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Death Benefit

3.43 of 5 stars 3.43 · rating details · 1,062 ratings · 178 reviews

Pia Grazdani is an exceptional yet aloof medical student working closely with Columbia University Medical Center's premier scientist on cutting edge research that could revolutionize health care by creating replacement organs for critically ill patients. But when tragedy strikes in the lab, Pia, with the help of classmate George Wilson, launches an investigation into the u...more

ebook, 432 pages

Published December 27th 2011 by Berkley (first published December 1st 2011)

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Feb 19, 2013 Kristin Lundgren rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biological-bioethics, medical-disease, thriller-medical

This is the first robin Cook I have read in a while, and stands up to his previous books, giving me a nice thrill, although I did have trouble identifying with the heroine - not because of her previous life experiences, but rather the character that she became from them - scrappy, single-minded focus to the point of absurdity. Pia Grazdani is a 4th year medical student at Columbia, followed by her lapdog friend George, who is so obsessed with her, that he ignores her rude behavior to him, and co...more This is the first robin Cook I have read in a while, and stands up to his previous books, giving me a nice thrill, although I did have trouble identifying with the heroine - not because of her previous life experiences, but rather the character that she became from them - scrappy, single-minded focus to the point of absurdity. Pia Grazdani is a 4th year medical student at Columbia, followed by her lapdog friend George, who is so obsessed with her, that he ignores her rude behavior to him, and comes begging for more. Pia is doing an elective in a research lab lead by the cold, but brilliant Dr. Rothmann, with whom Pia finds a compatible soul. He is working on organogenesis (organ growth from tissue samples of the host's own body), as well as cutting edge work on virulent stains of salmonella. She becomes engrossed in the work, and in the doctor, finds a father figure she never knew.

Meanwhile, two ex Wall Street guys have hit upon a surefire scheme to make money - buying life insurance policies, with death benefits, for pennies on the dollar from cash-strapped people, and then paying the premiums and collecting the benefits when they die. Elaborate calculations have found that those in need of organ replacement are prime examples of certain money. The odds of one of them finding a compatible organ that gives them lots of extra time is outweighed by the chances of not finding an organ, rejection, etc. All goes well, until they find a ex-protegee who is short selling their stock. They go to her to find out why, and since she was rejected by one of them, she decides on some payback. Her in-depth research has led her to Dr. Rothmann and his cutting- edge work on organogenesis and what it would do for the bankers new business - if the organ growing business comes to fruition fairly quickly, and works, as it is suspected, then all those policies they bought will need continual premium payments, causing their business model to fail. They seek outside advice from another fellow who has dabbled in a number of areas, and since he invested heavily in their scheme, as well as setting up a secret competing one, he devises a plan that will fix the problem. But when things start happening, Pia decides to jump in head first, at the cost of angering the hospital, her colleagues, and even her place in medical school, as well as putting herself and George in danger. This is the first book to feature Pia - the next one is "Nano" which I am reading now. As always, a good, fun medical thriller, if a little implausible for the heroine's absolute single-mindedness, although the author is at pains to explain in detail why she acts the way she does, but still... (less)

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Jan 01, 2013 Cindy Meilink rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Robin Cook knows how to deliver.

Take a beautiful Albanian medical student, two researchers on the verge of a monumental discovery, and businessmen who can lose mega millions if this discovery materializes, and you have the basis of a good medical thriller.

Pia Grazdani is the medical student, a survivor of state-run institutions after her father deserted her when she was just a child, in her fourth year of med school. Working with top researchers who are close to successfully recreating viable or...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Roger rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 20, 2012 April Hochstrasser rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Who wouldn't want a scientific medical discovery that would allow people to regrow their own organs for later transplantation? The insurance companies, or rather, investors in the insurance companies. They are counting on a certain number of people dying in a certain time period. Any manipulations of actuarial data is devastating to the company, certain people sabotage the scientific discovery. The problem with the book is that the lead character Pia is one of the most unlikable, self-absorbed n...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pia Grazdani,a medical student, works closely with Columbia University Medical Center's premier scientist on cutting-edge research that could revolutionize health care by creating replacement organs for critically ill patients. With the opportunity to work with the brilliant molecular geneticist Dr. Tobias Rothman, Pia knows she will be given the chance to fulfill her ambition to participate in medical discoveries that can help millions while bringing her a measure of personal peace that might o...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Andrew Macrae added it · review of another edition

