Spasm - Robin Cook

 Spasm - Robin Cook

Pub. Date: Dec. 9, 2025

She read

Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton are forensic pathologists in New York City. They are invited by a medical school friend of Jacks to the town of Essex Falls in upstate New York to assist in an autopsy on an unusual case. This natural paradise in the Adirondacks has been blighted by the demise of a major shoe factory that was once the main employer and benefactor of the town. With little work available, the population is depressed, and there is a right-wing militia that has formed. 

The local militia has invited four members of a European militia to come and train them. There is something suspect about this group, including their place of origin, their commitment to the task, and the amount of time they are spending purportedly building and maintaining a home brewery. The questionable death of a member of the Essex Falls militia and mysterious cases of early-onset Alzheimer’s-like dementia among the residents pose dangerous quandaries for Jack.

This is the 15th installment in this series. I have read only one other.  Spasm would work as a stand-alone.  It is another fast-paced, engrossing medical mystery by best-selling author Robin Cook, who has been writing such tales since 1977. This story is particularly relevant for our economic, social, and political times and is very scary.  The protagonists are likable and well-developed characters, and the theme alarmingly prescient. 

Thanks to #NetGalley and @PutnamBooks for the DRC.

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