Rating: 
Summary: A good plot, but too much info for the weak at heart.....
Review: This book has a great storyline, and plot to it. It's a wonderful book, until the part where Dr. Kim goes to work at the slaughterhouse. Robin Cook does a wonderful job displaying ever single little detail of what happens in slaughterhouses......... Too much information for those who are weak at heart, or have weak stomachs. It will definitely make you think twice before eating meat again.Overall, Cook did an excellent job writing the book. It was very intersting, and a page turner. But, just a little too many details.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent but depressing book
Review: Unlike other Cook's characters I love, I didn't really like the main character from this book, Dr. Reggis. Althought, it's quite understandable. When I first bought the book, the cashier told me how it changed the way she looked at things.. don't remember exactly what she said but it was something like that. Well, very true, indeed. I have nothing major against big industries but this book's added another 'something' to my existing feelings about big industries. The book itself was excellent but somewhat frustrating because of the behavior of Dr. Kim Reggis. Another great one from Cook.
Rating:
Summary: This one will scare you away from fast food burgers
Review: Toxin didn't scare me away from eating meat, it just made me reassess where I buy it. We have local slaughterhouses which are noting like the one Cook portrays. I know because we actually take animals there to be slaughtered and then use the meat ourselves, so we've checked the places out. But Cook isn't the only source I've read that has indicted the larger slaughterhouses and meat packing plants. His characters may seem stereotyped, but the statistics are pretty clear as to who the slaughterhouse workers are in large plants. I now buy my hamburg at a local store that grinds their own while you watch. I don't eat rare hamburgers (although I greatly prefer them!) and I'm not eating fast food burgers. It was clear in the story just how contamination can occur even when the restaurant's official protocol is flawless. BTW I hate HMO's. We have the choice between managed care and traditional insurance and despite the extra cost we continue to opt for traditional insurance. Cook's books have only reinforced that decision. Robin Cook's novels may be "fast food" rather than great literature, but if they educate one person who wouldn't read more serious scientific literature and save even one life as a result then they are worth being published. Read Toxin and you'll never take E-Coli lightly again.
Rating:
Summary: all right, but not amazing
Review: this is the first book by Robin Cook that I've read, and although I found the medical descriptions and social issues very interesting, I was a little disappointed by the character development. Not only is Dr. Reggis rather annoying during the entire first half of the book, all his conversations with Tracy are abnormally stilted and formal. I would not imagine a real person speaking to his ex-wife with such "frillly" language. The plot was okay, not amazing, and not really as suspenseful as I would have wished. However, I would have to say the commentary of the meat industry was quite interesting. a valuable read, but not the best.
Rating: 
Summary: A rather interesting twist...
Review: Toxin was really well written by author Robin Cook. He certainly did put some effort and research into writing this book. He did seem to have all the correct facts! I find that this is really important, especially when he is writing a medical reference type of book. First media analyst Kelly Anderson was bugging Dr. Kim Reggis about how he felt with the merger of the two hospitals, university and samitarin hospitals. He didn't like it because of the Americare faciltiy was taking over the main emphasis of the actual hospital settings. Second of all, Becky Reggis, was going into the national skating championship; however, she was not looking forward to it. She actually never did get there. She didn't feel like competing to please her parents. When visitng with her father, there were a few interesting twists. The third main point, was the fact taht there was some interesting plotting adventures with tainted meat. To find out more, read this booK! It is EXCELLENT!:)
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre reading but gives ideas for follow up reading
Review: Robin Cook's Toxin was a fairly mediocre novel in the sense that the writing seemed less organized and choppy and the characters less developed than one would see in a great medical thriller. The bonus that comes from reading Toxin, however, is the topic of food preparation and food-borne illnesses. The author recommends the book "Spoiled" at the end, and after beginning to read that there are a lot of other questions that have arisen in my mind as to how safe the preparation of meat is, and how have I (being partial to rare meat) not gotten any diseases yet? So, although the story line itself is slightly weak, the thought provoking qualities of the book improved its rating.
Rating:
Summary: fearful force of E coli:O157
Review: Microorganisms amazes me. With their tiny body size, they can invade a body of a specie such as human being. Being a physician himself, I assume the symptoms were expressed accurately. I was bothered to see some of the ignorant behaviors of the hospital personels just as much as the fearful force of the E coli:O157. The first half of the book goes over the whole clinical manifestation process of E coli:O157 in Dr. Kim Reggis's daughter, Becky's body. The last half of the book is about all the adventure Dr. Reggis goes through in the process of finding out the source of this pathogen. As much as I enjoyed reading the first half, I enjoyed even more reading the last half. The story line is bit goofy, especially in the last half of the book. However, there is nothing wrong with that. It added some fun and flavor to the story line, which made the book entertaining. Dr. Reggis got kind of personality that is relatable because of his goofyness. For some reason, I had imagined Dr. Reggis to look like the picture of Robin Cook himself on the back cover. The ending was bit scary because, though Dr. Reggis went through all these trouble to expose the truth, that didn't solve the problem altogether, and predicted another fearful outbreak. In today's society, where the mad cow disease had gave rise to the vCJD, this story is not unrealistic at all, and rather can be related to anyone who eats meat.
Rating: 
Summary: The worst Robin Cook effort yet
Review: I have been reading Robin Cook for many years, some good, some fair but this is the first one that was so poor I couldn't finish it. I found the actions of the main character so over-the-top as to be cartoonish. 1/3 of the way into the book, there is very little story developed. As other reviewers have pointed out this seems to be more of an attack on the meat industry than anything approaching quality fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Why Did I Read this Waste of Time Book?
Review: This book was a total waste of time. The dialogue was terrible, the characters unbelievable, the construction awful. If there was a rating below one star or even minus stars, that's what I would have chosen. I kept hoping for it to get better and it NEVER did. God forbid I should pick up another Robin Cook book. Toxin was so bad I wouldn't even put it out on a table at a yard sale if for no other reason than to protect others from reading it. I hope Dr. Cook is a better doctor than writer -- if not he must be plagued with malpractice lawsuites.
Rating:
Summary: Toxin made me not want to eat hamburgers for a week
Review: This book makes you think about the burgers and where they come from. Would you want to eat something that came from a sick cow? I think this book is a must read.
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