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Intervention (Jack Stapleton & Laurie Montgomery #9)

by Robin Cook

3.00 · rating details · 899 ratings · 231 reviews

New York Times-bestselling author Robin Cook returns with another ripped-from-the-headlines medical thriller, where DNA science, biotechnology, and religion collide.

I t's been more than thirty years since New York City medical examiner Jack Stapleton's college graduation and almost as long since he'd been in touch with former classmates Shawn Doherty and Kevin Murray. Once...more

Hardcover, 448 pages

Published August 4th 2009 by Putnam Adult

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Aug 04, 2011

Deborah Bobo added it

Intervention begins with two seemingly barely connected stories. Jack Stapleton works for the city morgue in New York City. Shawn Doherty is a renowned biblical archeologist who is visiting the Middle East with his wife when he discovers a codex that sheds light on the burial of the Virgin Mary. The story flips back and forth between Jack’s work and difficult personal life (he has an infant with neuroblastoma) and Shawn’s discovery and quest for the ossuary that allegedly holds the bones of the ...more

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Sep 21, 2011

Janet rated it

You would have had to pry this book out of my cold, dead hands. I would have saved it from a burning house to finish it. I last read a Robin Cook novel in the '80s. Now, I will read every one, but this will be my last review, just like I'm not writing a review of all the Ludlums or Stephen Kings I've read. Everyone's read them and everyone says the same things, right? But this was SO-O-O-O-O GOOD. The protagonists are a Medical Examiner who tries to occupy his mind with an investigation and expo...more

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Aug 21, 2011

Elizabeth Noah rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As I started to read this book, it quickly reminded me his book Sphinx. They both started out in Egypt and also in the same little antiquities/souvenior shop. Only this book had a nephew as the owner as the previous owner (his uncle) was killed(which was in the Sphinx book). I was not sure if
I would sit and read this but, I gave it a shot hoping it would not be like the other book.

The story quickly moved from Egypt (where that was the only similarity) to Rome. Shawn and Sana f...moreAs I started to read this book, it quickly reminded me his book Sphinx. They both started out in Egypt and also in the same little antiquities/souvenior shop. Only this book had a nephew as the owner as the previous owner (his uncle) was killed(which was in the Sphinx book). I was not sure if
I would sit and read this but, I gave it a shot hoping it would not be like the other book.

The story quickly moved from Egypt (where that was the only similarity) to Rome. Shawn and Sana find a codex that has a secret letter in it that tells where the bones of the Virgin Mary are buried. They dig up the ossuary with the bones and ship it back to NY. The ossuary was buried at st. Peter burial site but, noone had ever found it with all the excavation that had been going on.

The other part of the story starts with Dr. Jack Stapelton (who I have enjoyed reading in other stories) and Dr. Laurie Montgomery (also enjoyed in other stories), who have apparently gotton married and had a child. This child (approx 4 mo.) was born with cancer. They have told noone about what is wrong with the child.

Jack and Shawn went to college together with James who is the Archibishop. After James finds out that Shawn illegally shiped the ossuary back under James name to avoid being looked at, he enlist the help of Jack to stop Shawn from publishing a paper about the bones of the Virgin that he find along with the gospel of Simon that were in the ossuary. James feels this will destroy most people faith in the church knowing that her bones are still here on earth and did not descend into heaven.

The story mainly focuses on the ossuary and how it would destory the Catholic faith if the bones were indeed of the Virgin. Sprinkle in a few autopies that Jack does that are not really related to the story except while he was on a crusade for a bit on the horrors of mainly chiropratic. Jack throws himself into his work as he cannot handle being at home with his terminal child and wants to be away as much as possible so he will have an attachment/bond with his son.

