I had always enjoyed Robin Cook's books, but then I gave up on him.  His books just got so repetitive and predictable.  So it's been a long time, but I decided to give Chromosome 6 a try.  This book seemed a bit harder-edged than the other Cook books I'd read, with a very serious theme, and a respectful look at the relevant issues.

There are two related stories going on.  One takes place in New York, where a mobster's death takes a strange turn during the autopsy.  The investigators stumble onto a real mystery: the victim had been the recipient of a liver transplant, yet there was no record of such an operation having been performed.  Furthermore there is no evidence of anti-rejection medication in the man's system.  Thus Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery (returning characters from other Cook novels) are drawn into something that ends up being much bigger than they could possibly imagine.

The second story takes place in Africa.  Researchers there have developed a chromosome transfer process whereby chimp-like animals called bonobos could have their genetic makeup altered.  Extremely wealthy people can pay to have a bonobo altered in such a way so that the animal's organs would be perfect clones of their own organs.  Thus they are perfect for transplants.  But, something else is going on.  It seems that altering the genetic code of the animals has changed them in ways most unexpected.  Researcher Kevin Marshall is starting to figure out what's happened to the animals, and he's terrified. 

The two stories develop independently for most of the book.  The reader is usually let in on all of the secrets, even though everyone else is in the dark.  Towards the end, the stories collide as the New York team heads to Africa to get to the bottom of their autopsy mystery. 

For the most part, the book was very exciting.  The stories develop quickly, and you never really know which way they're going to turn.  There are minimal subplots, very little distraction from the two main stories.  For my part, I really enjoyed the New York story.  Watching Jack and Laurie work together to solve the clues was so much fun.  The Africa story was a bit harder to follow, and a bit more mundane, for the most part.

I did not like how Cook handled the characters.  With very little development, I didn't feel like I got to "know" them at all.  And some of them were extremely annoying.  Especially the two women working with Kevin in Africa.  A nurse, and a genetic technician, you might expect two smart, strong women.  Nope.  I kept imaging two pre-teens, giggling while passing notes in school.  That's basically the way these two air-heads acted.  With barely one brain cell between them, and Kevin following them around like a puppy dog, it's a wonder the three them were able to accomplish anything.

But the biggest disappointment in this book is the ending.  Or, lack thereof.  It's as if Cook suddenly realized his time was up, so he'd better throw an ending together.  There was an epilogue, but it was the most incomplete one I'd ever seen.  You'd think that if you're going to bother writing an epilogue, you'd tie up all of the stories and characters.  But Cook doesn't.  We're left with using our imagination to decide what ultimately happened to all of the characters.

Overall, this was an exciting story that took a serious look at consequences.  Consequences of research gone too far.  And consequences of greed.  Read it, simply because the story is a good one.  But don't look for greatness - it's not here.




Crisis
Harmful Intent


Recommended: Yes