Contagion

When a curious series of viral ailments take their toll on a particular hospital, Jack Stapleton seems the only person in the morgue who senses foul play. The viral strains are not only rare in occurrence but some of them dates back to centuries old. Is it a terrorist attack or the ploy of a fanatic? As Jack starts a crusade of his own, starting to investigate matters, he appears to have inadvertently shaken the hornet's nest. Attempts on his life becomes regular while Godsend help comes from unexpected quarters. Some loyal friends pay the price with their life while helping his cause. The mystery will be enjoyed to the core, yet the suspense when revealed, will appear so horrifying that it might seem an unnaturally forced theme. Also it may be also be said in the same breath that the compactness of the novel is a bit diluted as the criminals are unmasked.

Blindsight

A spine chilling mystery that will keep you glued to the pages till it is solved. The medical examiner Laurie Montgomery is baffled with a series of coccaine overdose cases in which she senses foul play but fails to convince the authorities to take precautions. Quite curiously, a series of apparently random killings take place almost simultaneously that keeps detective Lou Soldano search for clues to link a Mafia kingpin to the crimes. Lou and Laurie cross path while doing the autopsies and each starts to piece together their respective puzzles to solve their problems. As bodies pile up in the autopsy tables, it seems these two are the only persons to get to the bottom if they work as a team but for their quabbles that does the opposite. As the paid assassins increase the body count, threat looms large on the unsuspected. With the rival sects planning to overthrow the other in the crime world, the innocents pay the most. Exploiting an inherent folly of a medical benevolence, the criminals play mayhem for their goal. But what is the motive? It is upto the forensic investigators to uncover the truth and unmask the evil. It had been a reread for me but I again enjoyed the suspense part of which had been happily erased from my memory. Recommended for lovers of medical fictions it reveals a chilling truth that will make the heart shudder.

Chromosome 6

A radical invention, an enterprising materialist, a profiteering organization, a ruthless enforcer, the combination could not have been less perfect for a smooth flow of cash from the wealthiest of clients but for the fact that it showed a blind eye to ethics. So when a mafia chief is killed in the States ripples are felt in the remote base in Africa as a possible postmortem thwarted the entire project. So the body vanished but the trace could not be entirely wiped out. An obstinate team of mortuary doctors seemed to solve the mystery of the vanished body and another headless corpse all at the same time. Joining them was a police detective.  The bad boys were in action but the dice was rolled. So as the trio in States tried to solve some bizarre mysteries, another trio in Africa tried to investigate the ethical doubts. So the suspense heightened as biology unfolded some extreme revelations. A terrific mystery coupled with signature crisp narrative style that makes the story awesome. Surprisingly, reliefs are found in the choicest phrases that does not dries up the thrill but actually spices it up. Robin Cook once more shows his mastery in medical mysteries but some parts remained unexplained as the suspense culminates which might make it short of classic.