The First Family

Cam Hilliard is, in addition to being the President's sixteen-year-old son, a chess prodigy. A year into President Hilliard's second term Cam inexplicably stops playing the game he loved and becomes withdrawn. The First Lady is convinced that the senior White House physician is wrong in diagnosing Cam's issue as a psychological one, and she demands that Dr. Lee Blackwood be brought on to provide a second opinion. Lee's opinion is dismissed, until Cam's spleen ruptures and it becomes obvious that something is horribly wrong. Lee informs the President and First Lady that to make a diagnosis they need to find other people with the same symptoms to conduct additional testing. From there, it's possible to identify the gene defects and correlate those to the missing enzymes. Only then can a diagnosis be made and treatment begun. For now, they must face the harsh reality that Cam's genes are producing a mutation that appears to be entirely new to science. As Lee delves into this medical mystery, he comes to believe Cam is not the first case of this presentation of an inborn error of metabolism. But when two young people Lee has found, each with exceptional gifts, are murdered, Cam's condition suddenly takes on a terrifyingly new dimension. Is someone out to murder the President's son? If so, why? As Lee searches for answers he will uncover unimaginable secrets and dark betrayals that breach the highest levels of security.

About the Author :
Michael Palmer authored twenty-one novels of medical suspense before his death in 2013, all international bestsellers. His books have been translated into thirty-five languages. Extreme Measures was the basis for a movie starring Hugh Grant and Gene Hackman. Daniel Palmer is the author of numerous critically acclaimed suspense novels. He received his master's degree from Boston University. Daniel lives with his wife and two children in New Hampshire where he is at work on his next novel.

Review :
Praise for The First Family: What makes this story shine is the mix of compelling characters and intriguing science...Daniel is as adept as his father was at finding suspense in the intricacies of medicine. --Booklist Terrifying and all too plausible--Daniel Palmer continues his father's tradition of delivering authentic and high-velocity medical suspense. The combination of medical chills and high-level Washington make The First Family irresistible." --Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author of Paranoia and The Switch Palmer's The First Family gives you likable characters to root for, a top-notch villain, and enough excitement to make your hair curl. Have fun with this thriller. --Catherine Coulter, author of The Devil's Triangle "Double the trouble, twice the action, and quadruple the enjoyment, this is a high-octane game changer." --Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Bishop's Pawn and The Lost Order "High-stakes and intelligent, The First Family is everything you want in a medical thriller. Chilling!" --Robert Dugoni #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling author of My Sisters Grave The First Family is adrenaline-fueled entertainment that twists, turns, surprises and satisfies!" -John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author A Palmer novel transports you into the complex world of medical-legal-social ethics. The First Family doesn't disappoint, wrestling with the murky questions of what we can do versus what we should do. Gripping." --Kathy Reichs, New York Times bestselling author and creator of Bones "Daniel Palmer's latest thriller The First Family seamlessly blends genomics, politics, and life in the White House into a riveting potboiler of a story. If you crossed the best of Robin Cook's medical mysteries with the insider authenticity of David Baldacci's political thriller, you'd end up with a book like this, a story that grabs you by the throat and won't let go until the last page is turned." --James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Seventh Plague