Publisher Description
In Critical, Robin Cook delivers a heart-pounding medical thriller of murder and mayhem, car chases and corpses, and a shock twist ending.
Angela Dawson M.D. appears to have it all: at thirty-seven, she owns a fabulous New York City apartment, a stunning seaside house on Nantucket, and enjoys the perks of her prosperous lifestyle. With her controlling interest in three busy specialty hospitals in NYC and plans for others in Miami and Los Angeles, Angela’s future looks very bright. But her climb to the top was rough, marked by a troubled childhood, a failed marriage, and the devastating blow of bankruptcy.
Then a surge of drug-resistant staph infections in all three hospitals devastates Angela’s carefully constructed world. Not only do the infections result in patient deaths, but the fatalities cause stock prices to tumble. Will Angela be able to hold her empire together?
Medical examiners Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton are professionally and personally intrigued by these deaths. With Jack facing surgery in one of the hospitals to repair a torn ligament, Laurie can’t help investigating, opening a Pandora’s box of corporate intrigue that threatens not just her livelihood, but her life with Jack as well.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Last seen in 2006's Crisis, New York City medical examiner Laurie Montgomery diligently investigates an abrupt rise in infection deaths at the start of bestseller Cook's lively new thriller. All the deaths can be traced to three Manhattan hospitals owned by Angels Healthcare. Unbeknownst to Montgomery, Angels, which specializes in high-profit surgeries of amply insured patients, is on the verge of going public and can't risk any bad publicity. She's also unaware that Angels' main financial backer is a local Mafia don, who's prepared to kill anyone standing in the way of his investment. Cook smoothly juggles several subplots one involving Montgomery's husband and fellow coroner, Jack Stapleton, who's suffered a serious knee injury playing basketball and ekes out maximum value from one of his regular standbys, bumbling hoods. It all adds up to an entertaining mix of suspense, action and education about medical issues.
