Michael Palmer wrote a great medical thriller. It’s wonderful to see his son following in his footsteps. This book captivates the reader from the get go and doesn’t let up. Fast paced and action packed with a nice ending twist makes this a very good read. Would love to see more of the Blackwood family in future books!

It's a unique story about mystery disease cluster that is centered around a group of child prodigy

Descriptive, entertaining, and action packed!

The First Family is a scientifically intriguing medical thriller that takes you into the heart of the White House and delves into the effects of alternative medicine, training, and practice on higher-level cognitive skills.

The writing is crisp. The characters are intelligent, protective, and relentless. And the plot is an engaging tale about greed, corruption, friendship, politics, mysterious illnesses, violence, and murder.

The First Family doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat or feature a lot of suspense, but it's still a compelling read that fans of stories filled with Secret Service drama, medical analysis and scientific jargon will definitely enjoy.

I always enjoy books by Michael and Daniel Palmer. The medical experience they bring to the story lends total authenticity to even the most outlandish ideas. This book is fantastic. The writing is fast=paced with plenty of action while also presenting thought-provoking theories. The characters are all believable and the plot twists keep coming at breakneck speed. I could not put this book down!

I hope this father/son duo is hard at work on their next book because I'm looking forward to it!!

I received a copy from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press
I’ve always LOVED Michael Palmer. This is the first book I’ve read by Daniel and boy does he follow in Michael’s footsteps. I’m so happy to see the legacy lives on. It was interesting that the patient is the presidents 16 year old son, Cam. A long time secret service agent, Karen, who guards him has concerns about his well being when he becomes withdrawn and lashes out at times. The White House physician just thinks he needs a psychiatrist. Karen calls her ex husband, Lee, who is a doctor, for a second opinion. It’s chilling at what the outcome is. Don’t want to spoil it so I can’t tell. Working in the medical field, this story really sucked me in. It’s chilling to think this could really happen. It’s not too far fetched. My favorite part was how the role and lifestyle of a family physician was explained. People hear “doctor” and automatically think money, when the sad truth is, this day in time, a family physician does good to make ends meet after paying overhead. The ones left practicing are owned by big hospitals and are encouraged to refer everyone to specialists. The ones who truly are in it for the patients give so much of their time for free and also a lot of their services for free. It’s even worse in areas that are 80% Medicare population like here. But I guess I got off the subject here. Read the book, you won’t be disappointed if you love a good medical mystery.

Great medical mystery carried on in the Palmer tradition. Glimpses into the White House and secret service make it more intriguing.

I just finished reading #TheFirstFamily by #MichaelPalmer which I received from #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. It took me some time to get into this book but I ended up reading the last quarter of the book in one sitting. There are a lot of scientific facts and theories and I must admit that I at places skimmed right through it because I didn’t know anything about the subject. But with that said it was an interesting book with a decent plot and interesting characters. I think maybe that I have gotten spoiled because I have been reading a lot of British mysteries lately and they are kind of hard to compete with at least in my opinion. I would recommend this book and give it 4 stars.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dr. Lee Blackwood is a divorced doctor trying to run a successful medical office when he receives a call from his ex-wife, Karen Ray. Karen is a Secret Service agent in charge of the safety and security of the president and his family. The son of the president, Cam, doesn't seem to be himself and Karen disagrees with the diagnosis of the Presidential doctor and wants his parents to look into a second opinion. Although her and Lee are no longer married, she has great respect for him as a physician. As Lee begins his investigation into Cam's symptoms, he comes across a young woman on his hospital rounds exhibiting the same symptoms. Upon further investigation Lee finds other young adults with the same condition that have a common link to both the President's son and the young woman from the hospital. Before long, Lee's life and those around him are threatened by an unknown assailant and an answer to the connections needs to be found before any one else is harmed.
This book had me hooked from the very beginning. In a very twisty path we are given possible reasons for why these young adults are connected. I was completely immersed in a very thoroughly planned storyline only to be disappointed in the end. The ending seemed too easily tie together and abrupt. Although the ending seemed a little too nicely tied up in a bow and totally unexpected, I really did like the story. I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a book with engaging characters and lots of action .