Reading a techno-thriller is much like watching one of those plate-spinning jugglers who performed on
Sunday nights on the Ed Sullivan Show. One plate after another is set spinning atop sticks while hoops are spun on arms, legs and ankles and there is always at least one beautiful woman who smiles and hands the performer yet another plate to set spinning. We become so enthralled with the music and motion and the beautiful assistant that we fail to notice an occasional dropped plate or sagging hoo...more Reading a techno-thriller is much like watching one of those plate-spinning jugglers who performed on
Sunday nights on the Ed Sullivan Show. One plate after another is set spinning atop sticks while hoops are spun on arms, legs and ankles and there is always at least one beautiful woman who smiles and hands the performer yet another plate to set spinning. We become so enthralled with the music and motion and the beautiful assistant that we fail to notice an occasional dropped plate or sagging hoop. So it is with this latest book by the long-time master of the medical thriller, Robin Cook.

In this novel, the beautiful woman is Pia Grazdani, a brilliant and beautiful (is there any other kind in these stories?) fourth year medical student at Columbia University in New York City. Pia has landed a plum assignment as an assistant to the even more brilliant but brittle Dr. Tobias Rothman who is engaged in two simultaneous fields of research—super virulent strains of salmonella and the challenge of growing complete and functioning human organs from stem cells.

Every story must have villains and in “Death Benefit,” we have two. Edmund Mathews and Russell Levevre are Wall Street traders who, having made large fortunes by wrecking the economy with sub prime mortgages, are now set on making even larger fortunes with a new company that cons little old ladies out of their life insurance policies. These two are so dastardly they lack only mustaches to twirl. But the thought of order-ready organs for transplant threatens to derail their latest venture and they are growing desperate.

So more plates are set to spinning. The Albanian mob makes an appearance, vials of deadly salmonella are stolen, and a container of toxic polonium-210 is tossed into the mix...with the expected deadly consequences.

This is a fun read. Sure, there are a few dropped plates along the way, but the book moves along at such a rapid pace that the reader doesn’t notice or mind.

Reviewed by Andrew MacRae for Suspense Magazine(less)

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Feb 23, 2012 Clark Isaacs rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Innovative technology invades stem cell research in this compelling novel by Robin Cook who weaves a tale of suspense in his latest novel “Death Benefit.” Cook does not need much identification as his many novels have earned him accolades from a vast audience of readers. ”Coma” is one of his outstanding books, which sparks many memories of this premier author who has earned all the recognition he receives.

The many issues, which permeated our use of stem cell research in the political arena a few...more Innovative technology invades stem cell research in this compelling novel by Robin Cook who weaves a tale of suspense in his latest novel “Death Benefit.” Cook does not need much identification as his many novels have earned him accolades from a vast audience of readers. ”Coma” is one of his outstanding books, which sparks many memories of this premier author who has earned all the recognition he receives.

The many issues, which permeated our use of stem cell research in the political arena a few years back, take a backseat to the good this research can do. Creating body parts is the message this book delivers. Imagine people living longer if organs like kidneys, pancreas, and liver are laboratory cultured so that those in need of them could have them transplanted immediately. Waiting lists would become passé.

What Robin Cook has done with this book is become an advocate of stem cell research and delivers his message with the underlying theme of murder, suspense, and investigation by a 4th year medical student Pia Grazdani and her boyfriend George Wilson. This fast-paced book introduces what we perceive as the main characters, the Nobel Prize winning research scientist Tobias Rothman and his assistant Dr. Yamamoto, then as swiftly as we get comfortable with them, they mysteriously die! Pia having worked with this pair for three years knows how meticulous they are in their methodology of handling toxic substances and she cannot believe the scientists would be careless enough to have caused their own deaths.