The ending I have to admit is a bit far fetched. James has a plan to have a Virgin Mary fanatic, Luke, stay with Shawn and Sana to try to convince them not to publish their paper about their find. Luke kills himself and Shawn and Sana in order to save the church the knowledge that the Virgin's bones are still here on earth. James and Jack, along with the baby and Laurie, fly to Rome, rebury the ossuary where it was originally 'borrowed' from. Jack and Laurie then fly to Jerusalem to find a woman who is suppose to be a descendant of Eve/Mary per the DNA that was done on the bones(tooth) of the Virgin, and have this woman place her hands on the head of their child to miraculously cure him of his cancer. And that was the end of the story.(less)

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Oct 17, 2010

D.m. rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: thrillers

Not having read a Cook novel before and having some liking for novels that include science or medicine in them, I found at the end that I could only award "Intervention" one star. Yes, could say in a word, disappointed.

The novel begins well with the story of Jack Stapleton in New York and his work as a M.E., his homelife concerning the dire illness of his infant son, and on to his investigations into deaths that involve alternate medicine.

I felt that the novel was ...more

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Oct 01, 2009

Richard Lollar rated it

Recommends it for: Nobody.

Recommended to Richard by: I read a review.

Don't "they" still tell writers to write what they know? Dr. Robin Cook is excellent at plaques and sudden death from toxic creatures. He is out of his element here. It could be a good story, or even a good movie, but it would need a serious rewrite. While I don't like his work, Dan Brown did it better.

Three roommates from Amherst College have done well: Archbishop of New York, Chief Medical Examiner for the City of New York and archaeologist as head of the department of N...more

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Sep 29, 2009

Mazola1 rated it

Intervention starts out like a typical Robin Cook medical thriller, but never quite makes it there. The little medical thriller that is in the book quickly gets shoved aside in favor of Cook trying his hand at writing a Dan Brown type thriller. Cook's faux Brown plot line, which involves an ossuary supposedly containing the bones of the Virgin Mary, long buried beneath Saint Peter's and excavated in the middle of the night by a renegade and ambitious archeologist, is, like many of Robin Cook's p...moreIntervention starts out like a typical Robin Cook medical thriller, but never quite makes it there. The little medical thriller that is in the book quickly gets shoved aside in favor of Cook trying his hand at writing a Dan Brown type thriller. Cook's faux Brown plot line, which involves an ossuary supposedly containing the bones of the Virgin Mary, long buried beneath Saint Peter's and excavated in the middle of the night by a renegade and ambitious archeologist, is, like many of Robin Cook's plots, entertaining, if at bottom improbable and a bit silly. But that's OK. After all, the same could be said of The Da Vinci Code.

Intervention contains two minor plot lines, one about protagonist Jack Stapleton's crusade against alternative medicine, and the other about his newborn son's neuroblasoma, a life threatening disease. Stapleton, of late Cook's staple hero, is a medical examiner struggling to come to terms with his son's illness, for which medicine seems to offer no cure. At the same time, he autopsies a young woman who died as a result of an ill conceived and dangerous chiropractic intervention, cervical neck manipulation. Stapleton confronts the chiropractor, a wealthy Park Avenue practitioner with powerful friends and legions of devoted patients, and ends up getting sued by him. He also discovers that many of his friends and co-workers use alternative therapies, and drops his crusade. That's a shame because this plot line had the potential to be developed into a genuine medical thriller, but Cook lets it fizzle out. In the end, it's sort of like a twin that dies in utero and just shrivels up. Cook doesn't even bother to write about what happens with the lawsuit againt Stapleton.

Stapleton's struggle with his son's illness is another still-born plot line which just sort of fades away at the end, and isn't really resolved at all. Intervention is nearly 400 pages long. About 25 pages from the end, I realized that Cook couldn't possibly tie up all the loose ends and resolve all three plot lines successfully by the end. And indeed he doesn't. Stapleton ends up consulting what he believes to be a mystical faith healer in Jerusalam who he has come to believe is related to the Virgin Mary and Eve. He pays her to lay hands on his son, who shortly therafter takes an unexplained turn for the better and ends up cured. Spontaneous remission or miracle? That is left unresolved, part of Cook's sloppy and lazy ending.

