Robin Cook "Deviance"

Author: Robin Cook Genre: Medical thriller First published: 1985 Medical theme: "The crisis in medicine" in the context of manipulation by pharmaceutical companies, Description: Another book by Cook that I started reading after *Chromosome 6*. It follows the formula of a typical Cook thriller. The story follows a medical student who, due to financial and family problems, is forced to drop out of school. He becomes a father, and necessity compels him to take a job instead of continuing his studies. In search of income, he ends up at a pharmaceutical company belonging to a powerful medical conglomerate, which also operates the clinic treating his wife. Events that start out mundane but gradually take on greater significance allow the protagonist to uncover a terrifying truth about the corporation’s world and its growing influence over people. The book is a page-turner. Though I must admit that whenever I put it down for a moment, my thoughts would drift back to the realities that surround each of us. While the book certainly exaggerates certain events and all attempts at manipulation, it nevertheless serves as an impetus to reflect, colloquially speaking, on “what’s going on around us” and how the average person (patient, doctor) can be manipulated like a puppet without even realizing it. I encourage you to reflect more deeply while reading this book.