Greed is introduced through Wall Street types who error in calculations of a new money making scheme which they hope will replace the real estate fiasco. Their involvement leads to the hiring of mob types to assassinate the Columbia University Research scientists without suspicion. The entanglement of the mob types lead George and Pia on dangerous escapades as they seek to find out more about the deaths of the scientists. Threatened are their careers to become doctors as they break University rules in their quest to get answers.

There are times in flashbacks of past events that you wonder why a particular passage is important. Then, a few chapters later, it all comes together. Pia Grazdani is a strong hero and her voice is clear throughout this book. Robin Cook earns kudos in his ability to portray Pia’s feminine side.

One of the outstanding features of “Death Benefit” is the use of medical terminology and procedures giving it a clear understanding for the layperson. One does not have to be a doctor to enjoy this medically based story.

As with many of Robin Cook’s other excellent novels, “Death Benefit” is very satisfying in its concluding chapters. There are surprises, revelations, and suspense. All loose ends cleverly tie together in this five star book’s finale so that you are not left feeling this is a prelude to a subsequent novel.

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Jan 20, 2012 Alla rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In “Death Benefits,” Robin Cook explores what happens when medical breakthroughs damage one’s financial assets—and who wins this dangerous game of science against money.

The main character is Pia Grazdani, a fourth year medical student at Columbia University, who’s interning with Dr. Tobias Rothman, a renowned molecular geneticist who has just uncovered the way to naturally grow artificial organs.

His breakthrough promises to be life-changing, as Wall Street investors Edmund Matthews and Russell...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Bob rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pia Grazdani is a medical student in her fourth year and doing a section with a Nobel winning researcher who is working on using stem cells from a donor to grow replacement organs that won’t be rejected. Two retired wall street types have developed a scheme to buy insurance policies from elderly people who need money and pay pennies on the dollar for them. They especially look for those who have serious medical problems and who will soon die, resulting in a good payday for the buyers. When they...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Terri Lynn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thrillers, fiction

4th year medical student Pia Grazdani has not had an easy life. She was abandoned by her mother when small (Pia thinks she is dead but she is not) and left with her criminal dad. Her dad left her in the care of his brother who molested her until she was 6 when she stabbed him in the penis. When he got out of the hospital, he beat her so badly he wound up in jail and she went into foster care.

Foster care was a nightmare of rounds to institutions where she was raped by both men who were to care f...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Monnie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When a thriller has a medical angle, I'm hooked from the get-go; that's why Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen, Patricia Cornwell, Michael Crichton, Karin Slaughter and the like are on my list of favorite authors. Cook, a doctor, never fails to come up with intriguing, well thought out plots, and Death Benefit carries on the tradition in superb fashion. This one, which is complex and involves several different groups of characters with different agendas, was interesting to read if only to see how Cook i...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cutting edge regenerative research with stem cells that will cure most organ failures becomes a threat to corrupt investment bankers who buy up life insurance policies from the elderly who are in need of cash. The bankers pay 15 cents on the dollar betting that the insurees will die and they will cash in the policy for full value. The book's main character is a socially inept but brilliant and gorgeous medical student, Pia Grazdani, who is able to work with equally socially inept Nobel Prize win...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Crosby rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After having read nearly all of Cook's previous books, it is natural to compare this one to those. After doing so, it was obvious to me that he has written books far better than this one. His character development was very good (but most of the characters were not particularly nice people). His plot and its combination of medical school students, Nobel Award level research, get-rich schemes, etc was well thought out. The problem is that the ending comes so abrupt without following up some of the...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Crystal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, a-to-z-2013, audiobooks, library, mystery-suspence, reviewed

I'm not sure how to rate this one. It was ok. I think that I was more interested in the research/medical project that was behind the main story line than I was in the mystery of the murders. This was my first book of Cook's, I was very impressed with the level of knowledge that went into it. And I hope there is a grain of truth in the work being done. It would almost make the murders of these men 'worth it' to know that their work was being carried on (and yes, I know it's a work of fiction!) I'...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Jason rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Junk.