Oh well, I never expect great literature from Robin Cook, but I do expect an entertaining, if somewhat improbable, medical thriller. All in all, Intervention fell short of the mark, and I kept wishing that Cook had ditched the main plot line and instead developed the ones he essentially aborted. (less)

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Sep 25, 2009

Denise rated it

3 for idea; 2 for execution; 1 for ending; , September 22, 2009

First things first -- this is NOT a medical thriller. This is a combination of anti-alternative medicine rant and a diatribe against Christian zealotry -- or, even worse, a conspiracy story of mediocre proportion.

There are two things going on in this novel: the original plot line of Jack investigating an untimely death caused by chiropractic cervical manipulation (producing VAD) and his subsequent out of co...more 3 for idea; 2 for execution; 1 for ending; , September 22, 2009

First things first -- this is NOT a medical thriller. This is a combination of anti-alternative medicine rant and a diatribe against Christian zealotry -- or, even worse, a conspiracy story of mediocre proportion.

There are two things going on in this novel: the original plot line of Jack investigating an untimely death caused by chiropractic cervical manipulation (producing VAD) and his subsequent out of control behavior when confronting the issue and trying to educate a sanguine group of consumers who spoke of alternative medicine in glowing terms despite his trying to tell them that it was not science and that it was dangerous. The other plot was about a couple, one an archeologist and old friend of Jack's named Shawn, and the other a DNA scientist, who buys a codex while at a conference in Egpyt and steal an ossuary that purportedly contains the bones of Mary, Mother of God from St. Peter's Tomb in Rome. If this wasn't enough, we learn that Jack and Laurie have a newborn afflicted with severe neuroblastoma.

The entire story was running parallel for a short time and then Jack dropped his obsession with the investigation of alternative medicine and attached himself to the couple who was examining the bones and the codex in labs provided by Jack's superiors in the medical pathology/examiner's building in New York. Once back in the USA, the couple gets far enough along in their work to make an amazing discovery.Unfortunately, a third friend of theirs -- conveniently the Archbishop of New York and a Cardinal named James, is upset about Shawn and his wife possibly revealing that Mary wasn't assumed into heaven after all and thus demonstrating that papal ex cathedra decree is infallible after all! In a panic, James hires a zealot to try to talk Shawn and his wife, Sana, into keeping their discovery a secret and not publishing the story.

For awhile I was really liking this book. Wondering why there were so many negative reviews. Well, the last 25 pages showed me why.
Oh my gosh, what a horrible ending and what a cheap way to end a book. I was very disappointed.

Don't buy this one. I don't know why Robin Cook doesn't write straight forward medical thrillers anymore. It saddens me since it is my favorite genre.
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Oct 21, 2011

Synesthesia rated it

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Nov 28, 2010

Alicia rated it

Shelves: thriller, medical-thriller, alternate-religious-history, mystery, reviewed

Intervention, my first (and possibly last!) Robin Cook novel, was dull, redundant and unoriginal. I didn't care for any of the characters - Shawn and Sana, in particular, were an irritating couple, and Shawn's casually sexist and demeaning treatment of his wife was gross. They seemed more like acquaintances who barely knew each other or colleagues forced to work together on a project than husband and wife who had known each other for several years. The dialogue was incredibly stiff and unnatu...more

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Sep 01, 2009

judy rated it

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Pathetic! I'm a fan of Robin Cook but this was beyond the pale. The writing was ghastly and the plots absurd. I can't imagine what happened to the Dr. Cook I loved. Clearly he wanted to rant(using Jack) against alternative medicine and he did a stellar. if sophomoric, job. Sort of amusing that Jack kept running into intelligent, powerful people who use and love various kinds of alternative treatment.(Perhaps the book should have been titled "Vendetta"). Therefore, Jack decides he re...more

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Aug 09, 2011

Prasad rated it

· review of another edition

One of the few authors who has managed to grab my attention and keep me indulged is Robin Cook. Having read almost all his other works, it was an easy choice for me to pick Intervention at Landmark, Spencer’s Plaza, where I had been recently. (My love affair with Landmark demands a separate post altogether. I just can’t resist buying books at Landmark, something that I can do at Crossword for some reason).

