Reviews for Contagion

The average rating for Contagion based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-03-26 00:00:00 Michael Cameron It boggles my mind how some writers earn their "best-selling author" status. It's not always because they are good writers. Clearly this is the case with Robin Cook, a mediocre writer at best. Cook is also an M.D., and his books generally deal with the medical field. I picked up "Contagion" because I had never actually read a Robin Cook novel before. Perhaps "Contagion" wasn't the best one to start with, or perhaps I wasn't in a "medical thriller" mood when I read this, but it wasn't that good. It's pretty slow-moving for a thriller, and Cook (being a doctor) has to throw in as much medical jargon and explanatory paragraphs as possible, I guess to sound authoritative and to prove to his reading audience that, yes, indeed, he did go to medical school and earned those little letters after his name. The book is kind of garbage, having to do with a flu epidemic in New York City. Some of the dialogue sounds stilted, the pacing is very uneven, and there is an uncomfortable amount of racist stereotypes scattered throughout. Again, it boggles my mind how Robin Cook earned his status as a best-selling author. I will attempt to read another Cook novel to see if "Contagion" was a fluke, although my hunch is that it isn't...

Review # 2 was written on 2021-02-03 00:00:00 Jim Renfro 2.5 Stars Entertaining so I am feeling generous and am rounding up to three stars. This is not great literature and not very believable but in the middle of winter and if you are stuck indoors because of the weather (and COVID-19) it can be a way to pass the time. The prologue introduces three characters whose lives will intersect in the future. The protagonist, Jack Stapleton, is a medical examiner in New York city. Formerly he had a small opthamology practice but retrained when a managed care firm bought out his practice. Needless to say he has a certain bias when it comes to managed care. When a body is brought to the mortuary and that person had been a hospital patient who died of plague Jack sees a chance to stick it to managed care. Soon there are other unexplained deaths at the same hospital …. plague, tularaemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, influenza. All highly contagious diseases. But there are only a handful of deaths and then they stop. Jack is on a mission. He suspects something is wrong but can't get a handle on it. He is persona non grata at the hospital where the deaths occurred and angers his bosses. He doesn't get fired but finds that a gang in New York has targeted him. First there is a beating to warn him off. Then there are attempts to kill him. Undeterred by the beating, attempts on his life, and warnings from his employer and co-workers his job is in jeopardy Jack continues his investigation. He believes that the diseases and patient deaths are deliberate. But how are the people being infected? What is the connection? Some of the people who died worked in the hospital supply department and had no contact with patients. There was a surprise twist towards the end but overall it is a rather poor ending. It seemed as though the author ran out if ideas and just had to finish the story up. As I mentioned at the beginning this is not great literature. If you are looking for a quick read and have time on your hand it is entertaining but I don't think it won any awards or is likely to.