Chromosome Six When underworld leader Carlo Franconi is gunned down, his rival mafiosi become prime suspects. Then Franconi's body disappears. A few days later, the mutilated, unidentifiable body of a 'floater' arrives on the autopsy table, and forensic pathologist Dr Jack Stapleton becomes concerned. What rouses Jack's curiosity is not so much that the body is missing its head, hands and feet - but also its liver.
Aided by his colleague Dr Laurie Montgomery, he identifies the corpse as the missing mobster, but who actually killed Franconi? Their search leads them to the jungles of equatorial Africa, where they discover a sinister cabal whose activities include surgical procedures a step beyond the latest in current technology and a leap beyond accepted medical ethics.
First British Edition Macmillan (1996)
Contagion From the undisputed master of the medical thriller comes this story of a deadly epidemic spread not merely by microbes but by sinister sabotage....
After losing his Midwestern ophthalmology practise to a for-profit medical giant, and then his family to an airline tragedy, Dr John Stapleton retrains in forensic pathology and moves to find himself an uneasy niche in a city that suits his new cynical perspective; the cold, indifferent, concrete maze of New York.
Stapleton believes himself beyond pain and caring, yet his suspicions are aroused as a series of virulent and lethal illnesses begin to strike the young, the old and the innocent alike.
When the apparent epicenters of these various outbreaks are revealed to be in hospitals and clinics controlled by the same for-profit giant that destroyed his old ophthalmology practice, Stapleton senses that he has stumbled on a diabolical conspiracy.
Could this same corporation be engaged in the systematic elimination of its more costly subscribers.
Paperback - Pan (1996)
Acceptable Risk See Review by
Phyllis Davis
Kimberley Stewart is inexplicably drawn to the memory of her ancestor Elizabeth who was inextricably associated with the Salem Witch Trials of the seventeenth century. Such was her involvment that she has remained a taboo subject within the family ever since. Intrigued and convinced that Elizabeth is innocent, Kim sets out to renovate the old family house and discover exactly what atrocity her ancestor was accused of.
However, Kim is not the only one making investigations, her scientist boyfriend, Edward Armstrong, discovers a bacterial mould in Elizabeth's cellar which he isolates into a remarkable anti depressant. All appears to be going fantastically well and the new "feel good" drug, Ultra, seems to be a miracle find which can only lead to great wealth and happiness. "Ultra" is allegedly free of side effects but as Edward's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and the mutilated corpses of animals begin to show up near the laboratory Kim decides to investigate the truth. The peace of Salem is threatened by a modern day witch hunt and it becomes imperative for Kim to discover the link between the past and the present.
Chromosome Six
See Review by
Phyllis Davis
Contagion