If Robin Cook’s purpose in writing this book was to expose the gory details of the deadly e coli bacteria, then he succeeded beyond belief. He describes in great detail the horrifying toll that e coli can take on the human body, particularly that of a child.
The story’s protagonist, Dr. Kim Reggis, goes berserk chasing down those he believes are responsible for his daughter receiving an undercooked burger tainted with the e coli bacteria. I can understand any parent’s anger and frustration, but I find it beyond the realm of belief that a father would spend very little (practically no) time at his daughter’s bedside when she is in the throes of this deadly bacteria.
Instead of being with his daughter at the hospital Dr. Reggis goes around punching out people, getting USDA inspectors to break the law, and disguising himself to go undercover in a meat-packing company.
His ex-wife Tracy, who coincidentally is dating the head honcho of the evil meat cartel, patiently allows her ex to gallavant around as she holds vigil alone at the hospital. She comes to his aid and even bails him out of jail. How many ex-wives do you know who would really do this?
So you see that the character development by Cook leaves a lot to be desired . His characters are not all that believeable. but the plot compensates for the weak character development.but there is no doubt that when it comes to harnessing today’s fears and corralling his understandable dislike of managed healthcare, Cook is still king.