Foreign Body Hardback - 2008

by Robin Cook

A series of unexplained deaths in foreign hospitalssends an idealistic UCLA medical student on adesperate search for answers, in this chilling talefrom the master of the medical thriller.Jennifer Hernandez is afourth-year medical student atUCLA, just completing an elective in general surgery,whose world is shattered during a break in an otherwiseordinary day. While relaxing in the surgical lounge of L.A.'sCedars-Sinai Medical Center, she half-listens to a piece on medicaltourism, where first-world citizens travel to third-worldcountries for surgery. But when she hears her beloved grandmother'sname mentioned, her own heart nearly stops: the CNNreporter says Maria Suarez-Hernandez had died, a day afterundergoing a hip replacement in New Delhi's Queen VictoriaHospital.Maria had raised Jennifer and her brothers from infancy,and their bond was unshakable. Still, the news that Maria hadtraveled to India was a shock to Jennifer, until she realized thatit was the only viable option for the hardworking yet uninsuredwoman. Devastated, and desperate for answers, Jennifer takesemergency leave from school and heads to India, where relationswith local officials go from sympathetic to sour as shepresses for more information. With the discovery of other unexplaineddeaths followed by hasty cremations, Jennifer reachesout to her mentor, New York City medical examiner Dr. LaurieMontgomery, who has her own deep connection to Maria.Laurie, along with her husband, Dr. Jack Stapleton, rushesto the younger woman's side, discovering a sophisticated medicalfacility with little margin for error. As the death count grows,so do the questions, leading Laurie and Jennifer to unveil a sinister,multilayered conspiracy of global proportions.