3.5⭐️

#14 Laurie Montgomery and Jack Stapleton series.

My first Robin Cook read for many moons! I didn’t realise that it was well into an established series before reading it.

Laurie and Jack are a married couple working in the Medical Examiners dept. Laurie is the chief medical examiner. They have a new resident Ryan who wants to research a spate of su*cides which initially presented with red flags by the medical investigators. Ryan plays a big part in the story, his interest in the research is altruistic having more to do with getting him away from as many autopsies during his rotation as possible. I must say I took a shine to him, with his honesty, and difficult past.

I really liked the premise of the story, it’s a bit different, but feels like it could be scarily real.

We get several POV giving us the who and why from the outset which is most unusual. It’s presented as more of a mystery for Ryan as he pieced together the clues. But the reader knows everything from the outset so there’s not a lot of tension or suspense, but there is a lot of repetition as the evidence is constantly reviewed. I found the story telling to be too slow for me.

I enjoyed getting the antagonists POV and backstories, but there was no final reveal for the reader which felt disappointing.

I found it went into too much depth for me about how one of the medical tests worked. It felt like an information dump.

My final feelings are this book had promise, but the way that it was delivered didn’t really work for me. I’m sure a lot of dedicated fans will disagree with me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Another thriller by Robin Cook. How can you go wrong with the type of medical mysteries this author comes up with? I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release on December 5, 2023.

Jack is still recovering from his near-death confrontation and his wife Laurie, the NYC chief medical examiner is carrying a heavy load. Despite everything, Laurie insists on performing one autopsy a week with a resident. When she meets Ryan, she unknowingly provokes an emotional response.

When Ryan shows up on the table only days later, apparently due to suicide, Laurie feels like she is to blame. Her guilt compels her to figure out the manner of death, and opens a can of worms no one saw coming. Will Laurie be able to figure out this mystery before its too late? Or is she in danger just looking into it?

I have read a few of the Laurie and Jack books over the last few years, and I always enjoy them and couldn’t wait to dive in. I can’t believe that this is the 14th book in this series! These books always contain so much suspense and drama. This book does deal with some sensitive topics, so I would say if certain things bother you then you should make sure you know what you are getting into. The author did do a good job of explaining things, but the topics are very real and not sugar coated in any way. While I loved this one, my biggest complaint was how this one wrapped up. I felt that the ending was really rushed and deserved more attention. It was just too clean cut and a few things should have been better explained. However, despite that, I did enjoy this book very much and would highly recommend it to those who love medical thrillers.

Thank you to the publisher Penguin Group – Putnam, @putnambooks, and Netgalley, @netgalley, for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story features Laurie the chief medical examiner of NY and her husband Jack. A series of suicides have raised the eyebrows of the coroners and police. They all appear to be legitimate suicides but there are details that don’t quite fit. This was a great medical thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed. This book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. If you like the genre of medical thrillers you will enjoy this book. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This story follows known characters Jack and Laurie as they investigate the cause of death of one of their pathology residents. While Jack and Laurie are featured in a series of Cook's books, this book can easily been read as a stand-alone book. This book was a page-turner for me, and I enjoyed the suspense and anticipation as the story evolved.

Ryan Sullivan is a resident starting his residency rotation conducting autopsies, and he has been less than engaged in the work so far. Laurie, the chief medical examiner, works with him to complete an autopsy on a suicide patient. The autopsy triggered some past emotions/events for Ryan, but also raised his interest in a few clues that didn't seem quite right.
When Ryan shows up in the medical examiner's office days later, dead from an apparent suicide, Laurie is baffled and is determined to figure out why and what happened.

Laurie Montgomery and Jackie Stapleton are back with another OCME medical thriller. This book references a previous title quite frequently (Genesis), when a resident, Ryan, is found dead (this is the second resident to die while Laurie has been Chief). Ryan (the resident), has quite a history and is off-put by the idea of medical exams/post mortems. When an OCME doctor raises a concern that there has been an uptick in odd suicides over the past couple of months, Ryan takes the opportunity to collect data to try to find a trend in trade for sitting out on autopsies for a while. Ryan starts by finding similarity in age of some of the victims, but as the population increases from 6 to 8, he starts to uncover that most of these folks have had a recent “asymptomatic” Cancer diagnosis from a medical scanning company (was this enough to cause depression to lead to suicide in the population of people?). What is the future of Ryan and the investigation that Laurie encouraged him to go on, hoping it would ignite a passion in Ryan for forensics?

There is a new guy at the New York autopsy site. He is a pathology resident and dislikes the autopsy environment. It seems to trigger his past which was filled with suicide and violence. Ryan, the resident finds a way to get out of some of the actual body dissection by investigating some mysterious suicides linked to a cancer-finding group. Jack and Laurie start on the hunt of the mystery that is compounded by politics, egos, and experts in the killing crimes. Manner of Death is an entertaining, well-written mystery that moves fast and keeps the reader on edge. Enjoyed the setting, the characters, and the well times story. Thanks to #NetGalley#MannerofDeath for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have been a fan of Robin Cook for many years, and he is the master of medical thrillers! Manner of Death features favorite Laurie Montgomery, chief medical examiner of NYC, and her husband, Jack Stapleton who is also a medical examiner. When a pattern of similar cases on autopsy emerges, the story picks up speed and doesn’t let go. Although this book is part of a series, this book can easily be read as a stand-alone.
If you love medical mysteries, or are curious about this genre, read this and all of Cook’s books!

