Veronika Redererová Orden de los libros (cronológico)

When not one but three different extremely rare diseases kill several patients at a New York hospital, forensic pathologist Jack Stapleton suspects it's more than just coincidence. He thinks there's a connection between the appearance of the mysterious microbes responsible for the deaths and the HMO that owns the hospital--the same HMO that once destroyed his flourishing medical practice. Is Americare deliberately killing off its sickest patients--those who cost the most money to treat? Or is there an even more sinister motive behind the strange goings-on at Manhattan General, not to mention the attempts on Jack's life? And what is beautiful Terese Hagen, the hard-driving creative director of a Madison Avenue ad agency, doing in the middle of this slightly muddled, but still engrossing, tale of greed, medicine, and mayhem? Like Michael Crichton, whose Andromeda Strain remains the classic in the genre, Cook is sometimes heavy-handed when it comes to character development, and his fulminations about the dangers of managed care often get in the way of the plot. Still, Contagion will make you think twice about taking your next case of flu to the ER instead of your own bed. --Jane Adams

Thad Beaumont es un escritor que, tras un periodo de éxito, enfrenta dificultades creativas. Para superar su bloqueo, inventa a George Stark, un seudónimo bajo el cual escribe thrillers violentos que se convierten en bestsellers. Stark comienza a ganar más dinero que Beaumont, quien se siente incapaz de escribir. Sin embargo, Thad empieza a recuperarse y decide que ya no necesita a Stark, anunciando que no volverá a escribir bajo ese nombre. Para sellar este capítulo de su vida, "entierra" a Stark con una lápida hecha a medida para una sesión fotográfica. Aunque parece un final feliz, hay un problema: George Stark no quiere morir. De manera aterradora, regresa como una máquina de matar, decidido a eliminar todo lo que se interponga entre él y su creador. La historia explora temas de identidad, creatividad y la lucha entre el autor y su creación, en un contexto de horror psicológico.