I was expecting a medical thriller again in some other form, probably something l...more

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Nov 24, 2011

Michael rated it

Shelves: audio

I think I understand why this book is rated so poorly. I have to justify why i'm throwing 4 stars on something that was actually pretty Boring.

This was my first Robin Cook book. As must as I do enjoy a bit of science/medicine or religion in my fiction, this one was certainly a hodge podge of faith vs facts that I think played out well with the three main characters (who by the way not one is named Keith despite the backcover synopsis).

The only way to get through this no...more

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Sep 15, 2010

Dyana rated it

· review of another edition

I usually like a Robin Cook novel, but this one was bad writing. Why did I finish it? - probably to see how he would end it AND the ending was disappointing and unbelievable. It's called a mystery thriller - where was the mystery and where was the thrill? - they were missing. He usually writes medical thrillers but this time he strayed into Dan Brown territory and does it badly. This is about three college roommates who connect when Shawn (archaeologist) and his wife Sana (DNA expert) discov...more

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Oct 14, 2009

Lisa rated it

This book centers around three college buddies, Jack Stapleton, Shawn Doherty and Kevin Murray who all go in very different career paths once they graduate, but are all brought together after 20+ years. A dig beneath Saint Peter's bascillica unearths an ancient relic that promises to change people's views on science and the Catholic religion. The college friends work together to determine the authenticity of the artifact and what they should do with it. Their work takes a tragic turn in the en...more

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Nov 04, 2009

Tara rated it

The book begins with two separate storylines, one of which is abruptly abandoned midway through the book. The remaining storyline is somewhat thought-provoking, and the tension builds nicely. At last, I am drawn into the novel. What will the characters do? How will they prove their suspicions? How will the church respond? I want to know. Apparently, the writer doesn't have the answers, either. Instead, he pens a few pages which cause the plot to suddenly vanish into thin air. Imagine a ...more

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Jun 14, 2011

Ruth rated it

New York City ME's Jack and Laurie Stapleton are consumed by the cancer, neuroblastoma that has attacked their young son. While Laurie is on leave, staying home to take care of their ill son, Jack escapes from the sorrow and the frustration of a very cranky, always crying child at work. He receives a phone call to have lunch with his college buddy who is now the Bishop of the Archdiocese of NY. During lunch, the Bishop tells Jack that their other buddy, who is an archeologist has made a spect...more

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Nov 13, 2009

Ryne Barber rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've only read one Robin Cook book besides this one, but I was impressed by his ability to write a gripping thriller that combined the medical world as well, two ideas that sound great but, when mashed together, can end up bogged down with medical mumbo-jumbo and off-kilter pacing. Intervention is very loosely tied to the medical world, however, and I couldn't help feeling a Dan Brown influence throughout the entirety of the novel.

Intervention can be considered a quest story of sorts...moreI've only read one Robin Cook book besides this one, but I was impressed by his ability to write a gripping thriller that combined the medical world as well, two ideas that sound great but, when mashed together, can end up bogged down with medical mumbo-jumbo and off-kilter pacing. Intervention is very loosely tied to the medical world, however, and I couldn't help feeling a Dan Brown influence throughout the entirety of the novel.

Intervention can be considered a quest story of sorts; this time, the quest item is not the Holy Grail but the ossuary that contains what the characters of the story believe are the bones of the Virgin Mary. Cook is definitely caught up on the religious spin in the novel, but he does tackle some other themes about the medical world as well. But this tendency to pin too many themes to one story is what generates the big problem for Intervention.

