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Book Description A 28-year-old man seems the picture of health, until he fractures his leg while skating in New York's Central Park. Within twenty-four hours of his surgical treatment he is dead. Next, a 36-year-old mother has knee surgery to repair a torn ligament in her knee - and within twenty-four hours she too has died. Confronted with a series of puzzling deaths of young, healthy patients after routine treatment, medical examiners Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton begin to investigate. Up against resistance from her superiors, and also coping with a personal life that continues to fragment, precipitated by Jack's inability to commit to their relationship, Laurie's need for answers becomes even more urgent. Could all these deaths be intentional? With time winding down, she and Jack embark on a race to connect the dots. From Publishers Weekly The bestselling physician/author is in top form as he revisits the love/hate relationship between New York City medical examiners Laurie Montgomery and her lover, Jack Stapleton (last seen in 1999's Vector) in this gripping medical chiller. Childless and facing her 43rd birthday, Laurie moves out when Jack, still traumatized by the accidental deaths of his wife and children over a decade ago, refuses to talk marriage and babies. They've still got to work together at the office of the chief medical examiner, though, and it's there that Laurie's charged with autopsying the bodies of two people who died after minor surgeries at the same Manhattan hospital. As similar deaths mount up, Laurie struggles to convince Jack et al. that something's fishy. (Early on, a shadow plot introduces homicidal hospital employee Jasmine Rakoczi and Mr. Bob, the mastermind of a sinister but undefined plot to "sanction" selected patients using an undetectable medical agent.) Laurie's superiors forbid her to discuss her suspicions with anyone outside the OCME, but she disobeys these orders when she meets the dreamboat chief of medicine at the hospital in question and successfully engages his interest in her theory that a serial killer is on the loose. The body count climbs as another hospital is involved and political pressure mounts to suppress information. True love runs a rocky course, and the plot thickens before the denouement crackles to an electric edge-of-the-seat finale. Agent, Lynn Nesbit. (May) From Booklist Cook's twenty-fifth medical thriller revisits medical examiners Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery, whose romantic relationship has hit a major bump. Approaching her forty-third birthday, Laurie wants a family and has grown impatient with Jack's reluctance to commit. She walks out on Jack, but she can't avoid him at work. She soon finds herself absorbed in a puzzling case: 28-year-old Sean McGillan has landed on her table, and she can't determine what killed him. Sean had just undergone routine knee surgery, but she can't find any reason why he went into cardiac arrest in his hospital bed. When another young, seemingly healthy patient dies, she suspects foul play. She finds an ally in Dr. Roger Rosseau, the chief of the medical staff at Manhattan General, who takes a personal interest in Laurie, who has medical problems of her own: she might be carrying the genetic marker for breast cancer. When the death toll at Manhattan General increases, Laurie and Jack are consumed with the mystery even as their continued involvement in the investigation places them in peril. Fans of Cook's previous thrillers will be happy to see the return of two popular characters. Kristine Huntley From AudioFile Medical Examiner Dr. Laurie Montgomery has identified 13 cases of S.A.D.S. (sudden adult death syndrome) in young, healthy individuals, who, within 24 hours of having surgery, suffer sudden cardiac death and are unresponsive to herculean resuscitation efforts. Add the temptations of health care competition, a serial killer, the rocky course of true love, and the unparalleled expertise of George Guidall, and listeners will have to work to keep their pulses in check while listening to this medical thriller. Whether presenting the medical terminology of autopsy, complex explanations of human genomes, the terror of watching a killer's glee, or the rare moment when someone breaks through fear and takes charge, Guidall's delivery is authentic as he believably creates the possibility of genetic discrimination in health care. K.A.T. Download Description "The master of the medical thriller returns with his most heart-pounding tale yet. Twenty-eight-year-old Sean McGillin is the picture of health, until he fractures his leg while in-line skating in New York City's Central Park. Within twenty-four hours of his surgery, he dies. A thirty-six-year-old mother, Darlene Morgan, has knee surgery to repair a torn ligament in her knee. And within twenty-four hours, she has died. New York City medical examiners Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton are back, in Robin Cook's electrifying twenty-fifth novel. Last seen in Vector, the doctors confront a series of puzzling hospital deaths of young, healthy people after successful routine surgery. Despite institutional resistance from her superiors, as well as from those at Manhattan General, Laurie doggedly pursues the investigation. Though it seems impossible to determine why and how the patients are dying, she comes to suspect that not only are the deaths related-they're intentional, suggesting the work of a remarkably clever serial killer with a very unusual motive, involving frightening ties to both developing genomic medicine and the economics of modern-day health care. Then Laurie is dealt a double blow: While coping with Jack's inability to commit to their relationship, she discovers she carries a genetic marker for a breast-cancer gene. As her personal life continues to unravel, the need for answers becomes more urgent, especially when Laurie is pulled into the nightmare as a potential victim herself. With time winding down, she and Jack race to connect the dots-and save Laurie's life. With his signature blend of suspense and science, Robin Cook delivers an electrifying page-turner as vivid as today's headlines." Book Dimension length: (cm)17.8width:(cm)11.1 Dr. Robin Cook is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.