Robin Cook '62 Critical (Putnam, 2007) In his latest medical thriller set in New York City, Cook devises an intricate plot revolving around a surge of drug-resistant staph infections in three specialty hospitals that leads to the death of an alarming number of patients. The author creates several colorful characters, including Angela Dawson, an ambitious CEO with a controlling interest in the three specialty hospitals; a shady investor in her startup business who is a member of organized crime; a former Iraq War veteran who has become a ruthless killer; and a range of medical professionals and dying patients. The novel brings back two characters from Cook's previous books, medical examiners and newlyweds Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton. When Montgomery starts investigating the staph-related, post-procedure deaths at the three hospitals, she puts the lives of herself and her husband in danger. Cook keeps the reader on edge until the novel's surprising end.