Cook's protagonist is Jack Stapleton, a recurring character from some of his older novels. Some of Jack's friends, Shawn and his wife Sana, have unearthed the ossuary of what appears to be the Virgin Mary, and, both being in two fields of study that will be directly affected by this find, proceed to uncover both the evidence to support the Virgin Mary claim and DNA that would uncover a matrilineal link to Mary in the contemporary world. But Jack's other friend, James, is an archbishop, a guy who would really suffer if word got out the Mary's bones had been found and that she had not divinely ascended into Heaven. So James and Shawn butt heads about the whole matter, and James sends a Virgin Mary fanatic into Shawn's house to influence him not to release his evidence. And somehow, Jack manages to find himself caught up in all of this, plus deal with his sick 4-month-old.

The plot sounds a bit confusing, and the references to Gnosticism and the Bible can be frustrating if one isn't up on their religious knowledge. But the plot is explained clearly enough, and often enough, to allow for the reader to get the gist of what's going on and why it's bad. Once one has been given the run-down of the Virgin Mary dilemma, the plot becomes quite intricate and interesting. It's the intervals in-between that make for a muddled read.

The first half of the book is fairly misleading. Jack begins to focus on his fieldwork about the dangers of alternative medicine, like chiropractic, which ultimately leads... no where. One can argue that towards the end of the novel, there's a frail tether between the religious aspect and faith healing, but to be honest, the two are barely connected. It feels like a waste to be given so much information on chiropractic, following Jack's informational trail and getting sucked into the topic, for it to just be dropped in the middle of the book for something more permanent. It feels as though Cook is trying to tap into some very pertinent themes, but there are just too many. They just can't be tackled all at once.

Unfortunately, the religious aspect of the plot becomes significantly less arousing after the ossuary has been dug up; the plot is reduced to a "thriller" where Shawn and Sana are wiped out by a religious fanatic with little to no emotional buildup and an even smaller emotional release from Jack. The characters are incredibly unbelievable; Jack is constantly leaving his sick baby and his taxed wife to go play a game of hoops, or skedaddling out of the house early in the morning to get in a couple more hours of work so that he doesn't have to be with the baby. Shawn and Sana bicker more than siblings, and that gets annoying all too quickly. James does not feel like an archbishop in the slightest. Their reactions are even more improbable. James and Jack are quick to get over their old friend's death; they are barely phased, moving on to more "pressing" matters! Jack blows up at people over the silliest of instances; twice he gets angry at people because they have had some sort of alternative medicine once in a while. This man needs some anger management counseling! The dialogue is off as well; everyone seems too nice, too sophisticated in speech. It seems these people don't use slang, or even contractions, when they talk.

A huge detractor is that the plot is wrapped up too quickly. Come on, I've read 350 pages of this book about the Virgin Mary; I do NOT want the conflict resolved by a quick house fire in two pages. The pacing, especially towards the end, is so inconsistent that the conclusion is probably one of the most disappointing features of the book. In the end, not much happens - everything is restored to order, a couple people died in the process, but so what? A baby is cured of cancer - maybe.

This is Robin Cook's 29th book. But it doesn't feel like he's learned a whole lot about the craft of writing in those other 28 novels. Why are the characters so unbelievable? What's with the dialogue? What happened to sticking to one point of view (Jack's)? There are just too many mistakes here to deny; the themes might be edgy, but the book can't sustain any intensity to give them any weight.
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Oct 23, 2009

Laurel rated it

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Sep 08, 2009

Bill rated it

The plot was ok, but the author seemed determined to include all the research he undertook for the book, easily adding 100 pages that didn't need to be there. The author should have spent far more time developing the Stapleton's dilemma with their newborn's illness and medical science's frustration with these sorts of cancer. The last 100 pages were a bit improbable as was the neatly tied up divine intervention at the end.

