by Krystle Hernandez

Created on: August 19, 2008   Last Updated: October 03, 2008

Physician Robin Cook is best known for his series of medical thriller novels. Educated at some of the most world-renowned medical facilities, including Columbia University's School of Medicine, and Harvard University, Cook's novels are saturated with a considerable amount of medical knowledge. More often than not, Cook's novels attempt to enlighten readers on aspects of the medical professional and the medical field as a whole that may potentially affect the general public.

Published in December of 1996, Cook's "Contagion" features a familiar cast of characters, comprised of Dr. Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery, both of who also appeared in several of Cook's other novels, including "Vector," "Crisis," and "Chromosome 6."

In "Contagion," Stapleton, a forensic pathologist working at New York City's premiere hospital, Manhattan General, begins to uncover a disturbing pattern among several of his patients. These individuals are becoming ill and dying from three strands of rare diseases. Particularly unsettling is the appearance of these viruses in the large and densely populated city.

Although initially, Stapleton's co-workers are not convinced that there is something more to these deaths, they are eventually persuaded by the overwhelming amount of evidence. When Stapleton and his crew of colleagues begin to further investigate the mysterious deaths, they are led directly to Americare, an HMO that owns Manhattan General.

Like so many of Cook's other novels, "Contagion" suffers from a lack of character development. This continues to perplex me considering the numerous novels written by Cook that feature the same characters. It seems to me that he would have had plenty of time to fully develop these characters, their motivations, their backgrounds, and their unique sensibilities. Unfortunately, this is not the case. They are essentially one-dimensional; their dialogue is flat out cheesy, and ultimately, their actions leave the reader wondering, "why are they doing this?"

Another major downfall in "Contagion" is Cook's insertion of a stereotypical gang of African-American villains, as if the corporate villains would not suffice to induce enough panic and trepidation in the reader.

In my opinion, Cook should focus more on highlighting the corrupt business aspects of the medical field rather than attempting to illicit fear with stereotypical characters that are, in reality, laughable.

Nevertheless, as a whole, the novel is relatively entertaining. "Contagion" is written in Cook's trademark fast-paced style. Despite the dense medical jargon that Cook typically includes in his descriptions, and the relatively predictable plot, the novel does a decent job of shedding light on the corruption that can sometimes plague the medical field, and the implications this corruption has on the innocent public.

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