Spasm

By: Robin Cook

Narrated by: Will Damron

From the "master of the medical thriller" (The New York Times), Robin Cook, fan favorites Jack and Laurie return in another fast-paced spine chiller about a deadly bioweapon that could disrupt the world order as we know it.

“Masterful . . . Robin Cook is at the top of his game.” –#1 NYT bestselling author FREIDA MCFADDEN

When Laurie Montgomery temporarily steps down from her position as Chief Medical Examiner, she and Jack find themselves uncharacteristically free for a couple of weeks. And the timing couldn't be better when they receive a call from Jack's former medical school classmate, Robert Neilson, who is the sole family practitioner in Essex Falls, an idyllic town tucked away in New York State's Adirondack Mountains. Serving also as the Hamilton County coroner, Dr. Neilson is in over his head trying to explain the sudden death of a young, healthy pest control worker on top of an outbreak of rapidly progressive Alzheimer's-like cases, and he pleads with Jack and Laurie to come lend a professional hand. Unable to resist a good mystery and a vacation in one, Laurie and Jack agree to help and head upstate.

Essex Falls is beautiful enough and their accommodations are even better than they imagined. But they soon learn the town has suffered a major economic and social setback, which has shaken its residents to their cores. When the body of the pest control worker disappears without a trace just prior to an autopsy, Jack's penchant for solving forensic conundrums launches him into a full-scale investigation that uncovers the most frightening modus operandi of his career so far.

Critic reviews

“I always look forward to December because that means it’s time for a new Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton novel from the master, Robin Cook. This is the 15th novel in the series, and once again, it’s another great one. Robin never disappoints with these novels . . . Fans of Robin’s will enjoy this one.” —Red Carpet Crash

"Robin Cook, the master of the medical thriller, turns up the tension once again . . . Fast-paced and frighteningly relevant, Spasm blends medical science and moral questions in Cook’s trademark style.” —Out South Florida

Not my favorite

I had missed Laurie and Jack, so it was good to hear the story. The narrator was outstanding. However, the story was surface level and not what I typically expect from this author.

Fun!

Great performance, all the characters had a distinct voice/accent which was excellent. The story was suspenseful and hit close to home, which added to the effect Nice pace, and I always love the technical doctor stuff. Fun fun fun!

Spasm

Good story, Dr. Cook switched a bit on this one, brought in the international bad guys of the world, where the Russian mob is involved in attacks on the USA medical community. Well written as are all his books.

Deja vu feeling to this plot if you read Cook often

I generally liked the story and the prions are interesting as I deal with them in my biotech work, however I have read pretty much all his books and this one seemed like it repeated tropes from other past books with Laurie and Jack Stapleton. I kept thinking I was reading an older book of Cook’s and had to check it wasn’t a rerelease of one I read before. It isn’t but this was an okay story without any real twists or turns that I didn’t see coming.

Hours I cannot get back

The excerpt sounded so promising but the story was no story, too much description of everything from the characters to the landscape to the buildings- and I usually like that, but this was overkill due to the lack of story which could’ve easily been a short story format. But I was too far gone and gutted it out. Just not good.