Alas, Cook's latest, about an impending bioterrorist attack in New York City, is more ho-hum than horrifying. The premise has promise: cab driver Yuri Davydov is a disillusioned Russian immigrant haunted by his involvement in a tragic accidental release of government-produced anthrax that killed hundreds, including his mother. Armed with hatred for America and practical skills in how to build a biochemical weapon, he's joined forces with Curt Rogers and Steve Henderson of the People's Aryan Army. This catastrophic coalition aims to attack the Jacob Javits Federal Building and the Upper East Side; but for starters, Davydov tests his weapons on his own much-maligned wife and random, innocent rug merchant Jason Papparis. When medical examiner Jack Stapleton (last seen in Cook's Chromosome 6) does an autopsy on Papparis, the first of a series of plot-deadening coincidences occursAhe meets Davydov, who just happens to be cruising by to see if Papparis is dead. Too much "just happens" throughout this novel; worse, the investigators maddeningly bumble around obvious clues the reader has long since pieced together. Stapleton just happens to play basketball with the brother of Davydov's murdered wife; when autopsying the body of Aryan Army informant Brad Cassidy, he has a contrived hunch, and tests the body for anthrax poisoning.
New York city cab driver is a angry Russian bent on returning to his motherland after a unhappy 7 year sojourn in the United States. Before he leaves he wants to lash out at the country he believes lured him here with the hoax of the american dream. Jr Jack Stapleton and Dr Lauie Montgomery are confronted with two disparate cases as they begin to connect the dots. With the signature skill, Robin Cook has written another thriller
Bioterrorism threats before 911 is still scary to me! Well done by reader. Holds your attention as does any of Robin Cook's thrillers.
Chillingly prescient, written prior to 9-11.
Robin Cook is great in the medical thriller genre. No disappointment here.
Enjoyed as with all Cook books.
Abridged, 6 hours, 4 cassettes, read by Jason Culp
New York City cabbie Yuri Davydov is a disgruntled Russian emigre poised to lash out at the adoptive nation he believes has denied him his American dream. A former technician in the Soviet biological weapons system, Yuri possesses the knowledge to wreak havoc in his new home. But before he executes his planned piece de resistance of vengeance, he experiments on those around him. Dr. Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery, both last seen in "Chromosome 6" begin to witness some unusual cases in their capacity as forsenic pathologists in the city's medical examiner's office. But the question soon becomes whether the pair will solve the puzzle before Yuri unleashes into the streets the ultimate bioweapon.