Laurie Montgomery is the NYC chief medical examiner; her husband Jack Stapleton a pathologist recovering from an attack by a serial killer. Ryan Sullivan is a pathology resident who, due to his significant personal history, is very unsettled performing autopsies during his rotation in the morgue. Laurie tries to take him under her wing and when she mentions that there are been some recent suicides that were somewhat questionable as perhaps really having been homicides, he, with her consent, decides to review the cases. Both Laurie and Jack warn him to only investigate within the department as they are still reeling from the murder of another reluctant resident who decided to look into a suspicious case. When Ryan finds a commonality among the deceased involving a medical practice and early cancer diagnostic testing,
more lives including his own are in danger.

Cook weaves an engrossing, fast paced tale; I did not want to put it down. Told from multiple points of view, he taps into the very real fear of doctors benefitting financially from the tests they order. I liked reading some of the not overly technical medical explanations involving forensic autopsies and testing for cancer.

I used to enjoy reading Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, but somehow got away from them. When I saw this ARC being offered, I jumped at it and am glad I did. This is actually the fourteenth novel by Cook featuring Jack and Laurie. Although this worked as a stand alone, I now want to go back and read the other thirteen!

Thanks to #netgalley and @putnambooks for the ARC.

Another hit in this medical mystery thriller series!

This is the 14th book featuring the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery. Both work at the OCME in NYC where Laurie is the chief medical examiner. When Laurie tries to motivate a pathology resident by agreeing to let him do some research into several recent suspicious suicide deaths, she unknowingly spurs him to uncover a plot to cover up the nefarious activities of a medical practice that performs cancer testing.

It's hard to keep a long-running series fresh and entertaining but Cook always manages to do so. I like his writing style and have really developed a relationship with his main characters after all these years having read all the installments. I feel as if I know them. The plots are always interesting, and I enjoy the medical detail. Always look forward to the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. Definitely start at the beginning.

Manner of Death by Robin Cook was an interesting and exciting story. I have enjoyed many of Robin Cook's series with Jack and Laurie. Always good, and this one is one of them! I highly recommend this book and the rest of the series. Laurie is the chief Medical Examiner and her husband, Jack, is one of her Medical Examiners. They frequently work together, as is the case with this book. Enjoy! I did.

This is the14th installment of Robin Cook’s Laurie Montgomery/Jack Stapleton married physician/medical examiner team (an on-and-off series since 1991, interspersed with intense medical thrillers), but it can be read as a pulse-pounding standalone. There are references to past books, but they are just as easily incorporated as background information.

In this book, Laurie, head of the New York Medical Examiner’s Office, has a reluctant pathology resident who deeply dislikes his mandatory month at the morgue observing autopsies. But Dr. Ryan Sullivan’s interest is piqued by possible suicides without suspicious circumstances (staged homicides?) and asks permission to research similar cases. Regrettably, Sullivan’s outside interest mirrors a former rogue pathology resident who managed to get herself murdered in the process. As Ryan tries to weave together clues about the suspicious suicides, Jack ends up autopsying a questionable murder/suicide that might also be connected. As a result, Laurie and Jack want to closely oversee Sullivan’s investigation to make sure hasn’t uncovered something more sinister, but the young doctor does share some of the aggressive characteristics of their last failed (and dead) resident.

Cook delivers another page-turner that also pays a fascinating homage to the importance of the role of the medical legal investigator (MLI), the first responder link between the death scene and the medical examiner. This is a very involved medical thriller and although the jargon is plentiful, it’s also clearly explained for the layman. It’s one of those reasons that Cook continues to be so successful with this genre. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Ryan, however, has equally rare hazel eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Nothing more than a patch of grass is described.

Thank you to Penguin Group/GP Putnam and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

“I call it a bug in my ear…when something bothers me, but the significance is not definitive…making me wonder if I might be missing something important”.

This casual observation from a Medical Legal Investigator in the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) made to Ryan Sullivan, a pathology resident on a month rotation for autopsy training at the New York City morgue foreshadows a dive into a dark corner of the medical testing world with negative and false positive results about to happen.

Despite overseeing “some seventy thousand deaths per year and do(ing) it twenty-four hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year”, seven, then, eight recent suicides have intriguing peculiarities. Enough so to arouse the curiosity of the young medical resident, despite his reluctance to do autopsies, to initiate his own inquiries with the mixed endorsement of his supervisors.

Are they suicides or murders staged to look like suicides? Are they connected in some way? And, if so, why?