4.5 stars out of 5

I loved this book. So well written. I found this book unputdownable!!

The First family is a brilliantly constructed medical thriller. Cam Hilliard son of the US president is a chess prodigy who starts exhibiting symptoms that the presidents chief medical officer attributes to depression. Cam denies he is depressed and his secret service detail Karen who has been with Cam for a number of years feels there is much more to the symptoms he is experiencing. With the First Lady's permission she asks her ex husband Lee a doctor and brilliant diagnostician to examine Cam.
This starts the ball rolling at a tremendous pace, a music prodigy at the same college for gifted children starts having unusual symptoms and Lee tries to link these together.
A race against time begins for Lee and Karen to discover who or what is causing these possibly fatal illnesses.
Exciting and heart pounding an immensely riveting read.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for opportunity to review this book honestly

Three people dead. Two more exhibiting unique symptoms that all five have in common. The problem: the first three were murdered and the two remaining have been attacked. Complication: the fifth victim is Cam Hilliard, only child of the current U. S. President.

The First Family is an impressive medical thriller that follows Dr. Lee Blackwood, a family practitioner, and his ex-wife Karen Ray, an agent with the Secret Service, as they investigate Cam’s puzzling symptoms. A few red herrings divert efforts to pin down the cause of Cam’s deteriorating physical health in this well developed and multi-layered story. The characters and relationships are realistic, the dialogue authentic. The author is so effective at drawing the reader into the story that speculating on sources for the illness seem natural. And the flow keeps the reader comfortably engaged.

Oh my what a thrill ride this was. The writing of this father/son duo is so easy to read. There were no good places to pause on this one. If you blinked you missed some important clue.

Things start to go wrong with Cam and no one can figure out why. The White House physician is suggesting therapy but this guy is shady at best and I did not have a good feeling about him. 

Karen, the ex-wife of Lee Blackwood is head of security for the first family and when things just don't feel right, she suggests an outside consult with Lee. Lee is convinced there is something medically wrong here, but gets a lot of push back from the doctor as well as from the president. The doctor and the president have long been friends and their sons are as well. 

To be perfectly honest, about 13% in I smugly thought I had figured out who was the bad guy and who was the good guy. Let me just say I was so wrong.

I could not read this fast enough. Because it is possible. And that is what has you questioning a lot of things right here in the real world.

Great job to the Palmers! Can't wait to see what's next!

NetGalley/St.Martins  April 17, 2018

I enjoyed this book in the main. The insight into the Whitehouse was interesting. There was some imaginative stretches to the imagination at times, occasionally I skipped a few pages but that was not a reflection of the book. The author captured the sadness of marriage breakdowns and the lingering attachment that can ruin lives beyond divorce,
I enjoyed the First Lady and her relationship with her son.
Thanks for letting me read it!!

“First Family” is the latest novel by father-son duo Michael Palmer and Daniel Palmer and if you are a fan of either one of these talented artists, I promise you will enjoy this novel to the fullest. Cam Hillard is the son of the President of the United States and when he confides in Secret Service Agent Karen Ray that he is having some medical issues not related to his mental health, Dr. Lee Blackwood has a talent for reading the symptoms that are present in his patients and along with his tenacity to pinpoint a diagnosis he is the perfect person to help his ex-wife with Cam’s issues as long as he can convince the President and the First lady that there is a problem. The more Lee delves into Cam’s mysterious illness he begins to see a pattern develop among other students that attend the famous True Potential Institute where Cam studies chess. Each layer of this novel is filled with greed, intrigue and Machiavellian like tendencies. I was given an advanced copy of this book, and all of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Good fast paced book. Had read several books by this author and have enjoyed them all. Highly recommend.

