Rating: 
Summary: I give up!!
Review: After reading this you won't eat hamburger for a long time.When a doctor's daughter gets sick from eating hamburger that was undercooked, he goes nuts. On a rampage, he fights with the medical association as well as the meat industry that poisons his little girl. As he goes undercover in the warehouse, what he sees, the handling of the food and what actually goes into your Big Macs, my gosh I'm getting sick thinking about it. My only gripes - it dragged a little in some parts (I do admit to a short attention span though), and I wanted more out of the ending. I was kinda like "okay...and?" Overall I recommend this book. It's very interesting, as some of it is supposidly based on various facts about how meat is handled.
Rating: 
Summary: Toxin On Tape is Terrific
Review: The first time I read a Robin Cook novel I was mesmerized. I had picked it up at a garage sale a few years back for a liesurely weekend read. When I visited the Festus Public Library in Festus, Missouri and found two copies of Toxin on audio tape I had to pick one up.
Reader, Jason Culp brings a lot of genuine style and sincere emotion to the reading of Toxin. Jason uses subtle inflections in voice to create a plethora of realistic characters. He also reads at a satisfying pace, allowing me to enjoy his tape as I work.
The tape also includes a few extra features not available in the book. Helpful background effects like the skating rink music, or a country and western tavern setting also bring the reading to life. The tenuous strain of "danger music" also helped regulate my heartbeat at peaks of action in the book. I really liked these extras.
Finally, even though the recording was abridged, it holds true to the story and Robin Cook's style. His characters are realistically human, possessing qualities that might make them a bit unlikeable in real life, but endearing us to them in his stories. The topics of his story are haunting and surreal, sometimes reflecting real life horrors, such as E-Coli and the Mad Cow disease rampant in the news still today.
I recommend this version of the book for all the same reasons Cook fans love his books. Being able to enjoy a book in the middle of rush hour traffic or other preoccupying situations is a welcome benefit.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing too significant for my 1st RC novel
Review: Although the action was fast paced & continuous, I found the plot in general quite predictable & with a bit of loopholes. It was interesting to note though the effects of mergers/buyouts on the healthcare sector & the resuting power struggle within by remaining staff against 'new management'. How it affected their service & how the patients suffered from such 'politics'. That is very real. What I found quite unrealistic was Kim's decision to work underground in the slaughter house with the intention of obtaining some important papers as evidence of QC failure. This may be an act of desparation but which I found quite out of line for the character. In general, the book was a good weekend read. (This review pertains to Reader's Digest abridged version of the novel.)
| 
