I have been a fan of Robin Cook’s since I was 10-11 years old. I read Coma then, followed by Sphinx, and I was hooked. Over the following years, I have read every single one of his books. And it is only in the last five years or so, that I haven’t managed to read each one. So when I saw one of his latest at the library, I just had to have the copy. And I wasn’t disappointed.
What I love most about Cook’s writing is that it is so incredibly topical. For example, in this latest book, he talks about the myth that vaccinations cause autism (honestly, a separate post is warranted to deal with praying for natural selection to weed out such idiots). But themes like this are never a central one, instead, they are thrown in as part of the wider character arcs. The bureaucracy of running a hospital, the importance of reliance on donor and funds, the rise of the Chinese economy and how limited doctors tend to be is all brought to life.
The characters are the long time famous couple Jack and Laurie Montgomery, who readers have known for about 2 decades I think. And revisiting them is like revisiting family, when you know what someone is going to stay or do. That said, the supense part of the actual story itself felt slightly too far fetched. The build up to the climax was long and slow, and the climax itself was over rather quickly and simply. I was expecting a bit more difficulty as the protagonist tried to extricate himself from a sticky situation. A nice easy read for the long winter nights.
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