I have not read many recent books by Robin Cook, although I read many of his earlier ones. Charlatans will be welcomed by his devoted fans, but it's likely to disappoint the less devoted crowd. Cook keeps his story moving at a good pace but in the end his formula fails him; the story is weak and the character development weaker. Although Noah is our main character, he often acts in ways that we just can't understand. Ava's character is revealed fairly early in the book although we don't get details until the end. And I found the final details unbelievable. Other doctors are painted stereotypically, as though they are cardboard figures; with the exception of a couple of residents, all the attendings are male. Female nurses and administrative and clerical staff fare even worse. Finally, I think that the title gives too much of the plot twist away. In the end, I found this a dissatisfying read.

Charlatans by Robin Cook is another one of his psychological medical thrillers. Noah Rothauser is our hero, and the new super Chief resident at Boston Memorial Hospital. Noah is much respected in the hospital, and is also a workaholic who loves his job. Very early on in the story, something drastically goes wrong in the operating room on a simple hernia operation. In desperation, all the top surgeons and anesthesia specialist converge to try to save the person to no avail.

When Noah interviews everyone, it turns out to be the patient’s fault (he ate when he said he didn’t). But Nathan comes across the main surgeon, Dr. Mason, who is an egotiscal top surgeon, and he blames the anesthetist, Dr. London, as well as Noah. However, all the nurses, Dr. London and those involved in early prep work blame Mason for delaying the operation an hour after all the preparation was done.

Noah knows he does not want to face Mason, who has a lot of pull and power in the hospital, which could in the end cost him his job. What follows is an exciting story line, where Noah will find himself working with Ava London to get to the truth, and in doing so; a slow build romance will follow. Noah in time will begin to be concerned after a few more unexplained deaths, and his worry about Ava’s other jobs/hobbies, as well as her disappearances. But all hell breaks loose when Mason comes up with something that will put Noah’s job in jeopardy. Within all this, there is an underlining story that has nothing to do with the hospital deaths, but little pov’s are shown the will reveal itself with a major twist as we race toward the climax. It is very difficult to tell too much more, as anything else would be spoilers.

Robin Cook once again has come up with an exciting thriller that I could not put the book down until I finished it. There are a lot of surprises, and it did change the game. I suggest you read Charlatans.

I have always liked Robin Cok books. I enjoyed the book. I didn't completely see the ending coming, but I had mostly figured it out. This book felt a little more full of impending doom than some of my other favorites, but I would still recommend it.

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