I reach to formulaic writers like Robin Cook (Crichton, Koontz, et al) to break from what I regard as more serious literature. The 8th grade composition and simple narrative—I consider Cook’s fiction a recess from my classics, my biographies, and my tough non-fiction. And that’s exactly how it should be. For me. Not necessarily you.

This sounds arrogant as hell, but it’s honest. You want an honest review or a coddling review? Between a Pulitzer Prize winner about Harry Truman and a military...more Junk.

I reach to formulaic writers like Robin Cook (Crichton, Koontz, et al) to break from what I regard as more serious literature. The 8th grade composition and simple narrative—I consider Cook’s fiction a recess from my classics, my biographies, and my tough non-fiction. And that’s exactly how it should be. For me. Not necessarily you.

This sounds arrogant as hell, but it’s honest. You want an honest review or a coddling review? Between a Pulitzer Prize winner about Harry Truman and a military textbook about the presentation of air power, I need a 2-day distraction to recharge the frontal lobe. Cook is good for this, and his 5 x 7 paperbacks explore issues about medicine, my background. So, it’s apropos, but easy, like a footrub.

However, Death Benefit lowers Cook’s own 3-star standard. If there’s any novel that makes use of the y = mx + b formula, this is it. Plug the characters, the hospital environment, and the topic into the formula, and the book writes itself.

I’ve often thought that once a writer achieves break-through name recognition at Barnes and Noble, the hard part of the career is over. You now have a shadow staff of editors and fluffers that keep your novel on the correct slope to widest readership and maximal profits. It’s the b-intercept that matters to a publisher.

Spoiler. Bright & beautiful female medical student with tough, but oversorrowful past—unusual ethnicity. Works with lauded, but pariah sceintist on revolutionary medical process. Asian coworker in lab. Bumbling but lovable classmate sidekick. Something goes wrong. Superinfection and radioactivity. Death. Research items go missing. Only our student suspects something fishy. Wall street collusion. Medical insurance superstars could take major loss on medical investing scheme. Student does savvy investigative work. Gets access to privelaged information. Call in the Albanian thugs. Capture, escape, and resolution in the classic Scooby Doo simulacrum.

So, Robin Cook provides the paragraph above, and his journalism flunkies pound out a 500-page, 13-font storyline around it. Easy.

Then why the hell can’t I do it!?! I sit in my cubical all day. Man, I need a change.

Skip this novel.
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Feb 10, 2012 Lynn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had a hard time really getting into this book, particularly at the beginning when Cook focused on all of the ins and outs of the securities industry. At times, I had to force myself to continue reading and not to give up on this book. I'm glad that I did, because it did get better.

One of the problems that I've had with several of my favorite authors lately is that the lead character is not likable, and for me, feeling some empathy with the lead character is one of the things that keeps me turn...more I had a hard time really getting into this book, particularly at the beginning when Cook focused on all of the ins and outs of the securities industry. At times, I had to force myself to continue reading and not to give up on this book. I'm glad that I did, because it did get better.

One of the problems that I've had with several of my favorite authors lately is that the lead character is not likable, and for me, feeling some empathy with the lead character is one of the things that keeps me turning the pages. In this case, Pia is a sociopath of sorts, and she comes across as entirely self-centered. One feels equal parts sorry for and exasperated with her admirer, George, who hangs in there despite repeated rebuffs from Pia. She uses him incessantly, and it's annoying to read about. Pia makes Lisbet Salander of TGWTDT look charming. While Lisbet has her moments of affection and loyalty, Pia doesn't. She is continuously manipulating people, usually by virtue of her extraordinary good looks, to do her bidding. It is not until the very end of the book that Pia shows some humanity.

I much prefer Cook's series about the husband and wife medical examiners, Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery. They make an appearance in this book, but only peripherally. I smiled when they were introduced about 3/4 of the way through, because I thought that finally they would take over the remaining pages, but that wasn't the case.

