Critical

New York City medical examiners Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton return in this stunning novel from the “master of the medical thriller” (New York Times)—a ripped-from-the-headlines tale of an innovative doctor’s dangerous downward spiral.

After a rough climb to the top, doctor and businesswoman Angela Dawson appears to have it all: a start-up—Angels Healthcare—that’s about to go public, and a controlling interest in three busy specialist hospitals in New York City as well as plans for others in Miami and Los Angeles. But then a surge of drug-resistant staph infections in all three hospitals devastated her carefully constructed world...

NYC medical examiners Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton are naturally intrigued by the uptick in staph-related post-procedure deaths at these hospitals. Aside from their professional curiosity, there’s a personal stake as well: Jack is facing surgery to repair a torn ACL at Angels Orthopedic Hospital.

Despite Jack’s protests, Laurie can’t help investigating—thus opening a Pandora’s box of corporate intrigue that threatens not just her livelihood, but both of their lives as well.Praise for Critical:

“A genuinely titillating epidemiological puzzle... Critical is tightly written, and each supporting character is vivid and memorable. The novel is a credit to the medical thriller genre, which Cook is generally thought to have created and made popular.”—The Associated Press

“Critical might scare you to death... his prescient plotting is far from far-fetched.”—The Tampa Tribune

“[A] lively new thriller... An entertaining mix of suspense, action, and education about medical issues.”—Publishers Weekly

“The medical mysteries and dangers the characters face should keep readers invested.”—BooklistRobin Cook, M.D., is the author of more than thirty books and is credited with popularizing the medical thriller with his wildly successful first novel, Coma. He divides his time among Florida, New Hampshire, and Boston. His most recent novels include Host, Cell, and Nano.