FOREIGN BODY by Robin Cook
Robin Cook is always up to date on the latest in medical procedures and medical problems. In his latest novel FOREIGN BODY he tackles the subject of medical tourism, which has Americans, for example, going to a foreign country to have medical procedures done cheaper than they cost in the States. There are benefits to doing this and also problems. Cook looks at one of the more heinous problems.
In the book medical student Jennifer Hernandez is in school in California. She is aware her beloved grandmother Maria has gone to India for hip replacement surgery. Then she hears on CNN that a woman named Maria Hernandez has died following surgery in India. At first Jennifer thinks it is just a coincidence that two people with the same name should have surgery in India at the same time, but after some investigation she learns it is her grandmother who has died.
Jennifer decides to go to India to claim the body. While there she learns of a second American death in the same hospital following surgery. She talks to the widow of this individual and learns there are similarities between the two cases. She becomes more and more suspicious that some wrongdoing has occurred. But the more Jennifer investigates the more she puts her own life in danger.
In this story there is a group in India that is working to discourage medical tourism. They are committing murders in order to discourage people from coming to India for medical procedures. Jennifer’s investigation is getting out of hand and so they decide to get rid of her.
Cook’s book is not very kind to India. It paints an ugly picture of the country and stresses the poverty and misery which are rampant. It also is negative concerning the police and other officials in the area where Jennifer goes.
In his earlier books Cook was quite adept in creating solid characters and suspenseful plots. It now seems his imagination is tiring and his books have become more mechanical and less cutting edge. The plot in FOREIGN BODY is interesting but not presented in an engrossing way. Plus the characters are paper thin.
There is some fun to be had in reading FOEIGN BODY but not as much as in past Robin Cook thrillers. Even his ending of the story seems rushed and confusing. He seems to be more sympathetic to the murderers than he should be. Maybe soon he will be back in top form and as interesting as he was with such intriguing novels as COMA and ACCEPTABLE RISK.
FOREIGN BODY is published by G P Putnam’s Sons. It contains 436 pages and sells for $25.95.