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    Death Benefit
    Unavailable
    Death Benefit
    Unavailable
    Death Benefit
    Audiobook12 hours

    Death Benefit

    Written by Robin Cook

    Narrated by George Guidall

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    ROBIN COOK--New York Times-best selling author and master of the medical thriller--returns with another crackling tale of unchecked greed, medical malfeasance, adn starling science.

    PIA GRAZDANI is an exceptional yet aloof medical student working closely with Columbia University Medical Center's premier scientist on cutting-edge research that could revolutionize health care by creating replacement organs for critically ill patients. Thorough her work with the brilliant molecular geneticist Dr. Tobias Rothman, Pia knows she will be given the chance to fulfill her ambition to participate in medical discoveries that can help millions while bringing her a measure of personal peace that might once and for all push aside memories of her difficult and abusive childhood.

    But when tragedy strikes in the lab, Pia, with the help of infatuated classmate George Wilson, must investigate the unforeseen calamity in the hospital's supposedly secure biosafety lab.

    Meanwhile, two ex-Wall Street whiz kids think they have found another loadstone in the nation's multi-trillion dollar life insurance industry. They race to find ways to control actuarial data and securitize the policies of the aged and infirm to make another killing.

    As Pia and George dig deeper into the events at the lab one question remains unanswered: is someone attempting to manipulate private insurance information to allow investors to benefit from the deaths of others?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateDec 27, 2011
    ISBN9781101523445
    Unavailable
    Death Benefit
    Author

    Robin Cook

    Doctor and author Robin Cook is widely credited with introducing the word ‘medical’ to the thriller genre, and decades after the publication of his 1977 breakthrough novel, Coma, he continues to dominate the category he created. Cook has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce over thirty international bestsellers, including Outbreak, Terminal, Contagion, Chromosome 6, Foreign Body, Intervention and Cure.

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    Reviews for Death Benefit

    3.5/5

    72 ratings10 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Pia is a very tenacious character. Robin Cook develops the taciturn medical heroine masterfully, but the story while initially intruiguing runs out of gas. A pair of scientists are expoused to a deadly virus to halt their research on breakthrough work they are doing in organogenesis. There are insurance men, investors, actuaries, Albanian mobsters and a pair of characters from Robin's other books, Jack Stapleton and Laura Montgomery, who are MEs. It is a great cast of characters, but the ending was disappointing. This is the first book featuring Pia, which I hadnt realized, when I listened to Nano intitially. Nano is a more superior book and featured a more satisfying ending.
    • 4/5
      Just how far are people willing to go to ensure their newest venture doesn't bankrupt them. They may even get away with it, or will they?
    • 3/5
      Good story telling with a good mix of technology and personal stories.
    • 4/5
      Robin Cook knows how to deliver.Take a beautiful Albanian medical student, two researchers on the verge of a monumental discovery, and businessmen who can lose mega millions if this discovery materializes, and you have the basis of a good medical thriller.Pia Grazdani is the medical student, a survivor of state-run institutions after her father deserted her when she was just a child, in her fourth year of med school. Working with top researchers who are close to successfully recreating viable organs, Pia discovers her calling in research as well as finally having the ability to connect with another human being in the form of Dr. Rothman, her boss and lead researcher. When Dr. Rothman and his associate, Dr. Yamamoto, die of peculiar circumstances, Pia again feels abandoned and betrayed, yet, not totally convinced that their deaths were accidental, she begins investigating other possible causes of death. What she discovers makes her a target as people with fortunes at stake enlist the Albanian mafia to silence her forever.A good read that I recommend.
    • 4/5
      Robin Cook always tells a good story
    • 5/5
      Just great! The audio version was by George Guidall, one of my favorite readers. The only thing missing was perhaps a little more in the epilogue or even another short chapter with a few more details about some of the characters in the book. The story was straight out of the news---perfect listening material for any hands only project. There were lots of little pieces that fit together nicely---I always wonder how a writer plans out all the different pathways to get to the ending. I would say this is one of Robin Cook's best---I see I don't agree with some of the other reviews.
    • 3/5
      I didn't thinl this was as good as some of the other Robin Cook books that I have read. Usually I expect a page-turner from this author but, sadly, this was not until the last 50 or so pages. There were a lot of confusing medical terms which may have contributed to the slow pace of the book.
    • 5/5
      Innovative technology invades stem cell research in this compelling novel by Robin Cook who weaves a tale of suspense in his latest novel “Death Benefit.” Cook does not need much identification as his many novels have earned him accolades from a vast audience of readers. ”Coma” is one of his outstanding books, which sparks many memories of this premier author who has earned all the recognition he receives.The many issues, which permeated our use of stem cell research in the political arena a few years back, take a backseat to the good this research can do. Creating body parts is the message this book delivers. Imagine people living longer if organs like kidneys, pancreas, and liver are laboratory cultured so that those in need of them could have them transplanted immediately. Waiting lists would become passé.What Robin Cook has done with this book is become an advocate of stem cell research and delivers his message with the underlying theme of murder, suspense, and investigation by a 4th year medical student Pia Grazdani and her boyfriend George Wilson. This fast-paced book introduces what we perceive as the main characters, the Nobel Prize winning research scientist Tobias Rothman and his assistant Dr. Yamamoto, then as swiftly as we get comfortable with them, they mysteriously die! Pia having worked with this pair for three years knows how meticulous they are in their methodology of handling toxic substances and she cannot believe the scientists would be careless enough to have caused their own deaths.Greed is introduced through Wall Street types who error in calculations of a new money making scheme which they hope will replace the real estate fiasco. Their involvement leads to the hiring of mob types to assassinate the Columbia University Research scientists without suspicion. The entanglement of the mob types lead George and Pia on dangerous escapades as they seek to find out more about the deaths of the scientists. Threatened are their careers to become doctors as they break University rules in their quest to get answers. There are times in flashbacks of past events that you wonder why a particular passage is important. Then, a few chapters later, it all comes together. Pia Grazdani is a strong hero and her voice is clear throughout this book. Robin Cook earns kudos in his ability to portray Pia’s feminine side. One of the outstanding features of “Death Benefit” is the use of medical terminology and procedures giving it a clear understanding for the layperson. One does not have to be a doctor to enjoy this medically based story.As with many of Robin Cook’s other excellent novels, “Death Benefit” is very satisfying in its concluding chapters. There are surprises, revelations, and suspense. All loose ends cleverly tie together in this five star book’s finale so that you are not left feeling this is a prelude to a subsequent novel.
    • 4/5
      It took quite a while for me to get involved in this book. But the last half was much more exciting. Cook always has strong female characters. I was glad to see Laurie and Jack Stapleton involved in the last half.
    • 2/5
      I hate a book that builds nicely and then ends as if the author got tired of writing. This is how I felt with this book. I usually love Robin Cook books but this one left me feeling cheated.