Robin Cook: Vector (USA 2000)

From the Publisher:
"THERE'S A FRIGHTENING LOGIC IN THE IDEA THAT YOUR NEXT BREATH MIGHT KILL YOU." -- Publishers Weekly
A disgruntled Russian émigré is poised to lash out at the adoptive nation he believes has denied him the American dream. A former technician in the Soviet biological weapons system, he possesses the knowledge to unleash into the streets of New York City the ultimate terror: a modern bioweapon. But before he executes his final act of vengeance, he must first experiment on a few unsuspecting victims... With signature skill, Robin Cook has crafted a page-turning thriller rooted in up-to-the-minute biotechnology. Vector is all-too-plausible fiction at its terrifying best...

"[The] King of the Mind-bending Medical Thriller returns with a... killer-poison more dangerous than any before it." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

DR. ROBIN COOK, a graduate of Columbia Medical School, finished his postgraduate medical training at Harvard. He is the author of Toxin, Chromosome 6, Contagion, and numerous other bestselling novels.

Robin Cook: Vector. Berkley Books, ISBN: 0425172996 (January, 2000), 395 p., $7.99.

Robin Cook: Vector (UK 1999)

From the Publisher:
The totally unthinkable becomes newspaper headlines in this all-too-frightening novel of bioterrorism by the bestselling master of medical suspense.

New York City cab driver Yuri Davydov is a disgruntled Russian émigré poised to lash out at the adoptive nation he believes has denied him the American Dream. A former technician in the Soviet Union's biological weapons system, Yuri possesses the knowledge to wreak havoc in his new home. But before he executes his planned pièce de résistance of vengeance, he experiments first on selected targets.

Dr Jack Stapleton and Dr Laurie Montgomery (both last encountered in Chromosome 6) begin to witness some unusual cases in their capacity as forensic pathologists in the City medical examiner's office: a Greek immigrant succumbs to what at first seems a sudden, overwhelming pneumonia; an obese Afro-American woman collapses with acute respiratory distress.

When an unexpected coincidence persuades Jack that these seemingly unrelated deaths are connected murders, his colleagues and superiors remain sceptical. Meanwhile Jack is taking himself deeper into deadly danger - but can he reach the heart of the puzzle before Davydov and his associates unleash into the streets of New York the ultimate terror: a modern bio-weapon.

Robin Cook: Vector. Macmillan, ISBN: 0333765834 (June, 1999), 435 p., Hardcover £16.99 (?), Trade £9.99.

Robin Cook: Vector (USA 1999)

From the Publisher:
The unthinkable becomes stark reality in this frightening novel by the bestselling master of medical suspense.
Experts do not question whether a bioterrorism event will occur in the United States, only when...
New York City cab driver Yuri Davydov is an angry, disillusioned Russian émigré bent on returning to his motherland after an unhappy seven-year sojourn in the United States. Before his departure, he wants to lash out at the adoptive nation that lured him with what he believes was the hoax of the American Dream, only to deny him contentment, opportunity, and personal prosperity.

As a former technician for the vast Soviet biological weapons industry Biopreparat, Yuri possesses the technical knowledge to carry out his vengeance on a horrific scale, especially after teaming up with a pair of far-right survivalists who share his abhorrence of the United States government. The survivalists and their neofascist skinhead militia have no trouble stealing the raw materials Yuri needs. Working together they launch Operation Wolverine.

Dr. Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery (both last seen in Chromosome 6) are confronted with two seemingly disparate cases in their work as forensic pathologists in the city's medical examiner's office. Jack successfully diagnoses a rare case of anthrax, while Laurie examines the remains of a tortured skinhead. They hardly suspect that the cases could be related, but soon they begin to connect the dots, and the question then becomes whether or not they will solve the puzzle before Yuri and his comrades unleash the ultimate terror: a modern bioweapon.

With his signature skill, Robin Cook has crafted a page-turning thriller rooted in up-to-the-minute biotechnology. Vector is all-too-plausible fiction at its eye-opening, terrifying best.

Bestselling novelist Dr. Robin Cook is currently on leave from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He lives and works in Florida.

Robin Cook: Vector. Putnam's, ISBN: 0399144714 (June, 1999), 404 p., $24.95.