In Michael palmer’s newest thriller, “Oath of Office,” Dr. John Meacham goes through a violent shooting spree in his office—killing himself and his staff after a patient threatens to contact the medical board about his anger issues—while odd incidents continue to occur among folks in King’s Ridge: a worker at a local restaurant nearly loses his thumb, Meacham’s wife nearly gets herself killed in a car accident over a random road situation, and Dr. Meacham’s patient Roberta Jennings attempts to lose weight by operating herself. All these incidents have one thing in common—people doing dangerous things, and acting opposite their normal personality. Along comes Dr. Lou Welcome, a friend of Meacham who is concerned about the strange goings on in the town, and in a secondary storyline, first lady Darlene Mallory who is contacted by a mysterious man claiming that the disgraced Secretary of Agriculture Russell Evans was unfairly forced to resign over his refusal to pass some policies. Can those “policies” possibly be connected to what’s going on in King’s Ridge? As Dr. Welcome and his friends begin to uncover some strange clues, along with the local police chief Gilbert Stone, lives become threatened and nothing is what it seems.
Now to my thoughts: I thought the first half of the book is particularly engrossing, as the mystery is being set up. At first I was surprised about the White house angle of the book, but the subplot became as interesting as the main plot. The second half of the book balances action scenes with gradual explanations of what’s going on (some of it is easy to guess, while other parts, such as Mallory’s mysterious informer, kept me turning the pages). Overall, an entertaining read. Published by St. Martin’s Press. February 14, 2012. 384 pages. List price $27.99
