Genetically Modified Food and Politics: It’s All in Oath of Office
Michael Palmer, author of Oath of Office (February 14, 2012), is probably pleased as punch with the recent uproar against Monsanto. That and the fact that this is an election year coincide with the events in his latest thriller.
Oath of Office is an exciting novel that captures the modern pulse. It begins with a shooting spree in a doctor’s office. This time it’s the doctor who’s armed and kills his partner, staff, two patients, and himself. Dr. Meacham, a recovered alcoholic seemed to be doing very well, and there was no apparent trigger for his uncharacteristic jump off the deep end. Enter Dr. Lou Welcome, a doctor who has fought his own bottle battles and was Meacham’s sponsor.
Lou begins to investigate his friend’s actions, trying to find a cause. In the course of his investigation he finds that a number of normally balanced people have acted paranoid and irrationally, causing harm to themselves and others. Oddly, those behaviors seem limited to a rather small locality.
In a parallel story, the First Lady of the United States is asked by a friend to help clear his name. He was framed in a sex scandal and forced from his position as Secretary of Agriculture. In following up on her long-time friend’s problem, the First Lady begins to uncover the politics of the frame-up. She and Lou cross paths and a romantic spark is ignited as they learn how the two cases are related.
Palmer offers up an interesting collection of characters in a “ripped from the headlines” story appealing to many Americans. With clues leading to the very seat of power, the doctor and the First Lady find themselves entangled in mysteries with solutions that could have far-reaching—perhaps global—effects. They also learn that even romance can have a political downside.
Oath of Office is an engaging novel that touches on some of the fears readers may have about big business, politics, and the food supply. Difficult to put down, it may have you thinking twice about ordering corn-on-the-cob.
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