The book also leaves one big question unanswered, which is how the bad guys found out in the first place that Pia was on to their machinations. Obviously, there were spies planted, and we are left to infer who those spies were. As a sociopath, Pia was not well-liked, nor was the main victim in the book. While we can assume that some "electrical maintenance workers" who happened to be Albanian tipped them off (the murderers in this book are the Albanian mafia), that is never clarified.

I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this book, although as a die-hard Robin Cook fan I wouldn't have skipped it. For good Robin Cook fare, read the series about Jack and Laurie, who are the central characters in most of his books. (less)

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Mar 06, 2013 BarkLessWagMore rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, thriller

2.5?

Pia is a brilliant fourth year medical student working with a brilliant but difficult scientist on top secret, life changing research. Dr. Rothman gets along with no one but Pia and one other scientist. Pia, you see, may be beautiful on the outside but she is damaged emotionally. Her upbringing was difficult and filled with abuse and most of her fellow students dislike her. Except for sweet, handsome George, her boytoy (when she needs one) who hangs around hoping she’ll fall for him.

When may...more 2.5?

Pia is a brilliant fourth year medical student working with a brilliant but difficult scientist on top secret, life changing research. Dr. Rothman gets along with no one but Pia and one other scientist. Pia, you see, may be beautiful on the outside but she is damaged emotionally. Her upbringing was difficult and filled with abuse and most of her fellow students dislike her. Except for sweet, handsome George, her boytoy (when she needs one) who hangs around hoping she’ll fall for him.

When mayhem erupts in the lab, Pia’s sterile world goes all to hell and she spends the rest of the novel bent on seeking out the truth even if it means putting herself and George in danger.

I really enjoyed this book in the beginning. Pia and Dr. Rothman’s relationship was interesting to me and I was fascinated by all of their interactions. They were two unlikely kindred souls and it was purely platonic. I loved that. Thus I was very sad to see the book take such a drastic turn and change into a tedious quasi-thriller loaded with interchangeable greedy bad guys instead of the quirky character focused medical thriller I was expecting. Yeah, there were some medical shenanigans taking place early on but in reality this wasn't at all what I’d classify as a “medical” thriller. And that’s a freaking shame. It’s about bad guys trying to take out a nosey girl determined to seek vengeance and expose them to ruin (oh noes!). And it’s not even thrilling because the author gives away his whole game early on.

I have a little advice, not that anyone (especially the famous author) gives two craps, but I’m giving it anyway because it will make me feel better for wasting 12 hours of my life last week. Beware there are minor spoilers below.

1. Don’t tell us everything early on, leaving only your heroine blowing in the wind. It kind of kills the suspense, you know?

2. Don’t kill off one of your most interesting characters. It kind of pisses me off as well as saddens me. And no, I am still not over it.

3. Don’t spend pages and pages telling me about freaking finances and health care/insurance scams. I can go to work to bore myself silly. At least there I get paid. I don’t need to read about that crap in my fun time.

4. If you’re going to write a revenge novel, next time go all the way to hell with it. Let your heroine shove a hot poker into at least one of the rapey bastard’s eyeballs or better yet let her shove it up one of their butts. They deserve it. Don’t let other characters handle the dirty work off screen. That’s lame.

5. Give the good, loyal puppy dog George a real happy ending or set him free, poor sucker. Don’t leave him (and me) in limbo like that. How long can a guy pine away hoping the girl of his dreams will change? George and Pia deserve better and so do I after investing so many hours. The romantic in me is PO’d. Just saying.

On the plus side, I thought the author did a great job of fleshing out Pia. She’s not the nicest of people, actually she’s a bit of a bitch and she’s using George but he knows it and sticks around anyway which I didn’t really get. I understood Pia and her distaste for whiny people “quit whining like a baby” and didn't mind spending time with her. The narrator, George Guidall, has a rather grandfathery voice that is calming and I enjoyed listening to him. His Rothman is superb and I could have listened to him voice Rothman all day long. He surprisingly does a great job with Pia, even though I probably would've preferred a female narrator. He only falls flat with George, who sometimes sounds too old for a college student, and many of the secondary hoodlums who all end up sounding too alike. But then again they were pretty interchangeable anyway, so who cares, right?