I like Robin Cook and his books are usually a nice blend of m...more

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Oct 11, 2009

Marsha rated it

Shelves: _fiction, 2009, _series, medical-thriller

I was very dissatisfied with both the subplot and resolution of this latest addition to Robin Cook's series featuring Dr. Jack Stapleton, New York City forensic pathologist. When Dr. Stapleton discovers a death due to a rupture of blood vessels caused by a chiropractor, he decides to investigate just how many deaths can be linked to alternative medicine and its practitioners. He describes some of these practices making the case that they do harm.

On the other hand, the subplot concer...more

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Jul 28, 2010

Aleah rated it

I'm kind of forcing myself to finish this one. I like most of Robin Cook's books, although I think he spells things out a bit too much, whereas a better novelist trusts that the reader can infer the mindset and the emotions of the characters without wasting an additional 2 or 3 sentences. This almost seems like two separate books; one that was a medical thriller (the alternative medicine storyline) but was tossed aside to make way for the Dan Brown-esque religious conspiracy. I'm disappointed...more

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May 27, 2010

Linda rated it

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May 31, 2010

Allison rated it

I've been a die-hard lover of Robin Cook for about ten years now and I was excited to find out there was a new Jack Stapleton novel out. I love Jack and was excited to see what kind of trouble he was going to get himself into.

Turns out, not much.

I love Cook because he's generally a straightforward author who hooks you into the main thread of the plot within the first hundred pages. I got half way through the book before the real plot kicked in and, even then, it wasn't ex...more

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Aug 29, 2009

Jane rated it

I was tempted to give this 4 stars since it held my interest....but the quality of the writing just isn't there. Cook interweaves 3 stories....one of a couple with a sick baby, one about the husband of that couple who is a ME trying to debunk alternative medicine, and a third about an archeologist who thinks he's discovered Mary's bones and can debunk the whole Catholic Church and their Assumption thing. All 3 stories get tied in the end. The 3rd story reminds me of DaVinci code a bit...some ...more

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Dec 04, 2011

Holland Saltsman rated it

One of the worse books I've read in a long time. Entire plot was an unbelievable tying together of three former roommates but gets lost in Cook's rant against alternative medicine and Christianity. Premise sounded very intriging/exciting and I forced myself to finish it as I thought Cook, who I've really enjoyed reading before, would somehow emerge and tie to story together but it never happened. From the ridiculous descriptions of books located in a chiropractor's office to (SPOILER ALERT) blow...more

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Jul 30, 2011

Anne Marie added it

So much potential in the first half. I'm only giving 3 stars due to the interesting and potentially controversial topics Cook gets us to begin thinking about. It all gets sketchy, patchy and increasingly rushed towards the end of the book, though, leading me to believe that meeting the publishing deadline/contract became much more important than fully exploring so many interesting threads. If I likened this to a real live exchange, I'd say to the author "thanks for starting a stimulating...more

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Sep 28, 2009

Nicole rated it

I really liked the beginning of this book when the main character, Jack, was exploring the world of alternative medicine through his medical examiner eyes. I expected the book to highlight a struggle for Jack over whether to treat his ailing infant with alternative therapies. I was disappointed when the second story line came into focus and the first came to a sudden halt. Although the dig at the Vatican and discovery of Christianity changing artifacts was ok, it felt like Robin Cook was tryi...more

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Sep 20, 2009

Julie rated it

Shelves: history, popular

I was quite disappointed with this Cook. He usually tells a thought provoking tale regarding abuse or misuse in the medical field. I usually struggle happily through the medical jargon. However, this was barely medical at all, with the exception of attacking the alternative medicine realm. So the book is a historical/theological story aka Davinci Code in which Mary's (Jesus' mother's) bones have been discovered in present day and the potential societal and especially Catholic Church ramification...more

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Aug 26, 2009

Jcurmudge rated it

Shelves: novel

I've always liked Dr. Robin Cook, and his medical novels. This one was newly mention on Amazon's Kimble list so I downloaded it yesterday. It's a tale of three college classmates and their interaction in regard to an ancient ossuary which one believes contains the bones of Mary, mother of Jesus. He is a renowned archeologist. One is Archbishop of New York whose faith believes in the bodily ascension of the Virgin into heaven. The third works as a medical examiner and becomes the go-between....more

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Aug 12, 2011

Vicki G rated it

I have read many books by Cook and so had no hesitation to buy this one. It started out interesting if somewhat different than most of his books, but as I read and neared the end I couldn't believe that there would be any way to bring this story to an end that would make sense.