The Presidents son is a chess prodigy, but he suddenly has lost interest and is losing games he should be winning. The White House Physician claims he is suffering from depression but Dr Lee Blackwood is called in to consult and he doesn’t agree. He senses there is more going on, but faces road clocks. The White House physician has the Presidents complete trust and is very possessive of his patient. When another young prodigy starts showing symptoms similar to Cams Dr Blackwood knows time is running out for Cam. Someone is trying to cover up whatever is going on.

This is another great medical thriller by Palmer. It is full of edge of your seat suspense from the first page. It is hard to know which direction the threat is coming from. There are a couple of unexpected twists too. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

When Netgalley notified me my wish had come true to receive an advance readers copy of The First Family by Michael and Daniel Palmer, I was quite happy (to say the least). I've read books by the father/son duo independently of each other, but I have never had the pleasure of reading a title written by the two of them. Both authors are favorites of mine. The way they compose their medical thrillers always grabs my attention and barely lets up the whole ride through.

The First Family is no different. Cam Hilliard is suffering from some unknown symptoms that cause his mother, the First Lady of the United States Ellen Hilliard, to call in reinforcements. She turns to Cam's trusted secret service detail Karen who enlists the help of her ex-husband. On paper he's a family doctor, but in all actuality he's a great diagnostician. He's house... but less asshole. Much less asshole.

Dr. Lee Blackwood is immediately drawn in by Cam's case since his symptoms don't seem to fall neatly into any medical boxes he can decipher. Also, the first family's doctor seems to be thwarting all Lee's attempts at diagnosing the problem. He wants to chalk Cam's odd behavior to being depressed. Lee isn't so convinced.

So... like most thrillers, things get a little crazy. People start dying and there's a mysterious puppet-master pulling the strings. This puppet-master will stop at nothing to ensure that Lee does not get to the bottom of whatever Cam's true medical problems are.

Because I'm used to their writing, individually, it was nice to see that the story flowed seamlessly. There were no moments I felt pulled from the story because the writing didn't match or the plot just didn't fit. Although I did lose a little steam midway through this novel, it wasn't due to the authors since they managed to maintain tension throughout the novel. I lost steam because it's hard being working full-time, going to school part-time, and reviewing. Time gets away from me, yet each time I returned back to reading The First Family, I was immediately drawn back in for the little time I did have to devote to it.

Ultimately, The First Family was a fun, thrilling read. Michael and Daniel Palmer kept me guessing the whole way through. I won't deny that I expected them to deliver a great read and it's more than refreshing that they delivered. I definitely recommend this title to those who are familiar with their work. For those who are unfamiliar, I say hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

Copy provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley

Highly recommend this book. The main characters were well fleshed out and believable. Loved the authors observations of people's body language.The Medical information was for the most written in a way that added to the suspense even if some of it was completely above me. The issue of parents pushing to have their kids succeed using alternative enhancements presented both sides fairly.

This medical and political thriller grips you tightly from the beginning and never lets go. The opening chapter sets a sinister tone for the novel. In the tradition of his latest father, Michael Palmer, Daniel Palmer delivers another masterfully crafted medical thriller that will keep you reading long into the night.

There is a conspiracy to systematically take out certain gifted individuals, including the president's son, Cam Hilliard, and a violin prodigy, Susie Banks.

Dr. Lee Blackwood and his ex-wife, secret service agent Karen Ray, team up to unravel the mystery and find those behind the conspiracy. As they uncover the layers they are never quite sure who they can trust in the White House, whether it be the first family's physician or the other agents charged with protecting them. Plus they have to factor in a mysterious doctor and some strange happenings surrounding an institute that Cam and Susie are both involved in to hone their trade.

This is a fast-paced thriller where the bodies keep piling up and time always seems to be running out. A series of plot twists keep you guessing right up until the shocking conclusion.

I would recommend this book to fans of medical thrillers and political thrillers. I received this as a free ARC from St. Martin's Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.