And there you have it. If you’re a medical thriller fan this may not thrill you. Or maybe it’s just me.
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Aug 09, 2012 Hanka rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

What is the point of book where reader knows what and why happened from the first third of book and only waits for the heroin to catch up with it for the rest of it?
I appreciated the medical imagination and jargon behind this story, because that's what i study, but i can imagine it being tiresome for readers not so invested in happenings in this area. I enjoyed many of Cook's books before, he is one of the best authors of medical thrillers, but i feel that he didn't even try to be good with this...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Rick F. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am almost done with Robin Cook's new book- excellent as usual- facinating plot- tight prose- really quite good- with one major and very confusing issue- the lead character Pia is one of the most unlikable, self-absorbed nasty characters i have ever encountered in a thriller. I am not asking for a superwoman- a mix between Mother Theresa and Lynda Carter - yet with thrillers- there is that aspect of having a lead character who the reader can root for, if not identify with, and Pia is so very na...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Mysterious Ed rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: medical, nyc

Know for his medical thrillers, Robin Cook turns out a novel that focuses on the seamy side of the economics of medical research.

Medical thriller - Pia Grazdani, a 26-year-old Columbia Medical School student attracts the interest of Nobel Prize-winning molecular geneticist Tobias Rothman. Rothman is focusing on a revolutionary program of growing entire organs from stem cells. Edmund Mathews, the chairman of LifeDeals Inc., is buying up life insurance policies cheaply based on current actuarial d...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Nicholas rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been reading Robin Cook's books for probably close to twenty years now, and have been rather disappointed in the past few offerings. I don't know if they are all this bad, or if my tastes have changed, but at this point I just don't think he's writing very good books. His plots are completely unbelievable, particularly the readiness of regular people to sanction violence, including murder. There's little character development, and what character development there is seems forced. And with r...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've always enjoyed Cook's Laurie Montgomery/Jack Stapleton series, though perhaps he felt it was getting a little stale as he introduces a whole new cast of characters with this book, leaving his famed Medical Examiner pair to take brief supporting roles in 'Death Benefit'. That said, I did enjoy this book, featuring Columbia med student Pia Granzdani, who is in the midst of a research rotation in which her mentors introduce her to their dual pet projects, the first an ongoing research of deadl...more I've always enjoyed Cook's Laurie Montgomery/Jack Stapleton series, though perhaps he felt it was getting a little stale as he introduces a whole new cast of characters with this book, leaving his famed Medical Examiner pair to take brief supporting roles in 'Death Benefit'. That said, I did enjoy this book, featuring Columbia med student Pia Granzdani, who is in the midst of a research rotation in which her mentors introduce her to their dual pet projects, the first an ongoing research of deadly strains of salmonella virus, and the second being their new project of growing complete human organs from a person's own cells. Unfortunately, when things go awry in the lab, Pia is left to try to make sense of the situation.
Meanwhile, businessmen who have invested their entire savings in buying life insurance policies for pennies on the dollar from chronically ill patients in need of a sudden windfall find their futures looking less promising when they learn of the organ generation research going on at Columbia, which hopes to cure diabetes and renal failure better than the current organ transplant procedures. Out of desperation, they turn to individuals with connections to others who have the capability of ending the research before it can proceed any further.
Cook develops some minor characters who I envision could tie the two stories together, and I was admittedly a bit disappointed when they proved to be completely innocent and not connected with the shady dealings required to stop the research. Also, while both the research and the life insurance businessmen storielines play out early in the book, by about halfway in, the book is entirely focused on Pia and the people whose job it is to keep the Columbia lab from developing the auto-transplantable organs. Cook leaves some ends hanging when he eases away from the two early storylines that don't get resolved in the end, yet I don't see them important enough to continue if Cook decides to use Pia and her friends/colleagues in another book.
One trend I've noticed in Cook's writings that I'm getting a little tired of is his use of various ethnic mafias. Often the bad guys (and sometimes good guys) are part of the Italian mafia, but this time, they were from the Albanian mafia. That angle is getting a little played out, and while I appreciate Cook changing up the nationality of the mafia members, they're still the ruthless, corrupt individuals doing the dirty work.
Surely, I'll read Cook's future novels, especially if they go back to featuring Jack and Laurie in a leading role, but I'm willing to allow him to go this other route with Pia if it freshens up his storylines a bit, though I didn't see that much freshness with this one.(less)