It felt like Cook was fulfilling a contract with a publisher and so just threw together a book that really made no sense. Don't think I'll buy anymore of his works. Will wait for the library to get new ones ...more

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About Robin 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 bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List. Several of his books have also been ...moreDr. 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 bestsellers on the "New York Times" Bestseller List. Several of his books have also been featured in Reader's Digest.

Cook is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia University School of Medicine. He finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard. He divides his time between homes in Boston and Florida where he lives with his wife Barbara. He is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He has successfully combined medical fact with fantasy to produce a succession of bestselling books. Cook's medical thrillers are designed, in part, to keep the public aware of both the technological possibilities of modern medicine and the ensuing ethical problems.

Cook got a taste of the larger world when the Cousteau Society recruited him to run its blood - gas lab in the South of France. Intrigued by diving, he later called on a connection he made through Jacques Cousteau to become an aquanaut with the US Navy Sealab when he was drafted in 1969.[1]

Cook is a private member of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees, led by Chairman Joseph B. Gildenhorn, are appointed to six-year terms by the President of the United States.[2]

[edit] Doctor / Novelist
Dr. Cook's profession as a doctor has provided him with ideas for many of his novels. In each of his novels, he strives to write about the issues at the forefront of current medical practice.
To date, he has explored issues such as organ donation, genetic engineering,fertility treatment, in - vitro fertilization, research funding, managed care, drug research, and organ transplantation.[3]

Dr. Cook has been remarked to have an uncanny ability to anticipate national controversy. In an interview with Dr.Cook, Stephen McDonald talked to him about his novel Shock; Cook admits the timing of Shock was fortuitous. "I suppose that you could say that it's the most like Coma in that it deals with an issue that everybody seems to be concerned about," he says, "I wrote this book to address the stem cell issue, which the public really doesn't know anything about. Besides entertaining readers, my main goal is to get people interested in some of these issues, because it's the public that ultimately really should decide which way we ought to go in something as ethically questioning as stem cell research."[4]

Keeping his lab coat handy helps him turn our fear of doctors into bestsellers. "I joke that if my books stop selling, I can always fall back on brain surgery," he says. "But I am still very interested in it. If I had to do it over again, I would still study medicine. I think of myself more as a doctor who writes, rather than a writer who happens to be a doctor." After 23 books,he has come up with a diagnosis to explain why his medical thrillers remain so popular. "The main reason is, we all realize we are at risk. We're all going to be patients sometime," he says. "You can write about great white sharks or haunted houses, and you can say I'm not going into the ocean or I'm not going in haunted houses, but you can't say you're not going to go into a hospital."[4](less)

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Quotes from Intervention

“Natural,my ass! The worst poison known to man comes from a tree frog in South America. You cannot imagine how small an amount would be necessary to kill you.and it's natural.Calling something NATURAL is a MEANINGLESS MARKETING PLOY."

"All right,calm down! Maybe I like alternative medicine because it's been in use for more than six thousand years.After all that time,they have to know what they're doing."

"You mean the wacky idea that somehow in the distant past people had more scientific wisdom than they do today?That's both crazy and counterintuitive.Six thousand years ago people thought thunder was a bunch of gods moving around furniture."

-Conversation btw Dr.Jack Stapleton and Vinnie” — 1 person liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6013077-intervention?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255630330m/6013077.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6013077-intervention?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Intervention by Robin Cook[/url]

Intervention (Jack Stapleton & Laurie Montgomery #9)

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