president stands out. He is charismatic yet imperfect, and is not portrayed in black-and-white terms either morally or politically.
A Heartbeat Away does suffer from some common diseases of thrillers. There are too many coincidences. Characters make risky decisions to “go it alone” and trust no one without entirely compelling reasons for doing so. The requisite romance is contrived. The apparent violation by the US government of the Biological Weapons Convention treaty is not mentioned by anyone, including the President’s rival. The villain has no apparent backup plan in case the virus, named WRX3883, gets out. This virus is worse than the dread Ebola virus.
Palmer, however, uses a reasonable amount of accurate science in his story, but falls short technically with the cure his characters must invent. It's impossible to whip up a miracle cure for a new virus in the short time frame of a thriller. To his credit, Palmer keeps it real most of the time, with a believable quarantine and some interesting glances at animal and human experimentation.
A fun page-turner that will keep you reading till the last page with a good combination of science and political thrills.