Once again, Robin Cook creates a twisty cat-and-mouse pursuit to uncover what’s really going on with preliminary cancer tests in his 2023 white coat thriller, “Manner of Death”.

The narrative shifts between not only Ryan and the chief New York City chief medical examiner, Laurie Montgomery, but also those being pursued, Drs. Jerome Pappas and Malik Williams of Oncology Diagnostics and their free-lance mop-up support, Hank Roberts of Action Security.

There is plenty of tense fast-paced chase up and down Manhattan leading to an eyes-wide-open ending, clearly meant for the big screen. Over-the-top…you bet.

Plausible? Cook offers some historical evidence with an Australian published study on the main subject of suicide appearances as cover ups and corollary anecdotes, historical and recent, probably better known to the medical profession to beef up the story.

If you liked Michael Crichton’s’ 1978 film, “Coma”, based on Robin Cook’s novel and starring Genevieve Bujold, Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Ashley, Richard Widmark and a pre- “Magnum PI” Tom Selleck cameo, bury yourself in Cook’s newest effort.

In the latest Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery series from Robin Cook, the Office of the City Medical Examiner’s office is assigned a senior med student, Ryan Sullivan for a month long rotation in the OCME office. Ryan has a pure dislike for his main task, observing autopsies and is looking for a way out of doing them on a daily basis. Laurie Montgomery, the chief Medical Examiner decides to work with Ryan on an autopsy of a suicide victim. Ryan has has experience with suicide as a child, in fact trying to take his own life in the past.

This autopsy performed with Laurie is one of a series of young adults who have committed suicide over the past few months. Ryan and Laurie agree to allow Ryan to look into and possible connections between these cases. Ryan starts his research and finds a link to an early cancer testing organization.. As a result, Ryan ends up as a suicide victim.

Robin Cook has once again written a medical drama that keeps you guessing. The pace of the book is fine, although there is a lot filler as descriptions throughout the book. It’s worth the time to pick it up if you are a fan of medica thrillers. 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to get an early copy of this novel

Great medical thriller with interesting characters and situations. The medical examiner's office has found a commonality with some recent suicides that suggest unusual findings - enough for the possibility of staged events to cover up murders, but not enough to change the official cause of death. Dr. Sullivan is a pathology resident on his rotation, performing autopsies at the medical examiner's offices. He detests autopsies but takes an interest in these cases, part to get out of his duties and part to figure out the puzzle. In learning his background, he is a brilliant student who lost his parents in his youth but still has a promising future.

I like that Cook reveals the antagonists early on and gives tidbits on why the suicides are being "ordered". It adds to the suspense when we know things the characters do not, I yelled out warnings a few times. He also dealt with the sensitive topic of suicide in a respectful manor and the bad guys have some Elizabeth Holmes vibes, so thought provoking and relevant.

Proving it wasn't suicide is not easy. Laurie Montgomery, chief medical examiner, is going to do just that. She is assuaging her guilt for the death of a colleague.

Manner of Death by Robin Cook continues with husband and wife characters Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery and their work as medical examiners. All of Robin Cook books all have a medical bent and bring up questions over the ethics various medical practices or tests. This book brings up the ethics of testing for cancer without knowing where and when the cancer will actually start. This book has a few themes that run throughout that are important to be aware of prior to reading ie: suicide and cancer. That said, I enjoyed the story.
Thank you Putnam Group and NetGalley for digital ARC for my review.

Bestselling author, Robin Cook, has done it again with his medical thriller, Manner of Death. Laurie Montgomery is the chief medical examiner for the state of New York, and loves her demanding job. When she is given the task of training a new doctor for a month in the morgue rotation and finds he absolutely hates what he is doing, she sets out to change Ryan Sullivan’s mind. Because he hates doing autopsies, he volunteers to do some research and find the reason for a large amount of suicides over the last little while. As he researches, he finds that these suicides are really murders that have been covered up and puts his and others lives in jeopardy during his investigation.

Robin Cook is said to be the pioneer of the medical thriller, and his expertise (he is a M.D.) has made it a viable and popular genre. He is a powerful storyteller, and the scenarios are believable and backed by facts. He also does an excellent job of developing his characters and the protagonist is likeable, and relatable, since most working mothers struggle with their job challenges and family. The supporting characters make the story plausible and seem like real people.

While there are numerous deaths throughout, they are not particularly violent, which makes it a novel that can be read by all ages. Cook doesn’t use profanity or sex to move his story along, and while the novel keeps readers on the edges of their seats, it doesn’t offend and flows. The dénouement is suspenseful and a bit scary.

All told, this is another excellent medical thriller from Robin Cook and is highly recommended for thriller aficionados.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book by the award winning author Robin Cook. I couldn’t put it down. I submerged myself and was rewarded with a tale of mystery, drama, suspense and murder. The world build was fantastic and I felt like I was in a movie due to the fluidity. The characters were vividly portrayed. I also learned a thing or two. The plot will b)ow you away. I highly recommend this well-written entertaining read.