SPASM

4 stars out of 5

I love medical mysteries and thrillers, so it’s no surprise that this author has been a favorite for a long time – ever since his 1977 best-seller, Coma, in fact. I’ve read two others in the series featuring forensic pathologists Drs. Jack Stapleton and his wife, Laurie Montgomery (this is the 15^th) and looked forward to reading another. It was enjoyable, yes, but it’s by far my least favorite of those I’ve read. My sentiments exactly? At one point, Jack expressed them for me by calling himself “stupid but lucky.”

The plot for the most part was intriguing, though wading through endless descriptions of the surroundings and what people were doing and wearing that were unrelated to the story made it drag a bit for me. Essentially, a group of white extremists known as the Diehard Patriots live in a renovated mansion in remote Essex Falls, New York – normally minding their own business except for late-night artillery exercises. Now, it seems they’ve brought in arms “experts” from another country to teach the scraggly group the art of the battle. Inexplicably, the “instructors” have set up a brewery in an outbuilding, but since the local community pretty much leaves the Patriots to themselves, no one seems to question why.

Recent events – specifically, the bizarre deaths of two of the Patriots – has caught the attention of local doctor Robert Neilson. And since he happens to be an old school friend, he calls Jack and asks for help. Besides those two deaths, the small community has been plagued by deaths as a result of early-onset dementia that progresses at an alarming rate. Conveniently, Jack and Laurie feel the need of a break from their busy routine at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City, where Laurie is the chief ME, so they head upstate to Essex Falls. There, they fawn over the property, scenery and opportunities for Jack to practicing his beloved cycling (and trying to figure out where to stash it when he’s out in public so it won’t get stolen). Amid all this, he finds time to wonder what’s up with the increasing number of dementia patients. Other sleuthing around, mostly while Laurie is off with friends, leads to the possibility that all is not as it seems with the Patriots’ visitors and that what’s being concocted in that brewery may be some kind of bioweapon that threatens lives not just in this little backwoods community, but the entire country.

More details, of course, would spoil the adventure for others, so I’ll stop right here. Overall, it’s an intriguing tale, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with the opportunity to get in on the action by way of a pre-release copy.

Spasm by Robin Cook (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, December 2025); 352 pp.

MANNER OF DEATH

4 stars out of 5

Medical thrillers top the interest list for me, even ahead of the legal thrillers that are perhaps more common. So to be sure, this author's work is not unfamiliar to me. In fact, I've read one other in this series, but I was nonetheless surprised to learn that this is the 14th. It stands alone well, but of course I always advise starting any series at the beginning when possible. The featured characters are Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton, married physicians at the New York Medical Examiner's Office (Laurie, in fact, is the chief ME), though her first love is doing the actual hands-on tasks rather than administrative chores.

Pathology residents routinely pass through the office, required to spend a month or so observing, and helping to perform, autopsies on the many bodies that pass through each day. One of the new residents, Ryan Sullivan, presents a bit of a dilemma; he absolutely loathes even being in the autopsy room - it upsets him so much that he'll try just about anything to get out of being there. In the process of trying to skirt the issue, he learns of a couple of instances in which the declarations of suicide - made both by the medical legal investigators, who make the initial prognoses, and the MEs was questionable, even though all were based on solid evidence. As it turns out, a previous resident also started to follow up on those cases but was murdered before she shared any conclusions from her investigations.

Ryan, though, is so hot to trot out of the autopsy room that he manages to get approval from his direct supervisor to take a few days for research - and no surprise, he finds another handful of cases in which the suicide/homicide decision could have gone either way with both the MLIs and MEs having niggling doubts but, for lack of conclusive evidence, went with suicide. Were any of those cases "staged" by a killer who was successful in covering up a murder? If so, how was it done? Why and by whom?

Those are questions that Ryan must deal with as his own investigation picks up steam; readers follow along while learning early on the answers to at least two of those questions. Sandwiched in between is quite a bit of "filler" into the private lives of the main characters (even if it was interesting, which it was, it was a little too much for my liking). Interesting to me was the frequent praise for the role of the medical legal investigators - a profession I must admit I'd never even heard of before. The ending brought a little surprise, but one I think will please most followers of the series. That includes me, and I'm already looking forward to the next installment. Meanwhile, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. 

Manner of Death by Robin Cook (G.P. Putnam's Sons, December 2023); 346 pp.

NIGHT SHIFT

4 stars out of 5

Medical (and legal) are my favorite sub-thriller genres, and I'm always delighted to see a medically-focused book from this author. For the most part, this one did not disappoint. Smack dab in the middle of the action are husband-and-wife medical examiners Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery (well, she's now the chief ME for the city of New York, technically Jack's boss and a bone of contention between the two, as is the fact that he refuses to give up riding his bicycle to and from the ME's office). The two share a couple of young kids, both with medical issues; they're cared for by Laurie's mother, who's exceptionally competent despite being an anti-vaxxer (her odd-woman-out status and the mask or not to mask issue is interspersed throughout the story).

Early on, another physician, Sue Passero, is found dead in Laurie's hospital parking garage; an autopsy is a must, and because Sue was a good friend, Laurie asks Jack to handle it. Sue's diabetes ups the odds that her death was a heart attack, but the autopsy shows that clearly wasn't the case. Suicide? A not-likely possibility. The other option? Murder - but with an autopsy that turns up no means or motive (and, of course, no whodunit).

Perplexed - an emotion he does not enjoy experiencing - Jack sets off to determine Sue's cause of death; after all, he needs to sign a death certificate, the sooner the better, or so Laurie insists. So, he circumvents a few of the rules instituted by the hospital (now owned, it is noted several times, by a big bad conglomerate known for putting profits above professionalism) and meets with a few of Sue's admirers and a few who are not. What he learns from one on the friends side - and what happens next - is even more perplexing and worrisome, making Jack even more intent on getting to what may be a deadly truth in ways guaranteed not to please him or his wife.

There's plenty of action, and of course, I love all the descriptions of medical procedures (also plentiful), but of course I can't get into more detail without giving away too much. The only thing confusing me a bit is that the book, which I received pre-release courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley - thanks very much - is why the description shows 432 pages when I downloaded it and only 240 on Amazon, where it's for sale. That's a big chunk to lose - gotta wonder what didn't make the cut! 

Night Shift by Robin Cook (G.P. Putnam's Sons, December 2022); 240 pp.