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Jan 07, 2013 Pam Terry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am in love with Robin Cook of course, and Death Benifit was great also...I got to check in on my faves...Jack and Laurie and the OCME! Also some Lou...yay!...If you are a fan you will know my meaning...This novel is just mind bending...with today's economy weaved right into the story along with up to date scientific discoveries being made right now in the line of stem cell research. Of course throw in a dose of murder...and you got the mob, the NYPD, CDC, Columbia Medical School, big buisness,...more

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May 18, 2013 Marti rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Somehow, I didn't think that this book was as good as other ones by Robin Cook. It meandered around at times. This was one of those books where you read a little about several characters, then it switches to other ones, and even another set, with them eventually coming together. Usually there are people with whom you can get involved--caring how they come out. Old characters such as Jack Stapleton, his wife Laurie, and Lou Soldando appear toward the end. There are Albanian mobsters, and men who...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Pam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read Cook before so I wasn't expecting the next great novel. I was intrigued in the beginning with the concept of stem cell "business" being corrupted and even with the involvement of a flawed main character, Pia. And while I read the whole book, I was disappointed in the back half of the book which seemed to reach for some connections and twists that really didn't need to be a part of the story. I would have been better without the weird Albanian Mafia personal twists, but I did appreciate...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Betty410 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story outlines the conflict between financiers and the medical research world. The plan from the money men to buy life insurance policies from people at a very low percentage with the gamble that the insurance will pay off from an earlier death gets threatened by stem cell research that will provide needed organs to save lives.
What intrigued me was the nicely rounded introduction to the med student who worked with the researchers and became curious about the manner of the death of those men...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A decent book that spends more time in preliminary story only to leave me wanting in the grand conclusion.

A story of a women who grows up through the NY State "system" to become a successful doctoral candidate only to put all of her overcoming at risk because she is smarter than everyone around her. I could suspend belief and enjoy the story until the Hollywood style finish that forgot about all of the other characters introduced earlier in the book and then linked to characters from other books...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Lisa Ainsworth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loved this book, but then Cook & Crichton are two that seldom go wrong in my opinion. This topic was esp. interesting & timely for the world today & in my life. I have a special place in my heart for stem cell research & organ regeneration. Transplants are needed by so many & how can we keep it from becoming a "money making or stealing" program? My favorite books are character driven & the main character of Pia & the ex-Wall street wizard made me furious while keeping...more

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May 06, 2013 Abhijeet Ranade rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The master of the medical thriller returns! I didn't say that...one of the blurbs about this book did. My opinion, although not so melodramatic, agrees to some degree! For once, Jack and Laurie Stapleton take a backseat from the main narrative and let it unfold with other primary characters. Pia Grazdani seems to be an interesting "heroine" (for lack of a better word) and the book is vintage Cook, at some point making you believe at lease to some degree that "this could happen in real life". An...more

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Dec 27, 2012 William Crosby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'll let others give a book review/summary. My opinions: The book dragged in the first half. The medical marvels were interesting (partly why I read Cook), but the passages involving the investors got tedious. Then, after the slow build-up, the book finally became an interesting thriller. Also, I have no idea what the Albanian "mafia" is like in real life, but, as presented in this book, descriptions of them brought several laughs. (No disrespect meant to those in the Albanian "mafia,"--it was t...more

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About Robin Cook

Librarian Note: Not to be confused with British novelist Robin Cook a pseudonym of Robert William Arthur Cook.

Dr. Robin Cook (born May 4, 1940 in New York City, New York) is an American doctor / novelist who writes about medicine and topics affecting public health.

He is best known for being the author who combined medical writing with the thriller genre of writing. Several of his books have been b...more

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Chromosome 6 (Jack Stapleton & Laurie Montgomery, #3)

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